First time buyer, Good areas of London?

katejo

Tiglath wrote: »

£150-175k will get you a 1-bed flat in E17/E11/E10; all easy commuting to Liverpool Street, and round to Monument.

Don't think you will get a 1 bedroom for under 200 k in e17 now.

Tiglath

There were plenty when I looked on Rightmove yesterday:

Rightmove search

movilogo

With just 200k budget, you should forget looking at good areas of London.

Rather start looking at best place among the worst areas of London.

Sounds harsh but that's what reality is.

... or start looking outside London.

Jaybo10

sjparker wrote:

All I hear is people telling me to avoid East London at all costs.

I apologise if it seems like I'm floating a mess of ideas around, I'm just trying to get some perspective on locations and possible options.

Thanks again.

I've recently moved from West to East London. Like every area there are good and bad bits. East and South London tend to be cheaper but always go and investigate for yourself as one persons dream location is another's nightmare.

I think East London is great (I'm in Leytonstone) but I'm biased :rotfl:

AlexMac

I echo Confused in Yorkshire's SE London idea, as many areas are within reasonable commuting distance by SE rail of LOndon bridge, a short walk over the river from Monumnet, and £200k will still (just) buy something. Look at Zoopla.co.uk , where if you go to map view, you can draw your own search area then flip back to the list button for ease of scanning. Although having narrowed down an area, I'd then also chat to and register with local agents so you are top of their list when new ones come on. Our last flat in SE London sold before it ever got to the websites

jee

OP how old are you? And where will you be traveling to as part of your job?

benjus

SE London is getting more popular than ever - I think the rest of London has finally cottoned on to the fact that there are some lovely parts of it and it's still generally cheaper than comparable areas in N/W/E/SW London. I've been renting in Blackheath for the past few years and am now looking to buy. I would love to stay where I am but I can't afford anything decent in Blackheath now, so I'm looking at surrounding areas, and areas a bit further out like Chislehurst (which has a similar feel to Blackheath with lots of open green space). You have to move fast - there's huge demand and small supply, so good places go very quickly.

[Deleted User]

sjparker wrote: »

I mean will I really get that much more for my money in home counties? I thought their prices got pushed up purely for the fact they are commutable distance to London!

200k won't go very far in the home counties either sadly.. would it make more sense to rent for 6 months whilst you get a feel for the job?

verulamium

SE London is great. Everyone we knew were surprised by our move from a nice pricey leafy market town in the home counties (Hertfordshire) to, what they described as, a grim slum and crime infested South East London(Brockley to be more precise). But we love it here! People are friendlier, and we do not have to put up with the throng of tourists and investors as it is in West London!

There are pockets of bad (as is everywhere in London, even in W and NW) but mainly good. Best of all, not many investors looking down here (yet)!

For your budget, I would recommend looking at Penge, Beckenham and Hither Green. Direct trains to London Bridge and just a short walk across the bridge to Monument. Penge also has the advantage of being on the East London line, so you are only 25-35 mins away from trendy Shoreditch and Islington, and only 20 mins from London Bridge.

There is a huge shift in demographics in London, with people priced out by the super rich moving to E and SE. I know of people who would normally buy in Notting Hill, Clapham and Richmond, but are now looking in East Dulwich, Peckham and Blackheath instead.

Metranil_Vavin

Another vote for SE London here. I have lived in my current bit for nearly 14 years, and it has changed beyond recognition in that time. It is still 'affordable' in places compared to other bits of London, but having said that articles in papers like Metro and The Evening Standard pushing how 'affordable' it is, is making it less affordable day by day!