Cannot afford to buy anywhere in London near good school

[dw4518]

I'm looking for a 3 bedroom terraced house near a good school and within 1 hour commute from central london.

After hours searching I can't find anywhere decent for under £450k. It seems like the only options are to move further out (even commuter towns are expensive!) or live in Plaistow/Canning town/Woolwich?

I'm really stuck! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated :)

[mrstiggywinkletoes]

Dingit - ha - Good point. I was optimistically thinking that the miseryfest that is Southern can't go on forever. And when trains do run, it's not a bad place to be in relation to schools and town.

[HeyMicky]

Are you looking to stay in London? Or would you commute?

For example, we're in a Bucks village. 4 bed, 3 bath + study + playroom end of terrace; cost £418k. Outstanding village school, 28 mins on the fast train to Euston.

You pay for commuting costs, of course, but you get lovely outdoor space and great amenities in nearby towns. It's not for everyone, but you might find far better options outside the M25

[LBOCS2]

Kenley, inside catchment for a 'good' and an 'outstanding' primary, catchment for a very good local secondary, near to two mainline stations (into town in under 35 minutes).

[YelloDraw]

LBOCS2 nice house! Walking distance to station which is good.

[AndShesGone]

Local schools outstanding for secondary (2 state), for primary (good).

The compromise - 20 minutes walk to station but only 20 minutes to Waterloo/Charing Cross

Totally fine area. Live nearby myself.

[dw4518]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I've been at work so only just started looking at the links.

As for compromise, I don't mind "in need of renovation" or in a slightly dodgy area, as long as transport links are good and I can walk around without fearing being mugged.

I live in canning town at the moment and there's constant muggings going on, so wanted to avoid this area.

Someone asked would I consider a flat or moving out of London - I prefer a house over a flat, and also 3 bed flats are really expensive as well so not sure it would be significantly cheaper.

Regards to moving out of London - I've finally found a job I don't hate so while I would love to move out to the countryside it's not a possibility right now.

Right, off to look through the links and suggestions :)

[dw4518]

I've looked through all the links and postcode suggestions and I am really liking Lee/Gipsy Hill/Norbury/Crystal palace! All at the £450k boundary (nothing cheaper sadly lol) but at least better than what I thought originally that there was nothing for under £550k in zone 3.

Thanks so much for all the help :D now just to decide whether to wait until Brexit (fingers crossed for a drop in house prices?) or buy asap.

[FourToTheFloor]

If only we has a crystal ball for Brexit! Good luck. The areas you've mentioned are nice and good commute to London.

Slightly biased as it's my area

[Ifailed]

dw4518
Gipsy Hill is verging on Dulwich, so I'd be v surprised to see a 3 bed house for £450k, unless it had serious issues. If you keep moving out towards zone 4, you are still in easy commute distance for town.

[OhTheRoses]

One hour commute to London: Kent.

[DoctorDonnaNoble]

It's an hour on train from where I live right into the city (Liverpool St). Our 3 bed detached cost nowhere near 450k and I teach at one of the best secondaries in the country.

[HardcoreLadyType]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45038544.html?backListLink=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Fmap.html%3FsearchType%3DSALE%26locationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E1031%26insId%3D5%26radius%3D0.0%26minPrice%3D%26maxPrice%3D450000%26minBedrooms%3D3%26maxBedrooms%3D%26displayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26maxDaysSinceAdded%3D%26_includeSSTC%3Don%26sortByPriceDescending%3D%26primaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26secondaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26oldDisplayPropertyType%3D%26oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26newHome%3D%26auction%3Dfalse%23searchType%3DSALE%26locationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E1031%Here?

It's in a lovely area, with good schools. In particular, near to Darrick Wood which is a comprehensive secondary, which gets very good results. (Also near to Newstead and St Olaves, which are super selective grammars.)

It's a bit of a schlep to Orpington station, but there is a big Carpark there, if that helps. Or you could ride a bike there. Once at Orpington, trains to Charing Cross can be quite fast, as you get the mainline trains from further out, which don't stop after Orpington, as well as the "stopping all stations" type. There are also trains to Cannon Street and Victoria, although the victoria ones tend to be a bit slow, I think.

Well within your budget. The payoff is the distance to a station.

[SuburbanRhonda]

Waiting for Brexit?

Don't hold your breath!

[HardcoreLadyType]

Sorry, link fail. I'll have to try again. But, you should find something not too far from Orpington, which fits the bill. Lots of good primaries, but try to be close to Darrick Wood. There is also a Harris Academy in Orpington, but I don't know anything about it. They do seem to be popular, though.

[HardcoreLadyType]

Better this time?

[aforestgrewandgrew]

Yes house prices may drop, but then again they may not, and this is London we'recommend talking about. If you can only get a house if prices don'the rise then that's a huge gamble and too risky to wait IMO.

When I bought my first place in London people were telling me to wait as it would crash. I could only just afford a 1 bed in the area I wanted and thank goodness I ignored them. The crash did come eventually of course but not before prices had nearly doubled! And London bounces back and kept on rising as we all know.

My parents were unlucky enough to buy in London just before a crash, and their house was in negative equity for several years. However - the house they bought 40 odd years ago for £20k is now worth over £1 million. A bit if negative equity 40 years ago is neither her nor there now!

[aforestgrewandgrew]

We're not we'recommend. Stupid phone!

[Wombletor]

Come to Bedford, 35 mins to St Pan on the train, you will get a nice house for £450k. There are 7 great private schools and plenty of good state schools.

[NotCitrus]

Four there's shops, post office and an excellent pub by Streatham Common station, then a Co-op, pizza restaurant and shops down the Vale, then a Lidl. So meets all the needs that Norbury's struggling high street does, if you're happy to phone for your curry. Streatham's High Road has all the shops and a new leisure centre but it's also the A23 with chocka traffic, noisy, and if you're walking distance from the main businesses then even a 3 bed flat will be 500k. Buses from Norbury every 2 min though. And the Common and woods and Rookery and Tooting Bec are fab.

Crystal Palace likely to be out of OPs budget. Mitcham Eastfields is a walk to Mitcham town centre which is pretty good and affordable, but hard to commute anywhere other than Victoria or Wimbledon/Croydon.

Where do you work, OP?

[SleepFreeZone]

My parents live in Bedford, it's a great town 👍

[SisterViktorine]

Maybe look out along the Crossrail stations?

Taplow, by a lake. Needs some love obviously. Nice Primary close by.

[YelloDraw]

Searching for min beds 3 / max price 450 or 475 / house / added in last 14 days... doesn't return sch a huge no of houses that it is impossible to filter though on RM and go check out the houses/areas that take your fancy OP.

[Webuyanyname]

Look at transport options very carefully before deciding to move much further out.
On paper, it can look great but if there are only one or two trains an hour and they're frequently delayed/cancelled (with no viable alternative transport options), you can find yourself frequently late into work or late for your childcarer.

I don't know anyone who has moved much further out without either taking a job locally or giving up work or family on hand for childcare.

[FourToTheFloor]

I know that pub Citrus and I agree it's nice

[TomHaverford]

Nowt wrong with Woolwich, its actually really on the up.