Buying: House or Flat?

MeagerFacefool

Hello! I'm not sure whether I should buy a house or a flat, I am a 26-year-old single person so do not need a lot of space.

Flats go for around ~£110,000 in my area (South West, Bristol), whereas a bog-standard 1 bedroom house will typically sell for ~£130,000.

Now, I have enough to buy a flat outright, but would need a small ~£20,000 mortgage if I went the route of a house. I am self-employed earning around £16,000/year, so a flat would mean I do not need to keep paying a mortgage (+1 for flat), but a house would mean a generally bigger floor space (+1 for a house).

As a first time buyer, and someone who isn't that clued-up about the benefits of houses vs. flats, what would you think would be the "right" choice (I'm aware that this is a loaded question with no right or wrong answer!).

So, to recap:

1. Would you recommend a house or a flat, and why?

2. Are houses easier to sell that flats? If this is a yes, then I suppose an option when I "upgrade" would be to rent out the flat which could generate some additional income.

3. I suppose this is a "depends on the flat", but I always associated flats with additional charges (maintenance, groundworks, etc.). Is this generally true?

Thank you for helping to ease my mind!

giddypenguin

I would always go for a house over a flat, you get more outside space, and potentially space to grow if you need to (loft conversions, extentions etc) without going through the hassel of selling again. I too always associate flats with extra charges, but I suppose there someone else is responsible for the upkeep, rather than you. But the lease would be something extra to think about. For these reasons, I personally think flats are harder to sell (although some may disagree).

Where abouts are you looking in Bristol? I'm in Bristol, and two of my friends have just bought in North Bristol recently, both 2 bedrooms, both around £120k I can PM you the area if you like? It's nice, not Easton etc!!

J_i_m

I think you've pretty much answered your own question. I was going to suggest aiming for a house for the extra room allowing for your life style there expanding and that a flat would have a ground charge.

I'm aiming for a house myself, but am also aware that I might have to settle with flat depending on affordability.

embob74

We bought a flat and the costs we hadn't accounted for crippled us! The service charge was detailed in the lease but the maintenance charge wasn't. As the flats were newly converted we ended up paying a lot of money (for no actual maintenance) especially as a 'pot' was being built up for future repairs. The uncertainty was what I hated most though. Not knowing how much we would have to pay was hard to budget for.
We had a 3-bed house on a newly built estate and had to pay a service charge there so that isn't restricted to flats.
I would never buy a flat again but if I was a single person looking for a 1bed property I would tend to assume a flat is the way to go.

hazyjo

1. Would you recommend a house or a flat, and why?

House. Flats generally come with a service charge & ground rent. Obviously you'll have maintenance on a house, but you choose who does it, when, etc.

Usually neighbours around you - up/down/to sides. Noise sometimes a problem.

Usually common parts or shared gardens.


2. Are houses easier to sell that flats? If this is a yes, then I suppose an option when I "upgrade" would be to rent out the flat which could generate some additional income.

Not necessarily. However, one bed houses/one bed flats or studios are generally harder to sell on.

3. I suppose this is a "depends on the flat", but I always associated flats with additional charges (maintenance, groundworks, etc.). Is this generally true?

They usually have service charges/shared buildings insurance/ground rent, etc.


House every time, given the choice. Obviously, budget usually determines this. I would definitely not touch a one bed house. Harder to sell on, and not likely to suit you long term. Two bed+ house (pref doubles) much better long term. You don't really want to buy short term in a falling/unpredictable market.

Jx

richardw

You don't really buy a flat, you get a lease on a flat that gives you rights.

MeagerFacefool

Thanks, everyone. Consensus seems to be buy a house, not a flat!

seven-day-weekend

It depends entirely on what you want. Our son didn't want a garden (as long as there was outside space) nor the responsibility of external maintenance, so a flat was ideal for him.
We love our garden, so we have a house at the moment but will downsize to a flat when we are old(er) and grey(er).

Horses for courses.

irishcol

given a choice between a flat and a house in the same area, for the same price, most people would go for the house.

But given the choice between a flat in a nice area and a house in a less good area, then location wins every time. Especially if that location is closer to town, station etc (and you want that kind of thing).

Similarly, given a choice between outright purchase of flat and mortgaged purchase of house, a lot of people would go for the mortgage-free option.

While it's true that flats have sevrice/management charges, at least you know in advance what these are likely to be. You also split the cost of any major works with others, rather than having to find all of the money in one go if your house neeeds work.

Neither is easier or harder to sell - it mostly comes down to whether you've bought the right property in the right area.

In your shoes, I'd be buying the flat - or maybe even considering finding a 2 bed flat for the same price as the 1 bed house....