First Time Buyer - Ashford? Advice needed

csgohan4

Woolwich isn't exactly the nicest place to live

elverson

Possibly not now, but people used to say that about Brockley and Peckham and now they are very desirable following improvements to the transport links.

If you can get somewhere you like around Abbey Wood or Woolwich you'll have a very easy commute to Canary Wharf come 2018.

xxJudexx

Check out Medway (Rochester, Gillingham, Rainham, Chatham). There are some cheap properties and you can get the coach to Canary Wharf which gives you a guaranteed seat, free wifi etc. Much nicer than taking the train!

csgohan4

be careful about Medway/ Gillingham area, also not a nice place to live

cashbackproblems

Hey I worked in CW and had the same dilemma. For 280k for a 2 bed you will struggle for something close by and commutable, however I think the commute is massive from Ashford and even Victoria to CW is a trek.


I initially started looking in east London, now 300k will probably get a 2 bed somewhere like Dagenham which is up and coming but still not desiarable, also parts of South East London e.g. Grove Part, Woolwich etc, but your budget you will struggle. Maybe consider a 1 bed.


I in the end went for Bromley/Shortlands, I paid 340k for a 2 bed, and the commute is 25min to Victoria or 16min to Brixton/Elephant and castle.


Most of all I would not go for a new build, they are expensive, poor contructed and when the shine wears off you don't end up with much. Mine needed a lot of cosmetic work, but its easy to hire a contractor to do it all.

elverson

xxJudexx wrote: »

Check out Medway (Rochester, Gillingham, Rainham, Chatham). There are some cheap properties and you can get the coach to Canary Wharf which gives you a guaranteed seat, free wifi etc. Much nicer than taking the train!

The coach takes ages though.

Running_Horse

csgohan4 wrote: »

be careful about Medway/ Gillingham area, also not a nice place to live

Agreed. Most of Rochester is OK. Much of Gillingham is to be avoided. Strood is OK in parts. Modern Chatham is generally better than Victorian areas. I would recommend anyone to visit and get a feel for the area before buying.

Ambition101

Many thanks for your comments and inputs so far!

cashbackproblems - I think you’re right that I will struggle to find something decent close by with my budget, that’s why I’m looking a bit further ideally within an hour’s commute to CW. Even looking at Bromley, Beckenham area, they are all way out of my budget. One colleague of mine just sold her 1 bed flat in Beckenham for £350k!! I think I’ll focus more on Abbeywood, Belvedere, Erith area, the prices of some properties here seems affordable.

cashbackproblems

Ambition101 wrote: »

Many thanks for your comments and inputs so far!

cashbackproblems - I think you’re right that I will struggle to find something decent close by with my budget, that’s why I’m looking a bit further ideally within an hour’s commute to CW. Even looking at Bromley, Beckenham area, they are all way out of my budget. One colleague of mine just sold her 1 bed flat in Beckenham for £350k!! I think I’ll focus more on Abbeywood, Belvedere, Erith area, the prices of some properties here seems affordable.

It must have been some one bed, i was looking around there and two beds go for 350-380k near the station, but this was slightly above my budget so went one stop away into bromley. Beckenham also has a certain type of person living there

For bromley north/south maybe out your budget unless your further from the station, grove park is cheaper however and prices appear to be falling

Be careful about a door to door commute of over one hour it will get tiresome especially if u work long hours