£750k budget, South London, Commutable to Canary Wharf within 40mins door to desk

[Fifikittykat]

Hoping for help and ideas.

I currently own a 2 bed house in zone 2 SE London, near beautiful green open spaces. I bought this house a few years ago when I was single.

I am now early 30s and my DP is late 20s. I have reached near peak in my career re earnings, but my DP is still training and will hopefully be qualified in 4 years. He is an NHS worker, and his salary is quite low at the moment.

I would like to start having children in about 2 years. I am the breadwinner and would like to move to a bigger house before I start trying for babies. I intend to sell my house and buy the property solo as I don't think we will be married before I intend to buy next year.

The high level plan is that I buy a new place next year, with the intention of staying for the next 5 years or so until DP qualifies. At that point, we will have more money to get a better place in time for school catchments to be a consideration.

So my question is, where can I find a 3 bed house, pretty frontage and street, anywhere in South London, 750k Max budget, nice buzz and toddler friendly. Any ideas on suitable areas within a 40min commute of canary wharf?

Have you thought about east London? Eg Leyton/Leytonstone. You can easily commute to CW from Stratford.

Charlton? I don’t know the area, but I know someone who bought on less than your budget.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64184119.html
Or yes, Leyton.

What about north London? N4 area? Might be worth expanding your search area. What else is key for you?

In zone 3 SE London, e.g. Forest Hill, Honor Oak and Sydenham, 750k could get you a lovely house with a quick commute to Canary Wharf. Loads of young families and nice restaurants and green space for toddlers to run around

I did think about East and North London, but I should have mentioned that another of my requirements is I need to be maximum 1 hour drive in traffic from zone 5/6 South West London to see family.

Charlton I looked at, but I worried there wouldn't be much going on and I'd struggle to spend full weekends there. Also felt there wasn't much buzz?

Ah I completely forgot about Honor Oak, FH and Sydenham. I think my favourite is Honor Oak as it seems to have more of a cohesive hub than the other too. I just checked rightmove and property looks quite affordable.

Thanks all

I was also going to suggest the Brockley, Honor Oak, Forest Hill area. That should tick a lot of your boxes.

I live in new cross gate, zone 2, in a Victorian estate of large 3bed houses (1400sq foot) selling for 650-750k with cellars (ripe for conversion) and large gardens. Outstanding school 3-18 on our doorstep. Super close to Canary Wharf and good transport options. There are several families on my small street with toddlers, there’s a free play club in telegraph hill park (the posh bit of new cross) that’s on every day, and loads of baby stuff in Peckham / Nunhead / Brockley / deptford which are all max 25mins walk from here.

Downsides: A2. But we can’t hear it from our street, it’s just busy/dirty when you cross it.

Look is SW however it's going to be more 50min commute both to CW and city. Nice neighbourhood for young families (good schools ect)
good luck!

Yes Brockley, honor oak park or forest hill would be good choices, some excellent schools as well if you're looking longer term and v quick route in on the overground to Canada Water.

Some decent property available as well, these two are within 5min walk of a station, close to decent schools, nice park (Hilly Fields) and restaurants/bars etc.

Howson Road, Brockley, SE4
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54055335.html

Braxfield Road London SE4
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54650127.html

Could just about do nice parts of Hither Green/Blackheath at a push?

Leaning heavily towards Honor Oak and the surrounding areas on the Overground line, but I find them quite overpriced when I compare them to Greenwich. Greenwich is not much more expensive than those areas but seems a lot nicer. Thoughts?

I like Blackheath, but the bits I like are over budget and the transport is NT that great. I am looking at hither green now.....

We’re neighbours wtf!

I think FH/Honor Oak or our way is the answer. Brockley is divided into two halves and you may find that you’re priced out of the prettier, Conservation Area half on your budget if you want room to grow.

If you are looking for leafy suburbia try Purley. Fast train to London Bridge (20 ish mins) then jubilee. Also on Gatwick and Brighton train route and close to M25.
Very middle class sort of area - it's where townies go to settle down with kids.
Not so good if you are looking for lively club/bar type culture unless you want to brave Croydon!!!!

Greenwich is really vibrant with a great community feel but there are nice bits and substantially less nice bits, and the nice bits are definitely more expensive than the Honor Oak / Brockley area. I would check schools nearby too in your search as this can substantially affect prices in SE London, even making houses a couple of streets apart totally different prices due to catchment areas.

The area of the houses whitemarble suggested is great as you have the option of 2 train stations on different lines - transport can be a bit patchy in SE London with only overground.

We used to rent in Greenwich, then bought a flat in central Blackheath and when DD came along, moved to a house in Charlton.

Charlton is much quieter than either Greenwich or Blackheath. But the transport links are great, I could get to Canary Wharf in 30 mins (bus to North Greenwich and one stop on the tube).

Also, you can easily get to Blackheath and Greenwich for the buzz. And there is a lot going on in both those places.

Prices in Charlton are reasonable (for London!) at the moment. You could get something very decent for your money.

Thanks for all the feedback. What are people's thoughts on east. Greenwich? Seems a bit cheaper than west Greenwich, but there are some nice cute roads near the river off both sides of Trafalgar road/maze hill?

I know Purley well but am avoiding as I find there isn't much of a community there.

Charlton is undeniably good value, but I really want somewhere where I can just open my door, walk for 5mins and be in a hub with activity and action. I think Charlton will get there one-day but probably not within the next few years.

The traffic on the A206 is really awful from the peninsula onwards, and suffers badly from the knock-on effects whenever there is a problem at the Blackwall tunnel (ie frequently). I find east Greenwich and the peninsula pretty grim, tbh, and often weirdly deserted.

I heartily echo the recommendations for Brockley. From the northern end of the main roads of the conservation area (Wickham, Breakspears, Tressillian roads etc) you can easily get the DLR from Lewisham or Deptford Bridge.

You might be surprised by parts of Catfird. Also check out Crofton Park and Nunhead