Warlingham, Selsdon, S Croydon

[Emelee]

I am looking for a 2bed flat in 1 of the above areas. It'd be a bit of a personal relaunch after a period abroad. Will be living alone and hoping to get somewhere that will be resellable, keep pace with the overall market and not need big work nor maintenance. I know all areas well and probably will choose one of them. Any thoughts? I'd also need good regular London links and some chance of a local community/social life

I’m from that area originally, but if you know it well I’m surprised you need to ask those questions! Selsdon doesn’t have a train station so you’d have to get into Croydon for trains to London, adding to the commute time and cost of buses or parking. Upper Warlingham and South Croydon do have stations with decent London train links. Obviously Warlingham is a bit more villagey, but Croydon has more facilities, (although a bit of a dump last time I was there. ) The property prices can be quite variable within those areas, depending on the immediate local surroundings, so see what your budget gets you and go from there.

OK thanks. I know the areas but from a few years ago, and as I have to keep a property where I now live am in a lower buying budget for the moment, which means I'm restricted to smaller properties, mostly flats. The keys for me is quality of life, access to London and liquidity. I would not go anywhere in central C. The issue is mainly that the budget restricts me until I sell abroad which might be 2-5 years away. I don't want to take the risk of not being in the local market, so iI'd need a foothold which as far as possible does not extend the financial gap between what I will have (2 bed flat) and what I want (small 3 bed freehold house). Yes, Warlingham was perfectly ok when I lived there. Selsdon ditto. South C is ok in parts, Sanderstead ditto. I thought maybe Caterham which has a few more local amenities, don't know what the Railway Inn pub is like these days, there was a shopoing centre with a few shops there too

Selsdon and most of Warlingham aren't great for trains to London.
South Croydon covers a huge area so it depends where you are looking.
Sanderstead and Purley are nicer areas, but even Sanderstead village is a bus journey from Sanderstead station.
Do you need local facilities - schools etc?

Lots of flats have been built in Warlingham/whyteleafe over the past few years. When I lived there a few years ago developers were having trouble selling them. Not sure if that is still the case but you might be able to pick up a bargain.

If you want/need access to central London then South Croydon is your only realistic option altho' as the poster above says, that covers a wide area.

Having been brought up in the area, if links to London weren't an issue, I'd rate them (1) Warlingham (2) Selsdon and (3) South Croydon.

Really good feedback, thanks. At the moment I'm going to try and view places off Croham Road, S Croydon, then 1 very near and 1 quite near Upper War/Whyteleafe stations. In an ideal world Id want first class train links to London (even if with a bus connection), a good local area (schools not an issue but I'd like a local cafe or decent pub), a good community set up in the block, beautiful views and local countryside and access to j6 of the M25 for out of London trips. Obviously I'm unlikely to get all of this. My perception is that the local markets in all these areas is fairly flat at the moment. Hard to predict the future. I can't see at my limited budget how I can beat a 2 bedroom flat located near the 2 stations as mentioned above. There are those very modern looking ones at East Croydon, and yes youre in Victoria in 25 mins door to door, but I think I'd be dead depressed looking out at Croydon. Selsdon doesn't seem to have many flats and yes it is a disadvantage (possibly when selling too) no train station. I do like the areas just off the Old Farleigh road if you drive from Selsdon to Caterham via Warlingham. Amazing countryside, Farleigh, Warlingham itself quite nice, and proximity to the gorgeous Botley Hill and Woldingham, then Caterham which is ok, So thats the corridor I am looking in.

Yes, places off Croham Road (south of S.Croydon station, after the unused railway bridge - if you know the area, you know what I mean) are good and very convenient re transport links! Sanderstead and Warlingham are quite spread areas and you would probably need a bus to get to the stations. Selsdon has good bus links,but no train station. What about Riddlesdown or Purley Oaks area?

Re-read you last post. That area of Selsdon/Warlingham (Farleigh) is too far from any station with only 1 bus running once an hour and only few times on the weekend.(not sure about exact timetable, but buses are quite rare). Woldingham is really nice, but very expensive. Caterham can be an option, but you also need to know "good" and "bad" areas. Have you tried to talk to 2-3 estate agents asking which area would have better liquidity in next, say 3-5 areas?