London flat but lower basement

[Housedilemmasss]

Anyone have any advice please?

FTB and this has caught my eye - https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/70098133/

however I’m mindful it’s been listed several times over the years - are there any major red flags?

I went down, and up, West Hill on Monday. It was the usual horror show.

If you view the flat, OP, as a PP said, make sure you go in rush hour.

Mind you, it's always rush hour on West Hill 😆

I'm also a London basement dweller (quite near Putney!), and have never seen a rat (or mouse) in the years I've been here. The main drawbacks are lack of light and, yes, damp. I had a specialist damp surveyor in to advise me on all the things I can do, big and small, to contain it and it's OK. The damp smell has gone now.

The lack of light is a problem but again, there's a lot you can do. I'm considering putting in a few internal windows and sun tubes when I can afford it.

In the current climate it's still overpriced

Bedrooms with no windows would be an absolute no for me. I'd be surprised if they even have a building certificate for them to be used as habitable rooms rather than just storage.
Lower ground floor bathrooms = first port of entry if the sewers get blocked.
There's absolutely no built in storage apart from the kitchen units and there's not many of those for a 3 bed house. Where do they keep coats, shoes, ironing board, mop, hoover etc??
French doors onto a communal garden, no thanks!!

In that case no, you need fresh air, light and ventilation, the air quality will be pretty poor there.

If those tiny vents in the walls are the only windows in the basement bedrooms, how the hell did that flat meet planning and safety regulations? There needs to be an escape route for emergency egress, and bedrooms in a basement with no exit other than via an open staircase into an open plan kitchen (likely to be the source of a fire) is a potential death trap.

Been on sale for nearly a decade, only worth for HMO / slumlord for sub 500K.

Honestly OP, just look at the Street View on the listing. Cars, cars, cars, as far as the eye can see!

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/70098133/?console=open&tab=street_view

Yeah, that's a horrible road and the main bedroom is at the front, with the other two virtually windowless. Avoid!