House or Flat?

trudiha · 3 March 2008 at 11:21PM

Since starting to read MSE I've become more or less incapable of independent though and as my missus' eyes now glaze over every time I bring up the subject of what kind of property we should buy, actually I'm understating things, she put her fingers in her ears and started to hum the last time I tried to bring it up.

We'd decided that we were going to try and get something like this:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19534652.rsp?pa_n=3&tr_t=buy

But now I've seen this and I'm on the horns of a dilemma:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-17795141.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy

Which would be better?

Generali · 3 March 2008 at 11:26PM

The flat does look jolly nice and with the money you save you could kit it out very nicely and still end up quids in.

The rooms are much bigger in the flat too. I mean a 7 foot wide kitchen diner - !!!!!!!

Then again, for some strange reason, the English are fixated on living in a house not a flat so the former may be easier to sell.

*Louise* · 3 March 2008 at 11:54PM

Unless down to money, I would presonally go for a house over a flat every time. It's more private for starters.

The house in question looks nice, but I'm wondering why there's no pictures of the flat's interior? I know it states 'in need of modernisation' but surely it's not so bad that they can't put a few pics up?:D

lynnexxxo · 4 March 2008 at 12:05AM

I'd go for a house every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Main reason - garden. Imagine this situation - you wake up on a sunday morning and the sun is beating in the windows - you think to yourself i think i'll take my fresh croissants, coffee freshly squeezed orange juice out and sit in the garden and have a read of the sunday papers that your OH has kindly went to the shop and got you (hey i can dream!).

Flat - you wake up and its sunny, you think i'll have some toast get ready and go out. You stick the telly on while eating your toast and suddenly you have watched two episodes of friends on t4. You decide to have a shower and dry your hair (your cute neighbour might be out). By the time you've faffed about you look out and its raining. Your OH suggests a visit to her mums/the shops/b and q.

jaype · 4 March 2008 at 12:07AM

How old are you? Will you have kids in future? If so, you need the house. You can't put price on being able to let them out the back and not have to physically stand over them like you would with the communal gardens. Also - the flat may be cheaper on the surface, but there are service charges to factor in and the building is older. Those lovely gardens (and the gardener that does them) has to be paid for... In my old rented flat the landlord was paying 150 quid a month for this - gardener and a lift, plus a woman who swept the stairs on Tuesdays, thn a bit to go in the future repair fund.)

PasturesNew · 4 March 2008 at 12:12AM

ALWAYS the house. Even if it's smaller, not as smart.

House: YOUR land, your parking, your garden. Pull up to your front door, unload your shopping. You decide what maintenance to do, when, how much to pay, who will do it.

Flat: Allocated parking - that some 4rse's friend decided was "free", nobody uses a communal garden so no garden, nowhere that feels "your bit", ongoing service charges rising. Random, sometimes expensive maintenance. More neighbours that have the potential to annoy you. Bigger noise problems.

Look at that house in your link. Their front door is alongside your living room. It's better if both of you have stairs side-by-side, but with the stairs separating your living room from theirs, you will probably only ever hear them if they have kids that run up the stairs.

Nice big garden with that house too. Room to potter about. Get a man shed. Every man needs a shed.

See that sunset? That could be you sat in a chair enjoying that, on YOUR land.

That outgoings list on the flat looks lengthy.

The flat needs work. You'd be worried about where you could put the materials, how to get them in/up/out. Worried about the mess in communal areas/the garden. Worried about the noise for the adjoining flats.

See that sunset at that house, that nice big garden... summer's coming. Glass of wine or a breathing mask and sander?

Seriously though, in my opinion, there's no contest in those particular properties, except the "open green" it speaks of (if that becomes a hang out spot in the evenings/weekends).

A house is yours. Your land. No more outgoings unless you decide to spend money on things.

You can't have a conservatory on a flat. That garden's gagging for a conservatory.

tomstickland · 4 March 2008 at 12:33AM

I live in a flat and I love it.

It's actually got less noise potential than the terraced houses a few doors away. They have neighbours on both sides of a narrow house. I have a neighbour upstairs.

Two of the residents like gardening so we have loads of flowers in pots and I have a wonderful view out of the back into a much larger garden than I'd ever have in a house.

Heating costs are lower.

We're going self manage and buying the freehold, so reduced maintenance costs since we all share 1/9th.

People seem almost scared of anything communal, as if the mere idea means there's going to be problems.

PasturesNew · 4 March 2008 at 12:40AM

Is your flat in the £150k price bracket? Is it an established build? In a generous plot? Just wondering if it's a poshness thing.

Maybe people who've paid 'a bit above the masses' in better built places are just a bit more posh and considerate than most of us are likely to encounter.

I have elephants living upstairs, with laminate flooring. Elephants who run down the stairs at 6am, elephants who shout up/down the stairs/hallway to their mates, elephants who slam their door and the communal door, elephants who bring toddlers in/up every weekend. They aren't noisy with TV/chatter at all. It's just boots on laminate, boots clomping down stairs, shouting up/down the stairs every time mates leave, noisy toddlers on laminate flooring and slamming of doors from 6am-7am as they go out, come back, go out, come back.

Mum_of_3_3 · 4 March 2008 at 12:57AM

I would go for the house as in my experience they always rise in price better.

I'm not "flataphobic" either before you ask!. The reason we bought a flat? Well it's on the ground floor, it's far, far bigger than an average 3 bed house around here, we have 2 allocated parking spaces and the (big) garden is ours only (I couldn't cope with the kids & no garden!). We've added a conservatory to it and in the process of adding a third double bedroom. Everyone is very quiet & considerate and the way the house has been converted means that the only bit of our flat that is under another flat is part of the kitchen, the enterance hall and our bedroom.

However, there are only 6 flats and we all get on very well, there are no major works to be done, there is a 900+ year lease and all of us are directors in the company that holds the freehold and run our own management company to save money (we pay the most maintenance and that's only £450pa!), also more importantly only two of the flats are rented out and they have the usual no smokers, dss etc restrictions on them.

The flat you have linked to just looks a bit dodgy tbh. Why hasn't the term of the lease been confirmed? It may only be 15 years or something and then where would you stand on getting a mortgage for it? What's the roof of the building like? If there's not enough money in the bank then you may have to contribute a sum towards that in the future. How many flats are there in total? How many are rented out? Why no interior pictures? I know it states needs modernising, but you would think it would give at least one interior shot.

Anyway the choice is yours, but I really would go for the house, like someone else said there's no better feeling during the summer months than eating breakfast in the privacy of your own garden. :j

M_o_3

PasturesNew · 4 March 2008 at 1:02AM

I had a closer look. Tried to work out the number. It looked like that one was tacked on the end, different roof/bricks, different guttering, yet only 1 year old according to the details. Yet I think it is 7a and was last sold in April 2005. So either I've got the number wrong, or it's been for sale for nearly 2 years.

Looking at house prices, the others in the row were built a few years earlier. So I wonder if somebody's bought number 7 with a big corner plot and added that on in the same style.

Anyway, that one seems to have sold at £171k nearly 3 years ago. Which, if that's right, would mean they tried to sell a 2nd hand house a year later and have sat on it for nearly 2 years. If that's right, then it's not shifting quickly is it. So is there something wrong with the area (feral kids prowling at night?) or is it simply over priced. If you fancy the house and if I've got the number right, then go in low.

And what's that stain under the bay window? Damp? Looking at the lie of the land, I wonder if that gets all the rainwater cascading towards it with nowhere to go. Worth looking into. Dash over there when it's peeing down; check for drains/drainage; take a damp meter and stick it in the wall there on the inside. Maybe the damp proof course is shot. Or was the photo taken with the shadow of a parked car on the brickwork? Next door has a raised front door step ... wonder if that's because there was always a big puddle there ... before they built the house on the end.

As an aside point, I don't like windows with dinky openers. If you had a fire in the front room/front bedroom.... how would you get out? Building regs wouldn't allow those size of openings now.

neverdespairgirl · 4 March 2008 at 1:26AM

I'd go for the flat, definitely. The house is a lot more expensive, extremely naff (Georgian? With a bay window like that? Pull the other one!) and very pokey. The flat is a lot bigger, and not a small newbuild on a big estate.

House or Flat?

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