Ground versus upper floor flat?

*Louise*

I lived in a ground floor flat fr 8 years, and it wasn't the flat that caused noise problems - it was the neighbours!

Most of the time it lay empty, but when it was occupied, one lot loved parties and had a flipping dog (dogs and laminate flooring = not a good mix) The other couple lived quietly and we never heard them, regardless of the flooring.

Bonuses were that we had a big garden and didn't have to navigate stairs all the time. Mind you - stairs can be a good thing if you want to stay fit;)

Never had any security problems, and we were closest to the bin area - so no lugging rubbish about.

PasturesNew

SquatNow wrote: »

If I'm right and you ignore me, you get raped, robbed and disembowled.

Take your pick.

I'm upstairs in a flat above the garage behind 2 locked doors BTW. And I'm planning to re-enforce both doors.

Yes, but you're in Luton it says ... and that's always been rough.

giger

I think you can see from the posts that it is a mixed bag when it comes to flats. Everyone will have their own preference and it is a lifestyle choice as well. Some people would love going upstairs to the top floor, feeling like king of the castle or just having a great view or feeling away from it all. Equally there will be people who wouldn't like going up and down flights of stairs everyday, carrying their shopping up etc and prefer to have a nice patio, direct garden access or may have a medical condition that makes stairs difficult.

With regard to noise it all depends on the quality and age of the apartment/flat (what is the difference?!). I lived in a brand new flat about 4 years ago, the build quality was reasonable and I was on the top floor. I didn't get any noise from the neighbour next to me but I did get the thumping bass noise from when the guy downstairs played his stereo loud-ish. The flipside to this, my brother lives in a very nice new apartment and he has a home cinema setup in his lounge. I've been there when he has had it on really loud and he never gets any complaints. He has even asked the neighbours if it is too loud and they can't even hear it!
Another thing that you cannot factor into the equation is neighbours. It doesn't matter how good the apartment is, if you have 'funny' neighbours your life could be hell. Some will be considerate, others will simply not care and do what they want in their own flat with no thought for others. This may extend to parking in stupid places or leaving rubbish lying around outside.

KiKi

I live in a Ground Floor flat and I love it. I also have two cats who can go outside with no worry. I do not hear my neighbours at all; most flat leases have clauses which do not allow hard flooring (and if they do and it's a problem you can enforce carpet / sound proofing with the freeholder).

My upstairs neighbour does not have the loft to themselves, as it's the freeholder's, so we share it.

Remember, you can hear sound upstairs just as much, if it's music or people talking. My upstairs neighbour often hears people in the gardens as the noise travels up. I don't hear it at all. The only sound I hear more than my upstairs neighbour is footsteps, but they're not loud.

I actually find it quite comforting to hear them about as it reminds me that I'm not alone in the building; it's rather nice!

Margaret_Skinner

PasturesNew wrote: »

Hang on, I'll just block out 3 days in my diary for that then.
Flat viewing shouldn't take more than 30 minutes, so it's no bother to just pop up there for that!

That doesn't sound like a 78% introvert! But it's very good of you - second viewing is at 11 a.m. on Sunday so you keep the guy talking & I'll pop upstairs & get the neighbours to let me stomp about their sitting room & see how we get on!! I might even give you a cup of tea afterwards for coming up cos I'm nice like that ........

Margaret_Skinner

SquatNow wrote: »

If I'm right and you ignore me, you get raped, robbed and disembowled.

Take your pick.

quote]

My God you need to come & live in Aberdeen.
Far less stressful. :eek:

Margaret_Skinner

A mixed bag right enough. Thanks to all for your various shared experiences. I agree it really comes down to other people's respect for space, peace & quiet. And as some of you have pointed out, sometimes upstairs can be just as bad.

I did think as I was tootling round my house at 2 a.m. this morning that that could have been slightly annoying for a downstairs neighbour and I must admit when the cats playfight they can sometimes make a hell of a racket especially if they're thundering up & down the stairs so maybe I'm better in a downstairs flat or I could become the infuriating neighbour!

Anyway I have a second viewing on Sunday morning which is probably not the best time for hearing general normal noise from above but was the only day my daughter could manage during the daytime. I can certainly ask about the neighbours though - whether it's a guy on his own, a couple or couple with family - maybe I can gauge neighbourly relations from the owner's reaction and body language.

Wish me luck!

LouBlue

I lived in a Victorian terraced house. I have lived in the flat on the first floor for the past 8 years. I do prefer being upstairs, I feel safer I suppose as any intruders would go to downstairs first..:D...and there was only one couple that had really loud music on at times, but even then, it wasn't too bad. We have the loft as well, but they have a garden, so it all depends what you are looking for. If you go for ground floor and it is new build, depends if upstairs has laminate flooring or if they are particularly noisy. I didn't want to take that chance, so went for an upstairs one. We share cost of all repairs. As was mentioned, check the Lease.

Good luck.

itsgototstop

PasturesNew wrote: »

Yes, but you're in Luton it says ... and that's always been rough.

Blimey you need to move to London