Advice on areas to buy in London, currently looking at Highams Park and Chingford

Daniel54

Filo25 wrote: »

The whole dynamic out there has changed a lot in recent years from what I can see, looking along those stations on the train line, from what everyone says to me it used to be Walthamstow very much the cheapest, Highams Park next cheapest and Chingford North the most expensive, Chingford and Walthamstow have very much swapped places these days pricewise and Highams Park is pretty similar to Chingford now.

Walthamstow Village is lovely and I would like to live around Lloyd Park but neither are obviously within price range for a house unfortunately, so its off to live out my dotage in the suburbs for me

For the 35 years I've lived in NE London,Walthomstow was a place you moved out of as soon as you could afford it ( unless you lived in the village).It is still an area I prefer to drive through without stopping.

Nothing wrong with Highams Park but I would prefer North Chingford as you are at the start of the train line and nearer the forest.

Buckhurst Hill is maybe a tad cheaper than Woodford as it is zone 5 rather than 4

Personally I prefer the ease and regularity of the tube service so would certainly see what you can get in Buckhurst Hill or the tube station end of Loughton

Filo25

Daniel54 wrote: »

For the 35 years I've lived in NE London,Walthomstow was a place you moved out of as soon as you could afford it ( unless you lived in the village).It is still an area I prefer to drive through without stopping.

Nothing wrong with Highams Park but I would prefer North Chingford as you are at the start of the train line and nearer the forest.

Buckhurst Hill is maybe a tad cheaper than Woodford as it is zone 5 rather than 4

Personally I prefer the ease and regularity of the tube service so would certainly see what you can get in Buckhurst Hill or the tube station end of Loughton

1 take your point entirely on being on the tube rather than train, ad we have some friends moving to Loughton shortly so that would certainly be an interesting area potentially, my only concern is facing the nightmare of the Bank interchange everyday !

Salemicus

I'd suggest Enfield Chase. You'd get the train to Highbury & Islington/Essex Road, she'd get the train to Highbury & Islington then change to the Victoria line. If she moved to Elephant & Castle, she'd keep going and change at Old Street or Bank. Short commutes, nice area, and you can definitely get a 3-bed for £550k.

Filo25

Salemicus wrote: »

I'd suggest Enfield Chase. You'd get the train to Highbury & Islington/Essex Road, she'd get the train to Highbury & Islington then change to the Victoria line. If she moved to Elephant & Castle, she'd keep going and change at Old Street or Bank. Short commutes, nice area, and you can definitely get a 3-bed for £550k.

Are any particular areas in Enfield Chase better than others?

I have to admit the quick train times look attractive on that route, and would basically mean I can ignore the underground altogether for my commute, no change at all for me, and Old Street and Highbury and Islington are both straightforward changes for my wife

Salemicus

As with any part of town, some areas are nicer than others. Broadly speaking, towards Winchmore Hill is nicer, towards Gordon Hill is less nice, towards Highlands school is nice, towards Enfield Town is less nice (except the Gentleman's Row sort of bit, which you can't afford at your prices anyway), but past Enfield Town and towards Bush Hill it gets nicer again. It depends what you want though, and the trade-off between size, niceness, distance to the station, etc. It's hard to describe on a board like this though, so I'd suggest you check out rightmove. Some houses that might be in your budget:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38913900.html - this one is right on Chase Green, very close to the station, nice area, but that's a medium busy road.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38979990.html - right next to the park, nice and quiet, but a longer walk to the station, and I don't know how nice that house looks.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35751081.html - quiet, great for schools, but now you're a mile from the station.

Filo25

Thanks again Salemicus, that is really helpful.

Mrs_pbradley936

Filo25 wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

With regards to moving outside the M25, I would be open to the idea but my wife is unfortunately vehemently opposed!

She likes being able to get home late at night, as with her workplace that is occasionally "required", or in other words once in a while they all go out until the wee small hours of the morning!

To be fair if we were moving out of London our budget would also be smaller as the commuting costs for the 2 of us would probably hit affordability significantly, and I am also wary of how significant future train price rises would be as well.

Good shout on Buckhurst Hill, might be marginal on the commute time (and maybe even budget) but certainly worth a look, would Loughton and Woodford Green out in that direction be worth looking into?

Yes to Loughton, Woodford Green and Epping if you can find anything in your price range. For me a big NO to Debden.

Mrs_pbradley936

Filo25 wrote: »

The whole dynamic out there has changed a lot in recent years from what I can see, looking along those stations on the train line, from what everyone says to me it used to be Walthamstow very much the cheapest, Highams Park next cheapest and Chingford North the most expensive, Chingford and Walthamstow have very much swapped places these days pricewise and Highams Park is pretty similar to Chingford now.

Walthamstow Village is lovely and I would like to live around Lloyd Park but neither are obviously within price range for a house unfortunately, so its off to live out my dotage in the suburbs for me

I used to live in the "poshest" part of Chingford, namely Sewardstonebury. Back then about 40 years ago it was Essex now it has a London E4 postcode. London now seems to go out to the edge of the M25

hazyjo

I live in North Chingford and have previously lived in Highams Park ("HP") so know the areas very well - and most of my nights out locally are in the other areas you mentioned (I went to school in Loughton).


I have also lived south of the river for many years so have a good understanding of Blackheath, Eltham, Westcombe Park...


Yes, I do love North Chingford ("NC"), but I won't be there forever. Leigh-on-Sea will probably be my next move.


Highams Park has gone RIDICULOUSLY expensive and I see houses comparable to mine in NC which are on for way more than I'd even put mine up for. Prices have evened out between the two areas so I am fully expecting NC to take off again once people start moving from HP to the nicer NC. I sold there in 2011 for under £230k and within 3 years it's now worth around £400k. I bought in North Chingford for £275k-ish and it's now worth £450k less than 3 years later.


Prices are still rising. Be careful you don't either get priced out, or pay way over the odds for something as there are some very deluded sellers out there. I heard an EA say they were putting something on in Cavendish Rd, HP for over £600/700k. Just madness.


I moved from Brentwood. Wouldn't go back there if you paid me but others loved it and places like Shenfield might be worth considering as it holds its value well, the new crossrail goes out that way, and the fast train to Liv St / Stratford is pretty good (the slow train from Brentwood is horrendous).


Epping is lovely. Never been mad on Loughton but others love it. Chigwell used to be the pricey one, but that seems to have been somewhat shaded in recent years by the 'TOWIE effect' of other towns. We've actually just had a new bar opened in NC called 'Essex House'. Not my cuppa, as definitely leaning towards the TOWIE crowd. It puts NC on the map I suppose as it's often felt like a poor cousin of other posher places like Buckhurst Hill. Probably also to do with it being London under Waltham Forest council rather than Epping Forest (or Redbridge).


Wanstead has always had a good reputation and been desirable. Maybe another for the list (if not already). Pricey though.


Shout if there's something specific you want answered. I've added an alert now so shouldn't miss anything.


Jx

hazyjo

PS I have a friend in Enfield who agrees EN2 is fine but would disregard anything else