London houses for £650k-ish

[sunflowerparty]

Hello, I'm a long time lurker, first time poster - it's been really helpful to read through your advice and experiences here!

I am a FTB looking for a terraced house to buy in London - 2x bedrooms is fine, the main thing is I'd like a garden with some sun and space for a little lawn. The top end of my budget is £650k (though I could probably stretch a little higher, say to £675k, if I really loved a house/area). I really want to buy freehold and am willing to save longer if I had to rather than compromising on leasehold / share of freehold now.

Obviously London is so expensive and it seems I'm very much at the low end there for a freehold house budget. I'm getting really disheartened because houses around this level are still flying off the shelves if they are in halfway decent condition and that supposed price decline is definitely not making itself known to me (one house I offered on recently went for almost £70k over the OIEO price, and £80k over what an almost identical house sold for last year). I'm on the brink of giving up.

Does anyone have recommendations for nice/safe areas with convenient transport links that might suit my budget? I think I'm probably priced out of Walthamstow; I've been looking on the central line out East but might be priced out there too. I tried Hanwell which initially seemed nice but didn't feel overly safe in the town centre (it didn't help that some guy yelled at me when walking back to the station). I'm flexible on which side of London.

Thank you!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131639786#/?channel=RES_BUY

Nice area too , done up and Twickenham is well connected and will hold it's money

That's a nice house, maybe Walthamstow is the answer for OP

This is nice in Tooting Bec

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135459266#/?channel=RES_BUY

I have sent you a PM

This is also nice in Tooting Bec and 3 bed

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131448989#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=STATION%5E1055&insId=1&maxPrice=650000&minBedrooms=2&radius=1.0&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

there are loads of houses in Walthamstow for 650. Try searching Blackhorse road.

3 bedder Wimbledon park- very nice interior too --personally if I was you I would go as upmarket as poss within budget- more likely to hold the money

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135596486#/?channel=RES_BUY

Half house is an actual thing - there are also lots in Walthamstow. They are houses that are split vertically not horizontally - so not a maisonette.

Not near a tube though which is a hard No for most Londoners

Meh - if a house is split into 2 it sounds like half-house is just a made up new description for what is effectively a maisonette. If you don't own the whole house it's not what OP is after.

@Twiglets1 they're purpose built Victorian half houses. They aren't a maisonette.

I second the Dover House property. The area is lovely and near both Barnes and Putney.

Hope @sunflowerparty comes back soon to tell us why they thought Walthamstow was out of their price range when there appear to be several terraced houses with gardens there within budget.

And what they think about the other suggestions.

With a maisonette, someone has the top half and someone has the bottom half, so it's completely different to a half house where both properties have an upstairs and downstairs plus half the garden.

This made me laugh- could be my huge resting bitch face? more probably it is that it’s a fairly quiet residential area and whilst still London, is very much the burbs.

It is also odd that they jumped from Walthamstow to East Dulwich which is much more expensive (excluding that one house) than E17.

Half houses are purpose built houses in Forest Hill, Brockley and East Dulwich. They have a shared entrance hall, then your own front door. The wall between the two houses is thinner than usual and I think possibly floorboards go across and the lofts are less separated than usual. I don't know the exact details. They are small but popular.

And Peckham and Nunhead.

Pinner?

£525,000 2 bed mid-terrace
£525,000 2 bed end-terrace
£625,000 3 bed mid-terrace (more Eastcote than Pinner)

Well they still have half a house so I don't agree it is completely different. But fair enough, I didn't know there was such a thing as "half houses" until today so I stand corrected.

I wouldn't rule out Walthamstow - it's huge, and there are definitely neighbourhoods where you can find something in this range. Look towards the Chapel End, or Hale End area. Both walkable to Wood St station, lovely schools and a great community feel. I've just had a v quick look and there are 80+ 2 or 3 bed terraces with gardens in E17 (which covers all Walthamstow), in that budget.

Has this one been linked yet in Gypsy Hill, Crystal Palace

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136409990#/?channel=RES_BUY

Come to Isleworth, OP! Lots of 2 bed terraces with garden for that money.

No tube, but train to Waterloo, easy access to Chiswick, Richmond and Twickenham, lots of green space. I've been here for 10 years and I love it.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134922449#/?channel=RES_BUY
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135059417#/?channel=RES_BUY
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131996693#/?channel=RES_BUY

Thank you so much everyone for your responses - I'll set aside some time this evening to go through them in detail!

I see there's been a question about why I think I'm priced out of Walthamstow - it's because a lot of the properties there (thanks to a certain agency in particular) are advertised as "offers in excess of X", do viewings 2.5 weeks after advertising to ramp up the number of people and then create bidding wars / produce crazy best and final offers well in excess of the OIEO amount, like the one I mentioned in my original post. I'm feeling a bit bruised from that last experience! But I guess I have to be in the race to have a chance to win it.

Another factor is that technically I can afford more than £650k with my current deposit amount and salary. I've come to the £650k figure because I currently have a well-paying (but very demanding and very quality-of-life-affecting) job, and I wanted to factor in the possibility of getting a lower paid job that allows me to be happy and have the kind of life I want. Maybe I need to move to a slightly higher budget and stay in the job longer.

Also looks like a couple of people think I'm associated with that East Dulwich house - I haven't posted those links and have no association with that house or area! It is a lovely house though (suspect out of budget as others have said) and was interested to learn about the half-houses.