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 :)

[YelloDraw]

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

Check out this woolwich one - you get a nicely renovated property with 4 beds and an OK walk to the station. Looks good for priamries but potentialy bad for seconadaries.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43359174.html

[HeyMicky]

Webuy Both DH and I work in London and live further out. As do most of our friends.

OP, you said you love your new job so can't move out of London. You really can do both. We're not all farmers, village shopkeepers and SAHMs

(I do love London and lived there for years but the idea you can't live outside London and work there is silly. Our commutes are no worse than when we lived at the far end if the District line)

[LadyLapsang]

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/40707073?search_identifier=c04ba5cb306c39e403c47f8f6bd4e0be#h1pkpGEZpMqTIQoW.97

What about this? You have St George's C of E Primary (Ofsted good; 100% pupils made the expected level of progress in 2015, with 100% achieving KS 2 at level 4+) a short walk away; also the free school La Fontaine will be moving to its permanent site nearby in September 2017- also an easy walk. For secondary, if they pass the entrance exams they could travel to St Olave's grammar Orpington (boys and co-ed sixth-form) or the Bexley grammars. For girls there is the Ofsted outstanding Bullers Wood (non selective) a short walk away, or Newstead Wood grammar; there are also a number of co-ed, non-selective secondary schools nearby. If you later wanted to go down the independent route, Bickley Park is 5 minutes walk away and Bromley High School for Girls is about 10-15 mins walk, Dulwich College can be reached by train and Colfe's by the school bus.The station is less than 10 minutes walk and the season ticket is approx. 1700

[dw4518]

I know waiting for Brexit could be a long time but £450k is a stretch purchase for us, I'd hate to buy something to see it drop in value. All that wasted money!

I did notice Gipsy hill/Crystal palace had only a few listings on rightmove for £450k. I really hope they're not rare occurrences and that when I'm ready to buy I'll still find houses in my budget.

I probably need to adjust my mindset, because I feel like anything out of zone 3/4 is too much of a commute. I did consider Orpington (thanks for the link!) especially for the grammar schools but despite it's distance from central London it's prices are on par with zone 4.

Having said that though the travel time to Bank station (where I work) is pretty decent so worth considering.

Bedford, Taplow and Bickley are probably too far out unfortunately, for a commute into Bank station.

Woolwich I know there is a great primary school there called Cardwell. But when I read up on the area the general consensus seems to be that it's a bad area (even people calling it a "sh*thole) so that really put me off. YellowDraw, that 4 bed house is lovely though, exactly what I'm looking for if just considering the house alone.

I hadn't even considered secondary schools yet! It was hard enough getting close to a good primary it would be impossible to try and get both. But maybe I need to think about that too, to avoid having to move later on.

Perhaps I should aim for an area with an OK primary and excellent secondaries? Decisions, decisions..

[camelfinger]

Worcester Park?

[LBOCS2]

You will struggle to get anything in z3/4 on your budget. Especially if you're not interested in any less gentrified areas (where you may well feel at risk of being mugged). Catchment areas for primary and secondary admissions are tiny and as such you'll find that there are three or four streets which have inflated prices as they pretty much guarantee admission to local good schools, and you will probably have been priced out of those.

You really want something on the London Bridge line for Bank - that way you can avoid the hell which is the tube at rush hour and just have a nice walk across the river instead. I grew up in Sydenham and a stopping train to LB takes 15 minutes. Now I live in Croydon and a fast train also takes 15 minutes - but houses are much cheaper and we can afford a lot more space because we're in z5 instead of 3.

[mscongeniality]

We got really lucky when we were looking two years ago, found a 3 bed semi in Buckhurst Hill for £425, 10 min walk to the tube station. It needed some upgrades like new bathroom carpeting and fresh paint to make it okay for short term but were planning a big renovation in a few years time. The street isn't amazing but the town itself is really nice and has a lovely high street and good schools. Otherwise with our budget we definitely wouldn't have gotten anything in this area!
It's all about looking and looking and getting lucky! It might take a while though.

[Oliversmumsarmy]

Elstree and Borehamwood. Fantastic commute to the city. Oyster card still used at the station.
There are 20 properties Including 4 bed semi for around the £410 mark.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54091493.html#_full-description

Excellent secondary schools and can thoroughly recommend Cowley Hill for younger children.

[streetface]

I feel your pain. I lived in London my entire life. I have a great job and so does my husband but I moved out of home at 19 and began renting and saving but was never able to save enough deposit for the size of house I needed (my fault for having a child at 28). I always thought eventually I'd buy there but at 39, and 3 kids, we decided it was never going to happen and moved our entire family and everything we know 100 miles away. Ironically, it was then I inherited a London house. But you know what? Once we moved we found work much more easily and well paid than we anticipated, the schools excellent and less crowded and crime levels much lower. We love it and now rent out the house in London which pays for our rent here and are quite happy as we are. Is it possible to think about changing plans for where you want to live?

[Dozer]

Rent, then once Dc have places buy.

[JassyRadlett]

I think you need to be a bit cleverer/more open minded. I'm in Zone 6 and my commute is much shorter than it was when I lived in Zone 3, thanks to a fast train that comes at least every 10-15 minutes.

Trains really do make a big difference and can give you much more for your money.

Have you tried commutefrom?

[minijoeyjojo]

What about Sevenoaks? No idea what the schools are lik - I think good as friends have moved their for that reason. It's a nice place and very quick to get into London Bridge.

[Oliversmumsarmy]

Elstree and Borehamwood to Kings Cross 19minutes.

[Dozer]

I personally hate commuting and IME it has had a negative impact on my career and quality of life! But housing is cheaper and there are more options for childcare/schools where we are now (within M25 but outside zone 6) than where we were in London (zone 3)

[mishmash1979]

Have you tried Milton Keynes? 35 minutes to londoneuston and 450k would buy you a 4 bed detached??

[Dozer]

Also, train routes really vary in terms of frequency, location (eg walkable/parking availability and cost), fare costs, journey time, overcrowding etc, so that merits close investigation.

We went for a cheap, quiet, but slow train line within walking distance of home, but most people we know have two cars and pay more for parking and fares at a nearby faster line.

[Ifailed]

I did notice Gipsy hill/Crystal palace had only a few listings on rightmove for £450k. I really hope they're not rare occurrences and that when I'm ready to buy I'll still find houses in my budget.
Sorry to be pessimistic, but they will be rare. I notice there are more towards Penge?

[NotCitrus]

Trains direct to London Bridge from Streatham/S Common and Norbury, with a backup of a different train to Balham and the tube if the LB trains are screwed or you don't want to walk in the rain to Bank.

Westcombe Park is walkable to Greenwich and frequent fast trains to LB/Cannon St. Maze Hill pricier as next to Greenwich Park, Charlton probably cheaper.

[Webuyanyname]

I wouldn't recommend trying to get the Northern line or Southern trains at Balham in the rush hour....

If it fits with work hours/childcare times then moving further out can make sense, if the travel options are viable. (eg 28mins to Euston is great if you can walk to the station, you work near Euston and the trains are reliable/frequent/have capacity).

We looked at moving out to Epsom but there was no way of doing it without leaving work 30 mins earlier to make the 6pm nursery finish (which wasn't an option - so we didn't).
We could have tried to use a nanny or CM for a later finish but felt we had little enough time in the evening with dd as it was.

[EvenTheWind]

Look for trains to moorgate or Cannon Street and you can walk to bank from there

[EvenTheWind]

It's quite possible that the houses linked are not in the admission radius for schools you want

[EvenTheWind]

I would definitely rent first in your chosen area if you possibly can to be sure the commute etc works

[sm40]

Hayes. Kent. End of line. 40 mins to London. Outstanding primary and secondary schools. Near Bromley with more trains to Victoria. Zone 5. £30 uber if need a taxi!

[nougatsquirrel]

If you're willing to go 1h 15 minutes (55 mins from station to LBG/Waterloo East/Charing Cross) you could explore Wealden Kent

...www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42110742.html

[nougatsquirrel]

Or
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56501092.html