Where to buy in London - 200k to spend

duchy

SteveRadner wrote: »

I am tempted by the idea... great transport links, reasonable prices (for London) and supposedly getting done up with the Westfield etc.

But I still mostly hear people hating the place!

I grew up 3 miles the nicer side of Croydon. I wouldn't move back there now the town centre has got very seedy over the last 10-15 years- I'm not sure knocking down the Whitgift centre and rebuilding it will be enough to turn it around . On the upside -at least planning permission isn't likely to be an issue as there is no change of use for the land.
Always plenty of movement in property as East Croydon to Victoria and London Bridge can be as fast as 15 minutes and Gatwick 20 minutes in the other direction.

Kynthia

barbiedoll wrote: »

Woolwich, Plumstead and Abbey Wood are on the new Crossrail route. Everyone is saying that prices will rise because of this.
(We're getting a new Sainsbury's so it must be true! )

I agree that Abbey Wood and Thamesmead have a good chance of increasing in value due to Crossrail and the knock on effect of all the Woolwich development.

However looking for an investment and looking for a home to live in are separate things with different considerations.

thequant

duchy wrote: »

I grew up 3 miles the nicer side of Croydon. I wouldn't move back there now the town centre has got very seedy over the last 10-15 years- I'm not sure knocking down the Whitgift centre and rebuilding it will be enough to turn it around . On the upside -at least planning permission isn't likely to be an issue as there is no change of use for the land.
Always plenty of movement in property as East Croydon to Victoria and London Bridge can be as fast as 15 minutes and Gatwick 20 minutes in the other direction.

I've been looking to invest in Croydon, mainly because I find it a bit of an anomaly in London for two reasons.


1) general rule of London is the further you go out the cheaper it gets, but in the case of Croydon, it gets cheaper then when you go past Croydon it start rising again!


2) Transport links are fast and frequent, much better than most of zone 3 and quite a lot of zone 2. There's something like 24 trains an hour to central London an hour taking between 12-15 mins. Which is due to get even better when the Thameslink work is completed.


I think a certain point will be reached when people stop thinking of how close they are to central London in geographical terms and start thinking in travelling time.


Take one of the latest up and coming areas, which has already gone. Balham


From Balham to Victoria, the journey time is 12 -14 mins,
From East Croydon, the journey time is 15 mins,


The Distance between Balham and Victoria is 3.41 miles, between East Croydon and Victoria is 8.67 miless.


A difference of over 5 miles


For those who are not familiar with London and think I have cherry picked some extreme example from opposite sides of London, then it's worth noting that East Croydon and Balham are on the SAME LINE in the same direction!


To put it simply once you get past Balham is South London, there is a 5 mile stretch of London where the Journey time takes longer to get into central than it does from Croydon with a far less regular service.

SteveRadner

benjus wrote: »

We were in a similar position earlier this year, looking in SE London.

I think Abbey Wood had a bit of a mini-boom earlier this year thanks to being on the Crossrail route so prices may not rocket, but I'd expect them to still go up when it actually opens.

In the end we bought a flat in "The Hollies" (a converted orphanage complex) in Sidcup and we love it here. Sidcup doesn't have much of a centre, but the Hollies area itself is great - some lovely Edwardian conversions set in parkland with a pool, gym and tennis courts for residents. It suits our lifestyle very well, but if you're more into late nights out in central London it wouldn't be a good fit... Example: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47978249.html. Not sure if it'll ever be a hotspot though!

Really helpful and interesting. Had not considered that area. It's so great to get tips on the hidden spots...

SteveRadner

Kynthia wrote: »

I agree that Abbey Wood and Thamesmead have a good chance of increasing in value due to Crossrail and the knock on effect of all the Woolwich development.

However looking for an investment and looking for a home to live in are separate things with different considerations.

The hope would be to achieve an element of both but yes, I'm looking for a home first and foremost.

Any advice on what to consider to get the balance right?

SteveRadner

thequant wrote: »

I've been looking to invest in Croydon, mainly because I find it a bit of an anomaly in London for two reasons.


1) general rule of London is the further you go out the cheaper it gets, but in the case of Croydon, it gets cheaper then when you go past Croydon it start rising again!


2) Transport links are fast and frequent, much better than most of zone 3 and quite a lot of zone 2. There's something like 24 trains an hour to central London an hour taking between 12-15 mins. Which is due to get even better when the Thameslink work is completed.


I think a certain point will be reached when people stop thinking of how close they are to central London in geographical terms and start thinking in travelling time.


Take one of the latest up and coming areas, which has already gone. Balham


From Balham to Victoria, the journey time is 12 -14 mins,
From East Croydon, the journey time is 15 mins,


The Distance between Balham and Victoria is 3.41 miles, between East Croydon and Victoria is 8.67 miless.


A difference of over 5 miles


For those who are not familiar with London and think I have cherry picked some extreme example from opposite sides of London, then it's worth noting that East Croydon and Balham are on the SAME LINE in the same direction!


To put it simply once you get past Balham is South London, there is a 5 mile stretch of London where the Journey time takes longer to get into central than it does from Croydon with a far less regular service.

It's nuts how well connected it is... and it doesn't seem too bad, but they have been talking about it getting nicer for a long time...

thequant

SteveRadner wrote: »

It's nuts how well connected it is... and it doesn't seem too bad, but they have been talking about it getting nicer for a long time...

And don't forget the only place in London with 24 hour trains, no worries bout huge taxi fares home after a late night out.


But very true about Croydon being talked up for a long time because of it's transport connections but failing o deliver.


But I think a very big thing about London, is that areas suffer for their reputation for a long time, until necessity forces people to move into those areas.


When I first moved to London 20 years ago and trying to work my way through the distance/cheapness trade off we all have to make in London, I was looking areas such as Brixton, Balham, Shepherds Bush, Ladbroke grove.


The Guffaws I had from people at work and comments they made were quite shocking. e.g. "I would never live there, it's the land of the Flatheads"


The thing was I was working a min wage type Job and these people were not earning much more. Nowadays despite having made my way in London, I cant afford these areas myself now


Eventually these areas became up and coming as people who wanted to be as close as possible to central London were pushed into them.


My personal opinion is that as more and more people are pushed into the burbs, then travelling time as opposed to geographical distance will become more of factor than actual distance.

harrys_dad

One advantage of living in Croydon that is rarely mentioned is that you can go and watch Crystal Palace regularly, must be worth a premium.

Oldcastle

harrys_dad wrote: »

One advantage of living in Croydon that is rarely mentioned is that you can go and watch Crystal Palace regularly, must be worth a premium.

I agree, nearly bought a flat recently in the Island development on Wellesley Road on account of its fine view of Selhurst Park :T

SteveRadner

Thanks for all the replies. Really helpful.

I also have no problem moving further afield - north, east or west so any thoughts on good places to buy (and live) in those areas too?

On top of that, I am looking into areas just outside London that have a relatively cheap commute cost so any thoughts on that?