Should we buy a ground floor flat?

DSPLIT

We are FTB with a 10% deposit and a OIP and looking to buy a 2 bed flat just outside London.We found a property recently ( a 2 bed flat) which was on for 219, and our offer of 215 was rejected, the flat is now under offer but we are not sure what price it went for. We were tempted to offer more but the situation at the moment is not very secure and we do not want to risk any future problems, so we walked away. The problem is that there is very little on the market, and anything new which comes along, like one a week maybe, is at a ridiculously high price. The general view is that prices are going up due to the shortage of properties on sale, but we are now worried that if every new property added is more and more expensive, we might get priced out altogether.
We have however seen a property which ticks all the boxes apart from being on the ground floor ( of a 10 year old block of flats). It is very safe and overlooked, quiet and under budget, and we don't have a problem with living on the ground floor, we are just worried if it will become a problem when selling it in a few years time.
We don't know anyone with any experience with this, so I would be very grateful if someone with experience of having a ground floor flat we would could let us know their opinion

asajoseph

I'm selling a ground floor flat, and buying another one, and to be honest, I'm not aware of any problems.

Always worth checking for things like damp in basement, or lower-ground flats, but if you're all ground-level it shouldn't be a problem.

I would have thought that the number of people concerned about living on the ground-floor for security concerns would be equally matched by the number of people who don't want to have to climb stairs every day!

Doozergirl

asajoseph wrote: »

I would have thought that the number of people concerned about living on the ground-floor for security concerns would be equally matched by the number of people who don't want to have to climb stairs every day!

exactly

PasturesNew

All houses have a ground floor, I've not understood why flats are any different, unless they are in open landscaped grounds where anybody and his dog can come poking about and not be noticed because of the volume of people living in the block and the communal nature of the grounds.

Oldernotwiser

You'll always have a market for ground floor flats from both the elderly and people with a disability. This will be in addition to any other member of the public who just happens to want to buy one.

property.advert

Ground floor flats don't pay for the lift in their service charges. That said, I would not buy one in the vast majority of locations. Everyone can see into your place so you have to keep something covering the windows, you do not benefit from rising heat, insurance costs more, everything that happens at ground level happens outside your front door. You might have terrible noise from people coming and going. Where is the garbage ? Will people be traipsing their rubbish past your flat door ?

Just too many negatives. Different if garden flat to a converted house or maisonette. Some ground flats will be fine, others a nightmare.

Catatonia

I don't see the problem with a ground floor flat. I lived in one for several years, and definitely preferred it to walking up flights of stairs. It also makes moving a lot easier.

I had no problem selling it, either (it was snapped up by the EA's son before it even hit the market!).

poppysarah

property.advert wrote: »

Ground floor flats don't pay for the lift in their service charges. .

Do they not?

laughingcow81

I thought they did - at a ground floor flat we looked around last week, the vendor mentioned that they had to pay towards the lift despite the fact that they never used it.

asajoseph

I'd have thought that it depends on the property - some will be sensible about this, others will not.

lynzpower

I had a new build ground floor flat - and we did pay for the lift in our service charge.

We are looking for ground floor flat ( or bungalow) really cant be doing with stairs- its much easier to keep places tidy when they are all on one floor

Desperate shortage though in gereral there are like 2 flats we would view in london at the moment sigh. We might be looking in the same area- where are you looking OP?