Recommendations on areas in London to buy a house

[tpsman]

Now that I've started contracting, the idea of doing an MBA has been put on the backburner. I really want to buy a house in London. I'm in need of some help with which areas to buy, and how much I should spend.

I'm thinking of buying a 2-bed apartment for under £300k, which can be paid off within a few years of having a good rate. That said, if I could find a nice 4-bed (i.e. 3-bed plus office) house for under £450k, I would certainly be going for that instead.

I'm on a £600/day rate, and I have around £80k saved up so far - outgoings of around £1500 per month other than rent.

So, can anyone recommend a nice area to buy either a two bed flat for under £300k, or a 3/4-bed house for under £450k? Must be possible to commute into the square mile in under an hour, and Paddington in under 90 minutes. If you were in my position, how much would you spend on a house?

[Scruff]

Enough to buy a new Sockie?

[swamp]

Plenty of nice areas outside of London should still meet your budget.

[OwlHoot]

I'd try Zoopla and RightPrice, using the "2 miles from such and such" option.

If I was starting out again and wanting to be somewhere easily commutable to London, for work or in the evening, I'd be looking towards the end of the tube lines. For example, one can still find 2 or 3 bedroom places for under £350K in Amersham, which is a nice area. Not sure how long it takes to trundle all the way down the Bakerloo line from there to the city though.

[scooterscot]

I'd try Zoopla and RightPrice, using the "2 miles from such and such" option.

If I was starting out again and wanting to be somewhere easily commutable to London, for work or in the evening, I'd be looking towards the end of the tube lines. For example, one can still find 2 or 3 bedroom places for under £350K in

£350k for a 2 x 1.5 hour commute each day.

[MarillionFan]

What a cretin, I own a large house in London, made a fortune in BTLs, what a genius I was, got the whole 90s thing spot on, I earn a fortune and could pay cash blah blah blah

[nomadd]

What a cretin, I own a large house in London, made a fortune in BTLs, what a genius I was, got the whole 90s thing spot on, I earn a fortune and could pay cash blah blah blah

This^

[OwlHoot]

£350k for a 2 x 1.5 hour commute each day.

Well there is that, and maybe I was being rather optimistic on the commuting time.

But look on the bright side - At least you'd have a seat in the mornings!

[scooterscot]

Well there is that, and maybe I was being rather optimistic on the commuting time.

But look on the bright side - At least you'd have a seat in the mornings!

On my occasional drop overs to the city you easily spot the commuters on the underground from the less obvious tourists. They have this 'please kill me, put me out my misery' look about them.

[eek]

I'd try Zoopla and RightPrice, using the "2 miles from such and such" option.

If I was starting out again and wanting to be somewhere easily commutable to London, for work or in the evening, I'd be looking towards the end of the tube lines. For example, one can still find 2 or 3 bedroom places for under £350K in Amersham, which is a nice area. Not sure how long it takes to trundle all the way down the Bakerloo line from there to the city though.

1hour 10 minutes on the Metropolitan line used to be an hour (always late) now 1.10 usually on time...