TigerBlood

I used to live in a flat-share in Willesden, north London, with three others and we suspected that the landlord was letting himself in. None of us stayed in the flat for too long... the flat was a dump and the landlord was a crook. I would recommend raising it with your landlord before changing the locks!

I used to live in Kew (rented) and the Richmond area sure is nice, but as expensive as anywhere in the country, probably. Try a Rightmove search for postcode TW9 (upto a mile radius, say) and see what comes up. I cannot see vendors in this area being too flexible (i.e. in terms of lowering price) - due to a strong London market and it being a desirable area There are one bed flats coming up for this price range (£200,000) but you may be better off finding somewhere further out to get more bang for your buck. I don't know what Brentford is like (???) - but Rightmove reckons its within a mile of TW9 and there are plenty of flats for sale there. As I say, I don't know what its like as a place to live or in terms of transport links. There is actually a 1 bed flat in Chiswick listed there for £199,999, St. Thomas Road, W4. (Search TW9 with 1/4 mile radius)....