Flat or 2 br house?

[Fordian]

DS is finally considering the housing ladder. We live near Southampton/Portsmouth.

Is it always better to buy a house than a flat?

In my experience yes

You have the freehold and no one above or below making a noise or flooding into your flat or demands on paying maintenance bills etc

I believe it’s best to buy what you can afford. I bought a two bed apartment as I couldn’t afford a house. I would have loved a house for my own front door and garden but the apartment got me out of renting, into secure accommodation. The apartment met most of my wishlist and was a great location. So I made the compromise.

If there’s a choice, a house. If it’s to get on the housing ladder and a flat is all you can afford, then that. A freehold is better than leasehold if you can.

I've lived in both but only ever owned houses. I don't have to pay ever increasing management fees (or ground rent or service charges or whatever they want to call it) to a company who do very little in return. I don't have to worry about people above or below me, communal bins, cladding, not having outdoor space etc. Yes I have neighbours (not all nice) but what I do in my home doesn't impact them. So I'd always buy a house.

It's always better to move a bit further out to get a house

Thanks everyone.

Many people can't afford a house and a flat is fine and affordable.

People will say don't do leasehold but you can do leasehold and not have a horrible time but there's always a risk.
Look for share of freehold or leasehold with right to manage it gives you more say.
Ground rent and how high it goes up by is in the lease the ones linked to inflation are the worst.
You want a lease of over 90 preferably 100 years as 80 and under marriage value makes it expensive when extending.
A lot of the issues to do with section 20s and issues with service charges aren't uncovered until you go through the conveyancing process, avoid lifts and amenities for lower service charges.

You can often do a lot conversion or other extension on a house, you probably don’t pay a service charge. I’d try houses if i had the choice and could.

Location is king, even if it means buying a flat in the short term. Build up equity then sell again.

That said, I wouldn't entertain a flat with a leasehold shorter than 100 years and be mindful of service charge and ground rent.

To add, obviously a house is preferable but it depends on location for me.

I have experience of living in a flat and hated every second of it. Your peace and quiet relies on everyone in the building and the one I was staying in was full of antisocial behaviour. It was also hard to manage all the stairs and I was scared of lifts. I think you should buy a house but that’s just my personal opinion

Personally, if a house is out of reach, I’d steer well clear of flats in blocks, especially newer ones, where service/maintenance charges are likely to be high and liable to increase with no justification. I’d look at conversions, where there are just typically 2 per house.

And around here, there are a lot of e.g. purpose built 2 bed Edwardian maisonettes, just 2 per ‘house’, each with their own front door, and often a small garden/outside space thrown in. Ground rent/service charges are typically a lot lower than for flats in blocks.
But I’d look at nothing with a lease under 100 years.