London is a joke (moan)

Jhoney_2

benn25 wrote: »

Why do people say that?

I dont want to move. My work is here. My friends are here. Im closer to my family and I moved down to better my life.

Its unfortunately not as simple as you make out my friend. Wish it was. Then I wouldnt have to moan.

Edit: I work in healthcare, so our salaries arent great. Im not one of these London folk who are earning 50+. Wish I was, but it aint the case. For what I do, back in Essex, Id be living like a god damn king, but down here, your just another pauper. lol

Your research 2 years ago was pretty half hearted, tbh. You complain about 'postcode prices' yet you sneer at 'less desirable places' where you will be robbed for your socks - but why would they do that? YOU can't afford THEIR homes!

You already have one solution as you mentioned above, but you choose to live where you are. Thinking more broadly, do your friends have the same 'issue'? Could you buy together in London with a view to selling later to capitalise from the high sale prices, so you have a bigger deposit? Could you do second job as you have no ties or kids?

I'm tired of people complaining about this, only to find 2 lines in that they actually mean they can't afford Fulham, Chiswick, Chelsea and the like.

As someone born and raised in one of these 'must have' areas, I can tell you theft and hard drugs are rife. Where do you suppose the fancy cars/possessions are that get stolen, Peckham? lol

No-one handed people the right to live in London - we all made hard decisions e.g saving, delaying raising a family, second/crummy jobs and yes even pokey studios. There was no help to buy etc (which I don't particularly mind) - just hard work and sacrifice.

Just because you need a coat, you don't have to throw your rattle out of the pram due to it not being the proverbial fur one.

You say you are from Essex, why didn't you move south earlier? or with/like the rest of your family. That decision seems to have cost you a price hike or two. It also suggests you could live farther from them if/when you wish.

Hope it works out, but you will need to dig deeper, work harder and wait longer for what you say you want to purchase, but you do not need it.

Errata

benn25 wrote: »

I can afford it. Its just having to live in a pokey little studio flat thats literally broken me. I understand you have to start off small, but the studio's im seeing for silly money just disheartens me.
I have a plan which I wont stray from but it goes to show that London is so far removed from the rest of the country imv. Something I didnt really expect to encounter or realise to this degree.

Oh well, keep calm and carry on.

It always was. Buy a studio and you'll have a roof over your head, carry on renting and you're at the beck and call of landlords.

Jhoney_2

What about this - central enough and looks very habitable.

Do you have your deposit etc in place yet?

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/36443854?search_identifier=ef2ab026bd9e013b34c64f60c06f13de#xyoKqvrFroTvSXiv.97

jjlandlord

benjus wrote: »

Two problems with that:

• When you get that far away the commuting costs become huge - think £400+/month.
• If you work near the London terminus station where the train from where you live arrives then the one hour commute is fine. But if it's not near any terminus stations or you change jobs, you could easily add another 30-60 minutes to the commute getting from the terminus to your job. If you live within the London travel zones you're more likely to have more flexibility in getting to central London.

That's true.

However, it is common to do just that because people simply can't afford a nice house in a nice catchment in London, but they can outside of London (and indeed pay £400+ a month in season tickets).

Running_Horse

I can remember reading a newspaper article in the late 1980s about affordability which suggested two single people should club together and buy a one bed flat in Tottenham! Presumably with one of them sleeping in the lounge.

The issue has always been the same, just the figures change over time. You need to decide what you really want and how to make that happen. Gravesend, Dartford and Medway may not be the most glamorous places, but train links have multiplied since I moved to Kent.

The only way prices are ever going to fall dramatically where you want to be is massive building programmes, and/or all the immigrants deciding London isn't the land of milk and honey after all. Are either of those ever likely to happen?

AdrianC

benn25 wrote: »

I can afford it.

Oh, that's odd. I thought you were complaining that there was nothing on the market of the size and in the area that you want which is within your 5x (relatively low, single) salary budget. Except you can't get a 5x salary mortgage, only 4.5x, which reduces your budget further away from the properties that are for sale.

That's a strange definition of "can afford".

missbiggles1

Jhoney wrote: »

What about this - central enough and looks very habitable.

Do you have your deposit etc in place yet?

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/36443854?search_identifier=ef2ab026bd9e013b34c64f60c06f13de#xyoKqvrFroTvSXiv.97

That's the price for a 25% share!

AdrianC

benjus wrote: »

Two problems with that:

* When you get that far away the commuting costs become huge - think £400+/month.

So add that £400/mo to what you can afford in mortgage repayments - because you can bet the lenders would take it into account for affordability.

* If you work near the London terminus station where the train from where you live arrives then the one hour commute is fine. But if it's not near any terminus stations or you change jobs, you could easily add another 30-60 minutes to the commute getting from the terminus to your job. If you live within the London travel zones you're more likely to have more flexibility in getting to central London.

I don't quite follow that logic. Whether you come from inside or outside town, you're still getting off the train at the same station for the walk the last leg to work. The trip from (say) King's Cross or Paddington or London Bridge to wherever the office is is the same whether you've got off a train at that terminus or shut your front door right next to the station.

And you've clearly never tried to get from some of the GodAndTFLForesaken corners of even relatively inner London suburbia to the centre...

f0nz

Jhoney wrote: »

What about this - central enough and looks very habitable.

Do you have your deposit etc in place yet?

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/36443854?search_identifier=ef2ab026bd9e013b34c64f60c06f13de#xyoKqvrFroTvSXiv.97

Did you read the info on this? It's a 25% shared ownership with a recommended yearly income of over £60k to be able to afford it. Sadly I don't think the OP would be able to afford the mortgage, rent and service charge which would be over £1k per month.

Kind of you to have a look though

Cornucopia

Jhoney wrote: »

What about this - central enough and looks very habitable.

Do you have your deposit etc in place yet?

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/36443854?search_identifier=ef2ab026bd9e013b34c64f60c06f13de#xyoKqvrFroTvSXiv.97

That's shared ownership, and it expires in June.

However, I think you're right in that the key to it lies in the Property search sites.

I would suggest a search like this to start to identify some possible areas...

90 Studios within 5 miles of London, less than £140k: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^87490&sortType=1&minPrice=60000&maxPrice=140000&minBedrooms=0&maxBedrooms=0&retirement=false&displayPropertyType=flats&oldDisplayPropertyType=flats&primaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&radius=5.0&partBuyPartRent=false&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

750 1-bed Flats within 15 miles of London, less than £175k: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^87490&sortType=1&minPrice=60000&maxPrice=175000&minBedrooms=1&maxBedrooms=1&retirement=false&displayPropertyType=flats&oldDisplayPropertyType=flats&primaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&radius=15.0&partBuyPartRent=false&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

642 2-bed Flats within 15 miles of London, less than £200k: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^87490&sortType=1&minPrice=60000&maxPrice=200000&minBedrooms=2&maxBedrooms=2&retirement=false&displayPropertyType=flats&oldDisplayPropertyType=flats&primaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&radius=15.0&partBuyPartRent=false&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

Personally, I'd probably be looking at a Shared Ownership in an improving, central area, like this: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-49667869.html?showcase=true&premiumA=true

More generally, 12 Shared ownership 1&2-bed Flats within Zones 1-4, initial shares at £75k-£130k: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^91992&sortType=1&maxPrice=130000&minBedrooms=1&maxBedrooms=2&retirement=false&displayPropertyType=flats&oldDisplayPropertyType=flats&primaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&radius=5.0&partBuyPartRent=true&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying