Not sure what to flat to buy

[Prettypharoh]

Hi. Would really appreciate some advice.

I am a FTB, single woman in my late twenties with a budget of 475k. I live and work in London, commuting between two offices (west London and the city).

At the moment I can afford a 1 bed in Clapham or a 2 bed (2nd room is more of an office space and not second bedroom) in Balham.

Does anyone have a preference in location? Space is my biggest priority as I love to entertain and work from home most of the week.

You’ve answered your own question:
Space is my biggest priority as I love to entertain and work from home most of the week.
Which property has the most space, and will allow you to do this?

Thank you so much for speedy response. Both flats are the same size. Both are 10 min walk to the nearest station so finding it hard to distinguish between both.

When you say same size, do you mean total sqm floor space? Or do you mean the kitchen / living space / entertaining space?

Flat no 2 as you have room for a separate office space that you can close the door on when you have guests.
Also check the service charge, ground rent costs and length of lease before deciding.

Both are 70 square meters. So larger than average for London. The main difference is that the one bed is a larger bedroom and the 2 bed is as if it were divided into two.

It rather depends then if the bedroom in flat 2 is large enough for you instead of the 'divided' one. It sounds almost as if flat 2 used to be a 1 bed flat.

How would you use the 2nd room? Do you ever work from home? Would it be big enough for friends to stay in? If so, do you ever have anyone visit/stay over? Do you have bulky things e.g. sports equipment that you could keep in there more out of sight? If no to the above, then you might benefit from a bigger bedroom, as you might not use the 2nd room.

On another subject, will you be getting the Northern line to work? It's often easier to get on at Balham. It's usually quite rammed by Clapham. Balham also has the train, if that is useful to you.

Also double check which council you will be paying tax to in either location as could be the difference of thousands a year.

The 2 bed is definitely more future proof, incase you wish to / need to take in a lodger. I’d probably go for the 2 bed personally. London is so well connected, and I just don’t think either of those is markedly better / worse. Which one feels more like home?

What about noise and light?
Walking distance to everyday things - shops, green space?
Which one has better entertaining space and flow since you like to entertain?

Depends a bit on which bit of Clapham. I'd go for Clapham over Balham if its closer to Clapham Junction area, as a bit more amenities. Could you use that 2nd bedroom as somewhere for people to stay over though? That would be good. Or for working at home, so you can shut the door on it at the weekend/evenings.

Which flat has the better space for entertaining? I would lean towards getting a two bedroom, as that second room could be used as an office or guest room, and would be useful even for storage and drying clothes out of sight so the space feels tidier. It also makes the flat more future proof.

I can’t comment on location as I don’t know Clapham very well! I do like Balham though.

Also would prioritise a top floor flat (noise, privacy, light) and also living room aspect being S / SW / W facing.

Clapham junction is in Battersea not Clapham!

OP, there are almost 400 2 bed flats within 1 mile of Clapham Common within your price range. Are you sure you have to narrow it down to these two? I'm guessing you've ruled out ex-authority, as you can get spacious 3 beds for well under that in 1930s brick-built low rise ex-authority blocks in that area.

Any difference on which floor the flat is on? I'd prefer to walk up to the 1st floor rather than say the 3rd floor. Any difference in the block size? Is one only 4 flats and the other has 100? Do either have a balcony/roof terrace?

Balham is zone 3 for the tube
Depending which Clapham tube you are closest to, it could be zone 2 or 2/3. I don't know if that makes a huge difference to commuting costs though?

I'm leaning towards the 2 bed, but could you fit a double/king sized bed in either bedroom?

FWIW- We lived in a 2 bed flat for 18yrs, north of the river and between zone 1-2. Having spare bedroom was brilliant. Not only to have friends stay in their own room, but also as a work space and 1 cupboard I used for bulk buys like tins etc.

Definitely not Clapham.

Definitely get two beds.

Balham is (mostly) Wandsworth and Clapham is Lambeth - big difference in cost of council tax year in year out. Do you know which band and which council each flat.