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The main thing is probably how long you're planning to stay in London. Going through the whole process to stay for 3 years doesn't seem worth it. If you're staying longer then having somewhere to live that you can't be chucked out of is nice, assuming you'll be happy to live there for a decent number of years if the worst comes to the worst.
Yeah, I get that. My 3-5 years estimate is very much a lower bound (you can remind me of this in 2 years when I sell-up and leave).
Same kind of thought process in terms of quality of life and that was the only way to buy in somewhere they wanted to live.
This is a big part of it. Sure I might be financially better off in Thornton Heath, but c'mon... Brixton's cool! Being able to wander down to the Village on a Saturday morning gets big QoL bonus points. Plus having friends/relatives/other visitors (ahem) come to a flat on the Victoria line is waaaay less hassle than having people come all the way out to visit Croydon. I need to work out what price I personally put on that.
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skidlidsid
I know a few people who've done it. One has now staircased up to 100% and is looking to sell the flat. From the sounds of things the sale process has been a little more extended because of extra hoops with the housing association, etc.
He also had issues with maintenance fees, service charge, etc which ended with them auditing the company running it, claiming money back and the residents taking over.
Overall though he doesn't regret buying it.
Others who've bought more recently seem to be happy. Same kind of thought process in terms of quality of life and that was the only way to buy in somewhere they wanted to live. To my eye the service charge, etc seems steep but I think that's the way with most modern flats.
The main thing is probably how long you're planning to stay in London. Going through the whole process to stay for 3 years doesn't seem worth it. If you're staying longer then having somewhere to live that you can't be chucked out of is nice, assuming you'll be happy to live there for a decent number of years if the worst comes to the worst.