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?

It would buy you plenty where I am which is a popular community town for London- just under an hr on the train.

Beckenham, west wickham, Crystal Palace/Penge, all really good areas transport links/green spaces/ plenty of good restaurants & bars some really excellent schools.

@frumpety

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 ?

Three bedrooms with room to extend if and when we need to (children growing up and wanting more space); a garden of at least 50ft (I know this is a massive ask! But I am a very keen gardener and my children love playing football - these things aren’t very compatible anyway, tbh ), and somewhere friendly, great schools - both primary and secondary, great vibe, loads of kid activities on the weekend, and liberal.

It’s a big ask!

And yes, commutable to London 2-3 days a week. DH says he’ll do a long commute for a great area - which is why we started looking at Bath and Bristol and Hove - but I think it’ll be hard for him to commute more than that. (He currently wfh 100% because of Covid, though that’ll change. His company is willing to let people do 2-3 days in the office when it does. I am studying and working PT, but in schools, so can work anywhere I can find a job.)

We didn’t (and won’t) inherit any money and we didn’t get on the property ladder in the late 90s / early 00s - so London is feeling tough to afford all of the above in!

I'm buying a three bed house in Wimbledon for just over £900k - it is small by some standards, but perfectly adequate for a family of four. Same street as an outstanding primary, a lovely Victorian Park at the end of the street, and 15 minutes from the tube station. And safe.
But to answer your question - saving and work. And you don't start in a £900k house. My first property was £80k, and through judicious buying and selling, saving, increasing my mortgage, and marrying my husband, we moved ever up.

South Norwood. Walkable to Crystal Palace, bus to Dulwich, 12 mins on the train to London Bridge, quiet, suburban, leafy and a genuinely friendly local community. The 5 bed house I posted is there. I’ve lived in several areas of London including muswell hill and south Norwood is my favourite by far.

You will just have to move to an area in London where you can get a house for £900k.

Orchard Lane, East Hendred, Nr. Wantage
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109594583

Great village! South Oxfordshire

12 minutes drive to station. 35-40 mins train to Paddington

Bounds Green? It's near Muswell Hill. Some nice houses there.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108687809#/

Why not try coming out of London a bit? Places like Hitchin, Knebworth etc? Fast 25 min trains into KX

@NoSquirrels

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

3/4 beds on the Cator Estate in Blackheath…

Holy shit….how much for that house!! 😱

Dulwich & blackheath overrated imho, the traffic is horrendous you pay a premium for the reputation both places being a bit nappy valley vibe.

@NakedAttraction

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.

Agree. We just bought a beautiful 4 bedroom house with a huge garden in South London for 900k.

Areas we looked at: West Norwood, Streatham, Tooting, Crystal Palace, Forest Hill, West Dulwich - all within your budget and feel perfectly safe, certainly safer than Hackney. I do get the sense that some people basically mean "there are too many black people" when they say they don't feel safe somewhere though.

Try Charlton - 3/4 beds with gardens in the streets near the station or in the Charlton slopes area should be well under that budget, and not far from either Blackheath or Greenwich if you like the feel of those areas.

May I suggest you need to be thinking in terms of what you can contribute to the community you are moving into.

If i had that kind of money and a young family I would be moiving to italy who give grants to rebulid the community there.

Stop moaning.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109244834#/

I know the decor might not do much for you @Propertyahhh , but a decent Garden , plus home office, plus space to extend and under budget. Not sure about schools though ?

Exeter is actually a great option and decent train links to London, very underrated

I’ve also felt safe in Streatham Hill www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E85276&insId=1&minPrice=800000&maxPrice=900000&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

Maybe look along the Penzance-Paddington line? Depending on how long your DH is willing to commute for, the lower the house prices are. For example, Taunton-Paddington is 1hr45mins on the fast train - a lot of people live in Somerset & commute in on that train. £900k in Taunton Deane would get you a detached house with land.
Eg:

Greenway, North Curry, Taunton
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110366762

West Hatch, Taunton
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109468760

@Comedycook

Look at Chislehurst, Bromley, Petts Wood, Lee, Hither Green...all nice places imo where you'll get a house for that budget.

Those areas are lovely but quite pricey. You may get a three bed in Lee or Hither Green though for 900k

Look at Wimbledon. There’s over 100 houses with at least 3 bedrooms and garden for sale for £900k or less on rightmove

Worth offering on things outside your price range? Our house is on the market in one of your areas, as is our friend’s, and the market is dead. You might get more than you think for your money.

Whereabouts are you now OP? I don't think you're a snob and the suggestion you're racist is outrageous. I've lived in and around a certain area for the best part of 10 years and tbh I don't have an interest in moving to another part of London that I don't know. If we can't find something we actually want in an area we like then we will consider moving properly out.

Look at Nunhead and Peckham? Nunhead you might br able to find a decent sized place for £900k and there are nice schools around.

Hither Green?