Buying a London flat and moving back there in my mid 50s after separation...thoughts/experience?

[JandLandG]

I'm an empty nester and separated - mid 50s.

This time next year, we're selling the family house, going our separate ways and splitting the loot - no mortgage on it anymore.

I moved out a couple of years ago into a nice flat - bliss! (Wasting money on rent, sadly, but...that's coming through my wages and am happy to do so for 2/3 years).

Anyway, for a long time I've thought of moving back to London. Haven't lived there since the 90s, but often there, tbh.

75 per cent of my work is there these days, a couple of our bigger kids live there after Uni - not sure where the youngest one will go to uni yet.

Have always been a regular visitor to London and always enjoyed it. Friends there/near.

So, I'm gonna go back there while I have still have the energy...hopefully.

Even if it's just for 2/3 years maybe.

No chance of retirement for me - freelance for 25 yrs and not much of a pension really.

Budget: 400k -ish.

Area: Zone 1 preferably. Bloomsbury would be my dream...but I may change that.

Any thoughts?

I hear flats are very difficult to sell atm...good for prices going down/cheeky offers, but that may prove a problem down the line for me.

It'd be 2k a month on rent if I took that option; I think I'm gonna buy, tbh. Big deposit, small-ish mortgage - maybe 10k moving costs inc legal and stamp duty.

Pros?

Cons?

Thoughts/experiences?

I imagine myself gadding around town from galleries to coffee shops to theatres and bars - the reality would be quite different, I'm sure, but...maybe a bit of that, come on - I can dream!

Anyway...let me know if you think I'm mad, or am onto something.

Also, buying ex local authority housing looks the best bet for space/value; my kids have lived in those flats as students for a while...any thoughts on that as a potential option?

Thanking you in advance - and apologies for the lengthy ramble.

£400k for a flat in Bloomsbury? Have you actually looked at property prices?

Ex local authority are better value but you’re stuck with the LA as the freeholder and can be landed with big bills. I’d also want to think about how easy it is to sell on.

It’s obviously doable, but with that budget, you’re probably looking at zone 3 and outwards. How much are you willingness to compromise on distance from the centre v niceness of area v size of property?

Just a random example from the current selection available...Holborn, I think this, but you get the idea...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89425869#/media?activePlan=1&id=media7&ref=photoCollage&channel=RES_BUY

As I say, I fancy hyper-central, tbh...but open to suggestion.

Yes, I'd heard about potential bills - and am aware of service charges etc which can be daft. Certainly not looking for a gym or whatever in the basement!

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/87775545#/?channel=RES_BUY

I could see myself living here...ofc I'd rather live in a super posh building, but...

Sounds like you’ve got all the reasons in the world to go, with kids and friends there. I think being in a big city would be fabulous as a single person with adult children. So much to do and get involved in. If you can afford it, I’d say go for it.

My dream would be this . I don't understand why it's thought to be a good option to be rural especially when you are getting older . If you can afford absolutely go for it . Good luck

Once you’re 60 you’ll get free tfl transport which is a significant advantage as well. (Unless they change it in the meantime of course…)
I think it sounds great. I’d widen my search a bit and not discount areas that are a little less central if they have good transport links and a friendly local vibe.
Ex local authority buildings can have good “fundamentals” like decent sized rooms. There can be problems with getting a mortgage for high rise flats (for some reason banks don’t want to lend for buildings over 11 storeys high?). But this might not be an issue if you have significant equity or can even afford to buy it outright.
Repair bills are a concern, I was looking into buying such a flat once and there was an expectation that all leaseholders would have to pay 10k+ in the near future as the block was being overhauled by the council.
After the summer we’ve just had I’d also think very carefully about how the flat would perform in hot weather. Is there any outside space? Single or dual aspect? Ways to block sunlight/solar heat gain?
Finally, you don’t want anywhere with Grenfell-style cladding.
Having said all that if you pick your building carefully living in London could be fab, and I’d much prefer it to being out in the sticks on my own!

Maybe not relevant to the discussion but I love the Stanhope Street flat!! I say go for it.

I'd love to move somewhere like Crouch End/Muswell Hill or Highgate. You can get into Cental London easily but the local areas feels village-y and lovely places to walk to and visit.

I think in principle it’s a great idea being in central London for a while in your circumstances. Think the challenge will be finding somewhere on your budget that you are likely to be able to resell without too many problems. The first flat you put up only seems to have a 30 year lease.
Second one is lovely but you’d need to research how easy it is to sell that type of flat.

Buy somewhere outside London where you would happily live in the future. Rent it out. Rent a flat in London?

I think this is a brilliant idea (disclaimer I live in London and love it!). A few years ago I met lovely couple who had retired to london and were super happy with it. You are close to hospitals and healthcare. You have free travel at 60. You can access theatres, museums etc all easily. You will have tons of opportunities to entertain yourself and meet people.
There are some really great locations you are looking at, you may also want to consider just pushing slightly out to Z2 and seeing if you can get something a bit bigger but tbh I see the temptation of zone 1 living!

There are some interesting areas to investigate. So for example Wapping has been massively gentrified over the years, but because it’s on a little bend in the river, it doesn’t really have through traffic.
You could potentially even get Notting Hill for that amount. And be close to Hyde Park. What sellers are advertising for is definitely not what they’re getting.

I would use the £400k for pension and stay put

This is like student accommodation op, I don’t think I would be happy with this but if you are go for it

OP will be lucky to get anything in Wapping other than a studio flat for £400k.

I think your budget is too low.

Please be careful with flats. Most are leasehold. Make sure the flat has at least 120 years left on it to avoid the marriage value trap. My flat went under 80 years and was unmortgageable. I could only sell it at a massive loss at auction.

Also check service charges. They can start low but they also can massively increase over the years. As people have said, check for any planned buildings improvements too. They wanted to charge us £12k per flat (5 windows!). The residents fought back because any glazier could do five windows for under £6k per flat. It was a blatant attempt at a scam.

Do it! You only live once. Prices seem reasonable! Go for it.

I retired to London (Southwark) with far less income than you, renting. It’s fabulous - do it!

Sounds like it will be a really good move for you. Only thought I have is if you have a garden now, would you miss it? And if so think about looking for somewhere with a balcony at least. I wouldn’t be too attached to zone 1. It’s a good time to buy, especially flats

London is great, visit potential flat at different times of the day and on different days to check if there is a problem with noise, cost of service charge, length of lease and if ex local authority any planned maintenance work - a leasehold share of lift or roof replacement can be high. Talk to other residents about response times for any repairs - a friend in a flat has a night mare with managing agent who avoids any intervention/repairs.

Go for Wandsworth riverside there are lots of flats there it’s safe and you can get the boat into town

Service charges and lease lengths are something you need to really look out for. I wouldn’t be wedded to zone 1 - communities can be transient - but would look out to zone 2. Still easily walkable to central but some greener spaces plus you’ll have free travel anyway.

What about just south of the river- Bermondsey, Southwark or Elephant? You'd get a bit more for your money and could still walk in easily. Elephant has had loads of regeneration.

Definitely do it! I'd move to a flat in the Barbican for retirement if I could afford it.

The first flat you posted has a service charge of £5k per year. I agree with others to maybe push out a little to zone 2. There are so many things to think about with flats in general in terms of being dumped with repair costs in ex-LA flats, cladding, lease length, service charges, ground rent, noisy neighbours, outside space. If you look carefully at all that though I think it’s a great idea. I’m similar age and went back and forth about a flat centrally, or house further out, and have gone for a zone 6 options (currently zone 3). I just found the flat idea a bit too risky for me.

I think you should give it a go

dont rule out zone 2 either: you may find a great community slightly further out away from student accommodation