Where to buy in London on limited budget - Bromley any good?
Discussion
With work normally based around the City or London Bridge, where would you buy right now with a limited budget of around 380 - 400K?
Needs include proximity to good transport link/s and off-street (preferably secure underground) parking. Intent is to commute on two wheels most of the time with tube or train during bad weather.
Wants include 2 bedrooms rather than 1, purpose built rather than a crappy conversion, ensuite to main bedroom and hopefully a decent amount of room.
Pickings seem to be very slim on Rightmove though I'm not particularly tied to any area. Docklands would be good but is about 200K over budget at a minimum, although out towards and over the A12 and A13 show some places available in Ilford, Gants Hill, Bow, Barking, etc. Generally undesirable areas I'm guessing.
Another option might be Bromley South. It's not on the tube but supposedly has a 16 minute train into London and probably has a nice 'town' feel about it. rather than the normal stinky, overpopulated fug of most London areas.
A lot of chancers seems to think throwing in a laminate floor and some paint equates to a 50K price rise.
Needs include proximity to good transport link/s and off-street (preferably secure underground) parking. Intent is to commute on two wheels most of the time with tube or train during bad weather.
Wants include 2 bedrooms rather than 1, purpose built rather than a crappy conversion, ensuite to main bedroom and hopefully a decent amount of room.
Pickings seem to be very slim on Rightmove though I'm not particularly tied to any area. Docklands would be good but is about 200K over budget at a minimum, although out towards and over the A12 and A13 show some places available in Ilford, Gants Hill, Bow, Barking, etc. Generally undesirable areas I'm guessing.
Another option might be Bromley South. It's not on the tube but supposedly has a 16 minute train into London and probably has a nice 'town' feel about it. rather than the normal stinky, overpopulated fug of most London areas.
A lot of chancers seems to think throwing in a laminate floor and some paint equates to a 50K price rise.
t. Imo you'd be better off moving near west London. Prices are crazy, and will rise even more once the crossrail project is finished.So limited budget and work in the City... Buy in west London where it's already really expensive and going to get more-so. Humm, not sure I follow the logic there.
Most of south, hell all London's fine and 'bad' areas tends to be very small pockets of trouble surrounded by perfectly nice roads. 'Nice' areas like Dulwich are bordered by Brixton and Peckham - and you'll find parts of the latter 2 that are nicer than parts of the former. Likewise it's not like west London is some green and pleasent land - I'd take Bow in east London over Park Royal in west any day!
For easy access to the City check out areas off the Overground too. The Overground will get you to London Bridge via a change on the to Jubilee line and shares tracks with national rail services from London Bridge towards Croydon giving you more train options. I was in much the same situation as you 12 months ago and ended up buying a 2-bed flat with garage in a purpose built 60's block. No ensuite for the master bedroom but also £100k less that your top budget.
Most of south, hell all London's fine and 'bad' areas tends to be very small pockets of trouble surrounded by perfectly nice roads. 'Nice' areas like Dulwich are bordered by Brixton and Peckham - and you'll find parts of the latter 2 that are nicer than parts of the former. Likewise it's not like west London is some green and pleasent land - I'd take Bow in east London over Park Royal in west any day!
For easy access to the City check out areas off the Overground too. The Overground will get you to London Bridge via a change on the to Jubilee line and shares tracks with national rail services from London Bridge towards Croydon giving you more train options. I was in much the same situation as you 12 months ago and ended up buying a 2-bed flat with garage in a purpose built 60's block. No ensuite for the master bedroom but also £100k less that your top budget.
For your budget I would look at Beckenham rather than Bromley, it has more flats. I would also take a look at Crystal Palace, Cross Rail will be going there, so you colud be making a very good investment.
Beckenham has a more of a Village feel compared to Bromley which feels like a large Town.
Beckenham has a more of a Village feel compared to Bromley which feels like a large Town.
Sevenoaks 35 minutes into London Bridge on the train, the ride in wouldn't be as easy though.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...
Edited by Type R Tom on Thursday 8th October 14:46
Royal Arsenal? They are getting crossrail and have the DLR and mainline trains.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...
ManFromDelmonte said:
Brockley and New Cross are both worth a look. Don't be put off by reputations, there are some lovely roads with lovely houses in both and quite a few decent pubs. London Bridge is about 10 minutes on the train.
+1 for Brockley. My cousin has lived there for the past several years and thinks it's a fantastic place to live and raise children.I'm just about to complete on a flat on the avenue in Beckenham and will commute on either the push bike or motorbike to the city each day
2 stations to choose form within 10 minutes walk and only 10-11 miles IIRC
Mine was substantially under your budget but something like this should fit the bill:
my block: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope... - Been on the market a while and a good £30k over-priced
Down the road:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...
2 stations to choose form within 10 minutes walk and only 10-11 miles IIRC
Mine was substantially under your budget but something like this should fit the bill:
my block: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope... - Been on the market a while and a good £30k over-priced
Down the road:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...
JasonNT said:
Surbiton area possibly. Its a train journey but 25 mins into waterloo i s totally doable
I commute from there every day. Generally ok, but a few caveats:1. It is about 20 minute walk from Waterloo to the SW part of the City. If you need to get further in it might be too far to walk.
2. The Waterloo & City line is an alternative, but be prepared to wait a quite a long time if you want to get it at peak time.
3. Peak time trains are normally rammed full from Surbiton. They are timetabled at about 17-18 minutes but often take 10 minutes longer because of consistent delays getting into Waterloo. The ones on the way back can often get there in 13-14 minutes which is amazing considering how far out it is (zone 6)
I really like the area itself, but it is probably more than £500k for a 2 bed flat in the part of town you'd actually want to live. The surrounds are much cheaper (and certainly within OPs budget) and you can still walk to the station in 5 minutes, but then other areas already mentioned here might be better.
JJ55 said:
Bow, Stratford or even forest gate. Fantastic travel links even more so when cross rail opens next year. Prices are also constantly rising in these areas so a nice secure buy.
It's never great when the first positive things people can say about the area are transport links and "investment potential"! What about the high st, quality of housing, demographic of people, access to green space? On all these area Stratford is not great.Have a look at Wanstead and South Woodford. Much nicer areas - further out but still only about 25 mins to Bank. At the top of your budget but doable for a flat. Houses obviously very expensive in those area.
I have no bias on this - live in NW London.
hungry_hog said:
JJ55 said:
Bow, Stratford or even forest gate. Fantastic travel links even more so when cross rail opens next year. Prices are also constantly rising in these areas so a nice secure buy.
It's never great when the first positive things people can say about the area are transport links and "investment potential"! What about the high st, quality of housing, demographic of people, access to green space? On all these area Stratford is not great.Have a look at Wanstead and South Woodford. Much nicer areas - further out but still only about 25 mins to Bank. At the top of your budget but doable for a flat. Houses obviously very expensive in those area.
I have no bias on this - live in NW London.
You won't be able to afford a two bedroom flat in Peckham or (East) Dulwich any more on that budget.
Definitely within your price range would be Beckenham, Bromley, Sydenham, Catford, Penge. Generally they have good transport links when required i.e. a combination of national rail and/or London overground.
Possibly within your price range are Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Crystal Palace, New Cross, Deptford.
MadProfessor said:
You won't be able to afford a two bedroom flat in Peckham or (East) Dulwich any more on that budget.
Definitely within your price range would be Beckenham, Bromley, Sydenham, Catford, Penge. Generally they have good transport links when required i.e. a combination of national rail and/or London overground.
Possibly within your price range are Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Crystal Palace, New Cross, Deptford.
It is amazing how quickly things have changed when you put it like that. I can imagine a few of the places in your 'definitely within your price range' list would have been quite a bit more expensive than some of those in the 'possibly' list until quite recently.Definitely within your price range would be Beckenham, Bromley, Sydenham, Catford, Penge. Generally they have good transport links when required i.e. a combination of national rail and/or London overground.
Possibly within your price range are Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Crystal Palace, New Cross, Deptford.
Bromley's a great place to live IMHO. The town itself is fine, easy access to country, and a good mix of houses and flats.
Beckenham is fine (lived there for 8 years) but is less villagey now IMHO and not as nice as it once was. Plenty of flats with OSP or garage enbloc.
For your budget you could get a house in the burbs of Bromley - look at Petts Wood, half an hour from Victoria or London Bridge, 3 bed semi with a garage for £400k
Beckenham is fine (lived there for 8 years) but is less villagey now IMHO and not as nice as it once was. Plenty of flats with OSP or garage enbloc.
For your budget you could get a house in the burbs of Bromley - look at Petts Wood, half an hour from Victoria or London Bridge, 3 bed semi with a garage for £400k
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