London flats under £400k

[teafreedomoctopus]

These come up from time to time in London. Typically Victorian houses where the homeowner has converted the cellar into a standalone flat, then rents it out or sells it leasehold.

They have their own front door, but the bins may be stored in front of your window.

One I’ve been looking at has no service charge, and you have direct access to the large garden.

I suppose it could be okay, it depends how well you get on with the home owner who’ll also be your neighbour as well as being the freeholder. There’d be a risk of course if they sold up.

Also being a converted basement it’ll be a bit gloomy. Tolerable if the location makes up for it I suppose, and if you have full access to the garden.

Any thoughts?

It’s an absolute no from me also. Apart from the whole situation with the free holder, these basements were built over 100years ago and always suffer from damp.

Right!

When the house is on a hill like the one I posted earlier, there may not be so much of a susceptibility to damp, as the flat is only a couple of feet below ground level.

However with such small windows they’re inevitably poorly ventilated, and normal use of the kitchen and bathroom may lead to problems over time. Not good to live in a flat with muggy stale air, or to need to run a dehumidifier all the time.

It's interesting how differently people think about what would work for them, I happen to be looking in that exact area (but for 2 beds +) and we excluded basement flats for damp and light concerns.
Hall floor was my favourite, still get garden access but also the advantage of heat rising from the basement floor flat! If you can comfortably afford it, I really think I'd look at a bigger flat - more long term flexibility and maybe less compromises?

I’ve really missed the boat for being able to afford a decent flat in TH or Nunhead or other nice part of zone 2, SE London. Less than 15 years ago you could find a 60sqm, 2-bed flat there for £300k. Nowadays - not so much!

I’ve also been looking at listings around East Dulwich but they’re very grotty - eg, they’re actually on the south circular.

I’ll be able to spend up to £300k without a mortgage or up to £400k with a mortgage. I’m single and in my mid-40s.

Really I’d prefer a SW postcode so maybe somewhere in Putney, Tooting Bec, or further out. 1-bed is fine but I’d like the option of being able to get a lodger in the lounge.

I am a bit doubtful if I’ll be able to find anything to be honest.

Well if it's slight consolation we also very much missed the boat. We love this area and would prefer to stay, and we need an extra bedroom for our baby do we'll have to suck it up, but it's galling!
I think people with a couple of million also make compromises, but there's obviously bigger compromises at this budget than theirs

Would you consider South Norwood? We sold our lovely 1.5 bed garden flat there in 2020 for £315k and prices haven’t really changed since. Fab transport links, close to Crystal Palace for nice restaurants and bars, it’s not perfect but lots of nice cafes and things popping up and there’s a surprising amount of green space (lakes, country park) for the postcode. Some suggestions:

No mortgage (south of £300k)
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151812596#/?channel=RES_BUY
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148719398#/?channel=RES_BUY
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/153747074#/?channel=RES_BUY

Mortgage (south of £400k)
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/87008928#/?channel=RES_BUY (I lived on this road!)
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/155106317#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149765579#/?channel=RES_BUY

Everything depends on what the lease says. Before committing to buying a leasehold flat, get hold of the lease and read it very thoroughly. I wouldn't mind being the freeholder's tenant if I had read the lease and could accept its terms, but I would never buy a basement flat in London due to flooding and security risks.

I'd rent but not buy.

I wouldn't see it as my forever home.

My friend bought a basement apartment and initially it was fabulous. She wasn't bothered by the noise upstairs and she had the garden. But there were drainage issues and everything was under her apartment.

But some of these basement flats are really light and airy. If it were me I'd want to know about sound proofing because noise above my head was the main reason I was glad to move.

The flats linked to are fine as that is your budget . Of course a risk of noisy neighbour etc but if you like street and area and don't mind smallish square ft go for the one you like. In London you will always have neighbours anyway. Some basement flats have high ceilings and great light.

Security wise put up nice railings on all windows. Check rear garden access as if you were burglar.

My concern would be, what if the owner(s) of the house above decided to convert it into flats? You may be better buying similar but in a building already converted - I’d feel more of an “equal”, if that makes sense. There are all different ways of dividing communal gardens, find the one where you feel most at home - for me, I’d rather have a tiny space I can be sure of sitting in than a larger garden where I never quite felt comfortable. Of course, these are all very negative musings but it’s such an investment! Good luck

Thanks for taking the time to find those listings.

I’ve been quite often to West Norwood as I’ve a friend living there, but I don’t know South.

The Whitworth Road and Holmesdale Road flats in particular are lovely.

I’d be able to do a lot of things I enjoy like having a cat or dog, having a bicycle, listening to music, exercising at home, etc.

But I don’t think I’d get the London feeling, and it doesn’t look like a place I’d go for a walk around in the evening / at the weekend. I’d probably rather something smaller that’s more central, or over to the SW.

There are actually a couple of options in Battersea:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/155127977#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146651189#/?channel=RES_BUY

Obviously you’d be paying for proximity to the park which is lovely these days I think. Lots of sports clubs use it, and just nice to sit by the lakes.

Mind you Battersea can also be quite rough.

I’ve also been browsing flats in Fulham, Parsons Green, Putney, and if I was to go further out then it looks like there’s a lot of options in the borough of Richmond Upon Thames.

There are options in all those places around £300k-£400k if I can consider studios and 1-beds, which I would so long as they’re either brilliantly located or if not then a liveable size.

@teafreedomoctopus is the link you've posted the flat you're considering?
Yes look at the lease. Some restrictions in leased properties are relics from another age and I often wonder if and how a freeholder would enforce them.

You can get a copy of the leacustomerhelp.landregistry.gov.uk/forums/general-info-and-guidance/5fa62030-c313-ed11-a81b-6045bd0ea026se from

The link in my second post is the one that fits the title of the thread. I’m not considering it any more, thanks to this thread! I’ve rented in SE London and it would be a lot worse than anywhere I’ve rented, so I think I’d be better off trying somewhere new now.

I’ve asked the Mods if they can change the title, as this is turning into a general “Where should I live in London for under £400k” thread.

I wouldn’t ever live in a basement flat. Noise, damp, street-level detritus, upstairs neighbours, flooding, no light, lower ceiling height. How can you not find it depressing. When these houses were built the basements weren’t meant to be lived in. They were functional, utilitarian spaces.

I wouldn’t ever be the leaseholder with a live-in freeholder. Certainly not at the bottom of a house.

You’re in your 40s, single, have 300k cash. On paper you’re a bit young to aspire to be mortgage-free, but you may have other stuff going on. If you can afford a small mortgage to get yourself above ground I think it would be money well spent. And try not to go for a conversion. Too many problems.

Oh, that’s very useful, thanks!

My budget may well not stretch to anywhere that would be suitable for pets. Unless I went out into the borough of Richmond upon Thames, where I could likely find somewhere suitable for an outdoor cat. Or a quiet dog. I had an upstairs neighbour with an Italian greyhound which we really never heard at all. So that’s one clause I’ll look out for.

Being able to sublet the flat if I’m away for a few months would also be very useful. Not to AirBnB of course, but to SpareRoom it. Whether it has its own entrance will be a factor there, I expect. So that’s something else I’d check for.

And of course all the detail about maintenance and repairs, whether there’s a sinking fund, what work has been done in previous years, what’s going to need doing, and how it’s all decided. I should make sure I have a buffer too. So if I have £280k cash I’m best off getting the maximum mortgage I can, then leaving £20k for eventualities so I’m not in fear of unexpected costs.

Nope. Lived in one as a child and it flooded a few times. Not fun then you're dealing with the damp from that and probably mould too

Thanks, don’t worry, I’ve ruled out the idea!

I don’t have much earning potential, so want to use this cash, which will be a gift in lifetime from parents, to get myself as set up for the future as I can. The immediate area I’m living in is very important to me, I’m pretty anxious and don’t do well if i’m anywhere sketchy. But at the same time I’d like to be able to get into central London. I was surprised to find quite a few options in Fulham, I suppose as it’s not particularly well connected...

The staircase in the Albert road flat is illegal, as it has no railing on the stairs (and quite right too, they would be a death trap,if you got up in the middle of the night to go to the downstairs loo…..

@teafreedomoctopus if s property comes with a share of the freehold , the other freehold/ers are asked to complete a fairly detailed form when it's being bought.
I'll see if I can attach or link later.

Have a look