Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Flip

Original poster

East Finchley

24 replies

May172010 · 01/12/2020 22:05

Is this a good location in EF?
Hertford Road, East Finchley, London, N2
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-87227029.html

We live in central Muswell Hill and love it. Our apartment is of good size and we have a garden (although not directly accessed) however we are getting so fed up of managing our apartment building (4 flats in total). The constant chasing of the other owners to pay for the common cost/tidy etc.
We would love a small house but that’s rather impossible in MH (££££).
Saw this property in EF and looks great. Of course it needs updating but not sure what’s like living in EF. The high street is not the best but that’s all we know

OP posts:

NewHouseNewMe · 01/12/2020 23:20

This house is on the ladder in East Finchley which is the better side of EF IMO. It's very close to Muswell Hill and Highgate - a quick bus ride to both - and within catchment for brilliant schools like the Archer, Akiva etc.

The only downside is that some houses have subsidence. Look down the side of the house for telltale black pointing or rods holding it from the house next door . But that's pretty much the same as MW to be fair.

hopingforonlychild · 02/12/2020 00:06

I live in East Finchley. Hertford Road is one of the Counties Road which is the better side of EF>

hopingforonlychild · 02/12/2020 00:11

@May172010 East Finchley does have some good shops, Tony's Continental and Margot's on East End Road (which sells the best bread, better than Gail's).

my DH and i looked in Mh AND EF and my DH actually prefers EF cos the transport links are better and you can also walk to highgate woods and MH broadways so get the best of both worlds.

I am so jealous though, i would love a big flat in MH! i own a 2 bed in EF.

Whatam · 02/12/2020 01:19

Have you looked at houses near coldfall woods in muswell hill? Around the coppetts road area. I think you will find a much better place than the one you have shared.

ImAKaren · 02/12/2020 08:59

It marked as sold already! Only went on the market yesterday.

Original poster

May172010 · 02/12/2020 11:56

Thank you everyone.

Went for a walk this morning to see the house from the outside. The street is fine and so are the surrounding streets.
Is £950k normal for this area?
Saw the house sold already! All good as we are in no rush so will just keep an eye out on the area.

Margot bakery is fab! We go there from time to time :)
Subsidence:good point. Unfortunately, this entire area is affected by subsidence as is our current place.
Coppetts Wood area is nice and we have friends living that way but we need the tube to get to work so EF and where we are currently is perfect for that

OP posts:

plussize · 02/12/2020 12:10

EE houses tend to be a bit cheaper than MH but not by much - so that's probably what you are looking at for a three-bed house. Personally, I just dont think it has the same feel as MH and to me always came across as a bit depressing esp. the high street, but the schools are good etc.

Beebumble2 · 02/12/2020 12:26

Every time EF is mentioned on here I get really nostalgic. We lived there in the 1980s. It had a real village atmosphere, before the expansion of the North Circular and the traffic increased.

Echobelly · 02/12/2020 12:33

Main street is nice - parking can be very difficult on roads like Hertford, but you may have had that in MH as well.

We couldn't afford EF in the end - on the same day we saw the first flat we bought (Finchley central), we saw another of the same price in EF that was a fraction of the size and much further from the tube.

Obviously EF centre is waaaay nicer than FC, which is a dump, plus EF has Archer (where our daughter miraculously got in last year) and FC doesn't have obvious secondary catchment. Which is why money goes further here!

rockhopper20 · 02/12/2020 12:44

@Echobelly we are currently looking in EF and FC - do you think that EF is a lot nicer than FC? I would have thought that they are about the same, but without the useful shops in EF. No idea why there isnt a decent supermarket in EF closer than the North circular

rockhopper20 · 02/12/2020 12:45

@@Echobelly and how is your daughter finding Archer? Is all the fuss worth it?

hopingforonlychild · 02/12/2020 12:49

@May172010 950k is very normal for this area for a house, which is why I don't think i can ever afford a house in the area but don't want to leave, hence looking at bigger flats for when we need more space.

EF has gotten very expensive, my DH said it never used to be this way.

hopingforonlychild · 02/12/2020 12:56

@rockhopper20 I live in EF but actually I thought FC has the useful shops- huge tesco and superdrug! We use the Tesco in FC, as well as the Sainsburys in MH.EF High street isn't massively useful but does have a Caffe Nero which my DH used a lot during lockdown. It also has a great pub, the bald faced stag. I also go to the wetherspoons in MH but there are too many teenies there.

However, EF has Cherry Tree Woods which is lovely for walks and you can walk to highgate woods from there. Thats what i like about EF, its not a lovely area like Muswell Hill and Highgate but its very easy to get to those places and the house prices are lower.

Echobelly · 02/12/2020 12:58

@rockhopper20 I have to say, while it would be nice to be in EF, I'm happy to have the extra space we can afford in Central (though we also have bad parking!) and don't mind the cruddy high street too much. Having a lot of essentials on the doorstep has been super handy, especially his year!

DD is now in Y8 and has a had a great time at Archer - it's a shame COVID has put a stop to a lot of the enrichment activities that were part of the attraction, but it's a nice school community, it suits her down to the ground and I think they coped pretty well with the whole COVID situation. Other friends with older kids there are also very happy with it.

rockhopper20 · 02/12/2020 13:04

@Echobelly great to know. I actually thought that FC was a bit less depressing than EF but we need secondary schools and EF is much better for that.

Raifa · 02/12/2020 15:33

The counties roads are pretty compact like most of EF, no front garden, terrasse only, two cars won’t be able to cross and parking near the house is definitely not guaranteed. So it certainly does not have this high end feeling found in many part of MH, and at 950k for just over 100sqm of outdated house and a tiny garden, it’s not particularly good value.

I also agree with the others that the 10% or so discount you may get in EF versus MH are not worth the lacklustre of this high street and the much more average feel you ll get there compare to MH. Overall, not a terribly attractive area value for money.

hopingforonlychild · 02/12/2020 16:06

@Raifa Its just like a lot of north london. Not applicable to most people on Mumsnet. MH isn't within the eruv but EF and FC are. it means my very religious MIL can visit me on Saturday and she actually walks here from hendon; if i lived in MH, she wouldn't visit.

So its attractive to jewish families. MH synagogue is trying to get an eruv built but these things take time.

hopingforonlychild · 02/12/2020 16:09

Oh and the only bad thing about EF that I can think of is Barnet Council...
they are dreadful, be prepared for that! I would like to live on the MH side of EF just to escape them. They are not good at bin collection, or anything else for that matter.

Raifa · 02/12/2020 17:52

[quote hopingforonlychild]@Raifa Its just like a lot of north london. Not applicable to most people on Mumsnet. MH isn't within the eruv but EF and FC are. it means my very religious MIL can visit me on Saturday and she actually walks here from hendon; if i lived in MH, she wouldn't visit.

So its attractive to jewish families. MH synagogue is trying to get an eruv built but these things take time.[/quote]
So are you saying that this area is priced higher due to its appeal to the Jewish community?

hopingforonlychild · 02/12/2020 18:00

@Raifa I think it does play a part. I know in Hendon and FC, it definitely plays a huge part as there are a lot more Jews there. I remember being at a family friend's Friday dinner and a lot of the people there owned houses in Hendon and all were emphatetic in saying its a horrible and overpriced and grotty area, but the synagogue and shops are there so what can you do? Its less so for East Finchley cos there are fewer jews, but having the eruv there would mean that religious Jews would view it as an option(without the eruv, they cannot use a stroller or carry things outside their houses on saturday) and the liberal jews like myself would still think of it as a jewish area. There aren't that many areas with a significant jewish presence- its Hendon, Golders Green, FInchley, Borehamwood, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Radlett. East Finchley is definitely nicer than a lot of those areas and cheaper than the likes of HGS and Radlett.

But JFS and JCoss both run buses to n2 and DH had a lot of schoolmates who lived in EF back in the day. I also picked my flat cos it was near to akiva.

SimplyRadishing · 02/12/2020 23:38

Wow... Amazed at the price of it!

We recently bought and looked at a 4 bed semi for a million in EF about 15 months ago!
I guess the prices must have really moved on (not sure they've move much where we actually bought 😂)

Whatam · 03/12/2020 00:13

To be honest, I wouldn't pay nearly a million pounds for that house. I am sure it will need a lot more money put in to modernise it. I always thought East Finchley was cheaper, atleast when we looked. For the road, it is one of the nicer roads. I understand the convenience of living closer to the tube. But if you are not tied to the area, then I would recommend looking in other areas as well. There are very nice areas which are close to the tube station but also where your money will go further.

ImAKaren · 03/12/2020 09:02

Well obviously someone thought it was a bargain, as it sold very quickly.
I like East Finchley; it doesn't have the village atmosphere of Muswell Hill but it does have the tube!

sammyvine · 20/04/2021 19:22

@Echobelly

Main street is nice - parking can be very difficult on roads like Hertford, but you may have had that in MH as well.

Hey I just this comment. How do you find Archer school? It’s obviously got great exam results and ofsted ratings but it’s good to ask people who have kids that actually go there. My sister is looking to move to a nicer area from Tottenham with her husband and two small children and is looking at East Finchley as a place to move to. Did you get into Archer from Finchley Central? Isn’t that some way out? I heard the catchment for Archer is tiny and you literally need to live on the doorstep to get in....

Flip