Apartment or Semi or Det?

thriftisthenewcool

We are First time buyers and are getting different advice from friends about the different types of houses. We have seen a few houses of various types and different areas. And once inside the building all of them seem the same. From a living and investment point of view which is the better - Detached or Semi-detached or Apartment?

Would be grateful for your thoughts.

Warm Regards,
Jan

Cannon_Fodder

The asking price should tell you...!!

Detached is usually more expensive than semi, which is in turn more expensive than flats generally, except swanky city apartments that command a premium due to "lifestyle" location or views etc...

If a detached is cheaper than a semi, it will be partly due to location (bad area?) or condition/features. South facing garden is more popular than north. Conservatory should be on the right side to enjoy a view or the sun, etc etc.

From both a living and investment point of view, if you are a couple of grand short of a house, then its worth stretching to avoid a flat, if only because the garden will be needed when you start a family, even if the number of bedrooms in a flat would be enough for the family.

Saving another sale, with the fees, stamp duty etc, is all part of a shrewd investment/purchase.

Specific to the credit crunch, new build apartments are a terrible investment at the moment, as evidenced by the lenders wanting 25% deposits, because they think prices will fall by that much.

Large swathes of new build houses, whilst not so bad, may also be tainted by problems in completion dates as sites are mothballed, or insufficient buyers resulting in Housing Association tenants becoming neighbours to £400k homeowners...

chickmug

The answer is strongly influenced by the area.

In what area are you talking?

Dinah93

You'll find it easiest to resell a detached, then a semi, then a flat. Detached homes are aspirational, semi's are practical, flats are a negitive equity nightmare waiting to happen.

A flat will only appeal to a limited market, young singles and couples. If there is no lift the older generation won't be interested, neither will young families with buggies. Also families tend to want a garden.

A lot of people are trapped in flats as the value has plummeted, while fuel bills and council tax will likely be lower, you have lots of issues with neighbours, rising ground and maintenance charges, poor maintenance, bulk selling of unsold private appartments to a LHA etc.

If you can afford it, I would advise a house every time. Whether that house is a semi or detached doesn't matter quite so much as if ithas a garden, good finish, kerb appeal, lots of space etc. I would only pay maybe 5% extra for detached over semi if all other things were equal.

SailorSam

I'd only go for a flat as a last resort. If you can afford it detached must be the best bet, generally they are bigger and appreciate more, less problems with noisy neighbours but for most of us a semi will always be the ideal compromise, the money saved on not getting a detached can go into getting a better area.

pinkshoes

It really depends on your location.

Ideally a detached would be the best option, but personally I would rather have a flat or a semi in a nice location than a detached in a less desirable location.

I would avoid all conversion flats as I've never come across one that wasn't noisy, I would avoid shoddy purpose built flats (check sound insulation!), and I would avoid the type of semis that have paper thin walls, meaning you can hear your neighbours peeing/sh*gging/arguing etc...

Mozette

I had a semi detached house, and the 'joined on' side was an old lady who was as quiet as a mouse. She died and the house was let to a succession of families, none of which were 'noisy' but the fact was that kids run around, play, squeal, and I suddenly realised how much noise does in fact come from next door.

I bought a detached for about 9% more than I sold the semi (back in 2004 - I've not performed a modern day miracle by selling!), and it's bliss. No sound from next door. I am a bit overfussy about other people's noise, I admit, but if you can afford a detached house then I would say to go for it. Obviously there are a lot of other factors to take into account, but all things being equal - well, you can never bank on what neighbours you might get.

mlz1413

FTB looking at detached - lucky you.

All in all look for somewhere you will be happy, somewhere that if prices fall again you will be happy to stay in and live and enjoy life.

Too many people buy thinking they will move on in a few years, if you buying it to move out of it - don't buy it in the first place.

Don't overstretch yourselves to the point of not being able to live, you need to be able to have the odd meal out, buy a nice birthday present for you parents, partner, best friend and enjoy life. Also things like w/m, fridges, boilers and cars go wrong so ensure you can still cope financially if you end up with £1000 on a credit card.

Remember it's you buying it and you paying for it not your friends so look for a home that YOU will be happy in, your friends and family need to buy what they will be happy in! (PS people always have opinions when it's not their money)

daveb975

Mozette wrote: »

well, you can never bank on what neighbours you might get.

I agree. I'd go for a detached house every time given the option.

The problem for me is that there are no detached houses and limited semis in my area, so it has to be a flat.

I'd rather live in a flat in my ideal area than a detached house somewhere else, but priorities will be different for other people.

Mozette

daveb975 wrote: »

I agree. I'd go for a detached house every time given the option.

The problem for me is that there are no detached houses and limited semis in my area, so it has to be a flat.

I'd rather live in a flat in my ideal area than a detached house somewhere else, but priorities will be different for other people.

Yes, it's really down to what factors are the most important to a given individual of course.

I'm enormously lucky in that barring a lotto win (!) for me, my house is pretty damn perfect; I love it and have no intention of moving.

poppysarah

flats are bad imo for anyone who isn't on the last rung of the ladder.

semi cheaper than detached.

Some people aspire to detached living but lots of nasty new build "detached" fail my own personal opinion of a detached by only being an inch or two from their neighbour.