Forest Hill/Crystal Palace?

[poppybell]

We rent in Wimbledon at the moment but want to buy in SE London. We're thinking Forest Hill - we've been there a few times and love the Horniman, and the fact that the area is full of young families. I've also heard Crystal Palace mentioned a few times as a good place to bring up kids; but a colleague of mine who rented there until recently says he wouldn't buy there - full of boarded-up businesses, pound shops and tramps apparently ... but then again he dreams of gated communities in Surrey so we probably don't have the same taste...

Any opinions/advice greatly appreciated. We have a budget of £700,000 and two small children, so will need to think about schools as well.

Thanks for all the input. We're lucky in that we don't have to sell anything so can take our time a little to find the right place now that the market has cooled down. I've heard from a few people that West Norwood is the new East Dulwich, but hadn't really considered it (mostly due to my probably incorrect perception that it is a bit dodgy). New picturehouse is a major bonus though.

Oh, just noticed what you said about prices shooting up in W Norwood. Thought things had calmed down considerably since last summer. Perhaps we'd better get a move on.

I think you can still get something in Forest Hill for your budget. Prices have gone up a lot though.
Check out these houses in Honor Oak (Same post code as FH)
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48607445.html
Lovely road in Honor Oak, probably in catchment for Dalmain school which is very popular.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50747150.html
This is actually a house not a flat. I think it's a bit overpriced. Your kids would get into Stillness Infants, which is rated outstanding.
Honor Oak has a nice community feel, a small high street with a sainsburys, a florist, cafés etc and is on the Overground.

I was going to say that we're round the corner from Horniman and putting our flat on the market in a fortnight, and that you should buy it, but your budget is huge and so I don't think our 2 bed is suitable for you ha! :)

I do like FH, as far as London goes, but I am not a fan of London living overall so probably not a good judge. It is a bit of a bummer that the South circluar runs right through the middle of FH, and people will tell you there is a great sense of community here but I don't feel it. Lots of run down shops too, but apparently it is still up and coming, and there are lots of nice shops and cafes too which maybe balances it out. Great transport links, beautiful views, Horniman gardens and Peckham Rye are great, and East Dulwich/Lordship Lane great.

West Norwood IS dodgy (though not as bad as South Norwood...).

You'll be waiting a long time for West Norwood to be like ED.

Probably never a good idea to move to an area in the hope that it'll turn into another area.

You'll be waiting a long time for West Norwood to be like ED.

I fully remember hearing the same about East dulwich not that many years ago...

10 years ago - surely the OP doesn't want to wait 10 years for it to be the next ED.

Lulupeg - we are just off the Stanstead Road near the Blythe Hill Tavern.

Really happy here. ELL easy to get to but also benefit from Catford Stations. Also easy walk to forest hill or Honor Oak or bus to Brockley or East Dulwich.

Also in catchment for Kilmore and Rathfern.

I know lots of mums on the Corbett Estate though and it's a great community. It was just a bit far for us as we have friends Forest Hill side.

Feel free to PM me will any more questions.

Some sound points raised here.

We needed extra space and were out priced of Kennington so looked for houses in FH, CP and W Norwood.

Moved to Gipsy Hill over 2 years ago primarly because a great house came up. Tbh though if this house was in FH or W Norwood we would of lived there.

Plus points for Gipsy Hill/CP. Good rail connections. In my view better than FH as reasonable time to Victoria (26 mins), Balham (N Line) aswell as London Bridge (26 mins). FH feels less well connected to central London but quicker to get out East, Canary Wharf etc.

Loads of parks in easy reach: CP Park, Norwood Park - stunning views btw, Westow Park and quick drive to Dulwich Park, Brockwell Park.

Leafy and not dominated by traffic.

Check catchment areas to schools -at the moment we are ok for Kingswood. Hope this remains until DS is ready to go to school.

CP shops are fab too - great deli's, loads of tasteful gift shops, an independent bookshop, antiques and some excellent restaurants/pubs. I never tire of going to Joannas a really good European place. The high st is not dominated by chains either which is refreshing.

All depends what your looking for op but good luck on your search.

Please God no to Forest Hill or Crystal Palace becoming like East "knit your own knick-knacks and charge someone else a 100% markup for them" Dulwich.

Op, if you have a choice, I would go for Crystal Palace or Catford over Forest Hill. Just because the south circular does dominate so very much there, and it takes 5 minutes to cross the road opposite the station.

Plus 'pop up' shops can do one too...they're ruining Brixton!

Apatite, I lived in East Dulwich in the late 80s (yes, I'm that old) and even then it was way nicer than West Norwood is now.

Sydenham all the way! Good schools if you're 9n the forest hill side of the high St, great shops (butcher, grocer, independent bookshop, coffee shops etc) but not twee or overpriced like ED. And you still get a seat on the London bridge train. It's ace??.

I'm with you mintyy, I'd hate for FH/CP to go the way of twee ED

I'm going to SE London to escape from the ubiquitous artisanal quinoa weaving shite.

Watching this thread closely as we are also considering moving to the area...however, we have considerably less to spend (up to £500K and need 3 bedrooms). Does anyone have any thoughts on some of the adjacent arease.g. Catford, Hither Green, Penge, etc.? We'd like a decent school (one in year 1 and another in year 4) but I am more concerned about the 'feel' of the school than league tables/Ofstedthe children's current school doesn't look brilliant on paper but is actually lovely. Also I know nothing about secondaries in the area and would be grateful for any info.

Ideally we'd like to find a Victorian with 3 decent-sized bedrooms that doesn't need too much work, within good walking distance of a station with direct links to London Bridge (where I work). Is this possible? I notice some mentions of being outbid, which makes me a bit nervous...buying/selling/moving is so stressful but on the other hand I am currently looking at a 1 1/2 hour commute each way which is just not sustainable!

I think the market in that area went a bit crazy last year - peaking around March/April - but has calmed down a lot since then. Some sellers tried their hand with outrageous prices, and then couldn't sell. So I wouldn't be totally put off by high asking prices if they look much more expensive than anything else that has sold in the road previously ... Keep an eye on the rightmove/zoopla stats. For example, at the moment, there are 46 houses for sale in West Norwood and only 11 under offer. Average price have increased by 11% in the last year, but not 30% like some of the asking prices would lead you to believe. And prices are down 1.3% on 6 months ago, so not continuing to rise.

We were buying somewhere in West Norwood last year. It was first advertised at a reasonable price. Got a lot of interest, so went to sealed bids - we won with an offer that was £30k over asking. We went through the valuation, mortgage offer and then a few days before exchange - when we had foolishly already exchanged on the flat we were selling - the West Norwood sellers 'ghost gazumped' us. Basically, they gazumped us themselves without another buyer lined up, by upping the price by a further £70k!! So £100k above their original asking price. We knew it was a crazy price for the property, so had to pull out and start from scratch while being made homeless (the sellers never really apologised or seem to think they had done something wrong). We ended up finding a cheaper property that we liked more and was more central The WN sellers re-marketed at the new +£100k asking price ... didn't sell ... They dropped the price by £10k ... didn't sell ... dropped price by another £10k ... went under offer for a little while, then came back on the market. Dropped price by another £25k ... still didn't sell. A couple of months later, they withdrew it from the market and I haven't seen it back on. If they put it back on again, I think it might be below our original offer price. There's still a lot of demand, but not at crazy prices.

Cunningplan, that's outrageous! Some people are just greedy. Good for you for finding somewhere else.

Oooooh that is brilliant cunningplan! Revenge is sweet .

cunningplan, there is a special room in hell reserved for ghost gazumpers. So glad you found somewhere better.

West Norwood is dodgy?

With it's family friendly Ceildhs at the portico gallery, the WN Feast (artisan and food markets) every month , the Blackbird Bakery, Beamish and McGlue, a Picturehouse cinema due to open (just like ED!) Julian's Primary, Elmgreen or Dunraven at secondary, a fast trainline and an express bus service?

But then, it's not Dulwich Village, true. Lacks Twee Spirit.

I never understood the draw of Dulwich village. its deathly boring, there's not much there at all!

Another Catford/Forest Hill border person here and love it!!

Appatite1

I'm going to SE London to escape from the ubiquitous artisanal quinoa weaving shite.

Made my day

[Waves at Mintyy]

Alright Monty love?