moving to apartment (i hope )

Pixie5740

jayss wrote: »

Downside not being able to dry washing outdoors, noisy neighbours, !!!!!! to carry shopping up when lift broken, little/no parking for visitors.

Upside no garden to maintain, entry phone eliminates door to door sales(or charity or energy supplier), enjoy the benefit of neighbours heating, communal bin store(not good smell wise if you live above it). And in the case of my next place concierge for parcels and a residents gym.

The entry phone system only works as long as you don't have a buffoon in your block who lets all and sundry in without asking who they are or what they want. I used to live in one such block and my letter box was forever had a festoon of takeaway menus by the time I got home from work.

If I was looking at buying a flat again I would look for somewhere with a high proportion of owner-occupiers as they tend to have more of a vested interest in the building as a whole compared with landlords. Owner-occupiers are also more likely to live there longer rather than getting new tenants every 6-12 months.

nickyg2000

I bought a flat last year. Its lovely and all the neighbours are nice and considerate but the poor sound proofing ruins it.

We hear nothing to the sides, just directly above. Walking, talking, doors closing, furniture being moved and toilet noises ;-s

My block is purpose built in the late 1930's. Another small gripe is that half the flats are btl's. which means tenants come and go and are less bothered about knowing people and the upkeep of the place. Every building is different and even some new builds can have awful some proofing, just do your research. Although easier said than done with sound proofing.


Other gripes.
No pets, service charge and shared garden.

Idiophreak

Meh, I think it's fair play to draw a distinction between "flats" and "apartments". I tend to think of little shoebox stack em high places as flats and larger, better built places as apartments.

Where I live, I'd say is between the two...it's in a small, custom-built new development, the "flats" are all 2 bed, they're no higher than 2 high and they're finished quite well.

We have very high levels of insulation, plus underfloor heating (which puts some hardware between you and the neighbours) - so you have to be really antisocially noisy before your neighbour hears a thing. There's never more than a single set of stairs, so you never have to climb many. Being small enough, people know who's doing what etc, so guilt keeps most people on the straight and narrow.

Service charges are a downside, as is the lack of a place for a BBQ in the winter...but that's about it really.

nickyg2000

Older poorly sound proofed places like mine do have there benefits though A huge front and back garden with a large private balcony and a garage. High ceilings and large window along with big sized rooms. New developments are usually cramped.