I really like this house

[ChewedBlanket]

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170639135#/?channel=RES_BUY (nb obv central London prices).

Haven't been to see it yet so may not be any good at all. It's been on the market since Jan and they have already dropped the price so keen to sell. Do you think the third bedroom is too small to be a vacation bedroom for a teen currently at uni (so at home half the year)?

Needs a bit of work- new kitchen and bathroom, maybe rewire, skim, redecorate etc. Hopefully not new windows.

To the side/back is a gated private housing development- not sure whether this is good or bad. It's not beautiful to look at but you can't see it that much as far as I can tell.

In answer to your question, one of our away at uni DC's bedrooms is not much bigger than that. There's a king sized bed and we've done some built in storage and it actually feels quite cosy and nice. Except when DC is home, when it feels like a bomb has detonated, but that was the case when they had a bedroom about six times the size 😅

I’m sure someone else posted this very house with a question about moving into central London with teenagers? Is it an estate agent ploy?! Whatever it’s a gorgeous house and if I had the money I’d go for it?

New kitchen? That’s the best thing about the house!

I like it. It’s very similar to the house in east London that I grew up in.

Sure, but you're probably somewhere a lot of us would pay £1.6M (or more) to not be

😂

Tbf it works both ways. Whenever someone posts details of a house in the North or the Midlands, you can be sure an oh-so-sophisticated Londoner will pop up to exclaim "gosh - you couldn't get a shoebox for that round here!"

OP - I've seen much nicer London properties on my insta feed but I guess it's about location.

Amazing location! I love the big kitchen and bathroom. Basement kitchens can feel dark, but this one looks bright and really pleasant. And a 31ft garden is actually pretty good for for this area. Think you've got a bit of a find here, OP

It’s a great area and it looks a very cosy and welcoming house. I’d happily live there!

The kitchen has a very low ceiling obviously due to being lower ground , it wouldn't suit me but if your ok with that , you won't know if you don't view it .

It’s super cute. I’d love it as a second home. Sadly im
not a millionaire. But it’s too small for us for day to day living. Fab location. Cute garden.

Chuckling at this because I saw the listing and thought, "that's a big place" - it's about 15% bigger than my own London home, housing four people! It's all relative.

I used to live in the area and I know it well. The location is amazing for parents with adult dcs, great transport links, loads of bars and restaurants, good shopping options including mundane stuff like supermarkets, walkable to City and West End which could be useful if dcs end up working there. The canal is a lovely walk, there's the Almeida nearby, Sadler's Wells, Estorick, Islington Square facilities. Tbh I think the main downside of the area is the poor schools and that's not an issue for you.
It's a diverse area with housing estates next to expensive terraced streets, that's the case with most of central London really, you have to be streetwise but most crime/ASB won't affect you.

We live in a similar house/area and it has its niggles, but that is the housing stock in the area so if you want a freehold property around there, you accept it. Bedroom 3 is an OK size and has high ceilings so you can put storage up the walls.
All the stairs are a pain but it's fine if you're reasonably fit. We have young dcs and have a vague plan to move to somewhere with less stairs when they get to uni age, as we know we wouldn't want to deal with them in our 70s/80s. Our garden is similar size and overlooked and shady, and it's fine because we don't use it all that much, we spend most of our daytime hours out and about because there is so much going on. I feel a bit exposed living in a street property sometimes (passers by will peer into your window or down your hall when you open your door). No front garden means deliveries and bin day is a pain (nowhere safe for parcels to be left, nowhere to put a wheelie bin, foxes rip open bin bags). Our kitchen is downstairs and is lovely and cool in summer, but we get our groceries delivered and it gets tiring carrying bags of shopping down the stairs and bin bags up the stairs. Our top floor gets very hot in summer, but it's a loft conversion rather than the original top floor. Not having a loft means suitcases, Christmas decs etc need to be stored in normal rooms, which can look a bit untidy, we use the top of wardrobes and have some under stairs space.

I love the location. The house it ok. But it has my pet peeve - the main reception room and kitchen are on separate levels. Kitchens like this one always give me 'basement' vibes. (I once live in a basement and the dark/damp was awful so may be biased because of this experience). So it'd be a no for me.

However I am jealous of your housing budget!

Investigate insurance costs for your house/car. My friend lives in Islington’s and finds it very costly/difficult.

I love it. I fucking love London and would move back tomorrow if I could afford it. So much nicer than a boring country pile in Cheshire where I would be bored to tears.

My 17 yr old’s room is that size and it’s fine, it’s not massive but you can fit a small double in there with a desk and wardrobe so all good.

Great location! We live in a grade 2 listed building and fully renovated last year. You now have to get permission for any internal structural work as well - we moved a door about six inches and it took several weeks to approve this, and put us off doing anything else structural.

Didn’t it flood down there a few years ago? There’s been a few burst water mains in Islington over the years caused a lot of damage.

I used to live in Islington. Loved it. If I had your budget I’d look for something in Barnsbury, not so close to Upper Street.
i used to walk round at night, peering into cosy basement kitchens.

Or Canonbury 😍 although I don't think there's anything there for less than £12 jillion

The manhole could be covering a well, presumably the cellar is the original basement. It doesn’t look like the house has been extended in that bit and you wouldn’t run a drain under a house of this period. We had a well in my parents old house in the cellar and it was covered by a big slab. My parents friends also had one and they had theirs converted into a wine storage thing.

Now showing as sold sec

It doesn’t look like it needs any work

the bathroom and separate loo look brand new. Kitchen is modern too.

lovely house, great area