To think this house is worth it and London won't crash?

[Yazhi]

After searching for a long time we have found a house in an area that both DH and I like. DH thinks we should wait and see if the prices drop in London. Flats seem to have dropped and he's hoping houses follow. Who do you think is right?

[quote Yazhi]@TheSunShinesBright I think it's the inherent 'worth' issue that is tripping DH up and is making me pause. London is a such an anomaly inside the U.K. it seems like a different country as far as house prices are concerned. I do value living in London. I can't think of anywhere else I'd like to live. [/quote]
It’s London + SE. Pretty towns within an hour of London - Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Guildford, Henley, Marlow, Oxford - the prices are pretty much the same as London.

So many people make the mistake of thinking London is expensive question if it’s worth it. Then in a year or two everything you’re looking at now will be10% more and you will be all that rent money down. It’s always is worth it for a good house in a good location.

If don’t get your skates on it (they both) will go. It could well be under offer within a couple of weeks.

Air quality?

Is fine in the leafy suburbs.

@TheSunShinesBright

OP, I would definitely look at other areas in London and see how far your money goes. It’s the MH postcode that is making such an ordinary dull little house so expensive. You don’t need to leave London x

In my area it would be 2.6 +

MH is a nice area, why live in grotsville just so you can tell yourself you’ve got more square footage?

@TheSunShinesBright

OP, I would definitely look at other areas in London and see how far your money goes. It’s the MH postcode that is making such an ordinary dull little house so expensive. You don’t need to leave London x

This is a pretty rude thing to say about a property the OP is thinking of buying.

Fair enough if you don't like London, think the house prices are crazy, and believe all houses to be postage stamps, but in reality neither house is dull or little, both have decent square footage, and most people could move in to either without having to do work first.

This is a pretty rude thing to say about a property the OP is thinking of buying.

When did AIBU become the place where everyone agrees that the OP is making the right choice?

I live in that area.

That house is down the right end of the road for Rhodes Avenue Primary and APS. You should look at recent cut off distances on the Haringey website however. They have been very tight in recent years and I know people living really quite close to the schools who have been disappointed. The baby boom ended in 2009 so things might get better now.

The more expensive one up the road is likely to outside the usual distance cut off for Rhodes and in the last couple of years may also have missed out on APS.

Prices around here are I think due to soften a bit but I would say that house will shift quite quickly and probably for close to asking so you shouldn't wait if you like it. MH is very popular and I can't see that changing or the demand for family houses falling.

In my area it would be 2.6 +
MH is a nice area, why live in grotsville just so you can tell yourself you’ve got more square footage?

So it’s ‘Grotsville’ or MH (or the like) postcode?
I think we’ll agree to disagree there.

@TatianaBis Unfortunately that’s not necessarily the case and it’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to live in north London because it is actually much more polluted than you would think. N10 2LG scored 3 ‘A rating of 3 means it is likely that nitrogen dioxide levels will exceed the annual legal limit.’ That’s the same as the average rating for Haringey. www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42566393

@PattyPan

Why would you think that a Londoner doesn’t know what the pollution levels are in London? It’s just as perplexing as the idea that Londoners don’t know they can buy a bigger house in Hitchin or Rippon or Clwyd.

I know exactly what the pollution levels are in my area - away from the main roads, with tree-lined streets and big gardens it’s fine. Fine for me that is. I don’t care if you like it or not.

@TatianaBis I was responding to your comment about compromise. You made out everything about London beat living outside London, other than the price. Poorer air quality was an example of something that you are making a compromise on to live in London.

@TheSunShinesBright

This is a pretty rude thing to say about a property the OP is thinking of buying.

When did AIBU become the place where everyone agrees that the OP is making the right choice?

Apologies, I usually frequent the Property/DIY board, and thought this thread had been posted there.

As you were.

@Pattypan

^You made out everything about London beat living outside London[

I didn’t actually I was just explaining why Londoners want to live here.

For me it does. Air quality is not a compromise.

I love that house and I would buy it absolutely

[quote Starseeking]@SilverGlassHare

Someone posted a link to it earlier in the thread, it's from Graham & Green. A snip at £499 (plus postage)!

www.grahamandgreen.co.uk/volieres-medium-bird-cage-pendant[/quote]
Ah only £450 at our garden centre!

I don't know how true this is, but I heard that property prices in London may drop as, due to Covid, people now want to move out of London!

If you like, can afford it and will be there long term then buy it. What happens to the market is kind of irrelevant unless you plan to move within 5 or so years

@TatianaBis

To me living outside London is compromising massively on everything.

And for me living in London would be massively compromising but each to their own eh?

@londonscalling

I don't know how true this is, but I heard that property prices in London may drop as, due to Covid, people now want to move out of London!

Flats are stuck, may have to reduce to get a sale, houses not a chance. I understand London prices are up 10% on last year.

Thanks to the pandemic EVERYONE wants a house with outside space, ideally a garden, if they can afford it.

I've been looking seriously since accepting an offer on my house in mid April; NOTHING is coming up in my budget (£650k for a 3 bed in a specific part of London).

Anything decent that went on the market between January and April sold within days (mine went in 3 days).

People seem to be waiting for the big stamp duty savings to end on 30 June, however the demand for houses will still be there, and will probably keeping increasing in the long term.

Whereabouts are you looking @Starseeking? 650 is very tight for a 3 bed.

OP, have you ever thought to look south of the river, just for comparison?

For instance, Wimbledon Village would be much more expensive, but in the edge of that you might find something to suit in your price range (eg more into Wimbledon proper or Southfields / Raynes Park way)?

Putney is great and more central too - with massive plus if the river and great state primaries? It’s more expensive that MH, but there are houses at that sort of price?

Sheen has big houses and is a little cheaper (because of no tube). Adjacent to Richmond Park and sits between Putney and Richmond?

Barnes is truly like a village in a bend if the Thames with a duck pond and village green and the whole shebsng. Very expensive, but you might still find a house under £2 million. 15 mins into Waterloo on main line trains which are very frequent, or Hammersmith tube is there (bridge reopening to pedestrians in July apparently).

Or Richmond itself? A bit further out, but it’s beautiful there and and it’s a town in its own right. On the District Line but also fast main line connections.

Even try places like St Margaret’s or Teddington as you can get more for your money there (probably similarly priced to MH)? But the river that way is gorgeous.

Also, for that type of house, you could look at Chiswick perhaps? Acton borders offer more for your money.

Just a few ideas as you say you’ve not been in London that long. all these. Very family-friendly areas and I think SW London feels a bit more laid back because of proximity to the Thames. It’s very green and lots of parks. It is more expensive but you can assure your DH that this whole area is particularly stable in terms of house prices.

Parsons Green or Fulham may also be worth a look?

If you can afford that amazing house, then you'd be nuts to let it slip through your hands for a gamble that it "might" become cheaper further down the line.

Nope with millions of people renting that’s millions waiting for a house drop. Which will then push up the price.

Don’t wait just buy a home

@TatianaBis

Whereabouts are you looking *@Starseeking*? 650 is very tight for a 3 bed.

I'm looking in Isleworth (next to Hounslow, Richmond, Twickenham). You can still get 1930's semis there for around that price, but nobody seems to be moving at the moment!

Budget tight as I'm buying on my own following a relationship breakdown, though could stretch to £700k if the perfect place came up. I need to be close to parents, as they help with DC, and there's very good faith schools.

A £10k saving on £1.6m…mmmm a £100k saving then yes. But it’s what it’s worth to you.

I live in a flat in the area....a purpose built Edwardian maisonette.

People here seem to think I will never sell it. I very much doubt that's true.