Would you buy in the "up and coming" area

Lilly_L

Hi everyone

Been thinking of buying/investing in East London as it's still affordable and many areas are dubbed "up and coming" such as Canning Town/Royal Docks and Bow.

I understand buying properties is location location location, but with my £250k I cannot afford west London and I quite like the East London up and coming feel.

Would you pick a once-very-run-down area such as Canning Town or Bow and hope that the regeneration schemes will uplift the area significantly in a few years time?

Or would you rather go safe and buy somewhere that is already established?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thank you!

BitterAndTwisted

Canning Town! That place is a bloody dump and I disagree that it's "up and coming". It's "down and out" and I don't see it changing any time soon.

There are affordable bits of North and East London and none of them as dire as Canning Town. Bow used to be a sh!thole but I understand it's trendy gay-central these days.

Lilly_L

thank you for your advice. I thought the Newham council has already started £600million work for a new town centre last year and towards Royal Docks it looks quite nice.....That is why I thought it is up and coming but I ll now have a 2nd thought...

Yeah I actually like Bow but £250k can get me an ex council at best that is the dilemma...

paddyrg

'Up and Coming' is frequently estate agent talk for 'you can't get much worse'. Remember, living on the edge of London can take as long to get into the centre as coming in from Oxford! You might find other places well enough connected and within your budget.

I_have_spoken

London is a bubble (again). You'd be mad to try and chase prices up in well dodgy areas full of HMOs for immigrants

Lilly_L

lol love your saying up and coming = cannot get much worse. Too true...just a quick one tho Bow and Canning Town are both 15min away from Central London, which is another reason I'm considering these areas. £250k is really too little to get a flat in any middle class area in London within Zone2/3....

Lilly_L

yeah totally agree trouble is the London bubble never seems to burst and only gets bigger .....

abankerbutnotafatcat

East Vs West is not the only choice in London

If I had c£250k to spend and wanted to be 'in the zones' this is where I'd spend it:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42178343.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38392048.html

Londonsu

We bought in an up and coming area although we didn't know it was up and coming at the time, we could not afford to buy in Clapham Junction
in the 80s so bought a flat in Clapham (Brixton Borders). We had Riots, armed police down our road and a rape/murder all within 6 months of us moving there. Of course when we sold in 2010 the area was trendy and desirable, so yes given the opportunity I would do it again.

[Deleted User]

I live in Bow and I would buy here in an instant if I could afford it, but would probably be pretty selective about whereabouts. I live close to Victoria Park, and I would love to buy a place here, but I doubt you'd get much for your money on £250k.

That said, even in the more run down areas, a lot of money has been invested because of the Olympics and a lot of the improvements are still being made.

Lilly_L

Yeah in fact I live in Canning Town with my mates at the moment yes its not trendy and yes it's a dump compared to many areas and yes u could say its full of chavs but its got excellent transport links/food sopping and the locals may be poor but they are never aggressive or dangerous - in fact rather nice bunch of people. We have been there for almost a year never had any problem. plus the £600millionn scheme has kicked off already last year so not just government empty talks, If I actually buy here hopefully I ll have the same good fortune as you when it goes from up and coming to desirable