Owning your own home

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apc

Thanks for all the replies! Really helpful to hear from real-word experiences. We're still open to locations and I guess still trying to work out the right balance of priorities and wether leasehold vs freehold is one, further out we can afford a house, but at the cost of having to commute by train most days etc.

Ideals:
Good location to live for cycling and getting outdoors, ideally within 10 miles of actual real fields
Good connections to central london, bonus if within cycling distance
Good connection to twickenham (1:30hr commute max, job may change in future)

Less important:
My family is in north Essex so something on/near that greater anglia line
Partners family in SW area
Have mates in N London

We've basically been looking in the two opposite locations, SW/kingston, surbiton or further out and NE in walthamstow/ leyton.

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ReekBlefs in reply to @apc

We've basically been looking in the two opposite locations, SW/kingston, surbiton or further out and NE in walthamstow/ leyton

If you can afford freehold you should absolutely go for it, but there aren't so many on the walthamstow / leyton borders - the vast majority of the old Warner Estate is leasehold in my experience - but as long as they don't have an aggressive or unethical freeholder it shouldn't be a huge deal.

I've had a terrible experience living with an aggressive freeholder on the Leyton / Walthamstow borders (E10 7JS) but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Leasehold property provided the Freeholder wasn't a known scumbag.

If I were you I'd be looking at the north bit of Hitcham Road. Lovely houses, friendly neighbours, don't seem to have the same antisocial behaviour issues as geographically (and linguiistically) similar roads like Hibbert. There's a Markhouse / Lea Bridge forum you might want to join to get a flavour of living round here? The cycling is great, the green spaces are amazing, and even this rubbish bit of Lea Bridge Road is finally starting to get a bit of hipster sheen.

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