You can buy a basement flat in South London for just £5k — but you’ll need a shovel

Eleanor Noyce

Published April 24, 2024 1:27pm Updated April 24, 2024 2:55pm

Fancy becoming a home owner? (Picture: Auction House London)

From garden sheds to underground bunkers, it’s no secret that the London property market is like the wild, wild west.

Now, a new opportunity to get on the ladder for just £5k has presented itself in the form of a basement flat in South London. But, as ever, there’s quite the catch.

The basement area is being sold off so that the new owners can carve out a home beneath the ground floor of the house. So, get the shovel ready because you’ll need to start digging.

Managed by Auction House London, the organisation described the sale as ‘a development opportunity to create a lower ground floor flat beneath an existing mid terrace house arranged over ground and two upper floors.’

‘The buyer will be required to excavate the area below the ground floor in order to create a new self-contained flat,’ the auctioneers added, noting that the plot is leasehold – and still has 112 years left on the lease.

Now, if you are willing to put in some pretty hardcore manual labour (or pay somewhere to do it for you), it could be a great place to live.

Ready to start your homebuying journey?

You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from:

– Award winning service from the UK’s leading mortgage broker

– Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week

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Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won’t charge you a fee for their advice.

Find out how much you could borrow online

Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

The property is found on Queen Mary Road and is well-served by West Norwood station, as well as Gipsy Hill and Norbury.

The area is also home to a bustling community, with fun to be found at the Picturehouse Cinema, Norwood Park or one of Norwood’s eateries, from The Horns Tavern to The Hope Pub.

This isn’t the only wacky purchase that’s hit the London property market of late.

This week, a double roof top space in South Kensington went on the market to the tune of £200,000. Yes, you read that correctly: 200,000 great British pounds for a roof space without the accompanying house.

Described by the estate agent as presenting a ‘rare chance to create a bespoke living space or potentially lucrative development,’ any changes are subject to planning and permissions.

Nestled between Queen’s Gate Gardens and Elvaston Place, the rooftops are near the fashionable shopping and museum hotspots of Cromwell Road and Brompton Road, while Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are both just a stone’s throw away.