Buy home in London - which area help please

[Serenitespringtime]

I’m moving to London, a job in the city.
I want to buy - probably a flat.
I don’t really know the areas, don’t know London, only that I want to stay on the newer tube lines, coming into Liverpool Street Station.
It’d be a one bedroom and can go up to 300k.
Someone suggested Custom House area.

I’d really appreciate some other ideas of areas to look at.

A brief look suggests that one bed flats in that area are asking around 5-6.K.

Custom House area? I’ve no idea even where it is. Does anyone more familiar with London have any suggestions or am I on the wrong page

Depends what your priorities and lifestyle are. If you prefer a new build complex or a more established area with old houses split into flats.

Essentially you’re balancing commute time/niceness of location/niceness of flat.

And of your commute the balance between walking vs on tube.

At 300k you could probably find something a 30 minute walk away if you head towards Hackney but it wouldn’t be in a great state.
Equally if you head up the Lizzy line eastwards you could probably look at Forest Gate, or as you mention Custom House. Woolwich is supposed to be getting nicer with lots of regeneration money.

if you like new lines then Forest Gate is worth a look on Lizzie line. The high st is ok but if you get the right end you have the lovely Wanstead flats. There is also Wanstead/leytonstone on central line but that’s not a new line. Both nice areas though.

I’ve been searching Wanstead Flats on right move - I thought it was a block of flats!!
Thanks for ideas so far.
Yes the Elizabeth line would be perfect.
Any other ideas please.
What about areas nearer the City?
I’d be alone so somewhere that’s close to a tube station and safe is what I’m after.
I think I feel that a block of flats would be safer than an older house turned into flats.
I don’t mind a commute of 30 mins into the City.
Thanks so much for your thoughts

Custom House is in Docklands, near to Excel. It’s on the DLR rather than tube but would take you straight to Bank.

With a max budget of £300k for a 1 bed, you may need to consider living further out than a 30 min commute unless you’re willing to do some work on the flat and/or live somewhere that most MNetters will consider as ‘rough’. Even with the depressed market for flats, your budget is on the lower end.

It seems you have zero clue about London geography (at all!) so it would be much more sensible to rent at first then you can get a feel for areas you like and are willing to commit to buying in.

Thanks for response.
I really want to buy, not rent as I’ve been renting elsewhere for so long, want to get settled.
DLR into Bank would suit my job well.
Do you consider this area, Custom House, rough or is it my budget would put me in the rougher areas of it?
What would people think of the area behind Spitalfields market, what is that area called?

You can’t afford near Spitalfields.

🤣🤣🤣🤣I can see why you might think that about Wanstead flats. But no it’s a bit of open land between Wanstead and Forest Gate.

probably depends on if you want a new build or happen with a Victorian conversion. If you want the former you’d find more in the Custom House area

i just looked at wanstesd and Forest Gate for your budget and you’d struggle to find somewhere done up

Near Spitalfields would be great but not with your budget.

For that money you could look for a very modest one bed apartment in Kidbrooke or Deptford (south eastern train in to cannon st then quick walk) or apartment in Woolwich and Elizabeth line in to Liverpool Street. All under 30 mins

Honestly rent. Your budget is tiny and realistically you’re going to end up with a grotty flat in a ‘gritty’ area. I think you’ll be in for a shock. And then stuck with a flat you hate, in an area you hate, which won’t even go up much in value.

If you’re spending a third of a million on something you’d be a fool not to do your research very thoroughly - and bluntly if you don’t know what the Wanstead flats are, or that you can’t afford Spitalfields, you haven’t done any. Given you have the internet that’s pretty poor.

Knowing London as little as you do, it would be SO much more sensible to rent first. It's madness to be considering where or what you could buy in Custom House when you don't even know where the area is!
For £300k you're going to be looking in areas that have compromises - that might the distance, transport links, gentrification, safety etc. That's fine, we all do that for our first flat, but you need to discover the area that works best for you with those compromises.

Sadly, anywhere affordable will either be ‘rough’ or far out.

You might find somewhere that’s a short tube ride but then nice and affordable flats will be quite far from the tube station.

Or you might find somewhere that’s very convenient for the tube but you might need to go further out towards Romford to find a nice ish new build flat.

There are areas around Surrey Quays and Custom House that have had regeneration and you might be able to find one of those type of flats but (no offence to anyone living there) I find them a bit soulless.

If your job is in the city you could also consider the great northern line/Thameslink out towards Drayton Park/Finsbury park but I’m not sure you’ll find something at £300k there.

I’ve lived in London for about 15 years, married to a Londoner and we did weeks and weeks of trips before moving to our current area. There are so many nuances between different areas - what suits some people might not suit you. Ie. Do you like to go running in the park, want cute brunch spots, easy access to soho etc.

If I were making the move I’d rent for at least 6 months - ideally 12 before buying. Flats in London are not really rising in price so if you buy and decide it’s the wrong choice it could be a very costly mistake.

Thanks to everyone who’s give me advice and direction so far.

Are there any other areas people would suggest, or even specific blocks of flats/apartments?

A nice 1 bed in Woolwich should be doable on £300k. Possibly not on the Arsenal. But the Lizzy Line would have you into Liverpool St in about 15 minutes.

How about the commuter belt. Chelmsford is supposed to be nice and 35mins to Liverpool Street?

I would look along the overground lines going into Liverpool Street, I'm surprised no one has suggested that yet. You can get a 1 or even 2 bed flat in Walthamstow for 300k and be in LS in 20 mins.

I agree you should get a short term rental and have a proper look around before you decide where to live. There are 315 flats in your price range within 3 miles of Liverpool St. Or you might prefer to live further away on the Elizabeth line. Take some time to decide what suits you.

I very much doubt you’d get anywhere nice in Walthamstow for £300K (it will have issues) or anywhere decent within a 30 minute commute of central London. You’ll need to compromise on journey time. I think the only place I can think of that is nice and fairly quick using overground trains is Hither Green which is in the Borough of Lewisham SE13.

This one has sold but there are similar flats that come on.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/158412062

I think £300k is completely doable for a one bed in lots of places, but you won't know what sort of places you like until you get here and see it on the ground, so I'd advise renting too.

We prefer living further in even though our space is smaller, but other friends wanted more space and further out - also some ppl love busy areas, some quieter ones, all of which are possible on your budget, but if you pick without looking around first you may well get stuck in the wrong area for you. I'd rent for 6 months and spend weekends in different areas in that budger til you find the right one for you.

Thanks so much, i appreciate all the posts and will look at every suggestion. It’s helped so much just having a few areas to start to look

dont forget flats have a service charge that in Wanstead can be £500 a month so you need to ask that when viewing as it varies wildly f