Where to live - London / SE

[BettyPhuckzer]

Hi all

I hope you can help.

My neice currently rents in Clapham and wants to buy but can't afford Clapham

She's 28 and would have a deposit of around £120,000.00. She earns £35k.

She doesn't want to move too far from her work (Central London), so not as far out as Reading, for example, because most of her friends live in Central London

She'd prefer a freehold property, but is that even possible for her budget?

What areas would you suggest?

Thanks

Yes I think the decision is between

• small flat fairly close to her friends - but accept may only be there <5 yrs
• larger place maybe freehold but a LOT further out, not a London postcode. Will spend a lot of her life travelling
• wait and hope prices drop further

Is her pay likely to increase or not?

I think her pay will increase but not loads in the short term (3 years)

I'd also suggest Catford, it's not the most gentrified but I know quite a few people who have bought there in the last year (youngish couples or single). If she can stretch to a two bed she'd have the option to rent one out. Or if she can get something with a garden can add a garden room/office.

@BettyPhuckzer She really would need to think about living a life and bills. I’m slightly aghast that people think 5 times £35k is doable with a commute, a social life and bills. It’s a bit too many multiples for my liking. There are certainly properties in Watford or Harrow that are a much shorter commute to Oxford street. Plenty under £300,000. East and South London is a trek. Even Edgeware has come up. Not trendy of course but her budget doesn’t run to trendy. She’s used to the trendy life of Clapham no doubt. It’s a Mecca for post uni grads. Real life usually means elsewhere though. What about Colliers Wood and Mitcham? Northern line to Clapham and then on to Tottenham Court Road. Or Shepherds Bush if she wants Central Line.

Catford as suggested is about to have a massive amount of regeneration money spent on it so it’s a good bet if she wants to make money on a property. One of the few areas so close into London (12 mins to London Bridge, 14 mins to Charing Cross) that hasn’t already gentrified.

How about Beckenham in SE London

We're here and love it!

Lots of things for young professional types, leisure activities and plenty of restaurants, cafes & cars etc if that's what she's into

With her budget it'll be a flat/maisonette

There are many within a 5 minute walk of both stations- Beckenham junction (zone 5) into London Victoria and New Beckenham (zone 4) which is the Charing Cross line

We would stay here if we could afford a house...but sadly don't think it's possible

We're looking to move slightly further out to places like West Wickham/Hayes which are (a fraction) more affordable!

Loads of great ideas. Thank you

Keep them coming

How easy is it to get from Beckenham or Catford to Oxford Street? It’s 50 minutes plus. My DD looked at quickest transport links to where she needed to be. Depends where friends are too. It’s hard to have a long journey home after a night out so how good is night time transport?

As I said you can get from catford to Charing cross in 14 minutes, then you could get the tube to Oxford street pretty quickly, or even walk depending what end you need. The night buses are fairly good though tbh I haven’t used them in years since I could afford Ubers! Tbh not being on the tube network - so no 24h tubes - is something you have to sacrifice for affordability. Having said that SE London is much more well connected to transport than it was 20 years ago and that’s likely to continue improving.

I reckon 30-40min: train apps says it takes 20min to Victoria and then 2 stops direct on the tube. Slightly longer via Charing X

There’s lots of options for under £300k that are on the tube which can get to directly to Oxford street or Tottenham act Road much quicker. Eg Shepherds Bush is 10 mins to Oxford Circus. Catford to Victoria shows as 25 mins with a change. So delays built in. There’s also possibilities in Tooting where dd would not be too far from Clapham.

I'd give Crystal Palace a look. It has a bit of a vibe. Train into town regularly

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137655449

She could definitely get something in Streatham or balham Clapham borders

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138947312

If she were to consider ex local she could buy in Clapham

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138006269

Brixton / Brixton Hill is also very handy.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140775284

The Battersea one is in a decent location as well

You don’t know anything about mid century architecture, do you @duchiebun ?

https://www.pullmancourt.co.uk/history

A friend used to live there, it's gorgeous but the lift was awful. They'd manually stop it between floors and turn the light off for lolz and I'd be terrified.

300k maximum budget is very small for someone wanting to live in London or close to it @BettyPhuckzer

I appreciate she’s young and wants to live somewhere central. But that will come with massive compromises and the eventual place she chooses is highly likely to be a leasehold flat further out than she would like.

Even Reading, which she has discounted as too far out, she would struggle to find anything nice and freehold for 300k. I think she needs to really think about compromises as it sounds like she’s in an unrealistic phase right now. My daughter was the same a couple of years back though with a slightly better budget. What helped her become more realistic was to actually start viewing some properties in London. She soon realised that her ideas of what she would & wouldn’t accept had to change or she would still be looking now.

@VineRipened I know enough to know it's not an iconic building....

I think you just don't understand what iconic means. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Well it has featured in numerous books and studies on architecture as an iconic (a symbol of its type / worthy of veneration) building of its type and time.

And it is visited by people from far and wide during days when flats are open to the public, e.g Open House festival.

And things can be locally iconic.

But if you prefer ‘architecturally significant’ so be it.

As I said it's not iconic

Another vote for Catford. Also check out Lee and the wider SE12 postcode - 15 mins to London Bridge on the train and some decent bargains to be had on flats sub- £300k if you have a peruse on Zoopla.

What is this love of Catford? Don’t get it. There are much more convenient and similarly affordable areas for her work and social life.

Where would you suggest @TizerorFizz ?

Around Streatham/West Norwood/West Dulwich is a lot more geographically close to where she lives now. Streatham is full of people priced out of Clapham- and West Norwood is more and more so. West Dulwich is so close to Dulwich village which is very nice. She could afford a decent one bed flat in these areas. All have train stations for access to Victoria or London Bridge or you can bus to Brixton for tube. Personally I'd rather live in one of these than Catford. If I was wanting to live more east, I'd stick to Forest Hill/Sydenham/Brockley/Nunhead, over Catford.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137679650

Streatham hill small but nicely done flat