'This is the most money you'll spend on anything ever': The things that really matter when buying your first home in London

It’s easy to dream of what the ideal first-home in London might be. I wanted some kind of trendy loft conversion, with exposed beams and bricks and big windows. Open-plan, kitchen island, wooden floors.

However, I am not a millionaire, so I bought an ex-council house instead. It is nice enough, but there is no room for a kitchen island.

There are things that I wanted that I got: I live near Bermondsey Street, which is good for bars and restaurants; there are two large parks within a 20-minute walk; I have a small garden. Two years ago, a Gail’s bakery opened up down the road. There was already a Franco Manca.

According to recent research from Savills, the average price of a house in the UK has risen by 92%, when adjusted for inflation, since 2000. In London, the average price of a house in Hackney and Stoke Newington is a smidge over £700,000. If you are lucky enough to be able to buy somewhere, chances are you won’t have a lot of change left.

I am one of the lucky ones, but five years on, my perception of what I wanted from a home has changed. There are things I know about owning a home now that I wished I’d known then. I wondered if people my age who also had their own homes felt the same. What advice would they give their past selves?

‘The singular best piece of advice I’ve ever been given, is don’t forget that this is the most money that you’ll ever spend on anything,’ says Ben, a 32-year-old living on the border of Peckham and Camberwell. ‘Do your research.’

Research means more than just figuring out how near the Tube, the park or a Third Space gym is. It’s figuring out what the real difference between a leasehold and freehold is. What hidden costs might be hiding in a building that you have just spent a small fortune on buying, and that you might not have budgeted for.

‘Service charges have been a big one,’ says James Marshall, head of Savills for Victoria Park and Hackney. ‘They’ve increased dramatically. You should ask for the last five years of service charge. What’s the uplift been? Will it continue to rise? Service charges are causing issues all across London.’

Indeed, I live in a leasehold house. My leaseholder, the borough of Southwark, has dramatically increased service charges in the time since I moved in. I am also a lot more restricted in making changes to my house than I realised I would be. I didn’t think double-glazed windows would be that important, and that I could install them at a later date. But it’s been much more tricky than I first realised for a house that isn’t listed.

Marshall also mentions cladding works. Since Grenfell, a lot of new-build apartment blocks have had to undergo extensive works to remove flammable cladding, often at the expense of the people living in the buildings. ‘It’s not something you might be aware of, especially if you’re new to London.’

Chloe, aged 33, has just moved into her first home in south London and she is very grateful that she got a survey done. ‘The place looked cosmetically perfect, but a survey revealed it needed a new roof,’ she says. Chloe and her husband have just had their first child.

‘There was a beautiful painted nursery, which seemed great as it meant we wouldn’t need to make one, but the radiator didn’t work, which was less than ideal. There are little things you need to pay attention to, and avoid the rose-tinted glasses of excitement with thinking you’ve found your dream home.’ Echoing Ben’s comments, she says she regrets not negotiating and looking at a few more places. ‘We got a bit caught up in the estate agents’ words. We probably could have been a bit more discerning.’

‘I always thought it might be cool to live in a warehouse in Peckham, but 10 flights of stairs and no lift is no good for anyone, let alone a young family,’ says Ben. He says he learned not to be overly impressed on a first viewing by the perfect house. ‘I wanted to walk in somewhere and it smells like damp and a wet dog,’ he says. ‘If you’ve got good taste, back yourself. Every “doer upper” you’ve ever looked at has already been seen by a developer. Trust your own taste.’ Ben’s first purchase in London was a basement. ‘We changed the windows, let in more light, and new lamps. Damp is bad, but it can be gotten rid of. Improving kitchens, moving rooms around is easy enough.’

Location is always a key concern for a buyer. Many of us have a favourite part of London. It might be where our friends live, or where our favourite bars are, or a nice easy walk to the office.

‘Good local pubs and good places to eat are still so important,’ says James. His patch of north east London has perhaps the most eclectic food and drink scene in the city. But that always comes at a premium. With various rentable electric bikes and scooters, as well as fantastic buses, living where the action is is not as necessary as it once was. A friend used to live in the thick of the action in Hackney, but has just moved further north, away from tubes and trains. It’s not changed his life at all, he says, as he can get to his favourite pub and gym in 15 minutes on a bicycle. He estimates that it saved him £50,000 when buying a house there.

‘I was worried that we bought into the wrong area. There are not many restaurants, not many bars, and so on,’ says Chloe. ‘But we realised we picked somewhere for future us rather than current us. We have a child now. It’s the perfect spot.’

Planning for the future is always tedious, but when buying a first-home, especially in London, it’s important to keep an eye five years down the line. How easy is it going to be to sell? Can it be extended and improved? Boring questions, but important ones.

The main advice I would give is that you will not find perfection in London the first time. Not unless you have plenty of spare change behind the sofa. Find the things that really matter to you, and be serious about them. Gail’s will eventually open a shop next to your house, because that is what Gail’s does. But Gail’s will not solve ever-rising service charge fees or single-glazing.

Getting it right first time will save you a lot of grief and money in the longer run. You’d be amazed how quickly you can begin to resent somewhere you live. But if you do get it right, then you will finally be free from the rental ladder. And what freedom it is.