London - which area for a first flat?

[BrabusMog]

princeperch said:

okgo said:

Apparently the next place to be is Homerton!

never in a million years

I said that about Dalston, look at it now... Still a sthole

If you want central, OP, you may want to take a look at places off Borough High St. It's not quite as cliquey-dhead as Shoreditch, benefits from good transport links and is generally quite pleasant. If you can come out a bit, Clapham/Brixton is nice as well. £500k in these areas will go a lot further than anything with a "C" in the post code.

[louiebaby]

Close to Brixton Tube, and it's not as bad as it used to be. I like this:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...

We live near Clapham North, and there should be some choice for you there.

Have a look around Kennington /Oval too.

There doesn't seem to be masses of availability though. If you get stuck, come see my place, and make me an offer...

[Gruffy]

Bermondsey might be worth a look. You'd do very well with £500k in Bermondsey Spa and possibly even Bermondsey Village. Both are on the up and benefiting from The Shard and associated developments.

[eastsider]

okgo said:

Well, as far as I'm concerned its all a fking dump out East, but apparently its 'hip'

A very common view and indeed East isn't the prettiest area. The counter point is first, I've doubled my equity in 10 years of living East, 8 in Bethnal Green, last two in Bow. Second, transport links from Mile End (Bow) are superb. I'm door to desk in <30 minutes by tube, bus, DLR or cycling.

[housen]

eastsider said:

okgo said:

Well, as far as I'm concerned its all a fking dump out East, but apparently its 'hip'

A very common view and indeed East isn't the prettiest area. The counter point is first, I've doubled my equity in 10 years of living East, 8 in Bethnal Green, last two in Bow. Second, transport links from Mile End (Bow) are superb. I'm door to desk in <30 minutes by tube, bus, DLR or cycling.

Who hasn't doubled their equity in London over 10 years ?

[okgo]

All very well, but the area is still pretty dire. Dalston is a proper dump. My mate lives in the big new build complex on kingsland rd, nice flat. Everywhere else, dump.

[wiffmaster]

Thanks for all the advice chaps - will be doing a bit of virtual houseshopping on RightMove for the areas suggested so far.

To answer some questions: -

- Really don't want a house. Primarily because I can't be bothered with the maintenance, but also because houses (in my price range) tend to be further out. As central a location as possible is the priority; I don't have any need for the additional space that a house would offer. Currently living with my folks on a farm in the Chiltern Hills. So, I'd quite like a complete change of scene - I'd prefer to be in a flat close to the heart of the city, rather than in a house in the leafy suburbs.

- I'm not too bothered about the 'trendiness' of an area - I don't do 'trendy'! But, would like somewhere that is likely to perform well long term; if that requires I purchase in a trendy area, so be it.

- I guess that I have a slight preference for North of the river, but given that there seem to be a lot of nice properties within budget available around Bermondsey/Elephant & Castle way, South of the river may be the way to go? My mates are dotted all over the place (Shoreditch, Clapham, Greenwich, London Bridge, Hendon, Finchley, Mill Hill, etc) so good Underground links are the key.

- The more modern the development, the better. I grew up in an old listed building and am done with 'character properties'! Plus, I like the sort of features you might get in a modern development (security, concierge, bike storage, possible secure parking, balconies, Cat5 and satellite wiring, etc)


Thanks for all your help so far everybody - some great suggestions for locations I probably wouldn't have thought of. With any luck, I'll be looking to purchase around the beginning of 2013, so I've got a while to suss out areas.

Cheers.

[z4chris99]

vixen1700 said:

I knew somebody who had a flat in Tower Hamlets, a gated flat in the old Bryant & May match building. Fantastic flat, can't imagine what he paid for it in the early 2000s. He was posh and quite rich, mind.

I was there today, nice place but a bit of a mission. 10 mins to the tube then 10 mins to Liverpool st.

[z4chris99]

there is a new block going up on the corner of white's row and tenter ground which looks rather nice. good location etc and will sure have a big uplift when the fruit and wool finally gets developed..

[Brother D]

Tower bridge area, on the river around Rotherhithe is pleasant, with decent transport links, including ferry to Canary Wharf.

[freenote]

Finsbury Park, Stroud Green, Highbury

[XJSJohn]

z4chris99 said:

vixen1700 said:

I knew somebody who had a flat in Tower Hamlets, a gated flat in the old Bryant & May match building. Fantastic flat, can't imagine what he paid for it in the early 2000s. He was posh and quite rich, mind.

I was there today, nice place but a bit of a mission. 10 mins to the tube then 10 mins to Liverpool st.

indeed, "The Bow Quarter", yea it is a bit of a walk to Bow Tube if it is raining, but only 3 stops to liverpool street is not too shabby. Also secure parking, easy access to M11 out of london, good facilities including gym and pool, good security etc. Lived there for many years and for East London it's not a bad spot, at least it's not Sarf of the river.

ETA Early 2000's a 1 bedder there was about 90 - 100k, 2008 (to now, been static price wise) they are 250k.

[C&C]

Bit of a leftfield suggestion, but Wembley might not be a bad shout?
Lots of new development/brand new flats around the stadium area with more planned/being built. Example.
New multi-screen and designer outlet/shopping centre opening next year.
Transport on Met line is 16 mins to Baker Street from Wembley Park, or 14 mins to Marylebone from Wembley Stadium. Also has Jubilee from Wembley Park and Overground + Bakerloo from Wembley Central.
These are some of the new builds/developments:
Wembley City
Elizabeth House (not much info yet) currently up to 6th floor build.
New town hall (opens March 2013)
Only reason I suggest it is that the area has been a bit of a heap, but since the new stadium, arena refurb, and lots of other development it's changing character quite a lot with more plans for development over the next few years....

[eastsider]

housen said:

Who hasn't doubled their equity in London over 10 years ?

Sorry I didn't mean doubled, closer to x10. East has outperformed "established" areas for young first time buyers such as clapham, islington etc.

[kingston12]

eastsider said:

A very common view and indeed East isn't the prettiest area. The counter point is first, I've doubled my equity in 10 years of living East, 8 in Bethnal Green, last two in Bow. Second, transport links from Mile End (Bow) are superb. I'm door to desk in <30 minutes by tube, bus, DLR or cycling.

Surely the prices are the same for the most of London? I am right out in zone 6 and flats that were under £100k in 2000 are above £250k now. I bet prime west London has gone up by a much bigger % still.

I can't argue with the transport links, though. I work in the City and would be in the office in sub-20 minutes from leaving home if I lived in Mile End on the Central line and Oxford Circus is only another 10 minutes away.

Saying that, my door to desk commute from zone 6 to the City is under 40 minutes most days. The difference is that there is only one line and if that is out or delayed there is no alternative.

[BJG1]

What about somewhere like Crouch End? Will get something well within budget there and it's a nice area. Also lots available in N1 at that price range.

[princeperch]

investing in Wembley would be a very easy and painless way to lose your deposit over the next few years I should think.

on the flipside, think of all the big nights out you can have: Harrow/Pinner/Rayners Lane

the options are quite frankly endless.

[okgo]

lol is that a joke?

[princeperch]

okgo said:

lol is that a joke?

just imagine, standing on the balcony of your executive penthouse, overlooking wembley park station, knowing that you have made a solid investment in prime london real estate, and that you will never be more than 2 minutes from a poundland store

[z4chris99]

wembley is a st hole.