Looking for a three bed home

[srah21]

This is a long shot, but I thought I’d post anyway. We’re looking for a three bed (somewhere) and we’ve always been very interested in the Finchley area. Mostly because of the schools. We moved from east Surrey to east London and don’t have a lot of knowledge on Finchley and what areas we should be looking at. Our budget is £650k maximum and we are a family of four (two adults and two kids under two) Would you have any opinions/thoughts or suggestions on Finchley or any other areas you would recommend? We would prefer to be in London so that budget really isn't very much but anything a little further out we may consider.

It would be a longer term home so we do have some more needs than when we first moved in east London. I just really want the area to be right for us as a family. Any advice would really be appreciated!

If there are specific schools you’re after, have a look on the council website to see the max distance that children were admitted from in the last 3 years. If you look in those areas (ideally slightly closer in case catchments shrink), then you’ll be able to see if a 3-bed is feasible.

@srah21I live in East Finchley and I love it! The other parts of Finchley are nice too, I often go to north finchley and finchley central to do my shopping

you wouldn't really get a 3 bed house in East Finchley though, unless its a flat. The houses are £800k- 1 million. You could possibly get something in FInchley Central but tbh i find the schools more limited - primary schools are good, but secondary schools seem to be very religious orthodox jewish schools like pardes grammar. I would go for north finchley or n12, there is wren academy there which is rated outstanding.

THis is nice and you could probably negotiate a small drop of £25k.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71902563.html

Alternatively, High Barnet has good schools and is at the end of the tube line. I personally don't really like totteridge & Whetstone but it does have nice green spaces.

Which area of Finchley are you thinking about ? Its a big area. Whetstone is nice but weirdly placed for secondary schools catchments. More down towards Friern Barnet you have the Wren and two other schools.

If secondary schools are a top priority you could apply for Dame Alice Owens, QE boys or Haberdashers. They are all exam based.. unless you are in the catchment (which is tiny) for DAO.

@JoJoSM2

If there are specific schools you’re after, have a look on the council website to see the max distance that children were admitted from in the last 3 years. If you look in those areas (ideally slightly closer in case catchments shrink), then you’ll be able to see if a 3-bed is feasible.

Hiya! Thanks for that. Can I ask what your thoughts are on Frien Barnet? I've seen Some houses available on p/c N3 and N12 but unsure how the area is like there.

@JoJoSM2

If there are specific schools you’re after, have a look on the council website to see the max distance that children were admitted from in the last 3 years. If you look in those areas (ideally slightly closer in case catchments shrink), then you’ll be able to see if a 3-bed is feasible.

Thank you so much. I see so many outstanding and good schools but don't have any in mind at the moment. Maybe you're right, I should look at schools in the first instance.

@AnotherBiteMe

Which area of Finchley are you thinking about ? Its a big area. Whetstone is nice but weirdly placed for secondary schools catchments. More down towards Friern Barnet you have the Wren and two other schools.

If secondary schools are a top priority you could apply for Dame Alice Owens, QE boys or Haberdashers. They are all exam based.. unless you are in the catchment (which is tiny) for DAO.

Oh I didn't know that about secondary schools. Thank you for pointing that out! The kids are under two at the moment but we do plan to stay in the next home for a long period of time so we would also be looking at secondary schools but primary being a priority at the moment.how is Friern Barnet like? I've seen a few homes on sale in the area.

Personally I prefer Friern Barnet (and onwards up towards High Barnet) than other areas of Finchely. There is more green space and less of an urban feel.

@AnotherBiteMe

Personally I prefer Friern Barnet (and onwards up towards High Barnet) than other areas of Finchely. There is more green space and less of an urban feel.

Thank you that's helpful. Do you much about Southgate?

Do you have any commute constraints to keep in mind? Any other factors aside from budget, bedrooms, and schools that you already mentioned?

@househunting19

Do you have any commute constraints to keep in mind? Any other factors aside from budget, bedrooms, and schools that you already mentioned?

Hiya, thanks for the message. We would like to be able to travel into central London by trains within an hour. Not really another other constrains.

Finchley is definitely an option IMO. Lots of green space about which I like.

For some reason, Mitcham in the SW kept coming up when I was having a look around last night. Should be about 45min to central london and you can get a house with a garden at your budget. A few options here, here, and here. All score fairly well in terms of schooling as well, a few OFSTED outstanding primary and secondary schools near each of these places.

@househunting19

Finchley is definitely an option IMO. Lots of green space about which I like.

For some reason, Mitcham in the SW kept coming up when I was having a look around last night. Should be about 45min to central london and you can get a house with a garden at your budget. A few options here, here, and here. All score fairly well in terms of schooling as well, a few OFSTED outstanding primary and secondary schools near each of these places.

Thank you so much for the the suggestions!

We're thinking Barnet as a borough as we like the culture and it's definitely more upmarket than where we are now (East Ham). I'm seeing some more homes come up, even slightly further out. Southgate, High Barnet etc. Do you know much about those areas? I do want the kids to grow up in a safe, mixed community and grow up to have a good understanding of other cultures etc.

As my husband and I are more than likely to be working from home permanently going forward, I don't mind the travel but wouldn't want to move too far out as we have family in London.

Where are your family in London?
How often do you visit. Do you want an hour crossing London or 20 minutes walk?

@Embracelife

Where are your family in London? How often do you visit. Do you want an hour crossing London or 20 minutes walk?

My parents live quite central (west London). It's impossible to find anything close to them in our budget so we're thinking under an hour to get to them by underground is fine. We don't mind a walk/bus journey to the station. Under 1 mile to the station from home is fine too.

My husband is keen to have a good street. He's been looking at the street views and disregarding ones that have busy roads or run down streets. I hope I'm not asking for too much!

If you’re open to the other side of London, then there are good areas on your budget but I wouldn’t recommend Mitcham: the only draw is cheaper housing but otherwise there isn’t much you’d find desirable about it.

In S/SW London, the borough of Sutton would tick your boxes. It’s got top top schools (great primaries, grammars and excellent non-selective secondaries) and lovely, leafy residential areas. The trains are mostly zone 5 with direct links to Victoria, London Bridge + the Thameslink. The nearest tube is in Morden (15 mins by bus) which comes in handy in the middle of the night.

The more desirable and leafy areas for your budget would be Cheam Village, South Sutton, Carshalton Village and Carshalton Beeches. If you regularly need that tube at 3am, then North Cheam, West Sutton and Sutton Common are a 10min bus to the tube and still good (but less fancy) residential areas with excellent catchments.

What about Winchmore Hill, or Enfield? Nice family areas with good schools and that budget would get you something nice.

Do you have a car?
Can you drive?
Hire car for the day and drive around Enfield some nice bits
Where in West London it could take long time to cross.