Where in North London/ Home Counties could I afford on a budget of £300-£325k?

Poppie90

Hi,

Where in North London or south Hertfordshire/Buckinghamshire could I afford to buy for somewhere between £300-£325,000. I need to be in this area due to work commitments and I am looking for somewhere that is either a one or two bed. I do not live in this area (currently four hours away!) and would be moving due to work and would like to visit some places to see if I like the area? My main concern is that the area is safe and is well connect by public transport and road links.

Thank you!

  

GeordieGeorge

Hertford would work.

ratechaser

TBH, for that budget, there won't be many places in Hertfordshire out of reach for a 2 bed flat (and there will be a few options for a 2 bed house as well if of interest).

Where exactly would you be working as I think you'll have some flexibility here?

Sunsaru

You could try Welwyn Garden City or slight further north (and cheaper) is Stevenage.

Both have good links to London via the A1M and you can get Intercity's from Stevenage.

Hertford also has decent train links and th A10 goes straight into central London.

Poppie90

ratechaser said:

TBH, for that budget, there won't be many places in Hertfordshire out of reach for a 2 bed flat (and there will be a few options for a 2 bed house as well if of interest).

Where exactly would you be working as I think you'll have some flexibility here?

Thank you for the reply, I'll be working in central London and partner is working in North Hertfordshire so ideally we are hoping for somewhere between these too. We are young so I would like it to be quite vibrant but I understand we don't have a huge budget so for me that would be a preference rather than a requirement 

getmore4less

Staring with bucks  you have train and road links into various bits of north London.

M40 across to A41 with the Chiltern line out to Aylesbury via Amersham or high Wycombe  trains a bit slow ~1hr out to Aylesbury.

The other side of the A41 round to the M1 with decent links out to places like Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes  


partner is working in North Hertfordshire

how far north and east as that could rule out most of bucks,  you can add Beds if north enough

Sunsaru

Poppie90 said:

ratechaser said:

TBH, for that budget, there won't be many places in Hertfordshire out of reach for a 2 bed flat (and there will be a few options for a 2 bed house as well if of interest).

Where exactly would you be working as I think you'll have some flexibility here?

Thank you for the reply, I'll be working in central London and partner is working in North Hertfordshire so ideally we are hoping for somewhere between these too. We are young so I would like it to be quite vibrant but I understand we don't have a huge budget so for me that would be a preference rather than a requirement 

In that case Stevenage might be your best bet then.

Owleyes00

Or Letchworth. It’s a bit nicer than Stevenage. (Hertfordshire born and bred here)

Hertford itself is incredibly expensive

Hall Mead, Letchworth Garden City, SG6

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property/105906983

Salemicus

You could also try Enfield. The train line runs from there out to Hertfordshire, and in to central London. For your budget, you can buy a 2-bed flat in the nicer parts, and it's more vibrant than Stevenage/Hertford/etc.

gingercordial

We recently moved to High Barnet, last stop on the Northern Line.  We're in London as far as the boroughs go but also often comes up as Hertfordshire in address databases.  Great local high street and nice pubs, countryside the other way.

There are some two bed flats for sale around here for £325k, eg this one which has been reduced from £350k.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/97125155#/

And a fair few one beds.

Or I think New Barnet is a bit cheaper, which has a mainline station on the Welwyn GC - Moorgate line.

ratechaser

Welwyn Garden City for me then... (not that I'm biased or anything  ) - you've got a fast rail link that will get you to the northern point of Herts (or Scotland for that matter), and also to Kings Cross in about 25 minutes. Which incidentally is about the same time it used to take me on the slower trains when living in Enfield (which I hear has gone downhill somewhat since I last lived there). Plus it's the end of the line for the suburban trains into Moorgate, so there's the benefit of ALWAYS getting a seat...

Parts of Stevenage are ok, old town and Chells for example, but the good bits are typically not walkable to the station. And I'd steer clear of Hatfield.

WGC has got quite a lot of development going on, so there's a good supply of 1/2 bed flats well within your range, in the centre of town - lots of these are nicely done conversions of older buildings above the shops. Plus it has the required middle class features of JL and Waitrose (god, I'm probably showing my age now). And lots of green space, which frankly is what everyone will be clamouring for in the post-pandemic world.

Is it perfect - no, I'd like a few more independent shops (we do have a Turkish restaurant now and another new lounge bar opening soon that looks interesting), and the local shopping centre needs a makeover. The best pub is a bit out of the town centre (a nice walk though!). But it's a growing town and my bet is that more places will open. Take a look on rightmove and see if there is anything you like. AL8 is the better post code / better side of the railway tracks, but there's nothing that I would call grotty in walking distance of the station...