Where would you buy for 900k in London?

[SD25]

3-bed (minimum) house. No further out than Zone 4. Decent access to Paddington. Prefer urban feel than suburban. Good high street and schools for DD.

We like SE London but Dulwich is a bit out of price range for something nice so perhaps Forest Hill/Sydenham but not sure about schools. West London we don't know so well but most of the nicer areas seem too expensive.

Not talking about flats

and those days certainly haven’t gone.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157574573

There are lots of Victorian terraces and semi's like this. Personally I'd rather move a bit further out to get more value for money but it is a buzzy area.

Every single house looks like this now with the god awful chevron flooring 😭 should be a tax on people for ruining Victorian houses.

Not talking about flats

But lots of London property is comprised of flats so I assumed you were including them in your post.

and those days certainly haven’t gone.

In the current economic climate I think it would be foolish to rely on that but you can disagree.

As another poster has said, Sydenham and Forest Hill Schools have improved greatly over the years and get good results;

Their results are very average (nothing wrong with that ) but a lot of people with a 900k budget want schools far better than that.

What flooring should people have in Victorian houses?

Given the floor has probably been replaced countless times between owners…

Every single house looks like this now with the god awful chevron flooring 😭 should be a tax on people for ruining Victorian houses.

Blame instagram for the identikit interiors!

Have you looked at West Norwood OP?

Lots of good school choices and a very much improved area.

It’s horrwndous
whats wrong with stripped floorboards or even carpet better than that mess

We’re already in SE London and Paddington isn’t daily and may not be forever, so house location is more important. And Elizabeth line makes travel much easier across London than it used to be.

But interesting to see the curveball options in N London - the houses all look a bit too compromised in some way for our liking. We’d rather a nicer house on a nicer street in a less expensive area. Northfields is interesting would have to go and explore. Knowing SE London we love all the little places we have in reach so just comparing how that would be replicated in E or W. But thanks for all the great house options.

The Nunhead ones look great but would probably sooner do some work in a more preferable area than buy something so ‘done’ there.

Yes lots going for West Norwood but not 100% sold on it for some reason.

Willesden junction/Harlesden/Acton?
The more central parts of Ealing.
These not near Paddington but Haringey/Tottenham/seven sisters.
Leyton/Wanstead
Lewisham
Tower Hamlets

It’s so hard finding something now that’s not a complete wreck or the other end of the scale someone’s ’had a go’ at some diy (I think lockdown drove a lot of this) and it’s full of awful fake panelling and flooring that’s ghastly

good luck on your search OP

how many kids do you have OP?

a lot of the houses shared look pretty small for a family with (say) two teenagers - eg 1000 square foot victorian terraces? Is that the most practical choice?

it depends what your priorities are but if you could move further out of london and have a lot more space and better schools, would that be a fair exchange for less of a London “vibe”? I think thats basicaly what people in your position are weighing up.

what about sutton borough eg cheam or carshalton?

I grew up in Ealing and it’s great. Very green, good shops. Ok schools

900k won't get you a house in London.

900k won't get you a house in London.

🙄

@Papricat Of course it will in many areas! I was being nosey looking at some of the houses for sale near me a bit earlier, and there are plenty of houses in that sort of price range. There's a four bed semi round the corner from me for sale for £800,000, for example.

What a bizarre thing to say

@SD25 if you want excellent state secondaries I would look North Kingston/Richmond way.

Meant proper London, zone 1-2.

bow / Whitechapel tonnes areas zone 2 houses for £700-900k what you on about ?!

I've lived in Forest Hill for 15 years now, but I've lived in South London all my life. There is a great stretch from Sydenham and Dulwich Woods, through Forest Hill, Honor Oak Park, Crofton Park to Brockley that is unbelievably green and feels really safe. There is a very strong sense of community here, far stronger than anywhere else I have lived. The primary schools are all excellent, and all my boys have gone through Forest Hill and done well. My oldest is at a RG uni, as are all his primary school friends who wanted to go, one of them is at Cambridge fwiw, others are at Bristol, Nottingham, Leeds.

It's a pretty good place to live and you can definitely find something decent for £900k.

We don’t want to live on Oxford St 🤣

3 bed terrace perhaps with room for a 4th in the loft is fine for us. We value being in London proper much more than any more space and being suburban - both grew up in flats in the centre of cities.