Where to buy in South-East London?

[shouldwemovebacktolondon]

Know I'm being daft, but I can't find the right place to post this... surely Msn full of people asking others where to live...

We think we would like to move back to London from Brighton. We need large 5 bed + house, large garden, South-East London, £800k, good schools, nice enough area.
Is this doable?
SO grateful for any advice. We feel completely out of the loop London-wise after leaving. Used to live in Marylebone, pre-children, and don't know South-East London very well - but it looks more affordable.
Our trouble is the size of house we need.
Thanx!

Standson, I know what you mean. But we find Brighton too quiet, and really miss London, so I don't think Croydon would necessarily cut it.
First we moved to darkest Kent, then to Brighton, and just miss London too much.

RandomFriend - do you live in HH? Do you like it there?

Actually just saw some houses in Sanderstead and may be changing my mind!

How large a garden is necessary? We're in zone 2 SE London and our house is 5 bed, close to good schools and worth under £800k but the garden is quite small (c40ft) - I think the combo of large garden & good schools for the price might be tricky.

hotcrosshunny - where are the right/wrong bits for secondaries in Bromley? And do the grammars have catchment areas you have to look out for? Thankx!

Try Hither Green.

You could try Raynes Park (Wimbledon way). Not sure about schools.

This looks quite nice:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43627705.html

Littleoaktree - whereabouts are you, roughly? We do want larger garden than that because we will soon have 5 children all close in age to each other, and they need somewhere to go and fight let off steam.

lucidlady - yes it does! I wonder if that's representative of the price.

OP this house is round the corner from us, v close to Streatham Common, close to good schools inc a v sought after Catholic secondary. It's not the prettiest house but the road is fab, amazing views. It shows what you can find, even in "up and coming" areas like Streatham for your budget.

I'd suggest Tooting - I can't think of anywhere else with good primaries, secondaries, tube/transport and five bedrooms. I'd suggest buying in the catchment of Graveney.

Crystal Palace is lovely but I'm not sure about the secondary situation right now. My guess is that it will probably be good by the time your littlies are looking at secondary schools.

I wouldn't put all my eggs in the basket of grammar schools: it is pretty crazy, though better for boys than girls, I think, unless you live in the catchment areas.

Brockley is our nearest station. Yes I can imagine you do need a bigger garden

Not sure where to suggest, I have friends who live in and like Sydenham, Hither green, forest hill, beckenham - but not sure what the schools are like around those areas.

Bromley area has some good comprehensive secondaries (eg Hayes, Ravensbourne, Bishop Justus). There are some very nice areas and you'd certainly get a 5 bedroom with a decent sized garden. The super-selective grammars are in Orpington: St Olaves and Newstead Woods.

wilbur - Streatham looks v nice.

thecatfromjapan - Tooting looks v nice too.

Does anyone know about Catford?

South Wallington and Warlingham will both have houses of the size and price you want.

Fixer-upper with mahoosive garden. Although with 5 children, you probably don't have much time for diy!

zen1 - thanx. So are you allowed to apply for the Orpington grammars from anywhere in Bromley, or only from some areas?

Orpington to London Bridge is 15 mins by fast train, Bromley to Victoria is similar (using fast service).

zen1 - and might you be able to recommend good areas in Bromley?

AFAIK, You can apply for the Orpington grammars from anywhere as they're entirely academically selective.

AFAIK, St Olaves has no catchment, they just take the top scorers regardless of where in the country you live. I think Newstead Wood has a 9 mile catchment area. Lots of children in the area also sit the Kent and Bexley grammar tests.

Having said which, in the event of tied scores, distance will be the tie breaker (so if your child comes in the bottom band, as it were, then you're likely to lose the place to a closer child if you're a way away).

x-post, Zen1. Checking admissions page on sites for schools would probably be best, OP!

Sorry, just realised that last one is already sold. It's probably the large garden that will be hard to find closer in to town. I would agree that Sydenham, Upper and Lower Norwood, Crystal Palace, Annerly, Penge would have more properties with gardens and still not too far out. CP has Harris Academy 2ndary which I believe is outstanding. Also commutable by train to Sutton Grammars. Don't know Catford except to drive through, it's not v preposessing from the S. Circular but then nowhere is!