Buying House Bromley/ Sidcup/ Orpington

[Verlee]

Hi there,

My husband and I are hoping to buy our first home in South London. We currently rent in Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchley (North London) where we have been living for the last 8 years. We really value safety, community and nature.

I work from home but my husband works in London- Warren Street.

We are looking at 3 main areas at the moment:

1. Bromley South, Bickley, Sundridge Park
2. Sidcup mainly DA14 within 25 mins walk from train station
3. Orpington, mainly focusing on BR6 and the areas around The Knoll and Crofton

We put an offer in for a 2 bedroom in Crofton yesterday. It is a 1970s property in need of modernisation. We are waiting to hear if our offer is accepted but I'm a bit nervous about whether this property might cost a lot to update.

We also saw a 3 bed yesterday on Northcote Rd, Sidcup which was quite nice except the bathroom is right next to the kitchen.

We are hoping to buy a 2-3 bed terraced house with a garden for around £400k. We don't have children at the moment but we hope to start a family in the near future.

We both value nature, community and would like to feel safe and connected to the people in our local area.
Because my husband works in London, transport is important and ideally, we would like to be within a mile of train station.
Because we are planning to have a family, schools are also important.

I'd really appreciate your advice and experience on the areas we are looking in.
Do you think these are good options?

Do you have any other suggestions for areas that might suit our needs?

Thank you in advance.

Hi, my ILs are from Orpington so I know it a little bit this might also give you a bump and more people with better info will come along...

Crofton is nice and we have friends with DC and the infant/junior schools who are very happy with them. Like anywhere in London one street can be quite different to the next, but the area overall is decent.

Not sure where The Knoll in Orpington and I'm a bit confused about how you are focusing on BR6 because that covers all of it plus surrounding villages.

As a Bromley resident myself, you might struggle to get a 2-3 bed in Bromley South or Bickley for £400k. You do get more for your money in Orpington but a Quick Look at the high street gives you an idea of what it’s like. Petts Wood is a nice area, very family friendly but properties get snapped up quickly there. Anywhere close to the station will be more expensive unfortunately.