If you own a flat/small house

[fairynick]

Do you ever regret your decision?
First time buyer and the opportunity has arose to buy a very small house. It’s a fantastic price, nice new build, and is a good location for us.
We are a young couple, childless, and it isn’t in our five year plan to have children. This property therefore seems to suit us.
The only thing that’s making me hesitant is that I always envisioned having a place where I could host gatherings/have barbecues etc. It will not be possible with this house.
If you have a small property, do you hate not being able to host or is it a small price to pay to get on the ladder? :)

I should have added, there is no garden.

No garden would put me off more than a small house.

How small is "very small?"

I suppose it depends on what you mean by a small house? I bought a tiny 2 bed when I was early 20’s (still own it now in my 40’s but don't live there). I still hosted? Not massive parties but had up to 12 in the tiny garden and sitting room. People don’t mind squishing up (when not in a pandemic).
How small is it? I’d be wary of miniscule in case of further lockdowns in the short term. Does it have outside space?

The downstairs is basically one room. There is not a chance you could have more than a couple living in it, it’s a lot like a one bedroom flat.
There is definitely room for a four person dining table, but I think would look better with a dining table for two.

We have a one-bed flat, with a communal garden that we don't use. It's been lovely for us - DH has lived here for 7 years, I've lived here for 5. We can't really have people round to entertain, but it's not really mattered to us - it's been a lovely home. Prior to the pandemic, it had also appreciated a decent amount - there's little market for flats where we are right now, but I don't think the price will have dropped massively.

We're now looking to sell, mostly because I'm 4 months pregnant and there's just nowhere for a toddler here... I'm very emotional about it. I love it here and I'd happily hold onto it. Even during lockdown, it's been my favourite home ever, and it's full of memories.

Do you entertain a lot at the moment? If you live somewhere where you do that often now, it might be a bit odd stopping, and you'd need to weigh up how important that is to you. If you don't, then anecdotally and based on maybe 10 couples who have bought homes in the last few years and raved about how they got a big garden/spare bedroom for entertaining - it doesn't seem to be a long-term thing for most people. They still seem very happy with their homes, but I think the dream of being a great hostess and having people round for food and get togethers is better than the reality of hosting, for most people!

Have you done a pros and cons list? That can be useful. List out all the pros and cons, cross out any that are a bit dubious/shouldn't really matter, and then see what "wins".

For every house ive bought, ive always tried to imagine re-selling it. If I think it wouldnt appeal to many and wouldnt sell well, I havent bought it. This has served me well in the past.

Compare this to a friend who bought a lovely period house with a load of stunning features (inglenook fireplace etc), but it only had one bedroom and a tiny garden. It didnt sell well at all and she ended up loosing a load of money.

I do a lot of entertaining and would be pretty miserable if I didn’t have the space. When it comes to compromises with houses, everyone’s got a different idea of what they could do without. You’ll have to weigh up the pros and cons, but bear in mind a lot of things can be changed after you’ve bought a house but no garden and lack of space is rarely something that can be rectified.

As a FTB I wouldn’t buy a new build, especially as you know at some point you’ll sell, the best way to start off in the property ladder is to buy a doer upper. You learn skills and it’s highly likely you’ll make enough money for the next step on the ladder.

I have a very small house. We have 1 bed, small kitchen and bathroom, then a corridor leading to a lounge (large enough for corner sofa and dining table) with mezzanine for my partner’s desk.

I bought it 4 years ago and he moved in 2 years later. I absolutely LOVE the house, it is funky and full of character, I fell in love with it when I stepped in the door and have 0 regrets.

Over lockdown was the only time I wished we had another room, only so I could have a workspace where I didn’t have to listen to him on the phone all day (both WFH) but now I have gone back to the office I love my house again!

It’s not great for entertaining due to the kitchen and living space being separated by a corridor but we do have a small garden that we can host BBQ’s in- we have sat 7 in it.

Ultimately as a childless couple with no plans for a family we have chosen to live somewhere with character over space. I’d love a larger kitchen but not so much I’d like to give up the disposable income that we have available for living in a smaller cheaper property. We can have nice holidays and cars and are still able to save up to eventually buy somewhere larger (we’d rather wait to afford something we love, rather than buy a newbuild 2-3 bed on the new estate in town or compromise on location). I think some of my friends think we’re mad but I love my home and our lifestyle! I also don’t know how I’d have time to clean and maintain anything larger (both work long hours with frequent travel!).

Don't buy a house without a garden as it will be hard to get rid off. Thanks to lockdown more people want outside space.

You buy what you can afford really, most people don't get a bigger place first time. If this suits you for now then go for it. I started off with a 1 bed flat and could fit max 8 people in the living room if most were on the floor / cushions. I now have a 3 bed house with small garden. I eventually hope to have 4 beds with a bigger garden and two bathrooms, but that's not likely to ever be in budget.

nice new build

That's an oxymoron for a start. No way would I buy a new build house at the moment, no matter how big or small.

Perfectly happy with my 2 bed flat. Was bought when just me and had partner move in 10 years ago. 2nd bedroom big enough for a double sofa bed so we have had guests but mostly people stay in a nearby hotel. We never entertain but it's London, we go out to meet up with people.

We have a very square table which 4 round chairs sit under which is okay if we wanted to eat at a table but we generally have dinner on Laps on sofa.

It's near a tube so very sellable in future. Or rentable.

I live in a very small house with one room downstairs (supposed to be a kitchen/ diner/ living space), a downstairs toilet, and two bedrooms and bathroom upstairs. We do have a garden, which is very important to me,

We use the downstairs room for the kitchen and dining, with one armchair. It allowed us to have a bigger table and do some entertaining. The second bedroom is a catch all office and TV room. It's got bookshelves, TV, sofa and a small office space.

I think the no garden would be the no for me, rather than the small space.

We have a 55m2 ground floor e bed flat with a garden that's about 10x8m. We've been here 6 years and will probably stay until any future baby gets too big for the second 8m2 bedroom. We love it: it's easy to be minimalist because we simply don't have space to collect crap, it's fast to clean, cheap to heat and very easy to completely redecorate when we get bored. Lockdown was fine: DH worked in the spare room and I work on the dining table. The only issue we've found is that it's difficult to buy small high quality sofas.

We have open plan kitchen/living/dining opening directly onto the garden and do lots of entertaining. We can seat 12 for dinner if we use benches instead of chairs and guests don't mind being snug. We've had houseparties of about 20. Next door do the same. In the summer we spill into the garden as an extra room. If you want everyone to have their own chair, 4 rows of cutlery, starched table clothes and a Insta-worthy centre piece, it's impossible. But for a fun night where no one minds stepping over each other it's all fine.

I think the lack of a garden would put a lot of people off in terms of resaleability so it depends how important that is to you...

Think about how you like to use the space where you currently live. If this property is smaller; what do you think you'll be giving up?

Having said all that, a house with no garden is weird. Why not spend the same and get a bigger flat? A flat will have more useful space at the same size anyway because you don't lose the space for the stairs so you get more storage. Plus flats are going cheap at the moment!

Our first house purchase was a small 2 bed townhouse. It had a quirky lay out and we loved it - but the garden was on a slope and we couldn’t host bbqs etc. We didn’t necessarily see it as a mistake when we purchased it, but in hindsight, we wish we had thought about it a little more!

Having a large garden was an absolute prerequisite for our second purchase.

I think “lock down living” has made an awful lot of people want outdoor space, so you need to think of resale appeal as well.

Good luck!

Benefits of a house:
direct access to the outside
(usually) garden or patio
Noone above/below
Additional benefit if detached or semi over terrace.
Freehold.

If you're not getting any of the above what is the benefit to you of the house? I bought a duplex flat with front patio and direct access to communal gardens. It's been fantastic, especially since lockdown started. I could have bought a house in a less appealing location but I wanted to have excellent transport links and proximity to the action, which I have.

I love mine but I live alone
75sq metre flat, garden, ground floor

Our first property was a small one bedroom flat in London. We still had parties in it, but then we were in our 20's and didn't mind being a bit squashed!

I wouldn't for several reasons.

New builds tend to be more expensive.
Check the floor space. Rooms are likely to be small.
Show home furniture is often slightly scaled down
It won't be brand new when you sell it

I've lived in a 1 up one down and open plan means that just having not done the washing up means the place looks a tip.

No outside space
One of you will be working in the bedroom if you both WFH. It will be like sleeping in the office.

etc

Really depends how it stacks up against what else you can afford.
Is it in the area you want? What else is available in your price range? Flats only?
Are you likely to be able to afford more in the near future with job promotions etc?
If it's the best fit for you now and better than renting, you'll manage fine.
If you think you'll need to sell up in 3 years time consider whether you could stretch to something larger in a lesser area or in worse condition.
I'd always compromise on condition as it can be changed eventually but many people like new and shiny so depends on your outlook

Don't buy a place without a garden, post covid it's a bad idea, and when your child is born it will be essential.