It feels crazy that nearly £900k isn’t enough to buy a nice house with a garden in a safe area of London!

[Propertyahhh]

A complaint post really.

I know, first world problems. But we have almost £900k to spend and it won’t get us a house with a garden in any London neighbourhood we like (Blackheath, Hackney, Muswell Hill, Crouch End, East Dulwich). So we thought we’d look at Bath, Bristol, Hove, etc and it doesn’t even stretch very far there. Tiny terraces with tiny gardens - if that.

Why is property so expensive?!?! How can so many people afford excess £1m to spend on houses?

£850k walking distance from Victoria Park:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90337678#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110159855#/

Here’s a Bristol one for you.

[quote ghislaine]If you’re considering East Dulwich, you could go just a bit further out to Forest Hill where you could get this: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110302154#/[/quote]
That’s an amazing garden!

Getting on the ladder early. Inheritance. Very high salaries. Windfalls, e.g. paid partially in stock for companies that later floated.

In our case, DH wangled a redundancy payment at the right time that got us on the ladder in an area that subsequently gentrified massively. That got us our family semi in Z4 and the money to renovate and extend it.

Or £900k in Dalston:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/106513277#/

Or blank canvas for £900k within walking distance of Victoria Park:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108542318#/

@NoSquirrels

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90471262#/

3/4 beds on the Cator Estate in Blackheath…

I saw that in my latest search, but the garden is smaller than the garden in my current flat, and the house is only 100sq ft bigger than flat, too. I know that I’m definitely asking for too much!

Right I’m doing North London now…

This needs a lot of renovating but 3 bed semi, north Finchley, right by tube, just up the road from muswell hill which is a safe gentrified area www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107074619#/

3 bed semi, muswell hill, 700k www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/103276892#/

Muswell hill again, 665k www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108606020#/

Walthamstow, v popular, 3 bed semi new build 650k www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108051032#/

Walthamstow again, 3 bed, 575k www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/105516275#/

Lovely period property, 3 bed, 565k, upper Walthamstow www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110332382#/

Perhaps you should adjust your snobby attitude about safe places in London, how you go from looking at only 4 areas in London to outside London, meanwhile dismissing the numerous other areas that are safe is outstanding!

Winchester is an hour from Waterloo, this is on outskirts.
Sunnydown Road, Oliver's Battery, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109105625

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/80004825

This is in a cul-de-sac, handy for the tube and train and pretty safe. Merton Park.

I live in West Norwood and love it, lovely people and spitting distance to good schools, state and private, this property on Roxburgh Rd is great it's a really nice road: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109069094#/

(I am looking at all of these properties you’re posting, btw! Thank you for sending them!!)

Flats are always better value than houses in terms of square footage. You need to be clear what it is that’s important to you - bigger garden (go further out in whatever area you choose e.g. Clifton isn’t going to give you big gardens) or area (you’re paying for location) or house vs flat (what are you trying to get rid of with flat?) or family-friendly etc.

What are you looking for ? how many bedrooms etc , how old are the children if any ? How close do you need to be to a city or London, whats your maximum commute ?

@Dreamstate

Perhaps you should adjust your snobby attitude about safe places in London, how you go from looking at only 4 areas in London to outside London, meanwhile dismissing the numerous other areas that are safe is outstanding!

Also this tbh. As plenty of us have proved there are tons of properties under 900k that meet your requirements in and around the areas you’ve mentioned - my rightmove search in south London turned up over 700 properties under 700k with a garden and minimum of 2 bedrooms. The entirety of London is a melting pot of gentrification and million+ houses next to council estates - yes, some places are more upmarket than others but crime happens everywhere. I’ve lived in London 7 years in many different areas, some you’d probably consider ‘unsafe’, but I’ve never felt unsafe or had anything untoward happen even when living right next to a giant council estate renowned for gang crime - I’d often cut through the estate and exchange greetings with the residents.

Whereabouts do you live now, and do you need to consider schools etc.?

I live in Bristol and 900k definitely enough to buy a nice 3-4 bed with a garden in some of the nicest areas. Would suspect the same is true in Hove and Bath. Makes me think you must be after something very fancy if you’re not finding anything you like for that budget.

Buy in Kent?

I get what everyone is saying, but I kind of know what you mean OP. You’d think you could get a mansion for nearly £1m, and it is a bit galling to realise that’s going to get you a very ordinary terrace with a postage stamp garden.

You’re being far too fussy on area. It really pisses me off when people bang on about not being able to afford to buy in London when what they actually mean is they’re being snobby on area.

Without meaning to sound horrible @Hallyup6, it’s because Londoners are paid considerably more on average and career prospects are generally better. I hate the daft house prices in London as much as the next person, but we’re not stupid for paying what we did. My family think we’re idiotic for living in London and tell us frequently! In real life I’m too polite to point out that I’m paid much more than the rest of my family (who all live in a very low cost area of Wales) So I bite my lip! But it’s just economics, I guess.

We haven’t had any inheritance or gifts and saved a 300K deposit quite easily. I know that’s mad privileged in so many unfair ways but it’s a fact and we did it entirely without help in our 30s. Meanwhile, my parents in their early 60 still have a mortgage.

Here in Blackheath?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/106506953#/

I know it's slightly over 900k, but maybe worth considering?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/66820966#/

Wonder how much this would be in London

@Dreamstate

Perhaps you should adjust your snobby attitude about safe places in London, how you go from looking at only 4 areas in London to outside London, meanwhile dismissing the numerous other areas that are safe is outstanding!

Sorry if I came across that way. The areas in London I listed are ones I know well, seem to have great schools, and I know a few people who live there so the adjust wouldn’t be so big.

I certainly haven’t dismissed everywhere else in London, but the general trend where I live with a budget like mine or less is to move to Tottenham, Leyton, and so on. I personally don’t feel safe enough at night in those places.

I am definitely not dismissing areas in London I don’t know. I’m super interested in these areas people are mentioning here and am clicking on all the houses (thank you again everything!).

I did start the thread as a self indulgent whine! But I am very much appreciating the useful input!