Why is this studio so reasonable? Is it area

[Thatwaskindoffun]

My DC is a first time buyer ideally looking to buy not rent in London, yes I know London is massive and it varies from place to place. I know nothing about buying in London at all and just assumed anywhere would be out of their price range but it seems I might be wrong.

As an example, yes this is a studio but other than that is the area awful or is there something else I’m missing as there seems to be more available in their price range of £200k than I expected

https://www.onthemarket.com/details/19249305/

Because it’s on a massive estate and is more Norwood than CP. I don’t know that estate but I’d be wanting to check safety etc

How much are the charges ? The advert doesn't mention ?

Ah yes probably ground rent / leasehold charges, I thought I’d picked an example that showed them but brain is fried by looking at so many

It's right next to a secondary school so the roads/buses get crazy busy at times which might put some people off.

For people with far more knowledge than me, is it actually feasible to buy somewhere decent for about £200k in a safe area? Location doesn’t matter too much as they would only be office based 2 days a week so would be happy with a long commute for those days. They just want to be in “London” 🙄

Yes if you go further out, zones 4/5.
If you are in the south area then head towards beckenham, bromley, shirley, purley, caterham, kenley. All very leafy and family friendly but still technically London.

The further out you go the more you'll get for your money. The studio looks nice, it is very small though and Norwood didn't used to be nice. It's a big estate. I wouldn't want to live there.

I think living, sleeping and working in a single room would drive you stir crazy pretty quickly.

if you come out carshalton / Sutton sort of way there 1 bed flats for £200k. From there you can go to London Bridge / Victoria / st pancreas but also jump
on a bus to the tube.

key thing is to stay within zone 6 max as that will keep commuting costs down.

Yes, hundreds of flats around the 200k mark in SE London. I live in one, very near this one you’ve posted and it’s in an estate but on a quiet road a 10 min walk from Crystal Palace which is a really nice area. South Norwood is not gentrified, scruffier and a bit rough but not unsafe. Thornton Heath and West Croydon are sketchier but even then - unless you’re involved with drugs, gang crime or routinely carry a weapon you’re very unlikely to get caught up in anything. I’ve lived in London over a decade in various areas and never been a victim of crime - I did however get burgled in Manchester.

The owner is living there with a baby . I imagine they are going crazy and desperate to move for space.

Studios can be harder to get a mortgage for. Some lenders have minimum floor area required too. That can keep the prices down a bit.

Are they aware that the London price falls, particularly for leashold, are likley to continue? Its not really about Trump and Iran as the article suggests, although that isnt helping.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/house-prices-london-fall-rents-rise-economy-hit-donald-trump-war-iran-b1297535.html

It's very difficult to get a mortgage on a studio so even if you could buy it with cash you would have to find a cash buyer to sell to, which massively reduces your options. Plus what others have said about location.

How about going west to somewhere like Whitton? V close to Twickenham, Richmond, Kingston etc. Decent area, direct train to Waterloo.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89202567#/?channel=RES_BUY

Seems very small, would he want to live in a 14 ft space?
I think he could do a lot better for himself
Would it be difficult to resell?

The area is okay and you are not too far from the popular Crystal Palace triangle, The rough areas of Thornton Heath and West Croydon are some distance away.
The main problem is that the flat is very small. Unless you are out most of the time, it could feel claustrophobic, especially if you wfh. Service charges on flats are often very high so would have to check that.

I used to live near here - nothing wrong with the area (Crystal Palace is lovely! Much nicer/safer than South Norwood), and the estate is fine from my knowledge.

I think it’s cheap because it’s a studio. I personally don’t think they are worth buying and can be hard to resell (hence why so cheap)

It looks good to me - very long lease and right near Crystal Palace park so yes it’s the Norwood end but still a pretty good area. It’s cheap because it’s tiny but it’s nice I reckon.

I wouldn’t encourage my son to buy this. Have a look at one bed flats in Sidcup.

I’d have given my right arm for this in my early twenties. I was renting horrible bedsits.

Would they be happy with a houseboat? Little Venice is a lovely area. Very safe and with good transport connections. I’m fairly sure these are permanent moorings so no need to move around every two weeks.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88940097#/?channel=RES_BUY.

He needs to be fit because it's up a very steep hill to Crystal Palace and the railway station.
But other than the busy-ness of a secondary school I mentioned upthread it's a nice area.
Right next to a park, walking distance to the railway station (or 2 if you use Anerley).
Next to lots of bus routes and walking distance to shops.

The outside shot shows a tree full of blossom so presumably it has been on sale for a pretty long time. Of course it might have been offered on and the sale fallen through.

There’s this in Paddington/Marylebone.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91872942#/?channel=RES_BUY

Definitely on the bijou side and the lease needs extending as it’s currently 91 years, but the location is great.

That's a studio as well though! And £180k is just the starting bid.

Edit to add: maybe technically it's not a studio as the kitchen is separate but I'd consider it a studio. There's nowhere to sit other than the bed (and the toilet!) from what I can see.