Should I buy in London or wait?

BillJones

IronWolf wrote: »

Oh and commuting from Croydon takes nowhere near 2.5hours, you can be in Victoria in about 20 minutes on the fast trains.

The OP states that they get off the tuba at Angel, and they presumably would not be living on the platform in Croydon, so the platform to platform time to the wrong station doesn't tell us much.

If we pick two representative start and end points such as Cranmer Road in Croydon to Theberton Street in Islington, then the journey is more like 1hr 10, each way, of 2 hrs 20 in total. That's quite close to 2hr 30.

Just looking at commuting time, of course, is leaving aside the important point, which is the slow death of the soul that will follow shortly after moving to Croydon from anywhere else. Even Basra.

AndyGuil

If Angel tube station is the priority then pick something along the Northern line. If its Westminster then go for District or Jubilee. My preference is along the Jubilee as it is a very quick line.

lisyloo

For example, you can get a 1 bed place pretty near the station in 7oaks for £165k

Thanks for your suggestion and time, however I think that's too far.
The sevenoaks -> charing cross is about 35 mins which is great.
Tube to angel is about 20 mins.
Walk to sevenoaks looks about 20 mins (or 15 walk plus 5 min wait) - BTW usually estate agents quote distance to station as the crow flies.

So we're coming up with 75/80 mins here again (on a good day).

leaving aside the important point, which is the slow death of the soul that will follow shortly after moving to Croydon from anywhere else. Even Basra.

What he said :-)

My preference is along the Jubilee as it is a very quick line.

Yep, this is how we got to Bermondsey/Rotherhide.

Generali

lisyloo wrote: »

Thanks for your suggestion and time, however I think that's too far.
The sevenoaks -> charing cross is about 35 mins which is great.
Tube to angel is about 20 mins.
Walk to sevenoaks looks about 20 mins (or 15 walk plus 5 min wait) - BTW usually estate agents quote distance to station as the crow flies.

So we're coming up with 75/80 mins here again (on a good day).



What he said :-)



Yep, this is how we got to Bermondsey/Rotherhide.

I'd missed the bit where it's in Angel. My suggestion works if you're near a mainline station as you can simply go 1 stop up the line. Islington is in the suburbs already though so you can't get there in that direct way, you have to go via the centre and out again.

Can the mountain come to Mohammed? That is to say, can the business be moved to somewhere a little easier to get to?

Otherwise, Archway might be a compromise. It used to be a dump but is supposedly getting better (I'll leave that call to those with more recent knowledge). £300k for a 1 bed flat there.

Someone tried to mug a mate of mine in Archway many years ago. That was a mistake. Mate turned around and beat the bejesus out of mugger and nicked a tenner off mugger for good measure.

lisyloo

That is to say, can the business be moved to somewhere a little easier to get to?

DHs job is not flexible at all.
I can work Wiltshire, London or home at will and choosing to be in London in preference to commuting (which means I do 6am taxi service if he's travelling) or living apart for the week. Hence it makes sense to prioritise his commute.

We have had an appartment in Finsbury park.
It's not a great area, but DH can get to Pimlico straight on the Victoria line.
We knew before we went that it wasn't a great area but it was "OK".

Also there is another factor to consider.
We could end up in London longer but not in these jobs/locations.

Snakey

I don't think we can call an imminent crash based on someone who wants a comfortable two-bedroom flat in a nice area with a door-to-desk commute of half an hour tops (and no rail season ticket) but has only £200k to spend. Even if prices dropped by 50% you wouldn't be able to afford what you want - if you were the typical buyer then HPI would have stalled about fifteen years ago and we wouldn't be where we are now! Wishful thinking on your part I'm afraid.

AndyGuil

If £200k is the aim then I would be looking at zone 3 and outwards. There are 1 beds available in this range and more if you go further out. For example Willesden Green to Westminster is 16 mins on the tube.

Generali

AndyGuil wrote: »

If £200k is the aim then I would be looking at zone 3 and outwards. There are 1 beds available in this range and more if you go further out. For example Willesden Green to Westminster is 16 mins on the tube.

Which brings us back to the question: are you better living in a very central crap-hole, a suburban crap-hole or out of town altogether?

For my money, Zone 3 is the worst of all worlds. You have a horrible commute and (probably) live in a boring area. At least in Guildford or whatever you live in something approaching a decent community.

lisyloo

but has only £200k to spend

That's not a top limit.
That figure came about because it's the amount I can lay my hands on in cash to be a cash buyer, which is obviously a very good and convenient position to be in.

I never said I wanted 2 bed or a nice area. 1 bed in an average or less nice area is fine although clearly no-one wants to live next to a crack den or where they will be mugged or assaulted.
I'm not expecting to not pay for transport either - just pointing out that the equation for cheaper property vs higher transport costs is not the same for a working couple paying 2 season tickets than it is for a single commuter.

Which brings us back to the question: are you better living in a very central crap-hole, a suburban crap-hole or out of town altogether?

Yep, nicely summed up.
We probably have a preference for the former, but you guys are giving me a better idea of exactly what that means.

Generali

The other place to consider is Finsbury. It's been subsumed into 'Clerkenwell' but was the area to the East of Clerkenwell Sq and south of Angel.

You can buy a 1 bed there for £300k+. That's not such a bad area, it was terrible but it's ok now. It's certainly no worse than Angel itself.

You'd be buying in to old council flats but many of the buildings had extensive work done about a decade ago (important as council flats aren't allowed sink funds). The main bit of extra due diligence would be to see whether the building you were buying into was part of the reno works.

That would be an easy walk to Angel.