£500k to buy in London. Three kids

[Batteriesallgone]

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.

I will try and keep the thread updated moredoll but as you can imagine I expect it will drag on. We want to come up next weekend to have a look round but even that is a pain in the arse, 3 kids on the train, need a family room in the hotel etc.

God kids are a nightmare sometimes. I frequently want to shout ‘I was an actual real person before I had you, you know!’ But if course they are also lovely, wouldn’t swap them for the world etc etc.

OP Deptford really isn't Greenwich though. I know it has got better but I remember avoiding bloodstains on the pavement following a street murder there. Head tilting folks would be the least of my worries.

Yeah Dollis Hill is definitely close to swanky areas within 10/20 mins on public transport. Loads of tubes and the rail replacement is fine for when the jubilee line is down. Lots of buses too. We used to walk to portobello market at the weekends which was lovely.

It definitely has not up and come though! I’d say north of train tracks feels a bit safer / cleaner than south of the train tracks.

I

Yes but budget is budget at the end of the day.

Yeah there is what about the London/Essex border?

Hornchurch
Upminster
Romford
Elm Park
Dagenham
Barking
Beckon
Ilford
Newbury Park
Barkingside
Gants Hill

I lived in zone 5 Dagenham on the district line for 23 years and Romford to. Airports/London all very easy and quick to get to and some of the areas listed above are nice

How about Tooting?

Ally Pally / Wood Green?

Fair enough on the commute thing, I do think it's worth keeping an eye on though as you can easily end up with both a more central postcode and a longer commute. This would bother me, maybe it wouldn't be so much of a problem in your setup.

On the North/South of the river thing, I think it's only partly tribal, it's partly just that the vibes are different and you might suit one side more than the other. I'm a North London person having moved around and lived/rented in both. I definitely fit better here.

funky

That house is in Streatham/Furzedown, not Tooting

But it is close to the very excelled Graveny school so would be a good option...

Of course SE London is now full of North Londoners who couldn't afford to buy. I maintain that the North/South divide is mostly an illusion. The East/West makes much more of a difference to my mind.

If you want wanky and hipster cafes (exactly what we would go for too!) try North London. People on here always default to "miles away" when posters cite a low-ish budget for London but you can get a decent-ish size in lots of central areas from which you can cycle to central London for work very easily (not getting killed is your own responsibility...):

Not 100% sure about primaries in all of these exact areas though -

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66866938.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73206395.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-74236247.html - GREAT schools here

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-74659883.html - tiny bit further out but a biggish house

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73318412.html - dead centre for wanky cafes! Subtitles is a few paces away and have activated charcoal lattes AND beetroot lattes. What more could you ask for?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56403270.html - hipster cafes galore and the best indoor climbing wall in the UK.

astoundedgoat has posted some really good options. Especially Mare St, Spring Gardens or Clissold Crescent. Lovely locations for hipster cafes and restaurants galore.

A lot of those flats are leasehold though and you need to be very careful buying Ex local Authority as all owner occupied flats are charged for major works such as lift/roof replacements. The works are often not competitively priced either so can run into many thousands of pounds.

Activated charcoal lattes hahaha

Love it.

Sceptical about the lease length on some of those options though.

A lot of those flats are leasehold

Well obviously.

If you mean there is no share of freehold, that is relatively unusual and SOF does bring with it its own issues.

you need to be very careful buying Ex local Authority as all owner occupied flats are charged for major works such as lift/roof replacements

That is a fair point, you need to obviously ask about what major works have been done and if there are any major work notices out. Some LAs are better than other, needs to be researched.

Top of the High Barnet branch of the northern line might see you right! We bought a two-bed house last year for a bit over your budget in Woodside Park (North Finchley), but there are definitely cheaper options. Love being on the northern line (v reliable), and the schools in Barnet are meant to be excellent (daughter not quite old enough for me to vouch for this!). Pockets of hipster wankiness around - we have a pub with its own brewery, an amazing local cafe in the park, lots of smug baby/toddler activities - but because it’s not Shoreditch, there’s also a very useful high street with shops selling stuff you actually need rather than overpriced shite 😜

Leasehold I’m happy with. SOF I don’t like. Too much potential for huuuuge falling out with CF neighbours.

Ex local authority issues noted.

I keep looking at this one

Combedale Road London SE10
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66222511.html

I know it’s SO close to the big road / tunnel but it looks like it’s not actually right next to it. Bit worried about the shape of the buildings across the road - shops or offices (?) instead of houses.

DH is in London on Weds he’s suggested he go look round it

That Greenwich house is amazing @Batteriesallgone - it could be so beautiful. It has a decent sized garden, it's near the station. Greenwich Park is an idyllic area to raise kids - do you know it? The playpark, the Maritime museum, the foot tunnel under the river with the Harry-Potterish wooden elevator to ground level, the DLR drive your own trains, Mudchute city farm, clipper boat rides etc - it's so magical round there. There's an outstanding primary school too. Wow!

Yeah. I mean, clearly the extension and loft were done badly and cheaply and I wonder to what extent they’ve obtained sign off. That price for that size makes me think there’s no building regs sign off.

If it’s just been done a bit crap and cheap but basically fine, sure we can paint it and live with it for a bit then sort it out later. But if it’s been done super shoddy that could be a huge headache.

But I wannit. Which is obviously a very practical and compelling argument

The garden at Combedale Rd will back almost onto the Blackwall Tunnel Approach Rd. A not so naice pub on the corner also. However you can't see it from there I don't think. It will be a bit noisy I should think and polluted. However it's in catchment for one of the best primary schools in Greenwich (Halstow) and close to another (Millenium). Really excellent transport links into Central London, safe, v close to Greenwich Pleasaunce play park and a bit further on into Greenwich itself. Lots of smashed avocado type places on the road to Greenwich and two micro breweries very close by (two minute walk away.). I think with your budget and spec, I'd snap it up. Resale's always good there due to proximity to schools, Greenwich and transport links.

Houses on the next Roads along are £800,000+ so lots of potential to add value I think.

I should imagine being one road further from the tunnel approach adds about £100k!!

Wow, go for it! No doubt about it, that house needs pretty much everything doing, but it’s a good location (apart from the obv proximity to the motorways!!)