"You should always buy a house over a flat"?

PasturesNew

One thing I like about a house (with garden/parking) is that nobody's going to park in your space (well, it can happen) - and when you're carrying things in or out (in the rain, been shopping) you can wedge your door open and just carry your stuff a few feet. With some flats, come home at 1am carrying 4 shopping bags and you've got to wonder if somebody's nicked your parking space, then park up and carry your stuff to the communal door and get in as quietly as you can and carry your stuff to your flat. With your own front door you are in charge of your approach, you can fit security lights to light your way, have a shelf or hook to hang your shopping on while you open the door, build a porch maybe, have a handy door wedge to hold the door open while you to and fro.

It's just nice driving into YOUR driveway and approaching YOUR front door.

Bufger

Thermidor wrote: »

It all depends on what the flat is like compared to the house. SOME flats are awful (and costly to maintain) just as some houses are. On the other hand some flats are wonderful as are some houses.

Before deciding on a flat or a house of a comparable price you need to do your homework on both properties.

Although a house may seem as if you're getting more for your money, that isn't necessarily so. Some flats have more living space than houses. Terraced/semis etc can also have noisy nuisance neighbours, just as some flats can; but if you choose your flat wisely and buy into a small block or coverted house you'll often find your neighbours will keep their noise volume down so that you don't disturb them either! You may still have parking difficulties with a house(some roads have yellow lines for example). Some houses even have a leasehold (rare - but can happen) Some houses are small/pokey/unattractive etc...........

Flats can also suffer from the above problems, but some flats can be nicer than houses. Some flats have a share of the freehold - so it does belong to you! Some flats have gardens, wonderful views, off-street parking, garages etc. A flat in a conversion for example can often have more living space than a small house, and if, say, a once grand old mansion has been converted into flats you'll ALWAYS get more for your money. You'll have the benefit of living in a beautiful building without the costs of running a house. And you'll share a small insurance with the other flat owners (perhaps £15 a month) to cover for maintenance works to the roof etc... so if buying a flat, you really want to look for one such as that, rather than a new build with high maintenance costs/leasehold etc Some people also like the fact that their neighbours live close-by for safety reasons (good burglary deterrants)

So you shouldn't knock flats just because they're not houses. Lots of very wealthy people live in flats in the centre of cities, or in flats in converted mansions - and that's by choice.

Remember - there are houses - and there are rabbit hutches called houses.

Do you own a flat by any chance? :-p

charliee_3

Grime wrote: »

Hello all.

The situation here is that there are a ton of swanky new flats popping up all over the town and they're struggling to get rid of them.

if they are struggling to get rid of them when they are new and shiny with a full warranty how much trouble will you have selling on and for what price?? town centres are absolutely full of these flat developments these days.. flooded.. are there really that many people who want them? spesh now the BTL bubble has burst...
plus at the moment banks are wary of new build flats and are valuing them lower than the asking price once they are built.. what would you do if you couldnt get the full mortgage amount once contracts have exchanged?

plus as someone else said,if you want a family in the future a house is the way to go...

chickmug

Grime wrote: »

Thanks everyone.

I guess if I'm going to be paying ground rent and service charges - which are subject to change - I might as well be paying the higher mortgage payments and have the money going into the house rather than throwing it away.

Oh and I've just crunched the numbers and found with the service charges and ground rent that the flat is actually more expensive... maths was never my strong point

How long is the flat lease 99 or 999 years?

Doozergirl

Thermidor wrote: »

A flat in a conversion for example can often have more living space than a small house, and if, say, a once grand old mansion has been converted into flats you'll ALWAYS get more for your money. You'll have the benefit of living in a beautiful building without the costs of running a house. And you'll share a small insurance with the other flat owners (perhaps £15 a month) to cover for maintenance works to the roof etc... so if buying a flat, you really want to look for one such as that, rather than a new build with high maintenance costs/leasehold etc Some people also like the fact that their neighbours live close-by for safety reasons (good burglary deterrants)

Have you lived in a converted mansion? You'll find that the service charges on larger blaocks are huge and that if the building is prestigious and old, it will take a lot of maintenance and be expensive to maintain clean and manicure the gardens and communal areas. Also, where I am, you will pay a the GDP pf a small country to have a flat in a converted mansion. If our 'expenses row' MP can have herself one for her brother, the rest of us probably can't afford it!

New build should be low cost to start with - they often arent. Old conversions can be a dreadful fire hazard as there is no fireproofing within floors; you'll also find the same with soundproofing on many occassions where you can hear your neighbours talking. A recent conversion is miles better than an older one and an older purpose built block, no matter how ugly,is likely to be safer than an older conversion.

Every benefit owning a flat you have listed, bar a square footage issue which you may have a point on, are things that also go with houses. Share of freehold still involves maintenance issues.

I love flat living, as a Londoner I lived in flats until I was 25. The smaller the block the better I think as a general rule but you can share a converted house with one other and find it a mightmare. The whole management and compromise is generally not there with a house unless it is a private estate. Even leasehold houses you can maintain yourself, so it still isn't as much of an issue as having to share. I'd still live in a flat but next time it'll be called a freehold bungalow!

A flat in a large block with a professional managing agent means frankly that you are going to get fleeced over the next few years. These service charges do start high when there is no work to be done and go higher when there is. We had a managing agent that quoted us for windows that we didn't really need and their quote was £2200 per flat for what equated to one window each - I could glaze a house for that!

SailorSam

The day will come when you want to move, if you have a house there will be a larger market of prospective buyers out there. Mostly with flats it is only the single person market that you are looking at.
Buy a house every time.

pinkshoes

It depends on the location in the UK.

In my area, around £200k would buy me a spacious flat with 2 double bedrooms, balcony, and communal gardens, with its own parking space on a nice street with street parking. Service charge reasonable.

The same money would buy me a small ONE bed semi or terrace house, facing straight onto the street, no off road parking, poor street parking, a less desirable street, and the only bonus being a small garden.

Obviously that shows that houses are far more in demand, but because of that they demand a HUGE price premium.

I would never buy anything with one bedroom (house or flat), as its future potential use is limited.

ALWAYS check the sound insulation on a flat. Mine is amazing, and far less noise than many terrace houses I've lived in.

pie81

As an investment, I would say house over flat every time (especially a new build flat... those things lose value horribly).

But that said, I had the choice between buying a house and buying a flat, for not much difference in price ... and I chose the flat.

The flat was a conversion of a large house (only 5 flats, low service charge, nice quiet neighbours) and it had the large proportions, high ceilings and big windows from the original large house. The house on the other hand was a titchy two up two down cottage, yes it would have been more quiet and private (and it had a private garden) but the floor area was no bigger, and the rooms all felt really small, low ceilings, small windows etc. So I chose the flat, and I haven't regretted my decision.

Despite this, 5 years later, the house I didn't buy is definitely worth more than the flat I bought.... so as I say, for a better investment, choose the house.

DVardysShadow

Grime wrote: »

The situation here is that there are a ton of swanky new flats popping up all over the town and they're struggling to get rid of them.

I'm considering buying one flat, which has yet to be built - it's a top floor flat with a balcony, 2 bedrooms and everything - the kitchen for example - will be crisp and new and lovely. For £85,000. Or there's a similar one without a balcony for £80,000.

Problem 1. "They are struggling to get rid of them". Of course they are. Nobody really wants them, they are popping up all over the country, because that is what builders want to sell, not what people want to buy. Ultimately, they will shift them, but think how they will do it. They will ultimately sell off very cheaply to Housing Associations and give them to Social Tenants, most of whom will be decent people but it only takes 1 occupier... Actually, the same can happen with owner occupiers, but give it a few years and the market perception of flats will be driven by this consideration.

Problem 2."which has yet to be built" - and might never be built - but you will remain contracted to buy. [Don't use the builder's choice of solicitor and put in a time limit get out clause]. But if it is built, it might not support the valuation required for your mortgage by the time the roof goes on - this will cause you no end of grief.

Thermidor

Bufger wrote: »

Do you own a flat by any chance? :-p

Yes I do. I also own a house in the country.