Buying a flat in London - could use some advice

rainbow_carnage

For the reasons stated above, we'd prefer a first floor flat. Ideally, one with the possibility of a loft conversion. Though from what I've seen, it's the ground floor ones that come with a garden? That's not a deal-breaker, but it would be nice to have some place to sit in the summer.

I think noise is an issue with most London flats. That's what you get when you have so many people living so close together.

cattie

When I owned my Victorian maisonette, which was similar to the Warner flats, both upper & lower maisonettes had a garden. The lower property had a long garden along the side return, the upper property had a back door with stairs leading down into a tiny handkerchief square of a garden from their kitchen.

What was odd was that my kitchen window overlooked their garden & the original owners of the upper property had told me that they rarely used their patch of garden because of being so overlooked by downstairs. But they did sit on the top stairs out of view when the weather was good!

nicedream_2

I agree with the advice TrixA gives.

I don't think there is much value in meeting the estate agents as they see so many people. Having just been through the process, I think persistence is key! I went to see 5 -6 properties each weekend...basically anything in budget.

I think you'll get there with your budget. It's useful to learn what will go for much more (I found anything advertised for £325K went for around £360K if a house), then automatically crossing those off without seeing them.

I would suggest you look at properties above Forest Road and below Billet Road. I think those had less competition than the ones around St James Street.

I really like Walthamstow and encourage you to keep looking.

hazyjo

rainbow_carnage wrote: »

Walthamstow is popular not just because of the Village. It's because it's on the Victoria line.

We were planning to look at a flat in Leyton this weekend, but when I checked the commuting time (we both work near Goodge St), it was over an hour. We live in Finsbury Park at the moment. It takes me 25 minutes, door to door. In Walthamstow, it would be more like 40, depending on the distance from the tube.

It's fine if you cycle, but if you take the tube, Walthamstow is much more convenient than Leyton.

We've started looking closer to Blackhorse Road station. The area isn't as nice, but it'll get there in the next few years. And the commute is even shorter.

Many websites give the WRONG commuting time. I have always found they have drastically overestimated from Walthamstow to London.

It's 4 stops from Finsbury Park to Walthamstow. Average 2 mins a stop, that's 8 minutes more.

If you need to get to Goodge Street, take the Central Line to Tottenham Court Road and walk. Seven min walk at most. Nine stops from Leyton to Tot Ct Rd, that's around 18 mins.

Try these journeys. Don't just rely on TFL site or whatever for journey times.

Remember, average 2 mins a stop and go from there.

Jx

rainbow_carnage

TFL overestimates walking time, but is pretty accurate on tube journey time. I use google maps for walking and subtract 15% because I'm a fast walker.

Still, if it says 65 minutes, it's unlikely to be under 50.

I've done the journey from Walthamstow a few times. I've also done Leyton Midland Road to central London, which took forever. Will try Leyton underground to Bloomsbury.

isisini

We bought a property in Walthamstow a year or two ago. The market wasn't as hellish as it is now but it was still pretty competitive. Some great tips above. I would add:

- Look at less popular areas. Forest Road / Lloyd Park and the Village are the nicest bits but they are also the most competitively priced. But there are other pockets of the area that are improving. We ended up buying in the Queen's Road area, which is definitely less gentrified, but in fact we live in a lovely leafy street with nice neighbours and very engaged residents association, and in the end it was much more affordable.

- Decide how set you are on a Warner Flat. We looked at loads of these (particularly around Lloyd Park). Although they are nice, I'm not sure they warrant the hysteria that they seem to attract from buyers. Usually both flats will have gardens. We saw some that were a shared space, communally tended. And some that were split down the middle so each flat got a small patch of their end. I found the whole shared garden thing a bit offputting but it depends how much outside space is a priority for you!

- Consider a house, if your budget will stretch to it. Walthamstow has lots of Victorian housing stock, as well as the Warner flats. In our experience viewing was less competitive for these, and in the end, you get a lot more space and privacy than a WF. The 3 bed house we bought cost the same as a Warner Flat we bid on that overlooked Lloyd Park. It's the same distance from the station, still overlooks a park, and has a lovely big private garden.

hazyjo

You really believe Leyton to Holborn or Tottenham Court Road can be over an hour on a tube?! Really??

No way. Something went wrong on your search. No need to change and get off at Goodge Street - much quicker to get off at Holborn/Tot Ct Road (whichever is nearest). Even if you did change, it'd still be under 30 mins!

Jx

rainbow_carnage

hazyjo wrote: »

You really believe Leyton to Holborn or Tottenham Court Road can be over an hour on a tube?! Really??

No way. Something went wrong on your search. No need to change and get off at Goodge Street - much quicker to get off at Holborn/Tot Ct Road (whichever is nearest). Even if you did change, it'd still be under 30 mins!

Jx

Obviously, I wouldn't change for the Northern line.

It's an hour door-to-door. The problem isn't the actual tube journey (though the Central line is a pain), but the walk from the flat to the tube.

With Leyton Midland Rd, you have to change at Blackhorse Road. And in that case, I might as well just live closer to that station.

rainbow_carnage

isisini wrote: »

- Decide how set you are on a Warner Flat. We looked at loads of these (particularly around Lloyd Park). Although they are nice, I'm not sure they warrant the hysteria that they seem to attract from buyers. Usually both flats will have gardens. We saw some that were a shared space, communally tended. And some that were split down the middle so each flat got a small patch of their end. I found the whole shared garden thing a bit offputting but it depends how much outside space is a priority for you!

Thanks for the advice. I'm not married to the idea of a Warner flat. A Victorian conversion would be lovely. We currently live in a Georgian conversion, and if the flat itself wasn't so small, we'd probably stay here for a few more years.

In general, I think that older properties keep their value better than modern ones. We're really not keen on new builds for aesthetic reasons, but also I'd be concerned with ending up in negative equity.

hazyjo

Ah, I see. Yep, so you'd just consider within say a mile walk of Leyton tube then? Still encompasses a lot of roads (say a 15 min walk to station max, then journey time of 20 mins on tube max - only 35 mins or so). Maybe a 5 min walk the other end, 40 mins tops

Jx