small house or a large flat - help me decide

[colabottles21]

Have just sold our house during the lockdown and are contemplating our next move. DH got a job in London and will have to be onsite three days a week so the plan is to move there. The only snag is that on our budget we can really only afford a very small house in an ok-ish area or a big flat in a really nice one. Have only one DS so schools are important as is the general feel of the area. Would it really be too weird for our next move to be a flat? Or do we have to settle for a much smaller house in a less nice area? London prices are crazy and I didn't think that we'd be contemplating this in our 40s but the new job is great and it would be too much of an opportunity to miss it. But having never lived in London we just don't seem to have as much equity as everyone else here.

Has anyone successfully lived in a flat with DCs? Did you end up moving to a house after all? Was it weird to be living in a flat if everyone else had a house? Am clearly overthinking this and am just trying to sort out what I think and what is feasible.

I'm zone 4 and we have an affordable house. Always lived in flats before in zone 2 and would never go back. Having a garden is priceless when London parks are getting insanely busy. We did have a chichi garden flat conversion at one point but there were worse noise problems than a house and had to share the garden with the other tenants.

I've just seen that your DH will commute to Aldgate East. You could consider areas on the overground line that goes into Whitechapel which is fairly convenient for Aldgate East. E.g. Brockley, Forest Hill, Peckham, Honor Oak, Sydenham. There is also a fast train into London Bridge. I have family that live out that way and they say it is very good for families.

I would never buy a leasehold property. I am saying this as a Leasehold Administrator.

Nicer area for your child, I think is a priority, at this time. Adolescents become their peer group. Though, do lots of research on the neighbours for shared issues, fire costs are pertinent now after Grenfell, etc on a flat.

Mount Pleasant Road, New Malden
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73483188.html

Weir Hall Road, Upper Edmonton, London, Weir Hall Road, N18
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-88398814.html

Ealing Road, Brentford
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-88110601.html

Ashcombe Square, NEW MALDEN
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-85457134.html

Willow Way, Epsom, KT19
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73018629.html

If you're working near Aldgate east you can also look along the East London line (Whitechapel station is a short walk away). There's loads in the Crystal Palace/Penge/Sydenham area for that budget - although check exact distances to stations and schools.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E70306&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=600000&minPrice=500000&radius=0.25&sortType=1&index=72&propertyTypes=&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

Our friends bought a downstairs flat in a house conversion, and honestly, it’s the nicest place and I’m so jealous of them. You can find some real treasures out there if you look around.

If your DS is 9 I would be renting for 18 months and focussing on secondary schools as some of the catchments are very tight. I don't think prices will rise for a year or two either and it might be good to get a feel for London and areas before you buy.

Freehold every time.
If you so decide to go the leasehold route, get your solicitor to tell you the length of term left on the lease, level of ground rent and service charge and who the freeholder is before you spend any money on searches.
If lease term is approaching 80 years, the ground rent exceeds or can can £250 per annum during the lease term or if the freeholder is absent/insolvent then you are going to have issues with the mortgage lender unless the lease is varied.
That’s aside from cladding issues.
As I say; go freehold!

I wouldn’t recommend: Edmonton / Tottenham / Walthamstow or Enfield. I just don’t like the areas, they don’t feel safe for teenagers.
I would recommend Chingford. Especially the Highams Park area. Lovely green areas but also on a mainline to Liverpool Street
www.purplebricks.co.uk/property-for-sale/3-bedroom-semi-detached-house-london-1020250

Oakdene Road, Sevenoaks, TN13
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72067482.html

If I was in your position I'd honestly move to Sevenoaks, albeit houses go quickly, because it's a lovely area and really good schools, it got a central mainline station to London that goes to Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Victoria, and others, all really accessible rinAldgate East and anywhere else in central london, plus a great shopping town, but close to the countryside and green spaces so brilliant for kids

You can get detached houses 3 bed for your budget too

I’d opt for a really tiny house which needs work in a nice area and keep clutter minimal and develop the layout.