Can we buy in London?

[ThisIsTheFirstStep]

Is it totally pie in the sky? I really want to live there again but I don’t know if we can.

Husband is self employed, earning around 30,000 a year. I am a teacher, would be on 28,000 in London.

We have a big deposit (80,000) after saving like hell for 5 years (living abroad so was possible).

The problem is we have almost no credit rating after being abroad for ages.

We are looking at two bedrooms and would LOVE a garden but is it even possible on our salaries?

Any help is appreciated!

Pence is fab - but expensive! Beckenham is cheaper. Find out what mortgage you can get and then rent short term in an area you can afford??

I am also going to suggest New Malden, but not because of the Korean community.

It has very good schools, both primary and secondary. Especially if you have daughters, the local girls secondary school (Coombe Girls) is very good.
It has good transports links into London - we both commute every day to central London (train to Waterloo). It also has good access to the A3 if you're wanting to get out of town.
Kingston is an easy hop away for shopping and New Malden high street has the key shops.

NM itself has a lovely "village" feel. There are community activities throughout the year - a fortnight of things in the summer, special event to turn on Christmas lights. I can't say I know everyone I see when I walk down the high street, this is London, but a good atmosphere.

We used to live in Raynes Park which is also nice but I didn't feel it had quite the own community feel of NM - felt more like an adjunct to Wimbledon.

A quick look on Rightmove suggests you'd get two bedroom flats in the area for about £300k.

We bought many years ago as expats, so my experience is irrelevant now. But we had only been here 9 months when we bought, DH was self employed and while I was employed I was earning significantly less than him. We were able to get a mortgage. But as I say, that was long ago so probably useless info.

Good luck!

OP have you spoken to a bank or mortgage broker. We returned in 2015 from overseas and couldn’t get any credit. I had to wait 6 months for a mobile contract, banks wouldn’t lend and despite having a premier account overseas the same bank could only offer a basic account in the UK.

Actually in your situation I think renting in an area toy're interested in is far more sensible. You have the opportunity to try an area out before you buy, while simultaneously building up a good credit history.

I also think you're crazy not considering other large cities like Glasgow, Birmingham or Manchester. London is not the only "non-racist" part of the UK, and I'd wager there were just as many racist arses in London as anywhere else.

I understand the need for ease of getting back to Korea but you're not going to be doing that weekly, and it's easy to connect through London, other European cities or Dubai/Qatar from lots of UK airports.

And money will go a lot further elsewhere in the UK.

Penge even! The type of house you want there though is currently around £500k!

I lived in London for 20 years....now in Cambridge and I'd never move back. However still love visiting and it's a quicker journey from here than it would be from outer London suburbs. There are lots of international children and the schools are good. More than that though is the safety...my DD is 12 and wanting to out to the park with friends, ride bike etc and I'm totally at ease. Maybe just me, but think I would worry more if we were back in London.
At the end of the day it depends on your work and commuting.

Actually in your situation I think renting in an area toy're interested in is far more sensible.

Seriously? Rent is so expensive in London you could easily spend £10 or £20K or more doing this and have a smaller deposit as a result.

If you are a qualified teacher, 28k is the absolute bottom of the inner London pay scale, with no allowances etc. I would have thought there would be potential for you to increase your salary, especially if your DH can take and collect your daughter from school. You could live a little further out and have a short commute. I think you would struggle to buy in Wimbledon, but there will be plenty within your budget.

I meant rent for a short term in a "try before you buy" scenario. Fees associated with moving run into thousands - choosing the wrong area can be a costly mistake.

Hi OP

I think there are quite a lot of areas you could look at. Regardless of the Korean connection I really like New Malden. I've been looking at a similar price range to you and think the Seven Kings area is worth investigating - will have very good transport links shortly and lots going on. Colleagues have moved there for the schools.