Location, Location...and Locality
The three most important factors in property are location, location and location.
This is the best-known adage about property, but another saying is worth remembering even if it is less well known.
All property is local.
How local is local?
"Very" is the right answer. Many supposedly good locations have 'bad' roads and 'bad' houses. Some unappealing locations have stunning affordable pockets.
If you zero in on a specific road, examine it carefully. The houses at one end may be considerably different—in size, amenity and price—from those at the other. On a simple level, a road that runs north-south has properties with south-facing gardens on one side and north-facing on the other.
Look even more closely at the specific property and its particularities and peculiarities. Again, a row of houses may seem identical, except that some will have a service alley to the rear, and others won't. Service alleys are important in terms of privacy and security on the one hand, and access on the other. For some people, service alleys are useful, whereas for others, they are a worry.
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True story: An attractive road in an upmarket London suburb is comprised of architecturally distinct detached houses each of which is privately owned, with one exception. It, too, is handsome and spacious, but it is council-owned, and council-tenanted. It is the noisiest house on the road. It is the only noisy house on the road.
This property also has a potential impact on the value of its neighbouring properties, especially the house on either side.
Every flat and house is local - and can be highly individual, for 
better or for worse.
What Makes a Good Location Good?
Remote Scottish islands are what the label says, remote. Accessible only by ferry. No cinema. No theatres. No Starbucks. Not many people. Lots of seagulls. Perfect location for some.
There can be a quirky, highly subjective element to location. Like Greta Garbo and others who may "vant to be alone," some buyers may prefer an area, or a specific property, that does not appeal to the majority. To them, a "bad" location—"bad" in the sense of not appealing to many people—might be ideal.
Generally, however, the best locations are those which consistently appeal to most people. And most people want good transportation links, good shopping and schools, and plenty of leisure facilities. A good location is one that is attractive to you—and has a high likelihood of being attractive to others when you want to sell.
Towns and villages are valued precisely because they are not cities and do not suffer from the crowds, noise and hassle associated with urban areas. But all things being equal, a village with good access to a major city is a better location than one perceived to be too isolated.
More people want to live in Weybridge (Surrey), Edgbaston (Birmingham), and Altrincham (Cheshire) than on the Isle of Mull. More people want to live in Belgravia than Brixton.
Location and Price
All property purchases involve a trade-off between price, location and property type. £250,000 buys a one-bed flat in an easily commutable London suburb, a three-bed flat in a less-convenient suburb, a three-bed house much further from the centre, or a spacious house on a large plot in a remote rural area.
Prime central London is as expensive as it gets. The best bits of central Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester also tend to be more expensive than the outlying suburbs.
But variation - in price and property type - exists in most location. Average prices are just that: averages. An area with property prices averaging £1m has homes that sell for more than that amount—and less. And it can be much less.
Many upmarket suburbs characterised by large houses also have council flats and houses as well as flats above shops. A house selling for £2m may be only a few roads away from sturdy ex-council houses with large gardens going for one-tenth the price.
This long parade of shops with flats above, including loft conversions, adjoins Turnham Green Station in Chiswick, west London.
A flat above a shop may be a way to buy into an otherwise unaffordable area.
The shop might send garlicky or other unpleasant odours your way. But you are not obligated to live over an odiferous take-away or noisy pub. Many banks, dental surgeries and other sedate premises have rental flats above them, and such premises tend to be quiet at weekends. They are also usually in or near the town centre and convenient for public transport.
When worst is best
An old saying: "It is better to buy the worst property in a good road than the best property in a bad one."
How wide is your net?
If you search for a new home in only in one or two areas, you limit your choices, but if you look in ten or more locations, you can overwhelm yourself with too much choice. Find the right balance.
PWP Tip: Err on the side of viewing too much rather than too little. Finding the right place at the right place is worth the extra effort.
Property Type and Size: Are you sure you can't do better - find a larger or better-located property - for the same money? The more areas you view, the greater the chance of finding a bargain.
Back to Starting Out.