Thoughts on Flats vs Houses

NameUnavailable

Key things IMHO to look for with a flat;

Management company in place AND does it look well maintained (if not then there's got to be problems)

Sensible service charge and check for any upcoming works or sinking fund

Lease of at least 95 years (unless cheap enough to cover cost of lease extension).

Ideally a shared freehold

Ground rent under £250 (and not due to escalate above £250).

Nothing obvious that will require ongoing and costly maintenance (painted facades that need repainting every 5 years at a cost of £50K for example).

No onerous terms in the lease (can you sublet etc).

NinjaTune

House over flat every time if I could afford it.

Due to a probate sale I will now have to downsize from a detached freehold house to a leasehold flat in order to remain in my area of choice.  Not looking forward to it I must admit, but that's the way my particular cookie has crumbled.

Service charges, ground rent, diminishing lease length, possibility of 4 direct 'neighbours' with shared walls are all the downsides for me.  The plus side is ... erm ... not much really.  I would say that knowing that the service charge is covering the building, gardens etc. gives some level of security but as @NameUnavailable has said, that's not always guaranteed.

newlywed

Many flats have shared gardens.... if you get neighbours like ours then they will rip up anything you plant, stand on it... shout at you from their windows. Not to mention the noise, doors banging, people visiting at all hours (we are next to the main door), hearing every argument from the surrounding flats, everyone else’s washing machine etc. And at night when it’s quieter, it’s not just the upstairs flat loo flushing that we can hear!

with a house you have less immediate neighbours, your own private patch of garden.

newlywed

blue_max_3 said:

I'd feel cramped in a shoebox.
This is more my style... https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70757824.html?backListLink=/property-for-sale/Nawton.html&onetime_savedPropertyId=70757824#summary70757824

 Nice... but I’d want to see the service charges for that place!

NameUnavailable

Oh and not to mention the current EWS1 issues .......... are ANY flats actually saleable at present?

davidmcn

A lot of this comes down to where you're looking - I'm not sure how many places you're going to have a subtle choice between flats and houses, of similar sizes and prices, in similar neighbourhoods.

I'm used to urban Scotland where flats are a bit more "normal" than they are in England, and often the default choice if you're wanting anything vaguely central - we don't really have the inner city terraced streets that exist down south. If you want a reasonably-priced house then you're likely to be looking at a much more suburban location, or even further out.

NameUnavailable said:

Oh and not to mention the current EWS1 issues .......... are ANY flats actually saleable at present?

The vast majority, I would have thought.

NameUnavailable

davidmcn said:

NameUnavailable said:

Oh and not to mention the current EWS1 issues .......... are ANY flats actually saleable at present?

The vast majority, I would have thought.

I'm not so sure about that - seems surveyors are giving NIL valuations on all kinds of flats at the moment.

FtbDreaming

Well I’m literally buying my first house tomorrow 😆 but that’s because I have 3 kids and a dog... my longer term plan is pay the house off in 8-10 years then once the kids are older I’ll be leaving home for an apartment in city centre. I know where I want to live. It’s currently in phase one of 3 being built so hopefully it’ll be good timing by the time I am ready. 

We lived in an apartment in town pre kids and loved it, however we moved out when eldest was almost one as it’s just not practical with a family. When the time comes I’m not sure if I’d buy though. I don’t like the thought of ground rent, service charges and leasehold so it maybe more viable to rent an apartment than own one. Plus if you get bad neighbours in an apartment you own you’re pretty much stuck. 

davidmcn

NameUnavailable said:

davidmcn said:

NameUnavailable said:

Oh and not to mention the current EWS1 issues .......... are ANY flats actually saleable at present?

The vast majority, I would have thought.

I'm not so sure about that - seems surveyors are giving NIL valuations on all kinds of flats at the moment.

We're only hearing about the ones where people are having problems, I doubt the majority of the flatted housing stock has suspect cladding or similar issues.

NameUnavailable

davidmcn said:

NameUnavailable said:

davidmcn said:

NameUnavailable said:

Oh and not to mention the current EWS1 issues .......... are ANY flats actually saleable at present?

The vast majority, I would have thought.

I'm not so sure about that - seems surveyors are giving NIL valuations on all kinds of flats at the moment.

We're only hearing about the ones where people are having problems, I doubt the majority of the flatted housing stock has suspect cladding or similar issues.

Plenty of examples out there of flats with no cladding being given NIL valuations subject to EWS1 sign off. Search it on Twitter.