Where in London would you buy?

katejo

princeofpounds wrote: »

A lot of the areas being suggested are good ideas from a property point of view but not in terms of transport to work I'm afraid. No point being stuck way down the northern line having to head into town then out again to get to work.

Would advise her to look at the full transport map (with rail links as well as tube lines). Also, are Kensington Olympia and/or West Brompton (or any other stations) nearby to work? Improves your choices.

Finally, if she is moving to London for the first time I would ***strongly*** urge her to rent for a year before buying at least. Ideas about areas and jobs can change massively within a year or two. Owning a flat that is not centrally located can kill your mobility which is a really bad idea for the early stages of work. Also buying a place can vary massively from road to road; doing it without some local knowledge and experience can mean you buy the seemingly nice place that turns out to have the alcoholics' favourite meeting place outside. Even 6 months of renting in her chosen area can massively improve her eventual outcomes in terms of risk.

I would add to that and say that it would be better to just rent a room through a website like Spareroom not a whole flat . It would be much more affordable to allow your friend to save towards buying later . There are rooms to rent for £400 - £500 a month in zone 3 . I currently let my spare room in this way .

shays_mum

Westfields is coming to Croydon, so from an investment point of view, may drive prices up.
Talking of SW16 & surrounding, depends on what your friend wants, but a RM search brings up a few, admittedly not all are great looking!.
However some come in the Tooting area, which has the tube!

tim123456789

Cycrow wrote: »

if she is fairly fit, most of the suggested areas could be doable on a bike, which would save money on transport as well.

i could cycle into central london from most of Zone 6 within an hour.

You need to be more than fit to do that

you need to be brave!

rufus86

cattie wrote: »

I can't see your friend finding a nice 1 bed flat for her budget of £150k in SW London, she would be hard pushed to find anything decent in any area of London, even the not so appealing boroughs.

At best her budget is going to get her an ex-council place if she wants 1 bedroom. Saying that she wants somewhere safe is again another stumbling block. All the nice, pretty safe areas tend to be more expensive.

The only SW area in London that I really know is Streatham & property there isn't particularly cheap because of it's good transport links.

What about Croydon? I don't know much about it, bar the main shopping area, but I believe it's quite an affordable area.

Just been in exactly the same position with your budget and, fingers crossed, the offer that I've just had accepted on a flat in Peckham (One bed, NOT ex-council) will not fall through due to gazumping or survey/valuation issues.

IMHO, avoid anywhere around Stratford unless its literally metres from the the station/westfield. Property is cheap, but its soulless and feels down right forgotten despite all these 'legacy' claims

New Cross is your best bet if you want to get on the ladder. Lots of cheap purpose built one-beds (though service charges are a fair whack). Great transport links to the city and the area is certainly receiving a lot more in terms of development and regeneration

Persist, decide what you are willing to compromise on, and if its been on the market for a while, don't rule out viewing things pushing £160,000. Its taken me 6 months and while the flat is not my 'dream' choice, as an FTB on a limited budget, London is only going one way in terms of prices!

hazyjo

With that budget, I'd take a gamble with Deptford or Lewisham. DLR to Bank or Tower Hill, then tube. Not the shortest journey, but it borders some lovely areas like Greenwich and Blackheath (and I've heard some hype about Deptford lately).

Jx

rufus86

hazyjo wrote: »

With that budget, I'd take a gamble with Deptford or Lewisham. DLR to Bank or Tower Hill, then tube. Not the shortest journey, but it borders some lovely areas like Greenwich and Blackheath (and I've heard some hype about Deptford lately).

Jx

Amen to Deptford! 8 minutes to LDN Bridge. Not becoming gentrified yet, but signs of investment and regeneration from the council

hazyjo

rufus86 wrote: »

Amen to Deptford! 8 minutes to LDN Bridge. Not becoming gentrified yet, but signs of investment and regeneration from the council

Really surprised it's not been mentioned more on here. It rarely gets a shout-out! I liked the end of Deptford that just hit Greenwich, and I can really see how it'll end up with quite an arty vibe. Definitely one to watch!

Probably JUST out of budget here, but wouldn't take much more to afford it.

Jx

RP72

Check out Acton, only a few stops to Earls Court on Picadilly Line. Several studio flats on rightmove just under 150K. New swimming pool and leisure centre will be completed there in 2014 which will be good!

zizu73

Again, thanks everybody for your input. Lot of food for thought. It sounds as if a studio is more realistic on her budget. Maybe better to safe a bit more to be able to afford 1 bed flat.

melanzana

Rent, rent, rent!

Then she can move around, save few bob, and enjoy life.

Is there a particular reason why she NEEDS to buy now?

I wouldn't. The market in London is a bubble. Ready to burst. IMV

How easy it would be to move either within uk or abroad with no ties, like a mortgage.

Just wondered about the need to buy, especially a studio flat.