Where to rent in London - modern apartment block

[Dixie68]

I currently rent in Portsmouth and work near Tower Hill in London. I live here as it was a better area for me to be with my dog - family close by to dog-sit, cheap houses with gardens, large open spaces etc, but now my dog has died I'm looking at moving to London to rent.
I've got pretty specific needs with regards to what kind of place I'd like to live in and I'd like to be close to a tube station, so I'm looking for ideas from Londoners as to what areas to avoid, (I know Stratford/Forest Gate are toilets as I used to work there, but my knowledge of other areas is limited), and where I can get the following:

• Up to £1,000 per month, but ideally £800.
• Modern apartment block - no flats in semi-detached buildings etc, unless they are amazing.
• Higher than the ground floor.
• A balcony.
• Wooden floors.
• Furnished - at least white goods, but preferably everything.
• Allocated parking - and outside of congestion zone charging!
• Video/phone entry system.
• No DSS in the same building.
• 1 or 2 bed.

I've seen a few places that seem to match my needs in Woolwich, specifically around the arsenal there, but I don't know what the area is like or what it would cost me weekly to get to and from Tower Hill station.

This is the kind of place I'm looking for:






Any suggestions?

Edited by Dixie68 on Sunday 6th February 16:56

[Dixie68]

Bumped as I'm going to start looking tomorrow.

[Wings]

I rented an apartment in Tanner Street last weekend, Tanner Street being off Tower Bridge Road. I did notice there were several flat lets, both in the Tanner Street, Bermondsey Road and Tooley Street area, with also Canada Water possibly being another nearby area to search.

[mattdaniels]

Someone I work with has just moved in to something that's almost exactly as you describe, in Glaisher Street, Greenwich. Think she's paying 850/ month. She also looked at a place in Mudchute but Greenwhich has more about it whereas Mudchute is a bit devoid of facilities.

[Dixie68]

Thanks, I'll have a look

[cjs]

Had a friend who lived in the old Alaska Building and worked in the City, she could walk there quite easily across Tower Bridge.

Not sure on rental prices but worth a look. They're not all 'Lofts' there are Flats as well.

http://www.primelocation.com/uk-property-to-rent/d...

Edited by cjs on Monday 7th February 08:12

[voicey]

For that sort of money I can only think of Royal Arsenal in Woolwich (although my knowledge is limited to East and South East London). I lived there for six months as I've always wanted to try out a penthouse apartment. I rented a two bedroom penthouse on the 7th floor with a wrap around roof terrace with river views for £1,350 a month.

The reason it's so cheap is because Woolwich is a dump! The Royal Arsenal development is really nice though.

ETA: Royal Arsenal development is quite nice - very quiet which is what I like. You would need to take the DLR to Tower Hill - about 25 mins, costs about a fiver a day return. I only had two problems living there - getting home from a night out in the city/west end was a ball ache and there's nowhere you'd like to go out locally (we used to get a cab to Greenwich).

Edited by voicey on Monday 7th February 11:00

[Harry Flashman]

I think you'll struggle on £1000 a month. Current Lady F is looking to rent a 1 bed. She needs to be within 10 minutes' walk of Waterloo, and finding anything decent for less than £350 a week is proving hard, and not much is coming up. Highly inflated maret due to scarcity of supply - flat sales market is pushing eople into renting. She found a studio (with separate kitchen, so not a horrible bedsit) for £325 - and even that was not in a superb area, being near Lambeth North tube station rather than the south bank itself.

Admittedly, her requirement of very central location means higher prices - but for £1000 a month, I think you'll be looking at slightly grottier areas...

[Harry Flashman]

PS - for stuff like parking etc, you are looking at the east end. Places like Mile End/Bow Quarter/Fish Island may yield results. Mile End is rough though, Bow Quarter not much better, and Fish Island sterile with rubbish transport links. Can you up your budget, or do without some of the things on your list?

[Dixie68]

Harry Flashman said:

PS - for stuff like parking etc, you are looking at the east end. Places like Mile End/Bow Quarter/Fish Island may yield results. Mile End is rough though, Bow Quarter not much better, and Fish Island sterile with rubbish transport links. Can you up your budget, or do without some of the things on your list?

I could up my budget but I'm trying to save and I'm spending at a level now that has me saving well but still living comfortably.
As for changing my list, to be honest a mate of mine threw a spanner in the works today by showing me a flat in a town-house that was very nice... but unfortunately no longer for rent! So I could bin the idea of an apartment block & balcony, but would still like to be above the ground floor of any property & with wooden floors, (and simple furnishings).

[Dixie68]

I could also (shudder) bin the car and go for rentals if and when needed for the year.

[BrabusMog]

I lived in Deals Gateway when I needed a 1 bedder for the year. £875pcm, quite literally has it's own DLR stop which is Deptford Bridge. Close enough to Blackheath/Greenwich for your open green spaces/parks.

I got the gym with mine too and there was a convenience store on site. There was a bar but that was shutting down I think. Drawbacks were obviously being right next to Deptford. On the otherhand you've got a big Tesco in Lewisham and a big Sainsbury's in New Cross. Car parking in a secure underground car park was £50pcm extra. 20mins into Bank on the DLR too.