I really need some advice on south west London..

[MushroomMagee]

DH will be working in Norbiton from September, which necessitates a house move. We quite like the idea of south west London as its a shorter commute than Woking/Guildford etc.

We need a bit of advice about which area's to look at. We have a budget of 350k and want a 4 bed in a good school catchment. Which rules out Kingston I've already found out! To be honest I'm starting completely at the beginning here and any info you can give me at all would be very helpful!

How true is it that you have to live next door to the school to get in?! Is that everywhere or only in certain areas that are more prone to over crowding?

What is the market like? A couple of estate agents have said it moves very quickly and there is a lot of competition, obviously this will differ town to town but is there a general trend or areas where it is competitive or is this just estate agents doing their thing?!

Are there any areas which are particularly undesirable or places to avoid?

I am going to go for a look around on tuesday and just want to know where to start!

There are lots of good schools in Kingston and also in Richmond, but tbh your budget is not going to go far. I live in a lovely area nearish Norbiton, with a number of great schools, but a 4 bed house would cost upwards of £700k. However, things are looking up if you go to areas like New Malden, West Molesey, Cheam, Sutton or Hounslow. Look at this lovely house:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-18988611.html

I have no idea what the school situation is like there, though.

Thanks Renee, what are those area's like? I've heard some negative things about Hounslow, any opinions on the others?

We really like that house! Had looked at it ourselves, but the school nearest isn't great.

Thanks for your help.

I don't think you'll find a 4 bed house near a good school with your budget. You might find a 2 bed flat near a good school but that's about it in kingston/richmond.

Agree with others - its either a case of something smaller or living further out (and even places like guildford can be quite pricey so not infallible). Does it have to be sw london? Might get something in your budget in se london / Kent (good threads on Bromley recently). Tbh having lived in sw and se London I would probably look at Bromley if I wanted something bigger for my budget .

Sorry ignore that- saw about dh working in norbiton

Where are you moving from Mushroom?

The scary thing is that £350,000 will only buy a 2 bedroom garden flat in the nicer suburbs of London. Also, London has very few detached houses. The vast majority of housing stock is Victorian terraced, semi-detached at a push. Most of the 1930s and 1950s housing is also semi-detached. There are little pockets of tiny new-build estates (and of course all the high-rise flats) but London is not like the suburbs. I would guess that detached houses comprise about 3% at the very most of what is available to buy within a London postcode.

We're moving from Oxford.. So expensive but not quite as expensive as London!

I'd already guessed we wouldn't be able to afford Kingston/Richmond but there do seem to be a few houses around, whether or not the areas are nice I don't know..

I think this is a bit out of budget tbh but

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35839580.html?premiumA=true

is lovely and near an outstanding school, the trouble is I have no idea what Morden is like!

Other areas that seem to have some properties in our budget are: Feltham, Chertsey, Tolworth, Worcester park, Chessington, Sutton - any opinions on those areas? I'm naive hopeful that we might find something!

Thanks for all your help

We've got the same budget as you Mushroom but are looking for a 2 bed vic terrace. Even then, we've been struggling. Does anyone have any thoughts on the state of the market in the area of Kingston etc? Has it stalled at all or is it fairly buoyant?

EA's opinion is not that trustworthy!

Good luck Alt don't know too much about the Kingston market but a house we were looking at in Surbiton came on at 385,000 sold for 350,000 within a week. Before we could even get to go and look at it! I have no idea if that's representative of the entire market though... its is a big area.
Where are you looking exactly?

I live in Sutton and personally quite like it ( mind you I like living in towns - used to live in Eastbourne - hated it!) The high street is chavtastic though - especially the end I live at! Most of the primary schools are good, although can be difficult to get into the "outstanding/good" ofsted ones - it has several super selective grammer schools in area as well.

This is in Streatham, good schools nearby - state and private and about 25 minute drive from Norbiton, less when you know the back roads. Excellent secondary that you're in the catchment for (just) and, again, about 15 private/grammar schools that kids from around here go to.

I'm in the process of selling a 3 bed semi within 3 miles of the centre of Kingston and from the interest shown in the property, the market has definitely not stalled. Despite only having two decent sized bedrooms and a box room and needing a lot of updating, it is well outside OP's price range.

And here's another the north side of the High Road

I live in surbiton, was brought up in Kingston. The market does move quickly is is generally buoyant. Tolworth might be worth looking at. Tolworth Infants & juniors are outstanding schools and lots of other good primarys around the area, not sure how secondarys come up re ofsted as ds is only 4. We are looking at selling our 2 bed flat in a few months with garden and garage and hope to get around £300k for it. You may well get the house in New Malden but I can't tell you anything about schools there I'm afraid. My sibling lives in Sutton but has only been there a year, I think they quite like it and is deffo cheaper but again I know nothing about schools there. I personally wouldn't go anywhere near hounslow or round there because of the flight paths.
Please feel free to pm if you want any further info on the area!
how about this

lovely New Malden This location is excellent, I so love NM. I no longer live there but I think the junior schools are reasonable and excellent choice for secondary. Norbiton easy pease , surbiton kingston riverside walks short drive away. What's not to like?

Agnes that's really interesting about NM, I think thats worth having a look at, especially as its so convenient for Norbiton.

Ninja any idea how far out the flight paths are a problem around Hounslow? We are looking at one in Feltham, and a house they claim is in Twickenham but on a map looks more like Whitton/south Hounslow to me!
What is Tolworth like as an area? Had a look at the secondarys last night and they're excellent, and that house is lovely! I had suspicions that the market was fairly competitive though, .

thanks rockstock will add Streatham to the list, how is driving in SW London? Is it doable at rush hour?

Feltham is not pleasant. There is a sex club there, according to a colleague, which could liven things up!

Raynes Park is nice - not far from Norbiton at all and some good schools. Lots of people move to Raynes Park who want to live in Wimbledon but can't afford it so it's quite up and coming. We've now got a Waitrose dontcha know

Tbh, OP, we are looking at similar areas to you, and you will be lucky to get a 3 bed under £350k/£400k in the Kingston/Norbiton area and surrounds, never mind a 4 bed.

You could try areas like Raynes Park, but again you'll only get a 3 bed and it might not be particularly near the station. On the flip side, Worcester Park gets you a bit more for your money as it's a bit further out.

East Molesey is lovely and expensive, so you will definitely get more bang for your buck in West Molesey, but it's not as nice an area and is further away from public transport (Hampton Court station in this case). Still a good area compared to Hounslow though (speaking as an ex-resident!).

Mushroom it's fine. Like anywhere really, once you know the back roads it's quick. I reckon I could get from mine to Kingston (during rush hour) in no more than 15-20 minutes tops. From the links I gave it wouldn't honestly be that different although I'm Tooting Bec rather than Streatham, I have a couple of busy roads that can be avoided from Streatham.

Also from Streatham there are 3 overland stations - 7 or 8 mins into Clapham Junction and then out to Kingston takes about the same.

Surbiton still quite pricey but less expensive than norbiton and Kingston.
Tolworth less expensive than surbiton and 15 min bus directly to Kingston or via Surbiton. And a train station to London.
Chessington just a bit further up from Tolworth with a direct bus into Kingston (18 min bus ride) and 2 train stations to london. Much less expensive in chessington.

mushroom I don't know too much about flight paths but having driven through there you notice the planes a lot! Plus (and this is a personal feeling) i don't think it is anywhere as nice as Surbiton/ Kingston/ new Malden/ Tolworth etc but is reflected in house prices I think. Tolworth is nice although its train line is not fantastic. That said it is very very easy & quick to get a bus into Surbiton which has 6 trains an hour to london, 2 fast ( about 13 mins to w'loo), 2 semi fast and 2 slow. If you need to get to Norbiton by bus that is doable from tolworth. Certainly getting into Kingston by bus is very easy and loads go through t'worth. I wouldn't worry too much about a competitive market, I think you just need to keep in regular touch with as many agents as poss. Again, feel free to ask any other questions!

I would avoid cheaper Whitton/hounslow bits that pretend to be Twickenham because of flight paths - and proximity of Mogden sewage works!. Anything north of A316 likely to be affected- central twickenham is noisy too, although 4 bed house would be 650k plus

Friends in NM and love it, all dc went to local school.
Definitely check it out.
Avoid hounslow.

Whitton is very nice actually, not at all like Hounslow and a bit villagey in that people talk to each other and stuff. Mogden is a lot better but you don't want to be on one of the roads that backs onto it but that is easy not to do by looking at a map! Not sure about the schools though

Sutton / Cheam are great and all the schools are pretty good there.

I would avoid Feltham and Hounslow tbh