How to decide area to buy a flat in London?

Zoe02

On Rightmove you can put your budget and criteria in to see the types of flats you can get for 450k

Visiting the area might help or speaking to neighbors to get a feel of the area.

Closer to zone 1 will get less space for your money, might be worth considering zone 2-4.

I am invested in Woolwich, Abbey wood, Belvedere, and Bexleyheath.

For me what i look for is potential, how close to the station,and property having a garden but you will have your nice to have criteria and must haves.

You currently work in Liverpool street now but in 2/5/10 years might be working at another location but a property close to a a station helps. 

for example Woolwich Arsenal to Liverpool street on the Elizabeth line is 4 stops 15 minutes. 

Bexleyheath about 38 minutes from Liverpool street on the Southeastern and Elizabeth line.

AlexMac

Charlton SE7 is relatively cheapish and adjacent to posher Greenwich and Blackheath to its west ( or Woolwich to the east, which is a bit more downmarket with the exception of the the upmarket walled ghetto of Royal Arsenal) 

In zone 3 with good rail services; my 27 year old granddaughter loves it (an ex Council flat with views across The River, Doclkands and the city); she often commutes to the West End to socialise and Theatre-go

one caution about a flat. The Service Charges. Her flat with  a Council freeholder costs a reasonable £1-1.4k pa. But mates on the riverside opposite saw theirs jack up to around £5kpa. Think how much more mortgage that would pay for if you choose a pricey leasehold flat over a freehold?

 

Nickfirsttimebuyer

@Millsandovis yes I really like Walthamstow and in fact I used to love there for 9 months when I moved to the UK. What I discovered recently though is the Highams Park! I really liked the community feeling and I think commute is great considering that in 23 minutes you're in Liverpool Street. I found some lovely 2 bed/ 2 bath flats for that price and I requested viewings. Has anyone lived in Highams Park? How is it there?

Nickfirsttimebuyer

@annetheman I also love Greenwich & yes I agree with you, transport is not as good as in North East London. I don't think though I need to choose where to live based on the transport alone. I need to like the area mainly. Bermondsea/ Battersea/ Wandsworth lovely but a bit more expensive for me by the looks of it. Tower Hamlets is within my budget however I don't particularly love it. I've lived in Blackwell & Limehouse and they were ok. I'd rather love closer to Victoria Park (hence Bow area) if I was to buy in Tower Hamlets.  Last but not least re the AIRBNBs it is indeed a good option yes!

lika_86

Nickfirsttimebuyer said:

@Millsandovis yes I really like Walthamstow and in fact I used to love there for 9 months when I moved to the UK. What I discovered recently though is the Highams Park! I really liked the community feeling and I think commute is great considering that in 23 minutes you're in Liverpool Street. I found some lovely 2 bed/ 2 bath flats for that price and I requested viewings. Has anyone lived in Highams Park? How is it there?

Haven't lived there but would fully recommend getting up early on a proper working day (Tuesday to Thursday) and doing the commute from there to see what it's like at commuter time. Times always sound decent but if it actually means three trains before you even get on one and then being unable to move once you're on one, a decent commute time can quickly seem much longer. We've been lucky and have always lived at stations where people always get off to either go to work or change to another line so it's rare to have to wait long to get on a train, but even so, there are days when the wait and five stops on the Central Line are very very unpleasant.

EssexHebridean

@lika_86 Central Line time is a whole other dimension though! (Lived in Bethnal Green for 6 months - and got very used to the "2 minutes" to a train on the indicator boards meaning at least 4, and most likely more! )

The commute from Highams Park used to be pretty reasonable but I've no idea what it might be like now - when I did it I only went as far as Walthamstow Central anyway.  

Zoe02

AlexMac said:

Charlton SE7 is relatively cheapish and adjacent to posher Greenwich and Blackheath to its west ( or Woolwich to the east, which is a bit more downmarket with the exception of the the upmarket walled ghetto of Royal Arsenal) 

In zone 3 with good rail services; my 27 year old granddaughter loves it (an ex Council flat with views across The River, Doclkands and the city); she often commutes to the West End to socialise and Theatre-go

one caution about a flat. The Service Charges. Her flat with  a Council freeholder costs a reasonable £1-1.4k pa. But mates on the riverside opposite saw theirs jack up to around £5kpa. Think how much more mortgage that would pay for if you choose a pricey leasehold flat over a freehold?

 

Yeah Charlton, Blackheath nicer than Woolwich but only train line. Woolwich has Train, DLR and Elizabeth line.

Depends what is important to OP.

amanda_p

I used to live in Highams Park when I was a child. In my opinion so much nicer than Walthamstow. Lots of green spaces, Epping Forest, Highams Park Lake. It has obviously changed over time as has Walthamstow. I find it difficult to believe the hype over Walthamstow, it is crowded, noisy, parking is horrendous and the traffic is awful. I would definitely go for Highams Park over Walthamstow 100%.

Millsandovis

The overground commute from Highams Park to Liv St is always packed in the mornings and evenings. That’s from personal experience and a mate that is a driver on the line. But no more worse than getting on the tube and I’ve only known it from St James so may be quieter if joining at Highams Park. 

Agreed about Walthamstow and parking. If you’re ’new’ Walthamstow and moving to take advantage of the craft shops, breweries and cycle lanes etc then it’s perfect. If you like parking outside your house and want to drive 0.7 miles quicker than 25 minutes then it probably isn’t for you. I’m getting out after 30 odd years but would recommend it for young professionals and families. 

Highams Park (and Chingford) has always been ‘nicer’ than Walthamstow in my head but that’s probably biased from years of Walthamstow being so run down. It’s had significant investment and gentrification in recent years so people with fresh eyes would think differently. 

It’s definitely a relatively safe area compared to other areas like Leyton, Stratford etc

EssexHebridean

Oh goodness - yes to the impossibility of driving in Walthamstow as it now is! We were there a few weekends ago - planned to park near Blackhorse Rd station to get the tube. Absolute nightmare of various roads which now go to one way (so no entry against us) after the first 10 yards, no left turn. no right turn, you name it! We did eventually get parked on the road near Willowfield School but it's a far cry from how straightforward it used to be to drive around the area years ago! 

And yes to the "hierarchy of Waltham Forest" as well. Leyton at the bottom (sorry Leyton!), then Walthamstow. Probably Leytonstone after that, then Highams Park and finally that desirable E4 postcode - although lord knows there are some grim old dives round the back end of Chingford!