Vendors withdrawn - shall we change location? Wimbledon? Southfields?

[elizabethbob]

Our vendors have just taken their house off the market a couple of weeks before we were due to exchange. Complete bummer. We just hope we don't lose our buyers...

Nothing new on the market in the area we were going to buy. We really want to move soon. Can't be doing with putting flat back on market... Where is a good place to live in Wimbledon near to public transport? What is the "highly sought after Southfields Triangle" (to quote estate agents) like?

Or the Hydethorpe estate area of Balham?!

We were all sorted with childcare and everything. Such a nightmare.

[HouseHunting]

Oh that is horrible - did the Vendors withdraw it b/c they hadn't dound anywhere? There should be rules about this where he Vendors have to pay the Buyers for the money they have forked out on surveys etc. Hope you find something better quickly. Good luck

[penona]

What sort of property are you looking for in Wimbledon? There are lots of houses near to the mainline station/South Wimbledon tube - northern line/ Raynes Park train station. depends what sort of transport you want.

Southfields is nice BUT some bits only close to the district line, which could be a pain if commuting into Waterloo. There is a nice area between Southfields tube and Earlsfield train station.

Where are you moving from? Have lived and worked in SW London for years now so know quite a bit of it!

[Elibean]

Poor you, thats awful. Makes me on you behalf, such a silly system.

We are also looking in an area of SW London, though not Wimbledon - are about to go into a rented house as nothing on here either. When I did (to comfort myself we could always switch areas) a search for houses in Wimbledon the other day, there did seem to be a lot more on - so worth looking. Good luck, hope you find an even better house soon.

[HerHonesty]

southfields is ok ish but not that green and has a lot of people from the same country living in the area. nothing against that particular country but it might grate.

wimbledon is actually a very large area and it very much depends on budget as to what part you could look at. whereabouts did you have your offer in, just so we can compare.

good luck.

[EldonAve]

No idea about Wimbledon

Hydethorpe estate is good, easy walk to the station and 2 well regarded primary schools

[deepdarkwood]

We lived in Southfields for a few years

The highly sought after bit will be (I think) "The grid" which as penona says is between Southfields tube & Earlsfield. Lots of Victorian houses and families.

It's also near a big park

Earlsfield itself I find a bit much nowadays - too full of young people

[mmrsceptic]

what country do you mean honesty?

parking on the grid is hell I reckon and they have wee gardens

the main road is better but it is a main road -- on the other hand it's well speed bumped

good access for A3, Wimbledon Park, Common and Richmond Park

Merton runs the three tier school system I think

[mmrsceptic]

on the main road be careful, on the tube side it's a conservation area so you can't drop your kerb or do what you want to the house

i think

i don't live there but have rellies

[mmrsceptic]

the triangle isn't the grid

the grid is behind replingham road stretching past the park to Wimbledon park tube

the triangle is turn left out of the tube and those little streets off WPR

[HerHonesty]

well it is known as saafafields. and before i get totally flamed i have lived with worked with and loved many south africans in my time so i mean absolutely no malice at all. just that it might grate.

[stepaway]

South Africa, mmrsceptic

[stepaway]

sorry, x-posted with HerHonesty

[stepaway]

We actually had the opposite situation. Were going to move to Southfields a few years ago (from a decidedly rougher part of London).

At the last minute our buyers pulled out and while we were in limbo, by chance, I subsequently met someone on a plane who said that Southfields is a great place for young-marrieds and for families with babies and very young children. but she was adamant that it's the kind of neighbourhood that many people move out of once their children are a bit older. That really put us off as we were specifically looking for somewhere that was in london but family-friendly and where we could live for many years. (don't know how accurate this is, though)

Because of the conversation we decided not to move there. But it had seemed like such a great area.

[IsItMeOr]

Have lived in Earlsfield for 13 years now, and I find the young people tolerable. Not entirely sure what country honesty means, as it has people from a lot of different countries living here, I gather, particularly France and South Africa I think.

The Southfields grid is deemed most desirable therefore is more expensive, but parking is miserable and navigating the streets is pretty miserable too. But you have Wimbledon Park (which leads onto All England Tennis Club).

We live between the grid and Earlsfield Station, less desirable therefore cheaper, but a lot quieter/street is a lot less busy. We use Earlsfield for overground into Waterloo or change at Clapham Junction for Victoria or get off at Vauxhall to change onto Victoria line underground. Can get into central London in half an hour.

If you wanted closer to Wimbledon, the streets between Haydon's Road and the Broadway have lots of nice Victorian houses. Wimbledon town centre has good trains, district line, the tram and pretty good shopping in Centre Court. Can also walk up the hill to Wimbledon village (assuming your budget isn't such that you could afford to live there ), which is lovely and also there's the wonderful walks on the Common.

Kingston is just a few stops on the train and is lovely for shopping.

I think you'd be looking at around £500k upwards for a 3-bed semi as a rough guide, but who quite knows at the mo.

[HerHonesty]

i dont mind the young people at all... only that they make me feel so very old...

[IsItMeOr]

Stepaway - well you certainly see a lot of prams around, and the pubs/restaurants support your young marrieds theory. FWIW our street is a mix of rented, young families and then people who seem to have lived there for decades, whose kids grew up around here.

The vast majority of the housing stock is built in either late 19th century or between the wars. So you have a lot of terraces of two/three bedroom houses of those eras. While some are wider than average, most are not, so they aren't the biggest houses in the city. I would guess people might move out to find bigger houses as their kids get bigger, if they could afford it??

[pasturesnew]

They're all nice areas. Balham is good for schools and transport (although tube is the slow and busy Northern line) but not terribly good for parking. Wimbledon is a big area, W. Village is v nice indeed. Another similar area is nr Northcote Rd in Clapham / Wandsworth, it's called "between the Commons".

[elizabethbob]

Thank you for the responses. We were due to buy in Barnes/East Sheen / Mortlake area. Wimbledon would be an easier commute for me to get to Croydon (although I'm only there for a year). DH has to get to Waterloo which gives us a few options. The vendors had found somewhere but had school places issues so decided not to go.

If I didn't feel pressure that we might lose our buyers if we start all over I would definitely investigate other areas. Am looking at another house today but also worried that I'll feel pressured into going for a house that's not in quite the right street just so as to not lose buyers.

We can't move and rent as we are carrying over our lovely tracker mortgage to the new property!

Always a bit worried to give away too much on here in case vendors are lurking here! What are people's thoughts on the roads between Sheen Lane and White Hart Lane north of the Upper Richmond Rd.... (deliberately quite vague!)?

[mmrsceptic]

barnes?

[susie100]

Southfields is lovely, the triangle is Kingscliffe Gardens, Southdean Gardens etc.
Lots of families and 2 mins from Wimbledon Park and lots of lovely cafes opening and a lovely italian deli.

[triplets8802]

Hi all!! I have been trying to get information about nice areas in Southfields but have not seen a thing. Is the area around Ambleside, Albert Drive nice? Thanks!!

[TwigTheWonderKid]

What about Raynes Park OP? What's your budget and how many bedrooms are you looking for?

[triplets8802]

We are looking for a 2 bed flat, max budget £450K. We had thought of Raynes Park but we would prefer to be in a tube line rather than just the train, we live in Wimbledon currently.

[TwigTheWonderKid]

We moved from Wimbledon to RP a few years ago. DH commutes into Waterloo and if we do want the tube we just hop on the train and change, though generally we just go to Waterloo or Vauxhall. RP also has a much more village-y community feel than Wimbledon. Though having said all that, there are not many flats here.