Daughter moving to London

[Pimmsandstawbs]

I am fairly new on here but have found these threads so useful I am hoping you can help! My 32 year old daughter is moving to London next year for a job. It is her dream job but not dream pay unfortunately. She has done house shares etc for years, is single, and with a little bit of money left by a grandparent I am trying to help her buy somewhere - please don’t laugh at the budget as it is tiny (under 250k). We know that this really limits where she can live and that it is going to be the smallest of flats. I am doing my best to advise her and want to help make sure she is able to live in a ‘safe’ area as far as possible especially as she’s on her own. I don’t want to sound snobby and I am not, just aware that some of the one beds in more affordable areas look a bit grim. She will be commuting mainly to Kings Cross area but may also have to travel around out east. I live in the midlands now and don’t know London so well (lived there when much younger).

Areas we have started to look at are Enfield, Acton, South East London as far out as Penge/Anerley, Wembley. She has rented in London previously more centrally and is keen to get out of the rental thing. Also have researched shared ownership but feel there are too many problems with that.
Thank you for any ideas and help!

Blimey, when I lived there I was judged and looked down on but quite liked it, it was very ‘edgy’ back then.

How would she feel about a studio? This is a nice development in walking distance to Chiswick and to Shepherds Bush & Westfield, and has its own parking space.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/64472218/

I can definitely see some flats she could consider. Will she be taking out a mortgage or will she be a cash buyer? I’ve just seen a strong shared ownership if she will be earning 45.5K and eligible to register with the HA or a one bed flat for 210K but it needs doing up and they want a cash buyer. Could consider Bickley, Bromley and Shortlands as direct train, Beckenham Junction area, Sydenham, Crystal Palace, Forest Hill, Chislehurst.

I came here to say Walthamstow. It's where I live. I love it. Six stops to Kings Cross on the Victoria Line.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E85310&maxPrice=250000&propertyTypes=&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

What about this 1 bed flat in Bow? It says Bow but it's easy walking distance to Mile End which is only 20 mins on the tube to King's Cross.

It's near Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park which is one of London's 'Big 7' cemeteries and actually a really nice green space. Very accessible for all the east London hipster joints too.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133265357#/?channel=RES_BUY

I’m south East London and whilst the area is lovely getting to the north m25 takes an hour given the congestion at crossing points. If you’re midlands keep it in mind as can make trips back a bit longer!

Absolutely this. I think it would be completely insane to just buy a flat in an area she doesn’t really know, in a city she doesn’t know either whilst starting a new job that she may not even like. Put the money away for 12 months, interest rates are good and property prices aren’t rising so there’s no downside. Rent for 6 months and then start the search based on real life experience of living in London rather than recommendations Mum has got online.

Food for thought on the rent vs buy issue, and yes there are things in favour of renting, although I think she has had enough of paying out so much rent to landlords and wants to get on with buying. She currently lives an hour from London (wouldn’t be practical to stay there) so does visit often and knows some of the areas (also rented for a year once near Archway, an area of London she wouldn’t be able to stretch to now. hoping prices may ease a little in the next year but who knows!

Gosh that’s grim. I lived near there as a student and even the grotty student house shares were nicer. The cemetery may be quiet (although it was properly dodgy back in my day) but I’d expect a lot of noise from the neighbours as I would have thought a lot will be students.

You might get 1 bed around High Barnet / New Barnet which is a safe area and on northern line into KC. Farringdon is on new Elizabeth Line which has opened up some new commuter areas and is easy from KC. You have M25 and north circular if have to travel.

Living an hour from london is actually pretty good!! I live in zone 4 south london and I’m an hour from london terminals…

often most places in and around the edges of London take 40-60 mins to get to zone 1

If she’s going to need a mortgage now is a crazy time to buy. Interest rates have not topped out yet. My DS who has lived and worked in London since graduating and is now earning just about enough to think about buying is staying in rented fur at least another year for this reason

I know it can be good and I have commuted like that long ago but it would cost a fortune in travel from there and where she lives the property prices are at London levels anyway. Also likely to be a lot of after work commitments and travel within the Greater London area so the initial commute would just be the start. 😮

How long since you were last there? Like most of east London, its come up significantly. I spend a lot of time in the area (evenings/weekends) as two close friends live there. One of those friends owns 2 flats there worth £800k each. 😳Unless there's something very wrong with it (or short lease etc), it's a very good price for the area. Hard/verging on impossible to get anything other than a small studio so this one stands out.

It's not necessarily a crazy time to buy at all. Flat prices in parts of London are lower than they have been for years. As long as you can cover the mortgage increases and plan to own the flat for 5+ years, the capital gain potential is significant.

Property in St Albans within walking distance of the station will be close to the price of some London areas and you then have an expensive commute on top. She will be a lot better off if she can stay on the tube.

Those blackhorse road flats are extortionate - we rented there and had to leave walthamstow as couldn't afford to buy!

Thanks folks for so many ideas, especially where you have taken the trouble to post Rightmove links. The Bow place is a fantastic central location, the length of the lease would need checking out. And I do like the look of Barnet area.

I will take some time to go over it all. Loads of different perspectives on Mumsnet! I haven’t been able to reply to everyone with details in response to what you have said but will take it on board. Of course asking for views here is just one part of the process! Thanks again.

A bit further out but check out Romford/Gidea Park/Harold Wood. They're in zone 6 on the Elizabeth Line so a quick commute to the centre. Most of the area feels safe (I've never minded walking home alone at night) and has good amenities and some nice green spaces.

This looks a decent flat, a short walk from Gidea Park station.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133231613#/?channel=RES_BUY

The good thing about London is that you can commute there from pretty much anywhere (within reason) in a reasonable time. I fond my commute from 50 miles outside of London isn't much longer than it was when I lived only 6 miles from
Work and had to get packed overground and then packed jubilee line. Worth thinking about as under 250k won't get anything in an area most people would want to live in within London.

Look North East. Anywhere on the Liverpool Street- Chingford line could work. Walthamstow goes directly to KX on the Victoria line, and it’s easy to get to Walthamstow from Highams Park, Chingford, Wood St etc. All safe, cafes and greenery.

Acton
I don't know prices and it's quite a large area so maybe the bits I spend more time in and the nicer bits. Askew Road has a niceish feel to it so might be a good place to centre a search. Acton is near a lot of nice places and good transport links. East Acton some of the houses/flats are nice and you do get a bit of a sense of community but it can feel unsafe sometimes, there are a huge number of people working just on one main road in East Acton as there's a Hospital, prison, school, university so there are usually a lot of people around which maybe makes it feel a bit safer. The main part of acton is ok, nothing great. North Acton I'd probably avoid.

About a year ago ish. I have a family member now at the uni but haven’t visited in a while. It’s not so much the area, which I agree has got nicer although it is still quite studenty, but just that flat is really, really grim which is why it’s so unusually cheap for the area. I looked up my old post uni first job flat building, also in E3 but more in the limehouse sort of direction and they’re now £400k+ for a 1 bed (we rented obviously). Each to their own but if it were me I’d go further out to avoid having to live somewhere like that! And I’d also rent first to try out an area before committing.

Barnet is a nice area. Think Waitrose and M&S food shops. Prices would probably hold up as people priced out of Highgate / Muswell Hill / Crouch End etc are moving there and so the demographic is younger than it used to be. You have good bus services to many places in North London eg Brent Cross shopping. Has its own high street. It’s also popular with families as good schools and leafy so feels very safe. And there’s countryside on your doorstep if you go towards Hadley Wood. there’s a night tube and a night bus from central London so you aren’t restricted in same way as if on a mainline. It tends to be more sought after and hold value compared to Enfield.

Catford can be a bit grim but there are some quite nice flats on Brownhill Road for sale. When I lived there Brownhill Road had lots of young professionals living there, the bus goes into Blackheath and Greenwich, its close to the train station and 15 minutes to London Bridge, 18 to Waterloo from Catford Bridge.