Suggestions for buying 3 Bed House under £ 525,000

Waterlily24

Glad about that lol.

00ec25

SuboJvR wrote: »

I'd also be wary of limiting yourself to Zones 2-6 unless absolutely necessary for cost.

...

It's been quite the eye opener! It's not all about the Zones.

agreed

in OP's position of needing to get to Bank he will need to end up at Waterloo and then take the drain for which he will of course need a zone 1 ticket

The fastest service from Carshalton (07:40) takes 48 minutes. The Drain is 5 minutes plus of course walking time to transit through Waterloo and extra waiting time. An annual season ticket (covering zone 1- 5) will cost £2,248.

In contrast the fastest service from Guildford (07:53) to Waterloo will take 45 minutes but cost £4,324 for a zone 1-6 ticket and OP will struggle to get a 3 bed in a "nice" part of Guildford for his £525k budget and almost impossible to do so within walking distance of the station, so add on a) extra time and b) extra cost of petrol and possibly station parking.

I have a (Pakistani) colleague who lives in Carshalton and he says it is a very nice area to live in with a cosmopolitan tolerance, but that does reflect the fact houses are expensive and thus selects the sort of people living there. Mind you if living in the "posher" part: Carshalton Beeches, the rail line is not direct to Waterloo so journey times are longer and require a change with all the added hassle that entails.

martinsurrey

caronoel wrote: »

In contrast the fastest service from Guildford (07:53) to Waterloo will take 45 minutes but cost £4,324 for a zone 1-6 ticket and OP will struggle to get a 3 bed in a "nice" part of Guildford for his £525k budget and almost impossible to do so within walking distance of the station, so add on a) extra time and b) extra cost of petrol and possibly station parking.

yup,

Guildford is lovely, but £500k will only get you a small 3 bed Terrace within a FAST 15 min walk to the station, with terrible parking at the house.

Any further out, and the drive in will take ages as the traffic is so bad.

Add on the train to Waterloo, and you're over 1h already.

Woking has some potential for the OP, with the speed of the trains you have a larger search area, and more reasonable prices.

BorisThomson

Are you here on a working visa or do you have citizenship/ or indefinite leave to remain? This will greatly affect your mortgage options.

chami1982

BorisThomson wrote: »

Are you here on a working visa or do you have citizenship/ or indefinite leave to remain? This will greatly affect your mortgage options.

I am on a Tier 2 General visa and yes with the restriction there is only 1/2 lender.... my mortgage advisor ran the report and have confirmed 90% LTV with 465K mortgage.

chami1982

martinsurrey wrote: »

yup,

Guildford is lovely, but £500k will only get you a small 3 bed Terrace within a FAST 15 min walk to the station, with terrible parking at the house.

Any further out, and the drive in will take ages as the traffic is so bad.

Add on the train to Waterloo, and you're over 1h already.

Woking has some potential for the OP, with the speed of the trains you have a larger search area, and more reasonable prices.

to add, its not just Zone 2 - 6 as my preference, would also want to be within 15 mile radius of central london... I anticipate few annual visits from my family in India and it should be easy to commute/drive to london on weekends....

chami1982

00ec25 wrote: »

agreed

in OP's position of needing to get to Bank he will need to end up at Waterloo and then take the drain for which he will of course need a zone 1 ticket

The fastest service from Carshalton (07:40) takes 48 minutes. The Drain is 5 minutes plus of course walking time to transit through Waterloo and extra waiting time. An annual season ticket (covering zone 1- 5) will cost £2,248.

In contrast the fastest service from Guildford (07:53) to Waterloo will take 45 minutes but cost £4,324 for a zone 1-6 ticket and OP will struggle to get a 3 bed in a "nice" part of Guildford for his £525k budget and almost impossible to do so within walking distance of the station, so add on a) extra time and b) extra cost of petrol and possibly station parking.

I have a (Pakistani) colleague who lives in Carshalton and he says it is a very nice area to live in with a cosmopolitan tolerance, but that does reflect the fact houses are expensive and thus selects the sort of people living there. Mind you if living in the "posher" part: Carshalton Beeches, the rail line is not direct to Waterloo so journey times are longer and require a change with all the added hassle that entails.

Yes, currently searching on rightmove with search options as Carshalton, Carshalton Beeches, South Sutton, and potentially also Sanderstead, Purley Oaks, South Croydon/East Croydon. this weekend, I saw few properties in Sutton.... Will expand the search based on your suggestions..thanks

SuboJvR

chami1982 wrote: »

to add, its not just Zone 2 - 6 as my preference, would also want to be within 15 mile radius of central london... I anticipate few annual visits from my family in India and it should be easy to commute/drive to london on weekends....

Again, distance and time are not the same. Some trains do 30 mile journeys in the time it takes others to do the 15 miles to Carshalton, because the former don't stop.

Although it gives you a lot more to think about do try and open your mind a little to the wider area. It's not just about how close you are to London, if you can afford the increased cost of travel. You may find something closer to a station for instance, with better parking.

On that note though - have a look at Ewell; Ewell West is about 35 mins to Waterloo, Stoneleigh is slightly closer, Worcester Park also already mentioned. Loads of 3 bed houses in the area but any second bathrooms will probably be additions. Ewell East is on the line to Victoria though and does take longer. Good schools in the area, including nearby grammars for secondary schools

00ec25

SuboJvR wrote: »

a look at Ewell; Ewell West is about 35 mins to Waterloo, Stoneleigh is slightly closer, Worcester Park also already mentioned. Loads of 3 bed houses in the area but any second bathrooms will probably be additions. Ewell East is on the line to Victoria though and does take longer. Good schools in the area, including nearby grammars for secondary schools

agreed, Ewell is a very viable alternative and a good place to live with the advantage of being suburban rather than the city feel of Croydon where you'll get the extra traffic, noise and crowding that a city brings.

Running_Horse

justme111 wrote: »

Do not be fooled by "outstanding" classification of a school. I actually would AVOID ones that are classed as such. My daughter just finished primary and my partner has been in primary education on various positions for the last 30 years just to give you a background to my opinion.

Strongly agree, as I posted elsewhere recently. Parental attention is worth more than an Ofsted rating. We have found being within safe walking distance of a primary school to be a bonus as well.