SE London houses - what do you think?

[MrFirstTimeBuyer]

Hi everyone, first time poster, long time reader.

We want to buy a house for a young couple / family in SE London. Budget is around 1-1.25m, and main criteria are a nice/safe area, finished house (not in need of renovation), and decent commute.

Any thoughts on these? The prices seem a bit crazy compared to properties that sold just last year.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118492337#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116841581#/?channel=RES_BUY

I'd rather be too conservative and miss out on the first couple, then overpay and regret later. What do you think? Any thoughts/advice greatly appreciated!

Penge is Zone 4 and in Bromley. I agree it's not that nice. There are a few Penge residents on here who always try to attract people to the area. False advertising!
Brockley, Hither Green, Honor Oak etc are much much nicer areas

Or Peckham, Camberwell, Telegraph Hill part of New Cross, Nuhead...

In terms of future proofing, you might want to budget for private school for your children if you are staying in London. I presume is an option financially. That way, you are less tied to finding a house in what could effectively be a effectively 300m catchment areas for good primary schools or have to go to church every Sunday until the children get into the CoE school.

Zzzz sorry but schools in London are all fine! Better on average than outside London.

Beckenham and especially West Wickham are very suburban/small town feeling, not London. That's one thing to consider.
I don't get what is so great about Hither Green, would definitely choose CP, Penge, Sydenham over there. Agree Brockley/Hilly Fields area is nice but more expensive.

@dewl

Penge is Zone 4 and in Bromley. I agree it's not that nice. There are a few Penge residents on here who always try to attract people to the area. False advertising! Brockley, Hither Green, Honor Oak etc are much much nicer areas

There are also people who judge an area without knowing it... People aren't paid to come on here but they will slap down disinformation about an area they actually know well (such as the one they live in!)

It depends on what you want from an area. I agree Brockley, Hither Green and Honor Oak have nice housing but one cafe, one pub and a deli soon becomes a bit boring and isn't much use if you want a spanner, toaster, guitar, LP, balloon, tin of paint, craft beer, decent coffee etc. Penge has all these things and isn't as limited for transport.

You are never more than 5 minutes from one of the 7 parks in and around Penge. It has practical shops as well as the niche ones, chains and indies, some lovely little bars and pubs (most of which are only known to locals as they are down side roads, etc), local events organised by residents, street parties, etc.

Thanks @MrFirstTimeBuyer for this thread and all the contributors.

I've read it with interest. I'm a z1 dweller but totally and utterly sick of flat living (cladding scandal) and have enough money to buy a small house (all I need) in a leafier part of south london.

The only issues is every time I think of moving to one of these places I have a massive panic about being so far away from all the stuff I enjoy doing! I have friends in most places mentioned and even lived near New Beckenham for a while.

The thread has solidified my decision to just suck up flat living for now. Unless a small 2 bed house amazingly comes up within my budget locally!

Agree with BovineJuice some beautiful housing stock in Hither Green but does feel quite isolated, parts of Brockley & Forest Hill the same unless you are very near the station, horses for courses I suppose Penge can look a bit down at heel compared to Beckenham but it also has a lot going for it in many ways & certainly not short of a place to get a really decent beer/coffee/food a tin of paint or a string for a guitar.

@BovineJuice I know Penge very well. I grew up in the Sydenham/Penge area and I am often visiting family there.
Penge is rough and depressing and Sydenham, although slightly better, is also a sad area.
Penge is not even really London - Croydon more like. It's ZONE 4.
Brockley, Peckham, Camberwell are proper London. Zone 2, much more of a London vibe, more going on and much more central.

Wake up.

yYou can get a 3-4 bed detached or extended semi in Petts Wood/Orpington for that money with a good garden. Chislehurst is also good but a bit more expensive.

Commute is excellent - 15 mins to London Bridge or 22 mins to Cannon St. Very easy for Canary Wharf and if it's the kind of job where you work late and have to taxi home it's doable (25mins ish)

Schools are excellent all the way through. Think about them, they will be relevant earlier than you think. Buying and selling is a total nightmare and you don't want to be doing it in a panic when you have to for schools. Also much easier to sell on if the schools are good when it comes to it.

Orpington was our first move out of London (commuting to CW) and have never looked back. It's definitely not cool but there's enough here in terms of restaurants etc. that it's not a wasteland and it's really easy to London because of the fast train. All of our friends tended to make the first move to closer areas e.g. Sydenham, Hither Green, Beckenham, Penge and are now looking to make another move out a bit further. IMO with those areas you don't really get the benefits of being outside of London (gardens, more space, greenery) but don't get the benefits of central London either.

These are all in your price range and in decent locations for station etc.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/121541810#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/121935221#/media?id=media0&channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/121516721#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/121629323#/?channel=RES_BUY

@dontcallmelen

Agree with BovineJuice some beautiful housing stock in Hither Green but does feel quite isolated, parts of Brockley & Forest Hill the same unless you are very near the station, horses for courses I suppose Penge can look a bit down at heel compared to Beckenham but it also has a lot going for it in many ways & certainly not short of a place to get a really decent beer/coffee/food a tin of paint or a string for a guitar.

Cannot disagree more with the idea that Hither Green is isolated. It's walkable to Lewisham, Blackheath/Greenwich. The train from Hither Green is one stop (9 min) to London Bridge, AND they come every 5-10 mins. The trains from the likes of Ladywell/forest hill into central London take 15/20 mins on paper BUT the trains are not nearly as often, so be careful there. If you miss a train in the morning, you will likely be late for work.

There are also 3/4 outstanding primaries in the area, and 4/5 very nice cafes just off the top of my head. It feels VERY London, not isolated at all. As you start going towards Beckenham, it feels very suburban to me, very green but less diverse/multicultural, albeit a good selection of high street offerings.

@designSalmon8 Totally agree!
I think some people on here have Hither Green envy 🙂

[quote dewl]@BovineJuice I know Penge very well. I grew up in the Sydenham/Penge area and I am often visiting family there.
Penge is rough and depressing and Sydenham, although slightly better, is also a sad area.
Penge is not even really London - Croydon more like. It's ZONE 4.
Brockley, Peckham, Camberwell are proper London. Zone 2, much more of a London vibe, more going on and much more central.

Wake up.[/quote]
Penge is literally the first stop in zone 4 but only 18 minutes into Victoria by train or 9 mins to Brixton. It's quicker to get into central London than many zone 2 places. It's culturally mixed and has the stuff you expect from London: exotic food shops alongside craft beer bars and everything in between.

You need to wake up as you are clearly blinkered by your past or a snob. Penge has changed a huge amount in the last ten years. I've lived here 25 years and never been the victim of a crime. I live in a lovely cul de sac of Victorian houses. Is everywhere in Penge lovely? No but is everywhere in London lovely? No. It's what makes London what it is. You are always a few roads from both appalling poverty and a millionaire.

@BovineJuice I'm not a snob. I live in an unfashionable pocket in Zone 3.

This thread is about having a million pounds to spend in SE London. I'm not advising the OP to buy in my area, because that would be bad advise. I wouldn't live here if I had a million.
I would also most certainly not live in Penge.

You are making this thread about Penge, it's ridiculous.

[quote dewl]@BovineJuice I'm not a snob. I live in an unfashionable pocket in Zone 3.

This thread is about having a million pounds to spend in SE London. I'm not advising the OP to buy in my area, because that would be bad advise. I wouldn't live here if I had a million.
I would also most certainly not live in Penge.

You are making this thread about Penge, it's ridiculous.[/quote]
I'm merely defending Penge from your completely over the top and dismissive comments ("rough and depressing") which are equally ridiculous.

Have a good day.

I don't live in Penge and I think it's okay. I never used to like it but I think it's improved somewhat compared to years ago. I rented once on the Sydenham/Penge borders and didn't like it at all then, but my flat had shitty neighbours and it was some 24 years ago.

@Webbedlife

I don't live in Penge and I think it's okay. I never used to like it but I think it's improved somewhat compared to years ago. I rented once on the Sydenham/Penge borders and didn't like it at all then, but my flat had shitty neighbours and it was some 24 years ago.

Yep, I moved here 25 years ago because it was cheap and could get a 2 bed / 2 reception Victorian terrace with garden for 20% less than a one bed, one reception terrace with a tiny yard in then trendy Greenwich (which I was tempted by). Until the Overground came to Penge, I used to travel elsewhere for good stuff to do but it basically brought in loads of young professionals and new businesses which have really boosted the area. Put that along with the existing transport links and multiple parks, I've been lucky and never wished to move.

1 mile radius around Blackheath Village. Sorry for sounding snobbish, but for a young couple why to price yourself out of the really nice area from the get go. Especially that your budget is up to 1m. If you really really need more space within 3 years, then you can move to those further areas if you find you can’t afford anything bigger around here. But then you also will have Westcombe Park, Charlton Slopes as an option too.

Beauty of Blackheath that you have royal park right there, open heath, abundance of restaurants. And not restaurants that are terrible, really nice ones. Tired of Blackheath, take a long walk to Cutty Sark for more options. All within walking distance! And most streets are nice around here. You don’t need to find a nice street and then commute to nearby village. You can just walk.

Probably one downfall for some people would be travelling to big supermarkets. Because the village doesn’t have even a tiny sainsburys or tesco etc.

Transport links are good too. Railway takes you to main places in 10-20 mins.

Not to keep on going on about Penge but we moved her about 2 years ago from Peckham for many of the reasons mentioned above - good transport links, more house for your money, lovely parks, clean and useful high street, welcoming and active community. It does have its rough bits but so do most areas in London. If we want a night out locally we head to Beckenham or CP but with kids we don’t go out too often. Not sure what it was like 10 years ago but I wouldn’t say it was depressing now.

Brockley/Forest Hill/Ladywell etc are all
Much the same to me. A lot of Beckenham is surburban, as is West Wickham, Orpington etc so whilst lovely places it depends on what vibe you’re looking for.

Above was meant for @MrFirstTimeBuyer

Whilst talking about Penge.... I heard last night about a 4 bed house on Phoenix Road that sold recently. Good location as 3 minutes walk from Penge East and 5 from Penge West but tiny front garden and little more than a yard out the back. Victorian terrace advertised at £800k but sold for..... £930k. Immaculate inside but.... wow.

Question for all the resident Beckenham experts - what do you think about Kelsey Lane? A house came up - on the upper end of the budget (1.25m) but very sizeable (2k+ sq feet), and recently (and sensibly) renovated by current owners of 40ish years.

Also was curious what the views are on the school options. It seems to be just on the boundary for Balgowan and Langley girls, and likely outside the Langley boys school, but close to the Harris Academies (both primary and secondary) and within the Eden Park catchment area. Plus there's always the catholic primary (St Mary) as a backup. So not ideal school-wise but there would be options so I think it should be okay?

I think that's a great location! The roads in that area are really nice and very central. You are less than five minute away from the high street, whilst living in a super quiet residential road. And you can reach two lovely parks parks within minutes, Kelsey Park and Croydon Rec.

School wise.. Are you sure the house would be in the Eden Park catchment? Do you have a boy or girl or both?
If you got into Langley girls, the sibling policy applies for Langley boys. So you may get into Langley boys that way. But I cannot remember if you said you had DCs of both sexes.
Balgowan primary is extremely popular. I have also only heard positive things about Harris primary Beckenham, opinions about Harris secondary are mixed, but I think they were rated outstanding.

@Puffthemagicdragongoestobed

I think that's a great location! The roads in that area are really nice and very central. You are less than five minute away from the high street, whilst living in a super quiet residential road. And you can reach two lovely parks parks within minutes, Kelsey Park and Croydon Rec.

School wise.. Are you sure the house would be in the Eden Park catchment? Do you have a boy or girl or both?
If you got into Langley girls, the sibling policy applies for Langley boys. So you may get into Langley boys that way. But I cannot remember if you said you had DCs of both sexes.
Balgowan primary is extremely popular. I have also only heard positive things about Harris primary Beckenham, opinions about Harris secondary are mixed, but I think they were rated outstanding.

I checked the distances from the last couple years on the council's website, and it would be in for each of the last three years (but two of the years barely so). Similar situation with Balgowan.

No kids yet, but planning soon, and as other wise posters here mentioned - it's never too late to think ahead.

Good to know re Langley schools, I suppose now we just make sure the first one is a girl since that catchment area is much larger

Great location especially if nearer the High Street end. You have all the amenities of the High Street and Kelsey Park near. Sounds great.

Much better location than the Elmers End options you looked at.

Nice residential roads and personally I prefer this location to Kent House area that you also looked at. This is much more the Beckenham proper that I would want for your budget.

@friendlycat

Great location especially if nearer the High Street end. You have all the amenities of the High Street and Kelsey Park near. Sounds great.

Much better location than the Elmers End options you looked at.

Nice residential roads and personally I prefer this location to Kent House area that you also looked at. This is much more the Beckenham proper that I would want for your budget.

Thanks - it's quite close to the High Street (about half way between the High street and Uplands).

Commute to work isn't as nice as from the Clock house area, but it's only a couple extra minutes.