Help deciding on house

[Cutecouchpotato]

Hi all

Long time lurker - decided I'd post for once as I could use some advice. My husband and I are thinking about buying a house and we've found a few we like but we are really torn.

There's a gorgeous detached period house in North Croydon / Selhurst for 650k which we love and the road it's on is cute but the area is Croydon and we can't figure out if it's getting better or worse or if it's just a bad idea full stop. We really love the house and we'd be willing to take a 10 year view on it if the area is improving.

Then there's two semi-detached houses for 725k and 730k in Purley and Redhill respectively. Both pretty but not as pretty as the detached. One is a little smaller one is a little larger with the detached in the middle in terms of size. (1600sf, 1850sf, 2200sf)

I know the old adage, location, location, location but it feels like we will never have another chance to buy a detached property in London close to a station for this price regardless of the area. We don't have kids yet but we are thinking about having them in the next 5 years and the local schools in all these areas range from "need improvement" to "good". No outstanding ones.

Any thoughts?

Thank you
CP

I’ve bought in less salubrious part of London previously, but ultimately picked them because of planned area regeneration and transport connections, which meant the area stood a decent chance of improving over a few years. I don’t see Selhurst as falling into that category, there are no plans for it to be so and many of the larger companies with a current office presence in Croydon are moving out as leases reach an end rather than in, which isn’t going to help the wider area.

However, if the street is nice and most of the houses on it are still at the £650k-ish price point, you’re still going to be surrounded by people who can afford £650k houses - which, let’s face it, is generally people with professional jobs and aspirations for their lives.

Didn't Croydon council basically go bankrupt and get special permission to increase council tax 11% this year?

In terms of house price value, it's probably best to keep close to schools that consistently have good or excellent ratings, as that's what future buyers will be looking for.

That's kinda the issue. The house is a bit unique for the road and area. Almost all houses around it are terraces or semi's and nothing has ever really sold for that high there except a few exceptions during the pandemic bubble.

So on a price per foot basis it's priced a teeny bit on the high end but not crazy. On an absolute basis, most houses on the road and in the area have sold in the 300's and 400's. This detached at 650 is unique.

I knocked on the neighbours doors and most of the houses are renters. There's a few long term tenants (10+years) but it's definitely not the type of road where you're going to be having street parties with your neighbours.

Really depends on how important future resale is for you. I have walked away from many, many gorgeous houses on roads where 98% + of the houses sell for half the house's asking price is, because I know they will be a liability to sell on in future.

But then, none of the homes I have been looking at have really been 10 yr + or lifetime homes.

You have to balance out your future finances with your desire for a really good, affordable home and a better standard of living than you currently have.

It's bloody hard work in the current environment when all that seems to be for sale is the dregs or massively overpriced.

Go for the most space in the best area you can afford. So the large semi.

When you have kids you’ll appreciate a good community, a safe environment and space more than a pretty curb appeal.

Thanks, completely agree. 99% of the houses on the market are really really crap and insanely overpriced. We keep a list of all the houses we are interested in and more than half we estimate are listed for 120-250k higher than where they should be.

So this detached is an interesting one because on a per foot basis it's right about where it should be but then you have to weigh up if the house is enough to overcome all the negatives of being in croydon and this is where we're kinda struggling.

Everything you read online says Croydon is a complete bog yet you talk to people in the area and they say it's nice or it's not as bad as people make out etc

My husband is of the thinking that we should buy one of the semi detached houses in Purley or Redhill instead as they're "better areas" and that's all we should be considering. I feel like we'll be kicking ourselves in 5 years being in a semi for more money than what we could've been in for less. ughhh so torn!!!

I admire your planning skills, but if you don't already have kids, isn't this the most expensive time to upsize?

What do house prices in all the areas you are considering do during a crash? Look at the land registry data from 2008-2013.

If the market is likely to fall, you might get the 650k house for c150k less.

What are the conditions of the properties like? Which property is near the good schools?

If you can comfortably afford the 730k and the area is nice I'd definitely go for the Redhill bigger square footage- with kids I'd think that's more useful than being detached anyway. Still 30ish mins in to London by train?

And, if it's the houses I'm guessing from Rightmove, the Clapham property looks like it needs a lot more work and all the primary schools nearby require improvement. Honestly I think you'd be kicking yourselves in 5 years for trying to get a bargain, rather than the other way round.

I've been told you should stretch yourself to buy the best property you can because the % increases means you'll make more money on that in the long run (assuming you're paying a fair price for it and not overpaying, and it's an affordable stretch, not more than you can afford!)

Our situation is a tiny bit complicated in that we are moving abroad to the US for 5-15 years but we want a house to come back to in London should things not pan out the way we hope they will.

We are only putting in offers on houses which are already marked down 15-20% from their peak prices and we are also underbidding by another 5-10% so we are comfortable that if we get an offer accepted, we are insulated to a reasonable extent from downturns as our cost basis in them will be 25-30% below peak prices.

It's really more of a question of would you buy the detached in an undesirable area and let it grow over 10 years or would you buy the more limited house in the 'better' area and go with the safer option. Our thinking is, we've lived in so many crap areas around London and really unless you're in Chiswick or Ealing or Kensington, all of London is pretty much the same. And all of these areas slowly get better over time but a large detached period house is super rare to find let alone to find at a price point like 650k (which I'm 100% certain we'll get lower, around 600k if really want it)

They're all pretty much the same condition. Photos are deceptive but when you see them in person they're all just average.

We can afford any of them comfortably but I'd say we (or really me!) is really pushing for the detached one because I love how it looks. The other two don't pull my heartstrings.

I'm not sure which house you're referring to in Clapham, the one I'm referring is opposite the BRITS school on the Crescent in Selhurst. Actually here's the links to all three

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/64804074/?search_identifier=6796a725-f8d2-405b-bd19-360a99011d12

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/64777378/?search_identifier=1c95392d-6a7d-4cb0-b96e-511932f1578a

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/64568548/?search_identifier=cd2f882b-da5e-462a-8fbc-c5a1ce137b3f

I’m not sure why Croydon has always been on the receiving end of so much derision. Selhurst is between Croydon and Thornton Heath, isn’t it. Probably not close to any nice parks, if you have a dog to walk or children to take. It’s quite quick on the train to Victoria I think. Brixton isn’t that far away, and that used to be a dive, now it’s hip!

Sorry, typo. I meant Croydon, and the one you’ve linked is the one I’d guessed (sorry for stalking!)
From the photos it looks like it might need a little more work than the Redhill one , but I know from buying recently that photos can be very deceptive and if you’ve viewed and it doesn’t then that’s great. Schools would be a little concern though for me but I only looked at primary, not secondary and a lot can change with schools within a few years if you don’t need them yet.

Edit to add- I just looked at overview of schools on the rightmove link, rather than any in-depth investigation. I’m not that much of a stalker! Was just trying to view the listings in the same way as the ones I viewed when buying recently to advise what I would do. My criteria were- distance to train station, time/ease of train to London, cost per sqft, condition of house/cost of work needed and schools.

Purley, without a doubt!! Selhurst isn't North Croydon but it is north of Croydon 😆 Personally would NOT want to live near Brit school.....and Redhill is a bit of a dive location wise.

Purley you're close to train station that takes 20m to London, supermarket, bars and restaurants, buses to Croydon, close to the Rotary fields (Circus used to often stop there) etc.

Also re: schools, say you start a family in 5ys, that means you won't be needing primary school for 9-10yrs time, a lot can change in that time frame! And, as someone who works in a school, I wouldn't want my children going to an outstanding school - they don't get inspected regularly and standards slacken when they get that outstanding label, whereas RI or Good schools under regular inspections work hard to maintain or better themselves and are held in check so are often better. Ofsted inspections are just a snapshot of 2 or 3 days after all. So I wouldn't let that make you hesitate.

The Purley house would be my choice. If you're not going to live in it yourself by being away in the USA for 5 - 10 years then you are looking at best rental proposition surely so why would you consider buying the most expensive house in a not so desirable location even if it is detached? I'm with your DH on this one.

The first house posted

The last house is awful - expensive and needs work -

Buy the fist, let it out and it’ll keep its value - the other will need your full attention!

I’ve noticed when looking at houses the smaller properties are in the best areas - the huge terraces here are all flats.

We could afford 3 beds in a lively area or 4 beds in a property 1/4 mile away - we went 4 beds for the children - closer to a good school and better bus links when they’re teens.

I don't like the Redhill or Croydon ones. Redhill looks like a money pit from the exterior, and has a dreadful, dreadful kitchen (important for a family). Croydon looks run down, and, christ, leave your washing hanging out the machine when the photographer comes round?? How much have they bothered with maintenance if they can't even be arsed tidying up for a photographer? It looks like it's on a corner too, which means road noise from two sides.

Purley looks to be well maintained, the street looks lovely, the kitchen is decent, and a long, narrow, enclosed garden would be good for kids.

Nope. I'd pass on the detached house in that area. You won't attract good tenants either. If you aren't going to live in it go for a lower maintenance option than detached. And there's not much chance of coming back to croydon once you've lived in any of the decent places in the US.

I lived in the CR2 and CR0 postcode and generally the further north you get into the SE post code areas the higher the crime. Where I lived in CRO, there was a ‘sex’ shop nearby (just one dodgy premises I thought not too bad for South London) then I discovered by chance there was a bail hostel on the corner, a drug unit on my walk to East Croydon station and the premises on the other side of the road to the station I thought was a beauty salon was in fact a brothel. When a second sex shop opened up about a stone’s throw from the first I knew the area was on a downward trajectory despite the new apartment blocks advertised with photos of smiling affluent couples drinking latte on their tiny balconies (with actual view into the brothel!!). An insurance broker told me if I lived a mile further north in SE25 then my contents insurance would double so who knows what criminality goes on there.

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When you rent out the house has to be in good order beforehand as getting repairs from a distance is tricky and with a managing agent calling trades out all the time costs £££, and tenants understandably get annoyed paying rent when stuff needs fixing all the time. A large roomy Victorian house, freshly painted, will look lovely on a summer viewing but in the winter with wind whistling through single-single glazed windows won’t be so attractive to prospective tenants and with a big house always the worry of sub-letting.

It's worth considering the rental potential of all of them, as that's how you'll be paying the mortgage for the next 5-15 years. It's also a headache to be a landlord, there's lots of admin when things go wrong, which I suspect will be often in an older house.

I live near Purley. I prefer the Purley area over North Croydon personally, but it's worth visiting all of the areas yourself to see how you feel in them. I do not feel safe as a lone woman in Croydon or the immediate surrounding areas, and wouldn't be comfortable walking alone at night.

Purley is very well-connected, though the town centre is a bit rundown.

What are your criteria for this house?

If you are going to live abroad for 5 to 15 years, you might want to think about which house will be easier to rent out and to eventually sell. It is very likely that your perspective will completely change before you return.

The Purley one looks to me like it will hold its value more and need less maintenance. The Croydon one looks like it will need the most work in addition to being in the worst of the areas.

I would go for the Purley one, particularly if it'll be rented out for a period. Selhurst isn't great, and doesn't look to be getting better.

The detached has 5 beds and 1 bathroom. That would put me off instantly as I'd have to lose a bedroom or make 1 smaller.

I really like the first 1, but I have no idea about the area.

Oh and the second has too many stairs!