buying in east london - stratford/maryland/ilford/seven kings/goodmayes

[tricot39]

What sort of budget do you need to get a reasonable 2 or 3 bed place close to one of those stations? Which area has a good sense of community? We had a nose around but have struggled to get a handle on the places... Anyone have local knowledge to share?

Oops forgot Forest Gate...

Hi Tricot, we just bought a two bed flat in Forest Gate, 15 mins from Forest Gate/Upton Park for £220k, which seems to be at the lower end of the spectrum for 2 bed properties in the area. There is a massive leap in prices depending on your postcode as well: E7 seems to be quite reasonable (for London), but if you go even slightly west into E15 then they increase by around £40k.

As for community - well, we're really enjoying it here (although we've only been here a few weeks!). It's been a bit of a culture shock as we moved from a very manicured, concierged, posh estate elsewhere in London, but although there can be some colourful characters (lots of pot smokers in the local park!) everyone we've met so far has been very friendly and a real mix of backgrounds.

Might be worth checking out the Woodgrange forum, which covers the Forest Gate/Wanstead areas and has people who are far more knowledgable of the area than me - www.woodgrange.org.uk/forum/index.php

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions or want to visit the area again and would like a (newbie) local to show you some spots.

I used to live in Newbury Park, it's an ok area but I think Forest Gate or Seven Kings always seemed nicer. Seven Kings is known for having good schools.

Forgot to add, if I had the money I would have lived in Wanstead or South Woodford.

We lived in Seven Kings until last year. I liked it much more than Stratford and seemed a better area than Newbury Park. Gants Hill is really nice too though pricier.

I would have though £300k ish. They're all places that are changing fairly quickly which does impact on the sense of community. Ilford and Stratford have much more going on obviously, but you probably have more chance of long-term neighbours (and a sense of community) in the others.

thanks! the schools around seven kings do look good. where are the nice areas around there?

Green Lane is a bit of a dividing line IMO with the "posher" houses on the other side to Seven Kings station.