Where in London to buy for our circumstances

[mysteryfairy]

Our main family home is in Yorkshire and on the east coast mainline (into kings cross). No plans to change this.

DH works in London, nearest tubes to his office are Bank/Moorgate. He stays in hotels in the week. His travel and hotels are funded from his earned salary as his contract is London based. My role is based in Yorkshire, but with frequent commutes to two London offices, one at Canary Wharf, the other by the Tate Modern so I tend to use train to Blackfriars bridge, but can take tube to London Bridge. My London travel is covered by expenses though I do have an option to take a small per diem instead of hotel costs.

DD is due to go to university in October 2020. Her top two choices are LSE and KCL.

I'm wondering about buying a flat...for DD to use for second year onwards and rent out room(s) to other students and then for us to use in the longer term. My rationale is that we would save the dead money of student rent and hotels and this plus the convenience might make it worthwhile.

I don't have a budget in mind other than ideally keeping costs low for London - under £500k for sure. I'm assuming would be wise to look south east or east.Would want it to be served by good public transport late at night so probably tube rather than Train? Schools not a consideration so possibly an area with poor school options would go in our favour.

Does this sound like a sensible idea? Only thinking about starting to look currently and would wait to see the Brexit fall out before committing. If it's a good idea where should I look?

This looks nice and is v quick into KX.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63394698.html

I'm obviously a bit out of touch ,London prices have come down a lot! That's a really nice flat.

Deptford?

25 mins from st pancraa by Thameslink, much nicer than getting the tube when your dh arrives from Yorkshire. 1 stop from London bridge, the line also runs to farringdon and city Thameslink. And a different line runs to canon st in 20 mins where your daughter can walk to strand.

new cross station is 10 mins walk away with overground trains to shoreditch, dalston etc. Also Canada water if you want to change for canary wharf, although would be quicker via London bridge.

Overall deptford is a shit hole, but it's "up and coming". The area around deptford station has nice coffee shops, library, leisure centre. Three is a pedestrianised path between the stations with some houses around a park. New flats are being built. Quick bus to Greenwich.

I'm obviously a bit out of touch ,London prices have come down a lot!

475k for a small 2-bed flat in zone 3? Doesn't look that massively cheap

According to government stats, the average London property price is now 479k, 0.1% up from last year.

I think your DD will find herself rather isolated from her peers if she lives in a flat bought by her parents.

My budget is about £325k and there's loads of 2 bed flags in SE London, some are actually very nice !

I think your DD will find herself rather isolated from her peers if she lives in a flat bought by her parents.

Why? The OP has suggested she use the flat from the second year, so presumably they're planning on her going into halls for the first year. She can spend the first year working out who she wants to live with for the second year. She won't have to put up with the distraction / stress of living in a party house if she wants to work (she can always visit them if she wants!)

People will be spread out once they leave halls (which is common in the second year) especially as there's so much pressure on accommodation in London.

that's just my opinion. I went to uni in London and you're not that spread out. Where the DH wants to live may be completely different to where second year students are - I wouldn't live now in my 40s where I lived as a student, equally there are no students living where I live in zone 2 London.

And I wouldn't fancy renting a room from a mate who's parents' flat it was. That's a real power imbalance.

Peckham is on the up and you could afford it. Good transport including direct St Pancras link. It's very sketchy in parts though.

I lived in Deptford 15 years ago and loved it. Not a shit hole if you actually spend any time there. It was up and coming then and has up and arrived now. Overground at new Cross/Gate but I'm not sure it's ideally placed for your work etc.

Oh I see deptford is on the thameslink line to st Pancras - that's either new or I didn't notice when I lived there!

Students can't afford Peckham - well, not the bits your DH would want to live in. I know - I live here! They'd spend their time travelling to other bits of London that they could afford to buy a drink in.

I wouldn't fancy renting a room from a mate who's parents' flat it was. That's a real power imbalance you might not, but others will. A young woman did that on the course I was on, it worked for her.

And if the DD hates it, then they can rent the posh flat out and she can use the rent to live in a more studenty part of town if she likes! It's still security and money not chucked down the drain on rent.

and I know someone who lived in the flat bought by parents and it absolutely did isolate them and didn't work out at all.

I'm not saying don't buy a flat, I'm just saying that I personally wouldn't factor the DD living in it and renting out rooms during her student years.

Check out Kennington. Ultra convenient and there are some really nice pockets of properties close to the tube station once you get off the main road.

As a Londoner, a parent who has DC at London universities and having ben a post grad in London, I would say there really is no point in buying somewhere like Deptford or Alexandra Palace if your main priority is finding a place where your daughter will live. Even if she is willing to live there, she may find it hard to find flatmates from her course.

I don't know about KCL/LSE specifically but certainly for other London universities there are hotspots where everyone lives and where the social life is based. It can vary between courses as well if there are multiple campuses. You should be able to find out with a bit of research where they are.

We looked at investing in a flat here: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73298329.html
There are a lot of student lets in the building (mostly UAL and KCL medics/nurses/dentists). It is a location that could work for LSE/KCL and your commutes.

And I wouldn't worry about your DD living in a flat you own. It seems quite common amongst my DC's friends.

It’s quite common for parents to buy student houses in my experience having both lived in one when I was a student and now knowing lots of people who have done it for their DC so I’m not over concerned regarding that aspect. DD understands that studying in London is a vastly expensive privilege and that we might try to mitigate that.

My niece went to KCL but was on the Waterloo campus whereas DD is looking at being on The Strand. I’ll see if DN has a view on locations. I know she lived in Bethnal Green for at least one year.

To those suggesting small and in nice area I also have a graduate DS who might want to live in London at some point(s) in the future so really size and associated grittiness makes more sense as a family investment so we can use it for different family members circumstances at different times. DS would be likely to be philosophical about sharing with his parent(s) if he avoided London rents.

Doesn’t seem like there is any magic answer though for where to look though. To be honest we’ve considered buying in London before and just been daunted by the decision and the difficulty of fitting flat hunting in. As prices have continued to rise and second hand stamp duty become punitive we haven’t helped ourselves so I really want to get further this time.

Someone asked how much DH spends on hotels...short answer is a lot! Can definitely notice it as a serious outgoing now he is not abroad so much.

Would you consider an ex council property?