Dilemma. Nicer area and old house that requires renovation or new house in proximity to Finsbury Park station

[kokos1]

Hi all! We are planning to buy a house somewhere in North London with plans to send our daughter to one of independent schools around Hampstead park. Our budget is around 1m and for this price we can afford a small 3 bed house that requires renovation around Highate/Waterlow Park or we found a new built house (which we really like) to the west from Stroud Green road and 12 minutes walk from Finsbury park station (just off the Tollington Park road). What would you recommend? Better overall area, close proximity to schools but old house that requires renovation (that will be a money drain in future) or new built house that we really like but in about 30-40 mins from schools and subjectively worse area (or maybe it’s not that bad? we’re just concerned about proximity to finsbury park station e.g. dodgy people, drugs, thieves etc).

P.S. We are not British originally and not really in love with Victorian houses which are cold and expensive to heat and even more expensive to renovate.

Thanks!

I'd move out of London and buy an huge mansion with the money elsewhere. If I win the lottery I'd like to line in Highgate though!

£1 million fir a three bed house is ridiculous.

Personally I'd choose Highgate- driving to Hampstead and back twice a day from Finsbury Park will be a pain. Highgate is also a lovely area, Waterlow Park is great and you'll be near the Heath as well.

Finsbury Park station is a lot better than it used to be since they did it up- I lived there for years (before they did it up) and honestly it was fine- yes there were dodgy people hanging about but they don't really bother you, FP is great for transport and of course your money will go further there as well. Lots of young professionals live in the area, especially now there's a new cinema etc and lots of places to go out, and there is a nice community feel to it. But it is undeniably less smart than Highgate and you will encounter more of the grittier side of London life- up to you whether that's a good or bad thing.

PS ignore the person saying it's ridiculous- it's hardly news that London housing is expensive.

I'd go for the house in Highgate because it's such a lovely area and much nearer to the school. Since they've put in LTNs (Low Traffic Neighbourhoods), driving anywhere takes so long and you'll spend a lot of time sitting in traffic. It's really affecting people's quality of life.

Highgate or Finsbury Park?! That's not a fair fight. Highgate every time x 100.

A money drain house and independent school fees sounds quite scary tbh. Have you done the actual sums? 'Renovation' could mean new boiler, sanding the floorboards and a lick of paint, or it could mean that plus rewiring, damp coursing, new windows and doors, replastering, updating whole heating system etc.

Do you have the time/skills to do some of this yourself?

Independent school fees increase every year. Have you done a proper projection of what they will be from when you dd starts (plus extras like lunches, uniform, travel and trips) plus a percentage increase each year up to year 13?

FP has its dodgy bits but they're now outweighed by as pp says young professionals, a new cinema and theatre, excellent transport links, good local amenities/restaurants/cafes etc.

If you've got the money, obviously Highgate is a nicer area, but it's never nice feeling that you're watching every penny, however many pennies you've got.

How about a flat in Highgate? Cheaper to heat than the house, no renovation required and there are some lovely blocks in that area, although you may find the service charges high.

Highgate every time.

It sounds like the Highgate / Waterloo Park house is actually Archway or very near the A1, in that case the FP house might be better, as long as it's not too near to Elthorne Park.

I live one stop away from Highgate and it's more than a million for a 3 bed house too..£1 million sounds like a bargain lol..

We are nowhere near rich and our incomes in London have basically grown 70% in 4 years.

Apparently for people on higher incomes (who can afford independent school fees), the increment is much higher. I remember seeing a facebook post where a 26 year old and a 29 year old were on £160k per year with a budget of £2500 per month for rental...

I'd go for older house and better area. New builds still need maintaining, you just have more of a delay before that happens.

That area (FP/Tollington) is not bad at all, but it's not as nice as Highgate/Waterlow. Traffic will be a nightmare though, so if you're set on Hampsted schools (unless you're buying near to Crouch Hill or similar on the overground) then you'd be mad to move there.

Its ridiculous you commenting when you obviously have no clue about London prices.
It would be like a Londoner commenting “ridiculous” when someone talks about their 3 bed house somewhere cheap costing 150k

The area around Highgate/ Waterlow park is really nice - I would choose that area personally.

Also your DD will have more school friends in the area in Highgate. People do travel to Hampstead schools from FP but not lots of them, whereas there will be lots in Highgate.

Have you decided on the school? If at all possible, id aim to be a walk or bus ride from the school. You do NOT want to have to drive everyday in Hampstead or Highgate. The traffic is awful.

Have you looked at West Hampstead? Good for families and some good schools too.

You don't want a 40 min journey to school so keep looking.

More low traffic neighbourhoods are on the way in Haringey & Islington so driving in the Highgate/FP areas is going to become less and less attractive (I think this is a good thing personally!). You should prioritise proximity to school to avoid a nightmare commute.

It depends for me on budget and affordability. An older property properly renovated will cost c£10-25k a month for months in my experience and possibly need to move out. Is this what you have in mind? Half way through this myself, we both work in the professional property industry and come from families that do so at least we are where we expected to be and it is costing what we expected to cost and we have been lucky enough to find great tradespeople. I wouldn't start renovation commitments without a plan, if it needs rewiring/ plumbing/ new windows and things like drains it is quite an undertaking, I would cost the works in order to make the decision

Definitely the Highgate house. Otherwise you’ll dislike the area / commute to school and want to move.

£1m for a house in those areas is very cheap though! (Aware of how crazy that sounds!)

Keep looking, the travel sounds annoying

I would add those costs don't include fittings - bathroom/ kitchen/ doors and so windows etc but cost to rewire/ plumb/ plaster/ dispose of rubbish and are based on out of London prices

Do not choose anywhere you have to drive to commute. The commuter driving traffic is madness in north London especially Finsbury Park.

West Hampstead/ Fortis Green is nice depending on the location of the school.

go for Highgate. But I’d make sure to try and cost the reno

Finsbury Park is very nice & there are loads of great restaurants & cafes on Stroud Green Rd. The 210 goes from FP station up SG Rd to Highgate/ Hampstead and there are several buses that go along Holloway Road & then in that direction. It might be worth trying the journey a few times at the time of day your child would be commuting. There's also the Overground from Crouch Hill or Upper Holloway to Gospel Oak & (with a change) Hampstead Heath but Idk what that journey would be like. Good luck!