Brixton, Herne Hill or West Dulwich?

[Boobz]

We are looking to buy a 4 bed property in one of those areas (schools not a concern) - which would you angle for and why? We are looking at these properties - which one would you plump for do you think?

Brixton - which one day could look like this (same road) Helix Road 2

Herne Hill

West Dulwich

We bought our first flat in Streatham, back in 2005 for £170k.... we nearly bought a flat on Dulwich Road but got into a bidding war and we couldn't go any further than £225k... makes me weep now to think how much that flat is worth and why oh why couldn't we stretch ourselves to get into it! But hey ho you have to let those ones go, don't you?

I am now torn about trying to buy now and waiting until we actually move back in August... part of me wants to do it now as I am so impatient and want to have a house to move back into which is big enough for all of, but another part is thinking we will be able to get a bigger mortgage if we wait... (but should we really try for a bigger mortgage? We're already looking at nearly £600k - argh!)

I hear you. i massively stretched myself to buy my flat on my own in 2010 and took in a lodger but then met my partner just after I'd bought. Too early to jump into a mortgage with someone i'd only just met but we still looked at a few properties in the early days. It's such a shame that we can't afford to move to something bigger within the area we love without massively compromising ourselves financially - that said, I guess there is an argument for doing it whilst you can and every time I think the prices can't go up anymore they do. Might just do a little property search! Good luck with finding something. Helix Road looks a lovely wide road. I don't think I've ever been down it but there's something appealing about a wide road and a wide house!

A random suggestion that might not be helpful ... have you thought about living in NW London and sending the kids to www.lyceeinternational.london/ in Wembley? Biggish 4-bed houses in that area, and a straightforward journey into town on the Jubilee line. Also much more convenient for seeing your friends in Queens and Belsize Park.

It would probably be too far to run on your non-dropoff days though! And if you're after a more urban feel you'd probably want to live closer to the centre of town. Maybe not an option, but I just thought I'd put it out there ...

Yes we looked at the 2 French schools up north, but unfortunately neither of them start young enough for our smallest, so he would have to go to a different school from his sisters for a year, possible in a completely different part of London, which really would be a nightmare!

The helix road house is nice and isn't in too bad a state.

On the building work we're reaching the end of our renovation now. It has cost a lot less than the quotes up thread but we've done it slowly, lived through the work and done lots ourselves.

All the structural work has been done which includes a loft extension, small two storey rear extension and knocking through rooms needing steels put in place on 2 floors. The structural work has been under £100k. We've engaged separate contractors for electrics, gas, plastering etc.

It is possible to renovate and extend for less but it is hard.

Agree Helix Rd doesn't look too bad. We moved into our place hating everything and insistent that virtually every brick had to go. It's amazing how much more liveable a house becomes when it costs a lot to change it

This thread is funny. Someone can post begging for help on a serious boiler issue and get a couple of responses, but it always seems to be the 'which small part of London shall I live in' threads which get the hoards out (me obviously included)

Who did you use for the structural stuff btw Brugs? PM me if you don't want to post the name.

Oh yes can you PM me too! Did you use an architect?

I doubt I will want to live through the work - I much rather want to buy the house now, pay the people to do the work and move in to a gorgeous house in August all done so I can concentrate on work and kids can concentrate on school

Going through purchase, planning and building work by August would is a bit optimistic - August 2017 perhaps!

We got a loft company to do the loft first. I wouldn't recommend them but they had done lots in our area so knew what the houses were like and what could get planning permission. When they did the planning permission we got them to include the extension. They only did a shell and we did the rest inside, part diy and part other contractors so we had control over the finish and details.

When we were ready to do the rest we got a family friend architect to expand on the plans we had and he got quotes from some builders he used. The ones we went with are a very small firm based in Essex. I'll see if I can find their details. They were really nice and flexible. Some of the details could have been better but some of that is our fault for not specifying in advance. Again they just did the basic structural work and we're currently finishing off the inside.

All the work we've had done has been broken down into smaller chunks so we can see exactly what the costs are. We haven't had an overarching plan managed by a single contractor. I don't know whether or not this has kept the cost down.

If I were starting again I would find an architect and get them to do all the plans but then get similar quotes by phases of the work and doing the work gradually. That way we'd have a better oversight from the outset of it all and not had delays while we had to find the next people to do the work we wanted.

Yes I am an optimistic person :)

To be honest I think it's going to be too expensive anyway, so am now starting to lean towards something done up...

Thanks for the advice Brug!

It's good to be an optimist

We're just about to embark on a loft conversion and extension and I'm expecting completion by early autumn at the very very earliest.

BRug I would love a PM with your builders details. We used a couple of guys from Essex in our last house too - Clive and Steve - they were top notch, was sorry when they finished the work, we actually enjoyed having them round the place!

I have just been going back an forth with a friend who is going a 2000 sq ft renovation including loft (and total kitchen renovation but no extension) and has in on track for £177k, so he thinks the £300k quote is too high. He used an architect for the plans for the loft extension for planning permission, but other than that, has basically done all of it with his builder... so I'm starting to think I might be able to get away with £200k or less?!

Yeah, I think it is possible to get it in for less although until you have a proper look around it's hard to know about things like the roof, pointing, windows.. All big ticket items.

If your friend is happy with his builder might be an idea to get them tentatively on board asap. It's a nightmare finding builders in london at the moment. Even the not so great ones seem to be able to pick and choose their jobs.

If you were lucky that Helix Rd house would still have the lovely tesialated (?) tiles under that carpet in the hall.

But if you're not in the country til August you're going to need someone here to project manage?

If you've got time on your side and you can do a lot of the project management yourself you might be able to rein in costs.

Building an extension will add a fair chunk of £ vs a renovation without extension.

/pessimist]

Helix road gone under offer.

But this place has just come back on market - £100k cheaper, only a couple of roads away and about 100 more square foot.

Double fronted

We saw it before Xmas but it went under offer whilst we were putting in an offer elsewhere - we did really like it but the other place had a bigger garden (West Dulwich). Am now thinking being in Brixton is more important than garden size, and there is a loft conversion possibility as well with this one to make 5 bedrooms. I would knock through the reception on the right into the kitchen to make it a big kitchen diner, and then have the more comfortable living space on the left and side of the house (also knocked through), with both long rooms then having big windows onto the courtyard garden.

And so much cheaper!

I wouldn't be able to project manage initially from Rome I don't think...

That's lovely. Go for it.

The interior isn't pretty but you could live with it or at least partly while doing it up. The kitchen is more bearable in the short term of need be.

I know all those areas very well, having grown up there, left, moved back, left and moved back again....!!!! I have experienced them as a toddler, teen, 20's, 30's etc..

Given you are looking to buy a family sized house, I imagine you are in this for the long haul, and therefore I think you need to consider every stage of your family's life.

I would not recommend Brixton for the years when your child is under 18. It can get very busy and there is no space for them to roam independently or ride a bike etc. You always have to end up going to other areas. Brockwell Park is nice, but it can get busy with lots of randoms and some people wouldn't feel comfortable letting their young teens out there without parental presence. Your kids sound quite savvy, know how to use the tube/bus etc, but having a safe environment with space on your doorstep is priceless when kids are under 18. That being said, transport is great if that is a key factor.

West Dulwich is a slightly bizarre area. I would include the Village as part of West Dulwich (anything in the SE21 postcode). Transport can be excellent depending on where you are as North Dulwich and Tulse Hill station has very good rail links for someone commuting into Central London. Or, it may even be the case you are near the Gipsy Hill end, in that case, you have a 1 stop journey to Crystal Palace which has even better links than the former, and even better links than Brixton in my opinion. To get the real benefit of West Dulwich, I think you need to be walking distance to the Village or the College Ward area which has lot's of safe space.

As a young teen, I really enjoyed West Dulwich. It is safe and very green. The roads are quiet. I remember cycling on pavements close to Dulwich College, playing tennis at their grounds, generally just playing on the streets! There is a lot more 'space' in West Dulwich than the other two areas and I remember my parents not having to chauffer me about as much as friends who lived nearby in Streatham/Brixton, as they were happy to let me wander the genteel quiet spacious streets.

Herne Hill is a bit of a go between, not quite Dulwich, not quite Brixton. A good compromise if you like elements of each of those areas. It's not somewhere you go to visit, in the way that you would visit Brixton or Dulwich. It is quite an expensive area and I am not convinced it represents good value for money.

So W Dulwich walkable to the village is your best bet then? Will have a look...

You really pay £££ for proximity to Dulwich Village! I think you're original property is about as close as you'd get on your budget.

Not sure when iloveinterior knew Herne Hill but it has changed a fair bit in recent years. My DP used to live there and aside from good old Pullens (and 3 Monkeys, RIP) there was not a lot to recommend it, plus no supermarket which was a pain in the bum. There is now quite a cluster of bars/restaurants and shops, a Sainsbury's local for emergency provisions and a nice weekend farmers market. We do actually go there as a destination sometimes!

One good point about Herne Hill is that you're also on the Thameslink route (or whatever it's called these days) with direct trains to Kings Cross. They are often busy as hell in the morning peak, but the return from KX should be pretty painless.

Also...some of those same Thameslink trains go through West Dulwich as well, but far fewer direct.

However, if you OK with West Dulwich transport-wise, you might want to look at what you can get for your money a few stops down the same line (Penge East, Kent House) - property is much cheaper (and the areas are nice!)

going against the grain here, but my vote would be for the West Dulwich/Norwood house. I'd much rather take the overground with children then face crowds of Brixton/brixton tube. Plus Helix Rd is a mile from the tube. a bit of a distance with the kids but if you are going to walk that distance with them, perhaps just overground from West Dulwich to Victoria and walk/scoot from Victoria to the Lycee? You can get the Thameslink from Tulse Hill through to Kings Cross (St pancras).

Along with the cinema, loads happening in West Norwood (FEAST, new leisure centre with pool, new pubs and restaurants) and from that end, still not far from green spaces like brockwell park, belair park, dulwich park, etc.

But maybe something like chiswick would also be better, commute on the district / piccadilly line would suit everyone. (no idea what 1M can buy you around there though...)