Property Hounds of Mumsnet! Alert! I've got £200k to spend in London (yes, I know)

[LastTangoInBognor]

It is as it sounds. What would you do? Where do you live that's nice enough, and above all, cheap, that I haven't thought of?

It needs to be London but obviously won't be central - the ever-creeping Essex/London border is fine but none of the St Albans type stuff. East/South is preferred. I don't need to live in it forever but I do need to live in it for a couple of years. It might be rented out after that so somewhere other people like to live or would like to live in the future would be good. There are no children involved.

Studio if I have to but it would need to be a decent size one. 1 bed fine, 2 bed ideal/an impossible dream. Outside space would be nice.

Ideally I'd like to do a bit of work on it, because I'm not un-handy and it makes the £ go further. But no uninhabitable shells.

A train or tube into central within 1/2 a mile of the flat - 30/40 min into Liverpool St or central proper is fine.

I've been thinking of Croydon. Plaistow. Manor Park. Plumstead. Ilford? Any other suggestions, or thoughts on those bits?

There are a couple of nice one beds by Highams Park and Wood Street stations - pretty quick into Liverpool Street!

Just read an article saying Abbey Wood is one of the next hot spots due to Crossrail.

This might help
www.locrating.com/CommutingMap.aspx

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50152166.html

Fussychica - it is indeed, with the advent of Crossrail. There's a huge development currently going up right next to the station - locals won't be able to afford the exorbitant prices but the grim looking 4 bed house in Abbey Wood mentioned earlier might be a shrewd investment. Especially if you're prepared to overlook the fact that it's really in Thamesmead ...!

Slightly off topic, but how do you know what roads are in what district of London? I never worked this out when I lived in Manchester.
In my town I know the districts because they are generally different estates built at different times. You know where you are because the housing changes.
Do you take it on trust from EAs when they tell you that a road is in a certain district?

would you consider shared ownership? (if you qualify that is)

Edmonton is quiet built up but if you move towards Enfield town or Forty hall there are lovely outside spaces as well, it's a short bus ride to the tube at Oakwood or Southgate.

Can you get one bed anywhere in Walthamstow fpr this kind of money? The one in higham hill I'm presuming has no lease.

MrsDeVere I am so with you on the walking - though that might be partly because I don't have a set work location, and so it's not the same commute every day - maybe if it was I'd feel more ground down by a trek at the beginning and end.

I've been looking around Higham Hill and there are a few nice ones - this is lovely but just out of budget - but then again I might be able to do another 10k, if they'd come down - doubtful, I imagine!.This, this and this are bang on the money, and while not exactly thrilling, would do the job. And I think I could make this nice.

THIS however, I cannot believe. Someone must be pushing their luck, surely - especially since they mention a current rental income!

I remember going up to Walthamstow three or four years ago and even then the area around Lloyd Park was seen as 'not so nice' in terms of house prices - it really is crazy what's happened. And yes I'm sure prices will settle, but I can't see a return to before, without a major cataclysm, at which point all bets would be off anyway in every way.

Tunna I have a weird thing against shared ownership. Not sure exactly why, but I just have a feeling it won't end well. I'm probably wrong but don't think I could do it.

Oh and pipbin I don't know what the official way to do it is but in my experience people generally just use the nearest tube/train as an indicator of what area they're in. Borders move all the time as well, at least according to estate agents.

West Thamesmead is a bit of a hidden gem in my opinion. People see "Thamesmead" and think Clockwork Orange, and yes, central Thamesmead and parts of Abbey Wood are a bit, well, yeah. But West Thamesmead is on the borders of Plumstead and is nothing like its namesake and nowhere near it either. So long as you avoid the flats by the river, the houses inland, especially on the roads named after birds, are very pleasant and quiet. Lots of green spaces, canals, gorgeous walks along the Thames and an outstanding primary school in Heronsgate. Tesco Express not far away.

Best of all, it's under half a mile to Plumstead station, and there are also tons of bus routes all over as well. Woolwich is being regenerated at the moment with lots of big plans in the pipeline so the prices can only go one way. It's also easy to get to the O2 with the restaurants and so on there, easy for Greenwich, and only a half hour drive to Bluewater. It's a mile walk into Woolwich town centre along the Thames or one of the dozens of buses per hour.

Yes, Belmarsh is nearby but aside from when there's a big trial on and a lot of TV crews hanging around, you'd not notice it.

I don't live there now (we wanted out of London altogether) but I lived there for 9 years until a few years ago and in all that time I never had a problem aside from our bikes being nicked from our shed once. I'm pretty picky about places as I grew up in a village in Cornwall so if I didn't mind the place, that says a lot.

The prices are really good, it's why we bought there in the first place as it was the only place in London we could afford a house at the time. It's really worth a look, most people don't realise it exists or confuse it with Thamesmead proper so I think that's partly why it's a bit of a bargain.

MrsDeVere Lets say that OP decided to look at a house on a certain street and the estate agent said 'that street is in Catford'. How does the OP or anyone know that that certain street is in Catford, for example.
You see, I'm from the country and I know when I am in the next village because I have gone through a bit where there are no houses and then I get to a sign saying 'Welcome to Little Sodington', so I know I am in Little Sodington. But how do you know in London?

Pipbin It's a mix of postcodes and local perceptions and knowledge. You can count on estate agents to bend the truth, esp where 'urban villages' are concerned.

Have a look at Cheshunt. You can be at Liverpool Street or central London in 30 minutes.

Re urban villages & estate agents bending truth: years ago on The Archers James Bellamy talked about investing in a warehouse conversion project in 'West Greenwich'. For once they were absolutely on the money (in every sense) as that was just the time when Deptford (as we locals call West Greenwich) was acquiring huge numbers of new flats and conversions taking advantage of the Docklands Light Railway connection to Canary Wharf. Twenty years ago nobody would ever have believed that Deptford (or Peckham, for that matter) would be full of trendy bars and new flats and loft apartments.

Ooh I love threads like this...realistic about what 200k will get you in the capital!

I like this game!!

Camberwell?
Penford Street, Camberwell, SE5
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37737931.html

This one has a pool!!
Tudor Close, London, SW2 2AD
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-50328557.html

Stratford?
DOWNSELL ROAD, London, E15
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48152608.html

E17 has been up and coming for years but I was there recently and it really really IS on its way now. Every other house has painted plantation shutters and a bit of topiary beside the front door.

My hairdresser lives there and he says he's really noticed the difference just lately.

You need to buy in NW10 and benefit from cross rail.