Dear all,
Firstly, what a great forum this is, it has a real community spirit about it.
Secondly, my husband and I are looking at possibly purchasing a property in Mayow Road in Sydenham and was wondering if anyone can offer any advice as to this area of Sydenham. Is Mayow road busy, is it quite safe, will I be ok walking home from Sydenham station in the evening.
Also, for those of you that live there already, how much are properties valued at around there. THis is a two double bed flat with a garden, quite large and spacious and nicely refurbed but it is on the market with Foxtons and we think it may be massively overpriced. Just wondering what going prices round there are....
Finally do trains run from Sydenham to Victoria as well as London Bridge?
We would really appreciate your help.
Many thanks
Leika
Advice needed on Sydenham Please
Firstly I don't live in/near Mayow Road so I will leave it to others to comment on what it is like. I do though like living in Sydenham, and I think that this website gives a good idea of what its really like. I don't know how safe it is walking from the station but I think it would be very difficult to get an accurate understanding of this anyway - relying on anecdotal evidence can be misleading.
As for what would be a fair price to pay, you can go on the Land Registry data (recording actual prices that properties were sold for) but that can be out of date and doesn't tell you what each property is really like. And of course looking for the asking prices in estate agents windows/ websites doesn't necessarily tell you what the properties actually go for when they sell. I think that the housing market in Sydenham has dipped recently after rising rapidly in 2006 and the first half of 2007, so there might well be quite a few properties on the market that are over-optimistically priced.
I don't think that you would be the first to suggest that Foxtons might overprice one of their properties. But I would be interested to know if anyone else has any experience of dealing with them. They are offering 0% commission for selling properties, but that offer only applies if an offer is accepted and a solicitor is instructed next week. Because their branch in Lordship Lane is new, and is some way from Sydenham, I wonder if they really know the area, which I would think is important, because it is a fairly mixed and variable place, and prices vary markedly from street to street.
Trains do run from Sydenham to Victoria - though see other threads on the threat to this. There are also (recently improved) services to Victoria from Penge East, several minutes walk from Mayow Road.
Good luck!
As for what would be a fair price to pay, you can go on the Land Registry data (recording actual prices that properties were sold for) but that can be out of date and doesn't tell you what each property is really like. And of course looking for the asking prices in estate agents windows/ websites doesn't necessarily tell you what the properties actually go for when they sell. I think that the housing market in Sydenham has dipped recently after rising rapidly in 2006 and the first half of 2007, so there might well be quite a few properties on the market that are over-optimistically priced.
I don't think that you would be the first to suggest that Foxtons might overprice one of their properties. But I would be interested to know if anyone else has any experience of dealing with them. They are offering 0% commission for selling properties, but that offer only applies if an offer is accepted and a solicitor is instructed next week. Because their branch in Lordship Lane is new, and is some way from Sydenham, I wonder if they really know the area, which I would think is important, because it is a fairly mixed and variable place, and prices vary markedly from street to street.
Trains do run from Sydenham to Victoria - though see other threads on the threat to this. There are also (recently improved) services to Victoria from Penge East, several minutes walk from Mayow Road.
Good luck!
I really doubt (based on gut feel as opposed to hard evidence) that the price of property has dipped in Sydenham. Are you really saying that properties are selling for less than they were previously? If so, is that based on gut-feel or .....?
Or do you mean that the rate of increase of property prices has slowed down?
i.e. that prices are still going up but not at the same fast rate as before?
HAving said that, I would not be surprised if some estate agents have priced some properties optimistically. How much is the flat and what are you getting for that?
Mayow Road is a reasonably nice road, obviously it is a through road and has a fair bit of traffic, but hard to quantify, check it out yourself at different times / days is the only way to gauge it.
Or do you mean that the rate of increase of property prices has slowed down?
i.e. that prices are still going up but not at the same fast rate as before?
HAving said that, I would not be surprised if some estate agents have priced some properties optimistically. How much is the flat and what are you getting for that?
Mayow Road is a reasonably nice road, obviously it is a through road and has a fair bit of traffic, but hard to quantify, check it out yourself at different times / days is the only way to gauge it.
There are trains from Sydenham to Victoria, but it's a long journey. This service is due for suspension once the East London Line extension is complete. It might be better and quicker to go via Penge East.
I can't comment on Mayow Road, as I don't know anyone who lives there, but Sydenham is a great place to live.
I can't comment on Mayow Road, as I don't know anyone who lives there, but Sydenham is a great place to live.
The current Sydenham to Victoria service is at best twice an hour and doesn't run all day. Compared to six times an hour service to London Bridge.
Arguably it may be better when the East London Line arrives in two years time. ELL trains will loop round to Crystal Palace Station (next stop) where you can change to the frequent trains to Clapham Junction/Victoria. Less convenient but better frequency from early hours to beyond midnight.
Otherwise as suggested above - go down Newlands Park to Penge East though this is in the next zone which hikes the price.
PS My brother in law used to live in Mayow Road. Its wide, mostly off road parking and with the Park opposite is quite pleasant. Check out the Sydenham estate agents here for price comparisons: http://www.sydenham.org.uk/property_estate_agents.html
Stuart
Arguably it may be better when the East London Line arrives in two years time. ELL trains will loop round to Crystal Palace Station (next stop) where you can change to the frequent trains to Clapham Junction/Victoria. Less convenient but better frequency from early hours to beyond midnight.
Otherwise as suggested above - go down Newlands Park to Penge East though this is in the next zone which hikes the price.
PS My brother in law used to live in Mayow Road. Its wide, mostly off road parking and with the Park opposite is quite pleasant. Check out the Sydenham estate agents here for price comparisons: http://www.sydenham.org.uk/property_estate_agents.html
Stuart
Also, the 75 bus runs along Mayow Rd (from West Croydon to Lewisham DLR); it's pretty frequent and provides a virtual door-to-door service to Penge East for the more frequent Victoria service. Mayow Road is much improved recently - new paving and road surface, and many of the big Victorian houses have been smartened up. Good luck if you decide to go ahead!
For Pocketpip - what you pay for property is publicly available information. Data comes from the Land Registry - so it is the actual sum paid and not estimates. It is not 'confidential'.
A number of websites collate this and make it easily & freely available. I have just looked up Burghill Road and seen an upper floor flat sold in December 2006 - presumably this is yours (there was only one in December).
Whilst some information remains private, an awful lot is available and easily accessible - if you know where to look.
A number of websites collate this and make it easily & freely available. I have just looked up Burghill Road and seen an upper floor flat sold in December 2006 - presumably this is yours (there was only one in December).
Whilst some information remains private, an awful lot is available and easily accessible - if you know where to look.
I am currently attempting to buy a flat in Sydenham through Foxtons. I've had my offer accepted so am in the middle of the mortgage/surveys/solicitors processes. Personally, so far at least (let's hope I don't jinx myself here!), I have nothing bad to say about Foxtons Dulwich. The agent I have been dealing with is friendly, doesn't phone me excessively, but does keep in touch enough so that I have a fair amount of confidence that she is doing everything possible to keep the sale process moving.
I haven't had the survey report back yet, but based on other properties I've viewed I think the one I'm trying to buy is good value.
Hope this helps
I haven't had the survey report back yet, but based on other properties I've viewed I think the one I'm trying to buy is good value.
Hope this helps
Last edited by natbeuk on 21 Dec 2007 09:14, edited 2 times in total.
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Nickerbockers
- Posts: 228
- Joined: 31 Oct 2007 13:04
- Location: Sydenham
Re: Advice needed on Sydenham Please
Hi, I lived in Mayow Road for a time a while ago, and a good friend of mine lives there now. I really like the road, and having a park bang opposite is lovely. There are some very nice properties along Mayow Road too. Thing is, I did used to walk back from the pub in Bell Green at about 11pm and I always felt like I was looking over my shoulder, Mayow Road at night does not have a nice feel - I've seen kids hanging out by the park trying to climb over the fences, and I was followed by a youth on one of my trips back from the pub (turned out to be the LAST time I did that walk I might add) which really freaked me out. The Forest Hill end of Mayow Road seems worse to me - and no offence to anyone who lives in that vicinity, I grew up around there - but I would just advise lone females not to wander around that area alone after dark when it gets quiet.leikaf wrote:Dear all,
Firstly, what a great forum this is, it has a real community spirit about it.
Secondly, my husband and I are looking at possibly purchasing a property in Mayow Road in Sydenham and was wondering if anyone can offer any advice as to this area of Sydenham. Is Mayow road busy, is it quite safe, will I be ok walking home from Sydenham station in the evening.
Also, for those of you that live there already, how much are properties valued at around there. THis is a two double bed flat with a garden, quite large and spacious and nicely refurbed but it is on the market with Foxtons and we think it may be massively overpriced. Just wondering what going prices round there are....
Finally do trains run from Sydenham to Victoria as well as London Bridge?
We would really appreciate your help.
Many thanks
Leika
Saying that, I do like Mayow Road, it's fine if you're careful and keep in mind that it can be dodgy (just like anywhere, but worse because of the park I suppose)!
