Does anyone live in a flat/apartment?

[EstateAgentz]

Thinking of buying a flat but I know as a leaseholder things are a little different to when you buy a house as freehold.

What is life like in a flat?

Are you allowed dogs and if not do people have them anyway?

How does it work I'd say the whole roof had to be replaced?

Anything you discovered later that you didn't realise at the time of purchase?

Yes buildings insurance is included in the monthly service charge.

The first thing you need to worry about is the service charge. It is likely to go up year on year - you can question this but whether the freeholder backs down or negotiates is anyone’s guess. You want to make sure you get actual services included in the service charge like gardening, maintenance and cleaning of the communal areas, etc. share of freehold flats do exist usually in smaller buildings and conversions but the drawback of that is you have to get all the other owners to agree to spend money on repairs or even contribute to the pot in the first place. When it works its great, but it can be more arduous than just contacting the building manager and telling them you need a new roof tile or whatever.

dogs — really depends. A lot of leases say no pets but people have them anyway and nobody minds. I’ve also encountered buildings where people do mind and want to enforce the no pet clause, I pulled out of buying a flat for this reason so ask before you buy. Some leases say pets are OK. I have a dog in a flat and it’s fine but he is a small lazy dog and there’s a garden, I wouldn’t have a large energetic dog in a flat or even in a city tbh.

if the entire roof had to be replaced it would come out of the service charge and if that didn’t cover the cost of all repairs all owners would be billed extra.

Avoid flats with a lease shorter than 120 years, it’s usually unmortgageable below 80 years but you want to give yourself plenty of time to live there without having to worry about extending. I would also advise looking at converted Victorian houses or small blocks, avoid new builds like the plague as they very likely won’t retain their value. Same with buying schemes like help to buy and shared ownership, harder to sell and unlikely to increase in value much.

I’m happy in a flat but I live in London where it’s all I can afford and quite normal.

@Teaandcakeordeath83 we are with Trinity now! Absolutely awful..can never get in touch with anyone.

Service charge can be huge (8k in my building) this year and likely to be the same next year. One owner decided not to pay, which resulted in years of legal action costing £££££££, and the forced sale of his flat. The building and flats are stunning, but I’ll be staying away from London blocks for a while.

We live in a well run purpose built low rise block (not ex council) in central London where I guess most people live in flats. Our service charge includes building (obviously not contents) insurance and water. It also includes a contingency reserve fund for unexpected issues. We have a building manager (onsite Monday to Saturday). Pets are allowed under the lease, but are not allowed to foul the communal gardens or cause a nuisance to neighbours. Several neighbours have dogs.

We renewed our lease a few years ago when it got down to 85 years after saving for it, so now have 199 years.

I just started a thread called nightmare neighbors.

Absolutely hate being in a lease it's like it isn't our home sometimes.

Neighbors awful.

I'd get out asap if I could

I am a landlord, own several flats where the LA is the freeholder, and I have found them to be fine.
You can run the risk of needing expensive repairs or improvements in any leasehold property.
In general the service charges I pay are significantly less than in privately owned blocks.
Buildings insurance is included in the service charge, and my leaseholder information strongly suggests that separate contents insurance is purchased.

There are a few stipulations about contractors having suitable liability insurance, but only to the same level as the freeholder.

My leases all have just under 100 years remaining. If I still have the properties I will extend the leases when they reach around 90 years. There is a suggested formula for fees payable for this, as long as there is at least 80 remaining. My LA says it uses this, there has to be a formal application and there is no negotiation, which seems fair and straightforward to me.

I live in a flat where the freehold was bought by the residents. We set up a company to manage the development - my DH is one of the directors. Pets -dogs/cats are allowed but you need to email the managing agent to say you are getting a pet but you will get permission.

There is a sink fund for the roof and that is part of the service charge. I live on the second floor and there isn't a lift as it's a 1930s block; sometimes I wish for a lift but other times I am glad I don't need to pay for the maintenance, it's ££££. I like living on the top floor as it's quiet and feels safer though. There are some delivery men who refuse to carry things up but I had a very kind neighbour who helped me carry up a very heavy wooden hamster cage! My neighbours are overall friendly and chill. There is a communal garden. Make sure you have great storage and a place to put your bike (we have both even if the bike storage is a ww2 bomb shelter)

I hope to buy another flat, a share of freehold.

I rent from a HA so don’t need to worry about leases or repairs, but from a purely practical point of view, I’d advise you to find out what it’s like in summer. Ours is lovely in the winter; very warm and cosy and doesn’t cost us much in gas. In summer, I regularly consider sleeping outside on the pavement; it’s horrific.

Do you have any outside space? If you’re used to it, it’s a big loss.

What is underneath your bedroom window? Arguing neighbours? Weed smokers? Both? What’s the sound proofing like? Ours is none existent and I can hear my neighbour going to the toilet.