Planning to buy our long-term family home in London (£3M–£4M budget) would love advice from people who know the market

[Marvickk]

My wife and I are both 30, recently married, and living in London. We're starting to seriously plan our long-term family home and would really appreciate some honest opinions from people who understand both the London property market and how to structure a purchase like this sensibly.

A bit about our situation
We both work in demanding professional careers, with a combined salary of around £480k/year before bonuses (closer to £530k with bonus), and we expect this to grow over the next couple of years. Beyond salary, we each have investments and some inherited property assets a few overseas properties and a minority stake in a family vineyard came to us through inheritance, alongside cash savings and investment portfolios. Including our current apartment, our combined household net worth is roughly £9M, and passive income 140K yearly, though a meaningful chunk of that sits in illiquid or semi-liquid assets rather than cash.

We currently live in a apartment in London worth around £1.1M with no mortgage. Our plan is to sell it and add a further £1M or so in cash, giving us roughly £2.1M to put toward the new home, while keeping our other assets, investments, and inherited properties untouched. That would leave us taking out a mortgage of roughly £900k on a £3–3.5M property, which feels conservative given our income, but we want to make sure we're not missing anything.

We're hoping to start a family in the next few years likely two or three children and are already thinking ahead to private school costs on top of the mortgage, so we want the numbers to hold up over the next decade, not just look fine on paper today.

Our ideal home Requirements
A large master bedroom with a proper ensuite bathroom (big shower, comfortable space)
Rooms for future children
A guest bedroom
A proper home office for both of us
A large kitchen with an island we love the idea of the kitchen being the heart of the house
A comfortable living room
An entertainment space that could work as a small bar/music/games room for having friends over
A private garden with enough space to actually enjoy outdoor living

We're currently thinking about buying an older but well-located property around £2.8M–£3M and spending roughly £500k on renovation, rather than buying something already finished. Areas we're considering: Richmond, Barnes, Wimbledon, and Chiswick but we're open to other suggestions.

A few questions for people who know this world
1.Does this budget make sense for the type of home we're looking for, and does a ~25% LTV mortgage make sense given our asset mix, or should we be putting down more or less?
2.Would you prefer buying a finished luxury home or renovating an older property, given we're planning to have kids fairly soon?
3.Are Richmond/Barnes/Wimbledon/Chiswick the right areas for a young family, or are there other areas worth exploring?
4.Is it worth consolidating with a private bank for the mortgage given our combined assets, or does that not really move the needle at this loan size versus a normal broker?
5.What mistakes do people commonly make buying at this price range financially or practically?
6.Would a buying agent be worth it for us?
7.If you were in our position, what would you prioritize both on the property itself and on how we structure the purchase financially?

We're not looking for the biggest house or the most expensive postcode. We want somewhere that feels like home a place where our children can grow up, where we can host friends, and where we can enjoy everyday life while making sure we're being financially sensible about how we get there.

Be more Cheshire or North Yorkshire surely ?

Surely you have to look at Holland Park.

Your post requires a level of detailed analysis best suited to a paid professional.

Lose the finance guff and get to basics about what you want in terms of an area and lifestyle when you have children.

Do you want city or suburb?
How close do you want to be for work (and where is it likely to be?)
Tube or no tube?
Aircon commute or sweaty northern, central, Victoria sauna?
Nanny quarters or will one parent be a SAHP?
Do you need easy access to an airport (and would you taxi or public transport it)?
Where are family for easier access?

To add that the SW postcodes are popular for all the usual reasons for families. But buying right now is a bit risky. There are many reductions due to mansion tax, stamp duty hikes and concern about the economy.

It might be a buying opportunity, it might be a huge loss opportunity. But no one knows for sure.

Exactly

For that price I'm not sure you will get what you want, big houses with big gardens in London are rare and very expensive. If you are planning a family I would be thinking of moving out a bit into the suburbs (or further) where you will get everything you want and more, and a much more pleasant environment for children. I would cash in a bit more, move out a bit and buy a really dream future proofed property. I also think prices in London may fall due to so much home working there's no reason for so many wealthy people to live in London any more.

£500k won’t even touch the sides on a renovation for a house that size.

lol your having a bubble right ???

Agree with @MidnightPatrol that looking on HENRYUK on Reddit might be more helpful.

I could be completely wrong, but I get the feeling that OP might not be British (given the overseas properties and some of the wording) which would explain why they are trying to get a better feel for the market here on MN. Having a financial advisor is all well and good, but it's also important to familiarise yourself with what other people are doing, and understand the nuances and informal aspects of the process. If you're not from here, then you don't have that natural base of friends/family who usually advise on this type of thing, so I can understand why OP is asking the question.

My main advice would be not to underestimate the costs - financial, but also your time and energy - of a renovation project. We have period properties and it has been one problem after another, one expense after another, one disruption after another. Not advising against it entirely, but be careful about what you're going into.

love it !!

Personally I'd be "leveraging assets" and taking a much larger mortgage tbh.
Paying cash is a poor idea.

Areas sound good. Chiswick is probably the best of the ones listed.
I'd add Hampstead and Highgate to the list for schools. Maybe primrose Hill if its your vibe.

On the renovations vs. ready to move in ... i'd focus much more on location / plot./ layout etc and look at both because youve got the £££ either way.

I think there are unknown always when buying but I would certainly want to meet the neighbours and carefully check planning portals with local council.

If they both have ‘demanding professional careers’ they won’t be WFH a lot and will probably be in the office frequently and in evenings etc.

If then having a family, this becomes very complicated if commuting from the shires - just getting there and back in time is difficult.

Then of course there’s a lifestyle factor - life in one of the suburbs will be different to the countryside.

I think people are being a bit mean OP - this forum is for everyone and the advice you are looking for could not all come from a financial advisor!

You need to know about community feel, parks, kids activities, good schools, commutes, socialising for the pair of you etc.

There will be Mumsnetters in the areas you are considering (and other possibilities) who can hopefully give you that info

Then, use your FA to decide how to
finance the purchase

Are you his agent?

Well, I know an American millionaire’s daughter who bought with her architect husband in Queen’s Park for £3.5 million. Got a 5 bedroom Victorian house. Part of their reasoning is her husband (Irish) knows the area well. They have 2 boys. She’s a director in a city finance company.

We live in zone 3/4 - 10 mins walk from tube station, near a park in a nice area but not the areas you mention. We bought in 2012 so prices have gone up but we have all things you mention - master bedroom witn en-suite. 3 bedrooms for kids. Au pair room, guest room. 2 home offices. Entertaining space big kitchen etc. garden. Etc. Even with price increases I doubt our house is worth over £1.8m likely closer to £1.5m.

Despite all this I think you are asking in the wrong place. I’d ask a financial adviser and some people who live in the area. Also consider schools for kids best to live walking distance. Our kids have been to state schools so living near the ones we liked was important but having a nanny not needing to drive was helpful.

remember that the childcare you’ll need to continue your highly paid jobs will be very expensive, as will private schools so may be better to be slightly cautious in terms of amounts borrowed.

I can only speak to the property/schools. I don’t see how a private bank would be an advantage. But that is more a question for a broker.
I live in Wimbledon. You won’t get what you want ‘up the hill’ in the Village for your budget, which is where Kings College (boys til Sixth Form) is. But you would near the town and there’s Wimbledon High School (girls) which is good, and Kings a bus ride (though could be walkable depending). Where I live (3 bed terrace, £1.25m, but bigger houses around South Park around £2.5-3m) there are three very good/excellent state primaries which I’d aim for and then go private for secondary. The benefit of Wimbledon is trains to Waterloo plus a tube line, the Common and boutique shops in the Village and a vast range of shops/restaurants/gyms/entertainment in the ‘town’, though the loss of Debenhams and Covid have destroyed Centre Court shopping mall, and despite a rebrand as ‘the Wimbledon Quarter’ I’m not impressed. But Ely’s is still here! The Polka Children’s Theatre and Wimbledon Theatre are very well respected. Plus of course, there the tennis. We have a small Waitrose and a bigger one, Morrisons, M&S and just down the A3 a vast Tesco. It’s very family friendly and probably the better option transport wise.
Barnes I think as too isolated, especially with Hammersmith Bridge closed to traffic. There’s no tube and though a train it’s still off the beaten track. Though if a more sedate country feel is what you’re after then it fits the bill. Of course it has St Paul’s and the Harrodian schools.
Richmond I love. It’s about as far out you can get and still be in London (though technically I think it’s actually Surrey). Beautiful architecture, the river of course and lots of shops. My impression is it’s pricier than Barnes and Wimbledon if you want near the Green and station. I think if it as more young professionals than family but maybe because that’s what I was when I worked near there!
Older properties are always nicer in my opinion. There are a number of new executive builds in the places above, but none seem to have the character of period, and I’d rather that than mod cons like central air. There are plenty of period houses that don’t need renovating, but by their nature they do require more financial commitment to keep in good shape. Renovation will cost much more than you think 90% of the time! But I’d love to get my hands on a project. Mind you they don’t seem to sell for much less than modernised, and unless you are adding space you don’t really add much value unless it’s a total gut job and that doesn’t seem to be what you want.
Personally I’d sell some assets and go for something £4-5m. Or buy for £3m and have a budget of £1m to do up. I’d also go for Fulham. It has the benefit of being in Zone 2 but still has a leafy family friendly feel. I went to the open day at Lady Margaret’s (and excellent state all girls school) and it was Halloween. It was a wonderful sight watching the kids in costumes running around and one of the estate agents was throwing a Halloween party for them all. I have a small flat in Parsons Green where I plan to retire too - I could live there without a car.
I’d only use a buying agent if you’re really short on time.
Exciting times!

lol - no!

And nowhere near their net worth either!

But people still want to know similar info about an area they plan to move to - no matter the budget

This is interesting. This is our price range ish (only a 4 bed terrace)… when we come to buy a new house we’ll probably sells for £1.1/1.2 (bought for £900k a few years ago) and expect to buy in the next few years at £1.3-1.5 (I appreciate this isn’t the same ‘world’ as the OP). We’ll have about £800k equity. Would you expect a client to put down 800k deposit or the minimum deposit and take a larger mortgage?

Although tbh we might not get much of an upgrade at that price, so we might need to spend more 🤷‍♀️

You’d get a small flat in Holland Park for that money.

Barnes - i lived in West Putney before and the traffic can be a NIGHTMARE, Barnes village is the Barnes Bridge Station and the train is slow. It is lovely tho. Will the bridge ever be fixed? I moved away after it closed and it was really inconvenient going into putney to cross the river

Chiswick - I also lived here, it's great getting the piccadilly line but when it stops running the district line is slow. The overground was infrequent

Wimbledon- i do love the village but am very lazy and find the hill steep, i would not enjoy walking up after work although you could take a cab. You can easily get on the A3. Bentall centre not as good for browsing as it used to be.

Richmond - good train, traffic busy, great area but the shops aren't as good as they used to be for mooching. Relatively ok to get on the A4. Close to kingston and there's a lot of after school sports clubs that are good.

I would probably go for Wimbledon or Richmond.

In your position I might look at St. Margaret’s. It’s over the bridge from Richmond, but still feels like part of Richmond. There are some large houses near Marble hill. There are many, many young families around and all of the facilities within walking distance - baby swim, baby classes, very nice schools, nice shops, restaurants etc.
You might be interested in Sheen. Close to Richmond, nice area, and will have Orly’s house (look it up) very soon.

Where are you likely to work long term, both of you. Minimising commute when you have young children is paramount. The main thing to keep a career going is really good quality childcare and a nanny that stays with you for years and ideally a good local coed private school. It is kind of hard to plan these things until you know how many children you have and their sex etc. and also how you both feel continuing in high pressured jobs when you really do not need to!