Good locations for ftbs in London

tbo127

Any advice on where to look for first time buyers?  Everywhere in London that’s half decent seems to cost at least 300k for a 1 bed flat. And currently when you include council tax, utility bills, mortgage, travel etc you end up paying around £2000 per month for it even with a 25-30% deposit.  

lika_86

Welcome to London. What do you actually want from a property? More space? Lower price? What is your budget? Where do you need to be or get to? What is your tolerance for travelling in? 

DullGreyGuy

What's your budget? 
Presumably you work or study in London so where do you want to commute to?
Any broad preference for east, west, north etc?
How far out are you willing to go?

London's expensive so either you have to go further out or accept other compromises. 

tbo127

Broad preference for North or west london and I commute to west london on the tube and Elizabeth line. 

I’m not actually sure how to work out the best budget. How much money should I have left over after paying for mortgage, transport and bills every month? I want to actually enjoy london and go out a few times a week and on the weekends. 

lika_86

tbo127 said:

Broad preference for North or west london and I commute to west london on the tube and Elizabeth line. 

I’m not actually sure how to work out the best budget. How much money should I have left over after paying for mortgage, transport and bills every month? I want to actually enjoy london and go out a few times a week and on the weekends. 

Are you Ybe who periodically posts about how much money is required to live in London and maintain an active social life? You've posted about the same development too.

Assuming so, you've received a lot of advice in past threads about the cost of London life but seem to want a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget. I'd say £2k all in for living costs isn't unreasonable for London at all. 

Most people have an idea of how much they can/want to realistically spend on living costs taking into account their salaries and then look at areas accordingly based on what they want from a property, working further away from Central London if they need/want more for their money.

tbo127

lika_86 said:

tbo127 said:

Broad preference for North or west london and I commute to west london on the tube and Elizabeth line. 

I’m not actually sure how to work out the best budget. How much money should I have left over after paying for mortgage, transport and bills every month? I want to actually enjoy london and go out a few times a week and on the weekends. 

Are you Ybe who periodically posts about how much money is required to live in London and maintain an active social life? You've posted about the same development too.

Assuming so, you've received a lot of advice in past threads about the cost of London life but seem to want a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget. I'd say £2k all in for living costs isn't unreasonable for London at all. 

Most people have an idea of how much they can/want to realistically spend on living costs taking into account their salaries and then look at areas accordingly based on what they want from a property, working further away from Central London if they need/want more for their money.

What’s ybe? Also, further away where? 

arthurdick

What is your budget?
Would you consider a doer-upper?
Would you mind living in a rougher area?
Do you need outside space?
A long lease ,low service charges and ground rent?
Do you need bigger than a 1 bed flat?
Is £300k out of your league?
How old are you? only asking because if you are at least 60 and you end up living in a  London borough, you can get a 60+ Oyster Photocard for free travel on bus,tube,tram,DLR,and train most after 9A.M, trains after 9:30A.M.  Me and the missus both have one and we save at least £3500  each per year on travel.

zagubov

arthurdick said:

What is your budget?
Would you consider a doer-upper?
Would you mind living in a rougher area?
Do you need outside space?
A long lease ,low service charges and ground rent?
Do you need bigger than a 1 bed flat?
Is £300k out of your league?
How old are you? only asking because if you are at least 60 and you end up living in a  London borough, you can get a 60+ Oyster Photocard for free travel on bus,tube,tram,DLR,and train most after 9A.M, trains after 9:30A.M.  Me and the missus both have one and we save at least £3500  each per year on travel.

Transport's really well organised here. You can track buses in real time here and tube trains here plus apps like citymapper work well n London.
Much of the discussions on this site seem to suggest that south east is where the best locations for first buyers are likely to be found.