Leasehold in Lower Sydenham , Freehold in Woolwich Arsenal or stay put ?

AngieAnn

Hello,

I am new to the forum and would truly appreciate your views

We are a first buyer couple and now is the time when we can start looking to buy a house in London ( where we both work)

The question is, should we buy one of the new flats which are all leasehold properties, like a brand new flat next to lower sydenham station (near Beckenham) ?

Or should we instead buy a freehold house in a place where we can afford (not many). For example near Woolwich Arsenal which is getting the crossrail soon?

Or since we are going to put every penny we have into this property we should wait out the political uncertainty and keep renting ?

Angie

Doozergirl

Have you been to look at those places?

I know that London is gradually gentrifying but when we were in exactly the same position 16 years ago, we genuinely got a speeding ticket leaving the Woolwich area. We didn't even stop to look at any of the properties we'd earmarked.

We bought a fabulous garden flat near the bottom of Crystal Palace Park and enjoyed everything that Beckenham and Crystal Palace had to offer.

Doozergirl

...and the great big Sainsburys, although we did dump our full trolley one Christmas as the queues were too long to bear

AFF8879

To be honest, the Woolwich house would probably offer a better long term return than a new build in a Sydenham but investment should not really be the primary factor as FTB owner-occupiers. Sydenham is a FAR nicer area. I would say that it's wise to buy a place you can grow into, if you plan on starting a family, but the flipside of course is the area you would want to bring children up, should you choose to have any.

Have you considered buying an existing (i.e. not a new build) property in Sydenham? I bought in Bow last year, and was originally looking at buying off plan. Then I realised that as well as generally being cheaper, older properties have far more generous proportions, storage, separate kitchen (none of this squeezing a few kitchen units in the lounge and calling it "open plan"), parking etc... you could buy a much bigger property and then spend money on doing it up as and when you can afford it. That's the approach I took and I'm so glad I didn't go for the new build in the end!

Good luck whatever you decide - buying your first home is a daunting prospect but so worth it once you're settled.

hazyjo

Doozergirl wrote: »

Have you been to look at those places?

I know that London is gradually gentrifying but when we were in exactly the same position 16 years ago, we genuinely got a speeding ticket leaving the Woolwich area. We didn't even stop to look at any of the properties we'd earmarked.

We bought a fabulous garden flat near the bottom of Crystal Palace Park and enjoyed everything that Beckenham and Crystal Palace had to offer.

Agree with all this - although it's been a while since I've been. Used to live in Blackheath and in Westcombe Park. They were talking of 'gentrifying' Woolwich and how wonderful it was going to be with all these conversions/new flats, but as far as I know it has just never really got there.


I have a friend in Gypsy Hill/Crystal Palace/Upper Norwood (they all seem to blend into one! Doozergirl would prob know which it'd be - although my friend does label it 'Upper Norwood' which was possibly the more desirable part when she bought - it's prob evened out now). She's been there years and really likes it.


What's the budget (if you don't mind sharing)?


Jx

bouicca21

In terms of investment, it is possible that the arrival of Crossrail will push prices up in Woolwich - as they would in Abbey Wood.

Woolwich is a very weird area - it has ghastly council estates as well as the now posh Arsenal developments. Personally I can't stand that kind of contrast. If I were looking at that kind of area I'd rather look at Abbey Wood than Woolwich.

Worth remembering that the current consultation on rail services is suggesting that trains on those lines might only have a single London destination rather than the current service which goes to Charing Cross, Cannon Street or Victoria.

And in any case I'd choose the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, Beckenham area over Woolwich any day (and did).

But that is a personal preference - what are your preferences? Gambling on property prices? Somewhere family friendly? Transport connections? Retail heaven? Clubbing?

Budget? Number of bedrooms needed? Size of rooms? Maintenance free or character older property?

Doozergirl

All of SE19 is Upper Norwood. Crystal Palace is an affectionate name for the triangle by the palace site with the shops and restaurants, Gypsy Hill is a road. CP and GH have stations, Upper Norwood does not.

hazyjo

Doozergirl wrote: »

All of SE19 is Upper Norwood. Crystal Palace is an affectionate name for the triangle by the palace site with the shops and restaurants, Gypsy Hill is a road. CP and GH have stations, Upper Norwood does not.

Upper Norwood it is then Ta for clarifying!

bouicca21

It just occurred to me that a 'brand new flat' close to Lower Sydenham station is likely to be the Dylon development. They are amazingly expensive, and the area isn't great, so if you have that kind of money you really do have a lot more choice than you seem to think.

elverson

I was round there yesterday, doesn't seem to be much in terms of amenities except the station.

always_sunny

it depends how much; the flats in Lower Sydenham are hugely overpriced!
Bear in mind that if you commute into the city, the trains from there are usually always packed, give it a go one morning and there isn't really much around there.

Re political situation, toss a coin to decide, might be as accurate.
Do you plan to emigrate soon in case it goes to pot?