London Advice

[wilberts]

Hi Everyone,

I am moving to London in September with my husband. We are looking to but a 1/2 bed flat with a view to living in it for 1 year and then renting out or putting on Air BnB. Budget is max £400k.

We have seen a flat in Kennington - just beside the Texaco fuel station and wondered if you could comment on the area? Is Kennington generally nice? What we find appealing is its location to the centre of London.

Please also recommend any alternative areas.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kennington is central as you say and has nice bits. Also not so nice bits and feels like a thoroughfare in much of the area, like people pass through it on their way elsewhere.
You can only Airbnb a property 90 days a year in london. What will you do after if you rent london flat out? Rent elsewhere or buy? Be careful about stamp duty.
Tbh, I can’t imagine a £400k flat in Kennington will be very nice, seems cheap for the area. Is it a project/in a large block? Where do you need to be accessible to? Maybe someone here could suggest alternative areas if you explain your requirements.

What are your commute/budget/local amenity requirements in your ideal neighbourhood? I'm sure we can come up with some suggestions for you!

I work not far from there. Is it the Texaco on Kennington Rd? It's a very busy road. It would rent well for location for anyone working around Westminster, Victoria, Vauxhall etc as it's all walking distance.

I have a feeling that that area near Black Prince road/Lollard area(is that right?) is home to a lot of social housing, which may be a bit rough. This may not bother you at all, just FYI. Also, I am often wrong.

In general, London, and especially south London, are complete patchworks. You really need to go and get a feel of the area as two streets just a hundred metres apart can have wildly different characters.

Also, you may not worry about social housing, but you will find it harder to rent a flat out if it’s ex-local authority/next to social housing. Kennington is fairly notorious for gangs and drill groups (hence the “Kennington Bop”), and although the gangs (I think) are based in Kennington Park, lots of people would steer clear of Kennington estates in general. Just something to bear in mind.