Is it a good idea to buy in Croydon?

Dlwrma92

Hi everyone,

First post on the forum but here goes.

My sister and I are currently looking to buy a flat within the budget of 400k. As it’s not a huge budget and where we live is very expensive we were thinking of buying in east croydon. We’re thinking this is a good idea because of the transport links and would prefer this than moving further away from central London. 

However, dad is convinced that Croydon is not a good option because of the recent bankruptcy of the council. He thinks house/flat prices are set to go nowhere. He is telling us to buy nearer where we live with help to buy, however I’m not a fan of this idea as I heard a lot of HTB houses have a premium and therefore end up in negative equity. 

Any advice would be really appreciated. 

Thanks,
A

zagubov

Without knowing where you are now, we can't say whether this is a worthwhile move.

East Croydon's got great transport connections. Are you familiar with the area?

Noise levels. crime rates can be checked by visits and online searches.


I'm not sure that the current crisis makes living in flats in crowded parts of the city quite as desirable as in the past.
I
t might well be smarter to have a house with a garden or a yard you can sit outside in, even though in London, we know it'll be a small outdoor space.

A lot of Londoners have re-evaluated what they need to live in.  Flats in crowded areas possibly aren't meeting everyone's needs now.

Slithery

I'd always highly recommend not buying property jointly with family at all. There are so many ways it can go wrong.

Dlwrma92

Slithery said:

I'd always highly recommend not buying property jointly with family at all. There are so many ways it can go wrong.

Yeah I understand this but neither of us are able to buy a house with one income I’m afraid  

Dlwrma92

@zagubov

We currently live near Kingston upon thames which is a much nicer area and so house prices are crazy expensive. 

Totally agree with you of course we would visit the area a lot more when we start to look for a place. 

NameUnavailable

£400K will buy you a house in Croydon - East Croydon/Addiscombe and South Croydon to Purley.

The town centre is a bit of a disaster at the moment with the demise of the long planned Westfield redevelopment, yet they are building numerous new blocks of flats currently. All those people without much of a town centre to go to - it will no doubt be improved in time but they are re-evaluating the whole idea for the shopping centre given the change in our shopping habits.

The good thing is that you're 20 minutes to Victoria from East Croydon, or 50 minutes from Brighton. You are also on the fringes of some lovely countryside.

Compared to most outer London suburbs Croydon is relatively cheap so IMHO it can only go up, but it may not happen for a while yet.

bouicca21

Croydon, as in the London Borough of, comprises a number of widely differing localities.  Addiscombe is one thing, West Croydon totally another.  You would need to explore.

Actually your budget would get you a 2 bed flat in quite a large swathe of south east London.  Think hard about what sort of area you want to live in.  Quiet or buzzing? Restaurants, green space, nightclubs, diverse population, good shops, trendy or staid?  And where do you have to commute to, what will the journey be like?  Do you need or want outdoor space, if so is a balcony enough?

Dlwrma92

We work in London so would prefer somewhere where its relatively close (right now where we live it’s about a 25 min train ride). We were also looking near wandsworth town station but seems to be quite expensive. 

In terms of what we need. Would be good to have a few coffee shops and restaurants but no need for clubbing or anything like that. Just the main highstreet shops would be nice. Outdoor space isn’t really necessary for us. Why we are looking to buy a flat. 

Windofchange

Dlwrma92 said:

We work in London so would prefer somewhere where its relatively close (right now where we live it’s about a 25 min train ride). We were also looking near wandsworth town station but seems to be quite expensive. 

In terms of what we need. Would be good to have a few coffee shops and restaurants but no need for clubbing or anything like that. Just the main highstreet shops would be nice. Outdoor space isn’t really necessary for us. Why we are looking to buy a flat. 

I know the area incredibly well having grown up there and can give a thumbs up with a few caveats. Croydon I think suffers from an image problem in terms of it being one of those places everyone loves to dig at. As with any large town there are good bits and bad bits, and in my opinion the good far outweighs the bad. If you look at Addiscombe, Shirley, and the parts around east Croydon they are lovely. Lots of green space, nice quiet neighbourhoods and usually within a walk or quick tram / bus / bike ride to east Croydon which will get you to Clapham junction in 8 mins and Victoria in 15 -20. Your budget will get you a lovely 2/3 bed flat in these areas, and may stretch to a small 80 square metre or so house. There is a lot of development currently going up around east Croydon and with the box park there and London south bank uni settting up a campus it is buzzing with younger student and office types. I think your dad is way wide of the mark to say that nothing is happening - there is are cranes and building sites everywhere. 

As for the bad, avoid anywhere around west Croydon / mayday hospital. There are some rough parts of the borough too around places like Thornton heath and then out to the new addington estates, but your budget will allow you to dodge all this. As a previous poster has alluded to, the town centre is a bit of a mess currently with the falling through of Westfield and a bit of a what is going to happen next vibe. The Whitgift centre is showing its age and what was once a modern place is now full of discount baggage shops and pop up nail salons etc. What used to be Alders is now just a big wasteland and the whole thing just needs bulldozing which I think will happen in the coming years, but just not anytime soon with the council issues. 

In terms of bankruptcy, well I doubt that’s going to have much impact in reality. The council can’t fail as it were and will be / has been given money from central government. So it’s not as if your bin collection is going to suddenly stop or the hospital shut down. In terms of property prices, I’d suggest you / your dad are looking at this the wrong way anyway. Buy somewhere to live first and foremost and then if it goes up in price well good for you. Would you rather be in a cramped two bed new build with your sister in a box room, or in a much larger house? You are also going to pay a premium for any help to buy new build which will immediately put you in negative equity. If you have the money for a deposit and access to a mortgage then stay away from help to buy is my advice as you will pay through the nose for a new property. 

In short, buy around east Croydon / Addiscombe / Shirley / south Croydon. Avoid west Croydon / anywhere close to the hospital / new addington. 

bouicca21

Outdoor space has become a major desirable after WFH, so flats without it are more difficult to sell.  Possible bargains - but if outdoor space becomes a permanent desirable then maybe more difficult to sell in the future.

some examples of what £400k would get elsewhere in SE London - they have very different vibes 

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/83288664#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/79840539#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118084538#/?channel=RES_BUY

Dlwrma92

Thank you both for such detailed answers really appreciated. I don’t think we would be selling anytime soon after we buy so I’m not too concerned about house prices falling in the short term. But you are right it’s more important to like the place first. Thanks again everyone! I will have a think about all the factors mentioned.