FTB East London - first home - budget of £320k max

[partywithp]

It's all in the title really!

Looking for a 2bed home (flat) for a single girlie that's suitable to maybe be a starter home for a family one day. My heart's set on East London but my budget is fixed at £320k at a push.

I'm thinking Wanstead/Aldersbrook way and possibly Woodford/Leyton?
Are these family friendly areas? Do you like in these areas? Any guidance would be great.

You say you are single.

are you single? Or have you got a man who u think is husband criteria and starting a family may happen sooner rather than later.

what is important to u now?

the underground?
the buses?

I do like Wanstead, there is a one bedroom flat on Cambridge Road which is equidistant to Wanstead and Leytonstone. It’s the top floor with eaves, share of freehold, and yet clearly too much money because it’s being on the market along time. If you could get that for a lot less, you aren’t killing yourself with mortgage payments and have spare cash for a nice life whilst you are single.

£320,000 - there are two bed flats available, but are they where you want them to be.

Good luck. All the areas you have said are lovely. Wanstead is very child friendly

Wait, prices dropping in those areas ;)

@ScroogeMcDuckling Single - with no chance of kids on the horizon but a nice to have one day hence the consideration of a 2 bed.

Wow! I hadn't seen that one bed on Cambridge Road.... I can see it's been up since March of last year. Do you think it's worth going back almost a year with listings? If a place is still online is it generally still on the market?

I drive but would like to be close(ish) to a good tube station - never had that luxury before. By close(ish) I mean 10-15 mins walk or a short (5-10min) bus ride away if possibel.

@DrySherry how soon? Feel like I've been waiting forever for some real bargains! What do you know that I don't😃

OP, as someone who bought in East London around 2 years ago, finding a 2 bed for 320k is doable, but you might struggle to find a 2 bed that's near to public transport.

I ended up compromising and buying a 1.5 bed that's 5 minutes walk from a tube station - I found some 2 beds for around 300k but they were all around 15-20 mins walk from the nearest station and that for me wasn't something I wanted to have to do late at night.

I’d think about what your core priorities are. Currently you have a bit of a mish-mash. If you’re currently single, by the time you’re in a position to be thinking about a baby, you’ll have a partner who may have their own property and will (presumably) be bringing an income with them. You could move somewhere more suitable for a family at that point. Wanting a two bedroom flat right now (when you don’t really have a two bedroom flat budget) is putting the cart before the horse a bit and you’ll sacrifice a lot of things like decent public transport in easy walking distance, nicer location, not in need of renovation. I’d focus on a nice one bedroom in a better location. I’m a fan of the area of Clapton around the marshes - this sort of area: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141346718#/?channel=RES_BUY

This is spot on, including the advice to look in the less fashionable bits of Clapton.

Thanks, I'd prefer a 2 bed for now. I don't like the idea of buying a 1 bed. I also drive most places - being near to a tube station is a nice to have but not a dealbreaker for me because I don't use public transport much unless going on a night out with friends (and even then, it's only if we're going in to central london).

@spirit20 your 1.5 bed sounds interesting! Is a 1.5 bed a 1 bed with a reception room? A bit like this: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/details/66433835/ (I know it's a rental, just using it as an example).

That's exactly it yes, it has one small room that 'technically' could fit a single bed and be described as a second bedroom, but realistically the room is too small to be used as a bedroom, but it makes a great home office. That suited me perfectly as I did want an extra space besides the living room/kitchen and bedroom but didn't really need a full blown second bedroom.

Thinking that may be a struggle would you consider Loughton? On the central line if you need the tube occasionally it's a nice suburb good high street and a bit more affordable than the areas you mentioned.
Of course it is a long way out but Wanstead Woodford etc have always been pricey
Good luck

What does your lifestyle actually look like? If you drive virtually everywhere and almost never use public transport I’m assuming you purely WFH and don’t really go much beyond your local area for socialising and activities? So do you need to be in inner London? Would you consider outermost boroughs / Essex edges? You’d be more likely to get a half decent two bed there.

You might find this useful. You can scope out areas by seeing the average house prices.
https://housemetric.co.uk/map/E9-7/
We used to live in East London and I had my kids there. We did a lot of walking around the local area when they were young which I really liked as you got to know other locals. It's difficult though because you're planning quite far ahead and hard to predict how you will live this next stage of your life.

What areas did you consider particularly family friendly? (In east London)

Hi partywithp.

u asked would I go back that far with listings, and the answer is yes I would - u may get a real bargain.

If u don’t need the tube and London buses to much, but would like them there, Have u looked at Loughton and Debden or Epping?

I was looking at that flat in Cambridge Gardens, and I think for a single girl, if you could get that for £190,000 you would still be able to lead a good lifestyle.

personally I would try and get the cheapest, yet nicest place for the least outlay and monthly service charges etc.

Thats just me though, this is your new life, and it’s what you want isn’t it xxx

I really like Victoria park. It has a nice village feel. I love that the park is always full of people, the playground is good and the cafes nice. lots of yoga, bootcamp classes which I liked, as well as the more arty classes/groups. I would imagine it's fairly procey now though and may not be ideal for transport depending how and where you work.

Op I live in those areas BUT a family home in most of them would need a budget of £800k plus, they are very much established “family friendly”. Can you find apartments in your budget, that have parking? (You mentioned driving).