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Original poster

Thinking of buying this whopper - how much to do up?

96 replies

Boobz · 29/05/2016 16:23

Edwardian renovation project

I know it's like, how long is a piece of string, but if we wanted to modernise throughout (new kitchen, bathrooms etc), make the lower ground floor a proper livable granny annex type thing, and eventually do a loft conversion, how long/how much are we looking at?

Has anyone done similar? Any good websites I should be looking at for before/after inspiration?

Would you live in whilst the work was being done (3 kids under 8) or no way jose?

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herethereandeverywhere · 30/05/2016 11:51

I wouldn't take kids that small on the rush hour tube every day. My commute runs through Victoria (I interchange to take the district and circle in the other direction to the City) and it's packed. I also gave up on getting overland trains into Victoria (from Balham) because they were so overcrowded I couldn't get on one and they are so much less frequent than the tube.

Unless your journey is done by 8am or the kids start school at 10am you'd be in the worst of the rush hour.

Original poster
Boobz · 30/05/2016 12:32

Hi Here - unfortunately we don't have a choice but to transport the kids by rush hour public transport (either bus, tube or train) as we can't afford to buy a house walking distance from the school - South Kensington is definitely out of our price range! So we will have to do it in any case, it's just working out whether getting straight on the tube at the end of the line in Brixton is going to be SO much better than the train from Streatham Common into Victoria and then getting on the tube there, that it's not worth looking at bigger family houses further afield...

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DumbDailyMail · 30/05/2016 12:32

The commute would put me off. It's a stunning house but think of the hours and hours wasted in commuting.

End of the line Brixton would be a lot less hassle.

Original poster
Boobz · 30/05/2016 12:34

Yes Dumb I think you are probably right... I need to be practical about mornings rather than thinking about the weekends in that garden...

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EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard · 30/05/2016 13:03

I know a few people who've made considerable sacrifices or compromises in order to have a house they fell in love with and I think it's fair to say that most have ended up loving the house, but miserable with daily life Sad

Original poster
Boobz · 30/05/2016 13:14

So it's true what they say - location location location.

Food for thought.

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EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard · 30/05/2016 17:09

I think it is, yes. Go and see it, but look without rose tinted glasses on. I still think about houses that I loved, but rejected because ultimately they wouldn't have suited our lives at the time. I don't regret making those choices.

It's also true that family needs for space do shift and change more quickly then you anticipate, so from experience I would go for flexible spaces over vast spaces.

Will you let us know how it goes?

Original poster
Boobz · 30/05/2016 17:47

Of course!

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YouSay · 30/05/2016 17:58

It is gorgeous. It wil need re-wiring, re-plumbing and insulation. With decorating, new bathrooms and a kitchen you would be looking at £250k at least. I would not live in it while the works were being carried out.

BewitchedBotheredandBewildered · 30/05/2016 18:00

Could you drop the kids and DH at the Brixton Tube?

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Original poster
Boobz · 30/05/2016 18:22

It would take forever to get do Brixton tube from that Streatham location - the high road is a nightmare to get up.

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wowfudge · 30/05/2016 18:25

You've linked twice to the same Hayter Road house OP.

ChablisTyrant · 30/05/2016 18:28

What a lovely house. But you are consigning your whole family to spend a large proportion of their waking hours with a commute from hell that they'll not be able to do independently until very old indeed.

Can you think again about a better commute? Ealing or west London area so it is a single tube? Or the overground from south London to West Brompton then 20 min walk? I go through Victoria every week. Tube usually shut with overcrowding around 8:30am. Truly horrible.

BeautifulMaudOHara · 30/05/2016 18:32

That front runner one would be liveable though, with a bit of paint

DumbDailyMail · 30/05/2016 19:13

The Kellett road one is in a super location and it's a lovely house.

Original poster
Boobz · 30/05/2016 20:15

Sorry the last link should have been:

this one

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TheCrumpettyTree · 30/05/2016 20:57

Love the last one. London house prices are crazy. Over a million for a 3 bedroom house! And I lived in London.

EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard · 30/05/2016 21:41

The last one, Leander Road, does it for me.

herethereandeverywhere · 30/05/2016 22:49

God Brixton is expensive these days!

I like 2 and 3. I'd probably go for 2 because I'm a sucker for a project and think all period houses need 'rescuing'. 3 is a real peach though.

They are beautiful houses with a much more do-able commute - your kids would thank you for it if they knew!

DumbDailyMail · 31/05/2016 00:14

The third one is lovely too but where would you put the bathroom?

How about THIS ONE opposite Brockwell Park or is it too far from Brixton Tube?

Original poster
Boobz · 31/05/2016 08:42

Dumb my DH saw another house to that one on that same street before Xmas and said it was disappointing for the price - smaller than you thought it would be. Obviously being opposite Brockwell is a huge draw though... however we ruled out Herne Hill in the end as we settled on Brixton....

and then my head was turned by the Streatham house...

I think I will go and see that one but I can't squeeze it in next week - am only over for one day really and am already seeing 4 houses in one evening after work!

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Needmoresleep · 31/05/2016 09:26

Boobz, I am a bit [hmmm] about the comments of people like herethereandeverywhere. We have raised two children in Central London. We have a car, but rarely drive. The DC got very used to using public transport from an early age. And loved the fact that as teenagers they could travel anywhere easily and cheaply. Quite different to others who needed parents to drive them to places.

Plenty of South London kids commute to West London schools. We found it easier/more reliable/safer/quicker for DD to travel through Victoria than to trek across to Dulwich. TfL journey planner is your friend. Even better is if the school is near Olympia (SPGS is the prime example) and you can get a train directly from Clapham Junction.

Streatham is nice. The houses look lovely. Thinking about teenagers coming home late on their own, does it feel safer than Brixton or not? Is there say an easy bus from Brixton tube?

pinkdelight · 31/05/2016 09:52

The Streatham one isn't an easy bus ride from Brixton. I live at the other side of Crown Point and have to get a bus from Brixton tube after a night out. It's doable but a major ballache, and I'm closer to the bus route than that Streatham house. You'd really be making life harder for yourself and your DC, when by the looks of things you could get a lovely house near the tube.

Original poster
Boobz · 31/05/2016 09:53

Hi Need - thanks for your comments. How old were your DC when you allowed them to make a journey on public transport on their own - if the journey was an overland train to Victoria, then on the tube 2 stops to South Ken, then a 2 min walk to the school (about 45 mins total if no train/tube delays)? I know they are too young at the moment, but am trying to remember when I used to go on public transport on my own and I am struggling to remember!

There are lots of buses that go up and down streatham high road to Brixton tube - but it's probably a 20-25 min bus ride at least if congested (only 15ish at night I would guess if the road is clear).

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