House or flat? Advice please!

phoebe1989seb

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Wow! Generous parents?

Yeah, he's very lucky Not parents entirely though.....he inherited two thirds of my late uncle's estate (I got the other third) at 21 and his GF's mum gave them the rest on the understanding that GF's sister and her BF can live there too whilst she is at UCL :T He and GF have been together since they were 16 and managed to survive being separated at different unis for three years, so in for the long haul we think!

London_Town

It's already been said OP, but please don't buy a flat.

I appreciate you say you're used to living in one as you're currently renting. However, if you had a new nightmare neighbour now, you can leave as you're renting. If you own a flat, you've got to sell it which could be impossible with problem neighbours.

Yes, you are just as likely to get noisy neighbours in a house, but your exposure to them is far more limited as they can only be either side. In a flat they can be above, below and to either side of you.

A modern flat will have an ever increasing service charge which you cannot escape. A Victorian conversion may be badly sound proofed and in need of expensive repairs to its structure.

If there is ever the smallest choice, buy a house ove a flat. I would rather rent than buy a flat.

hazyjo

I don't think renting is always 'dead money'. It is paying for a roof over your head.

You might find it's 'cheaper' in the immediate term to rent and save. Build up your deposit. Prices are generally still falling (okay except some of London and other small pockets) so you might well be buying something that would be worth less in a year's time.

You'll pay a massive amount of interest back on your mortgage when you have one, along with all the costs of buying (stamp duty, solicitors, surveys, etc) which runs into thousands, then the fees for the priviledge of fixing your mortgage rate however often you choose to do that for...

What you'll be paying back on the actual mortgage over the next year might actually work out worse financially in a falling market than renting for that year and hopefully having more to put down as a deposit.

I would definitely still want to put down more from savings to get that LTV ratio down, ie bigger deposit, cheaper mortgage rate, etc. You could still have £20k from your savings - and can build on that in a house that you'll probably want to stay in much longer than you would a flat.

If you're that set on a flat, it's up to you. You asked for opinions and it seems pretty much everyone has said get a house and given reasons.

You might well have a service charge in a Victorian conversion. I did in one, not the other.

Jx

Ionkontrol

Laughing at the replies about living in a house = no noisy neighbours.

Lo32SC

It depends on what it is you want from a home. We wanted high ceilings, a decent garden, good location and potential to add value. Our budget did not extend to a house fitting this criteria so we opted for a converted period garden flat with share of freehold.

This sort of choice is not for everyone but for us personally, the space and location were a priority.

carefullycautious

You also have to realise that you will become the noisy neighbour with babies/small children. This could also become an issue in that you may be told to keep them quiet.

Blue_Monkey

Thanks all, I really appreciate this.

What with my maternity pay and OH's lack of accounts, plus not much coming up I'm just getting impatient I guess.

I'd love a garden for DD, I'm sick of lugging the buggy upstairs (the flat I'd seen was ground floor vic conversion with private garden) and we're spending a fortune in rent (quality is poor and rent is high in our town so moving to a cheaper rental isn't really an option).

Flats are selling quickly round here, 2 bedders done up ok are approx £180k. We're in a popular, relatively affluent commuter town in Essex.

I suppose I was thinking that paying a mortgage lower than our rent would mean we could potentially save some more money over the next year or 2, whereas in our current place we won't be able to really. And won't have anything to show for it in a year's time (other than having a roof over our heads!). Plus if we got mortgaged up to the eyeballs with a house, decreasing my hours at work might not be affordable. Or if we don't find a house now, and I do decrease my hours in a year's time, there's the possibility of us not being able to get a mortgage for a house then as my salary will be lower.

Ugh.

breadlinebetty

Blue_Monkey wrote: »

Thanks all, I really appreciate this.

What with my maternity pay and OH's lack of accounts, plus not much coming up I'm just getting impatient I guess.

I'd love a garden for DD, I'm sick of lugging the buggy upstairs (the flat I'd seen was ground floor vic conversion with private garden) and we're spending a fortune in rent (quality is poor and rent is high in our town so moving to a cheaper rental isn't really an option).

Flats are selling quickly round here, 2 bedders done up ok are approx £180k. We're in a popular, relatively affluent commuter town in Essex.

I suppose I was thinking that paying a mortgage lower than our rent would mean we could potentially save some more money over the next year or 2, whereas in our current place we won't be able to really. And won't have anything to show for it in a year's time (other than having a roof over our heads!). Plus if we got mortgaged up to the eyeballs with a house, decreasing my hours at work might not be affordable. Or if we don't find a house now, and I do decrease my hours in a year's time, there's the possibility of us not being able to get a mortgage for a house then as my salary will be lower.

Ugh.

I'd go for the Vivtorian conversion with the garden - as long as it's share of feehold - which most conversions are. It's lovely having a garden when you've got a young baby, and some of those grand old Victorian houses are simply beautiful.

The other plus is that you can afford it (cheaper than your rent) and 5 or 10 years down the line (time FLIES remember!) you'll have made a good healthy profit on it too. Which means you'll be able to put more down on a better house then than you could do now. Or you could even rent the flat out when moving to a house (depending how much deposit you save in those 5/10 years for your next home) and you could end up very comfortable indeed!

You also have to consider your lifestyle NOW. It's all very well people saying 'sit tight and wait until you have more deposit' but you want to enjoy the early years of your baby now. Buying your own home gives you a feeling of independance and security (you know the landlord can't just UP the rent or tell you to leave...) and mortgage repayments are lower than rent! It's a no-brainer really. Plus, you'll be able to decorate how you want, have pets, have a lovely garden for your child to play in - and live in a beautiful building too with no stairs to climb.

Time goes very quickly and you'll never get these precious days back of watching your child grow - so I'd want to live somewhere that ADDED to our pleasure and lifestyle. Go for it I say!:)