Buy a flat in London now or wait?

RoisinDove

Windofchange said:

For some people there will never be a good time to buy - will forever say just wait a year, wait another and so on. You're not looking to flip something in 6 months so can sit out any drops in prices. Realistically, what are you going to know in a year that you don't know now? It's not like if a fall comes it will happen overnight, it will take many years to slowly creep down. If you find somewhere you like and you can afford it then 100% buy. There is plenty of value still around the outer zones of London, and plenty of places like Croydon, Bromley etc have fast trains straight into Central London. Not sure what extra value you will get in Brighton - from why I understand prices are pretty much London minus maybe 5% and a stick of rock? 

I guess I'm also considering quality of life - if I'm buying far out enough of London that going into central often is a headache, then I'd prefer to be somewhere which had a thriving social scene in its own right, which is why I thought Brighton might work. I'd have pubs, restaurants, social stuff going on a short walk from my home while still being able to go into London fairly easily once or twice a week for work and other stuff. Plus being on the coast would be really nice. It's just an idea, really. I hadn't really considered Bromley before but it looks nice - will take a look at what's there. 

RoisinDove

Poster_586329 said:

I'd snap this one up!:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73745835#/

Lovely area, top floor, share of freehold.    Close to a great park.   And lots of young professionals in the area.

Or look for something similar around SE London where there might still be a bit of value on the edges of zone 2 and into zone 3.   For example around Crystal Palace:
 
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^70306&maxBedrooms=1&minBedrooms=1&maxPrice=280000&propertyTypes=&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=newHome,retirement,sharedOwnership&furnishTypes=&keywords=

Yeah, I've been looking at Crystal Palace. Seems like one of the few places I could get a flat that's actually nice AND in a decent area with good transport links. I don't know the area well but would happily live in some of those properties...perhaps I should go and take a look at a few. 

fewcloudy

RoisinDove said:

Poster_586329 said:

I'd snap this one up!:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73745835#/

Lovely area, top floor, share of freehold.    Close to a great park.   And lots of young professionals in the area.

Or look for something similar around SE London where there might still be a bit of value on the edges of zone 2 and into zone 3.   For example around Crystal Palace:
 
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^70306&maxBedrooms=1&minBedrooms=1&maxPrice=280000&propertyTypes=&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=newHome,retirement,sharedOwnership&furnishTypes=&keywords=

Yeah, I've been looking at Crystal Palace. Seems like one of the few places I could get a flat that's actually nice AND in a decent area with good transport links. I don't know the area well but would happily live in some of those properties...perhaps I should go and take a look at a few. 

Perhaps you should!! No I’m just teasing, but this sounds like a good time to do a bit of research from what you have said. Your plans have potentially been brought forward by pandemic, maybe, maybe not. 

But you need to bring your A game to do this right.
Spend time on this board, and the Morgages and Endowments board. Just reading lots of threads, gaining knowledge.
Viewings to narrow down areas and really see what’s out there (or not) on your budget.
Set timescales or this could drift. Just my thoughts, others may think differently.

[Deleted User]

Good luck with your search! 

 I really like Crystal Palace, it's like the poor man's Hampstead!  So still very nice!

Alan2020

RoisinDove said:

Alan2020 said:

Well done on saving and a great pay.  Personally I would not buy a property in London for £280K, you will hate it.
Where do you work in London, then find commutable zone or our of London and buy a freehold house.
Make sure you buy at a minimum 2 double bed, Garden and parking.
You will be better off doubling your efforts in meeting a partner, say if they earn a similar amount then you can sell your house and buy a normal house in London.
Just like anything in life, if you don't put a lot of effort, you won't get a partner, so keep doing that as well.

Thanks for your reply. I see what you mean, but relationships aren't things you can just get in return for effort, like with most other things. Sometimes the harder you 'try', the worse the situation gets. I think people can sniff out desperation and it leads to very bad places. I almost ended up buying with my ex who turned out to be abusive (I left once it became really apparent), and that would have been much worse than any scenario buying alone, I think  

I work quite centrally in London, but won't need to be in every day. Maybe as little as once a week would be OK. The thing is that I don't want to be stuck in a distant suburb with poor transport links or in a small town, as this will be really isolating and make it even harder to meet people. That's why I thought it might be better to just buy a one-bedroom flat somewhere in zone 2 or 3. Is that a really bad idea? My family are saying it will be much easier to rent out a small flat in London proper than a place way out in a commuter town or the countryside.

I know exactly what you mean. 

Look at it this way,
1. Where do you want to be in life in the next 5-10 years. Want to have kids? Then buy a house with a garden in a nice place. You want to party all night and eat takeaways, buy a small flat in a dirty town centre. You can think of other scenarios.
2. It’s highly unlikely you will meet a partner who wants to have kids with in central London but more likely meet a party animal- I am looking at this with your age group.
3. Most people meet their lifelong partners via online dating, mutual interests etc So think very carefully where you want to be.
4. An ex council flat in kenington can be bought, it comes with the risk of huge bills from the council for repairs etc, the real danger of getting killed in a drill music style gangland war.
5. If you have your £280k studio in a Kennington or Lewisham what are the chances you can have kids (assuming you want this) and think of the other half who would want to. On the other hand if you lived in leafy surrey or elsewhere you might meet your perfect match and continue with your life, moving only as you grow.

my view on meeting a partner is you meet someone who is very much like you when you get older (18 year olds have a different life these days) so be that person who you want to be and don’t be pushed by peer pressure. This way you attract a like minded person :-)

FTB_Help

Im a few years younger than you Rosie.

Me and my fiance are really lucky to be earning fairly well so are able to stay in London (i grew up in Hackney, he grew up in upton park - both areas were horrible 25+ yrs ago) but we both love London and are buying in London (zone 3).

I really cant see myself wanting to leave the city but i see what some posters mean about having kids grow up in certain areas (Kennington isnt the nicest but hey, me and my fiance grew up in similar areas and we turnt out ok!)

There's lots of places in London that arent terrible such as Bermondsey (nx door to London bridge) which is affordable for you.

In terms of meeting someone, maybe you'll get a bigger chance in London as it is a bigger city, not everyone our age are party animals and anyone who assume otherwise probably don't know London well or a much older generation thinking.

People telling you to buy a family home now outside of London, doesn't quiet make sense to me, you've not met a partner yet and family homes are probably best picked out together in an area you both like.

Plus i def recommended you staying near friends/ family.

Most people our age living in London now do want to settle down and raise kids here, not just eat take aways and party!

Jump on a bus during the weekend and visit different parts of London to explore different areas, some may pleasantly surprise you.

Alan2020

FTB_Help said:

Im a few years younger than you Rosie.

Me and my fiance are really lucky to be earning fairly well so are able to stay in London (i grew up in Hackney, he grew up in upton park - both areas were horrible 25+ yrs ago) but we both love London and are buying in London (zone 3).

I really cant see myself wanting to leave the city but i see what some posters mean about having kids grow up in certain areas (Kennington isnt the nicest but hey, me and my fiance grew up in similar areas and we turnt out ok!)

There's lots of places in London that arent terrible such as Bermondsey (nx door to London bridge) which is affordable for you.

In terms of meeting someone, maybe you'll get a bigger chance in London as it is a bigger city, not everyone our age are party animals and anyone who assume otherwise probably don't know London well or a much older generation thinking.

People telling you to buy a family home now outside of London, doesn't quiet make sense to me, you've not met a partner yet and family homes are probably best picked out together in an area you both like.

Plus i def recommended you staying near friends/ family.

Most people our age living in London now do want to settle down and raise kids here, not just eat take aways and party!

Jump on a bus during the weekend and visit different parts of London to explore different areas, some may pleasantly surprise you.

Sorry I wasn’t trying to say everyone a certain age is partying etc 
To clarify I do live in London, but unlike the OP we are really fortunate to live in a detached house in probably one of the most desirable family areas and afford private education for our child.
But life wasn’t always like this and trying to meet the right person and being in London I slowly realised whilst there are loads of people in London, people were under pressure and had different priorities.

Moved to Kent, bought a detached house had a couple of longer term relationships then, met my wife and we moved back into London before our child was born. 

I have a lot of friends still trying to meet someone to settle down but cannot find people  easily, I just think London attracts a different sort of person, so despite the numbers ratios of people who want to settle down are really low.
I tell this from a mans point of view, when I had an exclusive waterside apartment girls I met were interested in short term fun and partying, when I had a detached house in Kent, the girls I met wanted long term relationships and kids. I just don’t believe it’s a random coincidence! Even my female friends who bought family homes have kids and all settled down. The friends in apartments in the city are still complaining how hard it is to meet a person.

zagubov

I once read one of Danny Dorling's books on social geography in Britain.
IIRC, the ratio of single men to women varied across the UK so that London was the easiest place for a man to find a single woman, and towns and cities in the rest of the UK were the easiest place for women to find single men.

On a more serious note, I can't see houses in London losing serious value in the near future. I'd agree with a small home in a nice area. You just don't get much for your money here. Your pay might be better here than if you had work elsewhere but it's never enough to compensate for the modest quality of life that money can buy you here, especially on one income.

hazyjo

Hell. I just lost a massive post about Leigh-on-Sea. Damn.

Picked out some flats too.

Damn. I'd actually been saving it too as I already lot it once before. Just copied a property link, and boom. It refreshed again. Grrr.

I'll give you a short version. It's lovely here. Smaller than Brighton. Nearer to London. We have everything. Festivals, fishing town (no kiss-me-quick or slot machines!). Can only see prices going one way - and they're already steep. Trains 43-49 mins (usually) into the City. Still a good place to put your money I'd say, especially with people wanting to leave London.

These say pretty much what I was saying. Not going to copy/paste the properties again But if you are interested and want help, give us a shout. I'd look south of A13, and near to either Leigh-on-Sea or Chalkwell stations.

https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/leigh-sea-seaside-town-become-3366679

https://www.c2c-online.co.uk/destinations-offers/destination-guides/leigh-on-sea/

[Deleted User]

Do your family have any experience of letting properties in England?