About to buy in Elm Park, mistake?

[Gracey489]

Hi everyone,

Hoping i can get some thoughts. We've have had an offer accepted on a house in elm park, having been looking to buy in this area for years (then covid and furlough happened) so were over the moon to find something. We've been to the area several times in the daytime and liked it, however after reading this forum i've got the impression that it is not a desirable area and unsafe at night? We had a tight budget so elm park was the only area we could afford. Currently renting in a very safe, but overcrowded and ridiculously expensive area in West London, its a big move and just hoping for some insider thoughts!

It's fine - not great, but safer than say Barking. I wouldn't really want to live there if I had teenagers / would try and direct them towards better social activities than hanging out on street corners.

We're in Romford and personally I prefer it here. I've walked home from Romford Station late in the evening and don't feel unsafe; gets a bit rowdy around the clubs & pubs but it's generally good natured. Again, if I had teens though I wouldn't want them hanging out around the station at night (can you guess what we spent our teens doing ).

DH grew up in Gidea Park and was happy to live in Romford, Hornchurch, Ardleigh Green etc but didn't want to look at Elm Park or Chadwell Heath - they are a bit rougher round the edges. I'm from Walthamstow originally so not as phased by it but I'd say it's always a good idea to visit an area in the evening before buying there. Have a walk round, see how you feel walking from the station to the house etc.

We're in Romford near Mawney Primary School - we have the option of walking to Romford Station or a short bus/car journey to Newbury Park (Central Line). If you decide to look at other areas of Havering I'd recommend it.

I've posted about this before, but I live in Elm Park. I grew up in Upminster, which is thought of as the 'posh' part of Havering. I had to move here to get the size of house I wanted. Since moving here I've had the opportunity to move back to Upminster, to a similar sized house, but I chose to stay, so it can't be that bad here!

There are of course some less desirable streets, but overall I think it's fine and has a real strong sense of community. I back onto a park, which worried me a little, but we've had no trouble at all in the 5 years we've been here. The public transport is great, and coming out of the station alone late at night has never been an issue for me.

Feel free to PM me the road your house is on if you like and I can give you my honest opinion ☺