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Original poster

£500k to buy in London. Three kids

428 replies

Batteriesallgone · 27/09/2018 13:12

Where should we go?

Don’t know london at all (went to Natural History Museum once as a child!). Need a three bed. House or flat. Good transport links to central London. Good primary schools.

Is this possible? I know London is crazy prices, and it’s huge, I have no idea where to start looking on rightmove. Love the idea of living as close to central London as possible but don’t know if that’s too idealistic / unaffordable / ridiculous.

OP posts:
serbska · 27/09/2018 13:13

Hither green you might do it for 500k

Kay2705 · 27/09/2018 13:13

I'd say try Greenwich / deptford area one of two stops to London Bridge.

serbska · 27/09/2018 13:13

I would live and rent in London for a period before committing. Prices aren’t going up.

HoleyCoMoley · 27/09/2018 13:15

Bromley, you might get a house for that, 15mins fast trains to london, good shopping, good schools, half and hour from the country or croydon area, great train service.

RB68 · 27/09/2018 13:16

def rent as an outsider you won't get the difference made by different bus routes or tubes or even schools. Greenwich and deptford both Ok as we have a grandparent living there but not sure manageable even on that amount unless you go flat/maisonette. I would make sure near a park for big running biking spaces for the kids, decent v. local supermarket and DIY place, parking if you can

HalleLouja · 27/09/2018 13:17

Have a look at Enfield but its zone 5. You could buy a house in a nice area though.

EmeraldVillage · 27/09/2018 13:18

Where in Central London do you need to get to?

reallyanotherone · 27/09/2018 13:21

Renting is fucking astronomical though. 2k/month for a 2.5 bed terrace in a dodgy area.

Best bet is to sit with a tube and train map and figure out a commutable area within budget. Basically the further out the lower the price. So look at the end of tube lines, particularly in the south.

Like pp said you may find something out towards forest hill, crystal palace etc.

Original poster
Batteriesallgone · 27/09/2018 13:24

Thank you, all suggestions are welcomed, this is a terrifying prospect but such a potentially good move for us.

Should clarify don’t need parking, we’ve been car free since first child (in a different U.K. city). All about public transport and home delivery.

Not fussed about supermarkets and DIY places. Prefer somewhere wanky with hipster cafes Grin. Flat would be fine if it has a garden, garden can be tiny, just somewhere to hang washing.

I do see the point about renting and we probably will but I’m trying to do a long term plan - I only want to rent in an area we could afford to buy in if that makes sense. Any rental would only be (hopefully!) for a year at most, and with three kids and schools to sort I feel like we need to start the process of looking at houses now (DH’s job has been confirmed).

In my head my timeline is DH rent a flat for three months, us all move up into a 6/12m rental, move into a purchased property 9-15m from now. Given it will probably take a couple of months to sell, and then the place we buy might take 6m to complete, we need to be looking and narrowing our options now, I think.

OP posts:
Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 27/09/2018 13:26

You won't get anywhere near central London for that. I agree with those suggesting you rent first - actually just come here for a weeks holiday before making the decision to move here.

It's not for everyone, and since (on your budget) you would be moving your family to one of the cheaper/scruffier suburbs, you need to think carefully before you jump. Btw I live in one of the cheap/scruffy suburbs, and love it, but many wouldn't.

justkeepondigging · 27/09/2018 13:28

Perivale, Greenford, Ruislip, possibly Hanwell?

Ruislip for example, 30 mins on metropolitan line from Ruislip station to Baker Street :
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73847822.html

Original poster
Batteriesallgone · 27/09/2018 13:33

Where in Central London - well, this is a problem, Paddington, Mayfair, Westminster, but also Shoreditch, Canary Wharf, Stratford, but also travelling out of U.K. a lot so easy access to Heathrow and Gatwick...

Good transport links is top priority for us really as at the moment he is doing a lot of traveling to London and with this set to increase we thought maybe this is the right time to take the plunge and try and get into the London market / lifestyle.

I’m quietly terrified Wink

OP posts:
HoleyCoMoley · 27/09/2018 13:34

You can get a nice house or luxury flat in Bromley, beckenham, Hayes, West Wickham, Croydon, hither green for 500k, I don't think anyone cConfusedould call them cheaper or scruffier areas of London, it's still half a million quid.

Original poster
Batteriesallgone · 27/09/2018 13:36

I know we need to visit first but London is huge?! How on earth do we decide where to visit for the weekend Confused

I was starting from the position of:
Make list of places we could potentially afford
Visit an Airbnb in one or two of those places
DH move into a temporary rent (3m)
Us all move into a temporary rent but also probably commit to buy somewhere early on in that rental

That only gives us 3-6m to check out the whole of London which surely isn’t feasible, tired of London tired of life etc...

So I thought I’d come and ask some lovely mumsnetters, where do I start looking?

OP posts:
Glitteryfrog · 27/09/2018 13:36

Do you all need to be in London?
You could live in Milton Keynes and commute in - fast train is 35minutes. Where in London do you need to be for work?

Original poster
Batteriesallgone · 27/09/2018 13:37

Bromley and hither green seem popular, will check them out thankyou

OP posts:
Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 27/09/2018 13:38

Truthfully I would call some of those areas a bit rough around the edges. And I live in Walthamstow, so it's not like my standards are that high!

I just wonder if the OP might be picturing Hampstead or Fulham rather than Croydon or Beckenham. If so a good look around would be useful!

HoleyCoMoley · 27/09/2018 13:38

Wembley is affordable, you might get a garage in Paddington or mayfairGrin

Original poster
Batteriesallgone · 27/09/2018 13:42

We currently live out of London and DH commutes when he needs to. It works fine but we want a change

OP posts:
Original poster
Batteriesallgone · 27/09/2018 13:48

Paddington or Mayfair are some of the places he needs to commute to, even I know we couldn’t possibly afford to live there!!

OP posts:
Ginorchoc · 27/09/2018 13:50

Streatham than? Some lovely wanky cafes, good schools and supermarkets. Also pretty leafy.

ileclerc · 27/09/2018 13:51

I think you'll struggle to find a house I bromley for £500 that's decent sized in a nice area of bromley and walking distance to the stations. Bromkey common maybe but then you have to bus it to the station. Maybe out towards Petts Wood / Orpington.

Original poster
Batteriesallgone · 27/09/2018 13:53

Bromley quite far out. Greenwich / Deptford looks really nice

OP posts:
Original poster
Batteriesallgone · 27/09/2018 13:54

Is Streatham a good area? I heard Balham was but we can’t afford it. Few Streatham houses came up that looked nice and affordable but wondered if it’s a bad area.

OP posts:
rosettesforjill · 27/09/2018 13:55

We had a very slightly higher budget than that and ended up with a 4 bed period detached house with decent garden (in need of some work) in South Croydon - leafy area close to countryside, friendly community though not the trendiest location! Walking distance to train (10 mins) into London Bridge/Victoria, which takes about 20 minutes. There are also direct trains to Gatwick, also about 20 mins, but Heathrow would be a trek!