South london area advice

hazyjo

Do you know the lease length? Mind you, it's 'share of freehold' so hopefully easier and cheaper to extend.

Doozergirl

Only just been reduced and screams of 'developed' so maybe just overpriced?  

Lease length is usually the bell ringer but it says SOF.  Worth checking that the lease has been extended though as the lease does still exist.  

I lived two roads away, 26 years ago. 😬  Selhurst Park is an issue for some but back then as long as you didn't plan to drive anywhere on match days, it was okay. 

MysteryMe

Wouldn't know if the "price is right" but assuming it's not a case of simply being  overpriced perhaps there is expensive maintenance coming up?  The other unknown is lease length but as hazyjo says it's share of freehold. Best way to find out is go and have a look and ask questions.

Tiglet2

This is what is says under Property Details:

Further details

• Tenure:  Leasehold plus share of freehold
• Lease expires:  Jan 2987
• Ground rent:  None
• Service charge:  None
• Stamp Duty. £6,250
• Council tax:
• Local authority:  Croydon
• Total Sq Ft:  533 (49 Sq M) approx.
• Reference:  11335242

Lease details, service charges, ground rent (where applicable) and council tax are given as a guide only and should be checked and confirmed by your Solicitor prior to exchange of contracts.

All looks good so far.  OP should check how maintenance of the building is arranged, for example do the other leaseholders put money into a sinking fund, do they pay for works as and when they crop up, or is each leaseholder responsible for 'their' part of the building.  How are the common parts managed?  

Helplesssheep

Thanks all for the comments! Will check out the lease, but wanted to check I wasn’t missing something glaringly obvious beyond price! Let’s see…

Bigwheels1111

South Norwood ok, you need to live below the high street for less traffic due to football ground. I’ve lived in 4 places above the high street and 3 below, A terraced house in Estcourt road Se254sa even numbers have large long gardens.
Major issue above the high street is parking.
All the places you have listed are major traffic hot spots, I’ve lived and cabbed around them all.
Will you be driving to work every day, if so which direction.

Helplesssheep

Bigwheels1111 said:

South Norwood ok, you need to live below the high street for less traffic due to football ground. I’ve lived in 4 places above the high street and 3 below, A terraced house in Estcourt road Se254sa even numbers have large long gardens.
Major issue above the high street is parking.
All the places you have listed are major traffic hot spots, I’ve lived and cabbed around them all.
Will you be driving to work every day, if so which direction.

No won't be driving and won't get my own car, only driving consideration is for deliveries, if friends/family visit, and occasionally if I hire a car to drive further afield.

7sefton

I’d consider West Norwood - I lived there for 6 years until recently and never thought it was rough. Good train links, Picturehouse cinema, monthly farmers market, green spaces and close to Dulwich. Just sold my 2 bed flat for £275k to a happy First time buyer. 

badatDIY

Helplesssheep said:

Hello, I am looking to buy a 2 bed in London with some outdoor space. Budget is around 300k, could be pushed a bit higher.

Quite a few places coming up in my budget are in areas like Thornton Heath, Selhurst, South Norwood, Grove Park and Mottingham. I do know SE London well, but not these areas.

Does anyone have advice on these areas? I’ve read Thornton Heath is a bit rough, but is that outdated information? 

Thanks! 

I recently moved to South Norwood (Woodside area, which is south of the train station by about 10-15 minutes walking) and despite some snobbery around the area from others (you'll have seen it in this thread - e.g. it being "deprived") I've found it a very friendly, welcoming and relatively safe feeling place.

Now admittedly I am a man and therefore have never really worried about walking around by myself at night anywhere in London (rightly or wrongly, that's a topic for another time), but my partner is a woman and she would say the same about South Norwood - or at least doesn't feel any less safe than other places she has lived in London such as Blackhorse Road (near Walthamstow).

Arguably it's like many South London neighbourhoods - a real diverse mixture of mostly normal folk just getting on with their lives. Sure, there are some characters that hang around on the high street, and Portland Road (big main road that heads south into Woodside) occasionally has some too, but nine times out of ten they aren't interested in some random passerby. I don't particularly like walking around the high street when school has just finished because there are swarms of school kids and they occasionally cause trouble, but again they are mostly uninterested in random passersby. Your mileage may vary, of course.

It's got a lot going for it:
- Great transport links (South Norwood has Overground, Southern and Thameslink - the latter of which can get you to London Bridge in 12 minutes) and if you live towards East Croydon way there are various Tram stops (Woodside, Arena, Harrington Road etc.) that can get you into Croydon quickly - which is also very handy for other trains.
- Lots of green space - South Norwood Country Park is lovely, albeit left to grow wild by the council, and there are other patches of parks including the Lakes (north of the station, around where people were mentioning Crystal Palace football traffic).
- Still relatively affordable as it's not exactly a trendy area
- Some decent pubs, depending on your vibe (Albert Tavern very family friendly, I spend a lot more time in The Portland Arms and Craft Beer Cabin)
- Some good places to eat (Yeha Noha cafe does cocktails and polish food, Cafe 241 good for coffee, cakes etc., Communitea does some great lunch-type stuff, there's a pay what you can cafe at Socco Cheta Hub. There's also a lot of great Caribbean food such as Bluejay Cafe and Carivegan and a fancy cheese shop if that's your bag)
- Cultural spaces - Stanley Halls has some great events on, not necessarily things that interest me specifically but look it up
- Community organisations doing great work - South Norwood Community Kitchen are based in the Socco Cheta Hub, both of which are incredible community resources and show that while there is a fair amount of poverty and hardship in the area, there are also people that care and are trying to make lives better. There's a community festival each year which is quite a large event and a fun day out - not necessarily a reason to move to an area, but just another illustration of the community spirit that exists
- Close to East Croydon (via Tram or otherwise) which has all the bars and shops you could ever need I reckon - much more of a nightlife place than South Norwood

Slight downsides:
- It looks a bit rough around the edges - there's not a huge amount of investment in public space by Croydon Council who are technically bankrupt I think. The streets aren't as leafy as places like Crystal Palace, and there aren't as many shops etc. but enough to give you mostly what you need.
- Aforementioned characters you may see out and about - they don't bother me so much, but some people can find it difficult I guess. Also not exactly different to any other slightly rough around the edges place I've lived in London (i.e. every place I've ever lived) so anywhere in your budget is probably gonna be like that to be honest.
- Southern and Thameslink aren't the most reliable train companies, but when they work they are great

If you have any specific questions about South Norwood, just let me know - as I said only moved here this year but happy to help if I can. There's a local Facebook group - can't post a link but if you search on Google "south norwood net facebook" you will find it - where you can take a look and see what's going on. As with all Facebook groups it probably errs more towards sensationalism when something bad happens and mostly seems to be people giving away furniture, but there's some other chat on there and you could even ask directly what people think of the area if you wanted to.



I don't know a huge amount about the other areas you mention. Other places to consider in Croydon include nearer East Croydon itself (although garden space limited), Addiscombe (mostly houses, but might have some flats - also not as well connected as South Norwood but does have the tram) and South Croydon (again mostly houses I think but might have some flats. Further out, less well connected, but lots of people seem to like it there).