Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

...to ask which flat you would choose?

91 replies

TooManyPringles · 31/01/2023 16:00

I've put two offers in and now I'm stuck. How do I decide which one to ultimately go for? Both are 2 beds with outside space, which was my criteria when choosing.

Flat A: just over 500 sq ft. Very small! A period conversion, gorgeous little Victorian garden flat built with yellow London brick and a bay window at the front. The kitchen is just two units and a cooker in the living room, essentially. I would need to come up with a lot of storage, and use the space creatively. The 'kitchen/ living area' would basically become a big eat-in kitchen, and then I'd use the second bedroom as a living room. It has one small bathroom, and a cute little courtyard garden. It's an end of terrace, so the garden wraps around the back. When I viewed it, there were a couple of damp patches on the walls, and evidence of a leak coming through from the flat above.

Flat B: Nearly 700 sq ft. In a modern, private, gated block (built early 2000s). Two big bedrooms (one en suite) and a long kitchen/ living room in a rectangle shape - a kitchen area at the back (lots of storage/ cupboards) and then a living area which has French windows opening onto a patio, which then leads onto a communal garden (shared by a couple of other flats in the block). The patio just belongs to the flat though. It feels very quiet - almost rural. (maybe a bit suburban? There is a great view of the London skyline from the entrance to the block, though).

I'm really stuck. How would you choose? I like the space in Flat B, and the idea of having more flexibility with the en suite/ bigger bedrooms etc. I worry that the block itself just feels a bit character-less, though? I always envisaged living in a period property. But then...the damp and the lack of space in the Victorian flat may end up being annoying. But the bay window is so pretty!

Which would you go for, and how have you made decisions about homes when you've been deciding? Tips and ideas about making this sort of decision welcome!

Thank you.

Voting, for fun:

YABU: Flat A
YANBU: Flat B

OP posts:
Nandocushion · 31/01/2023 19:05

Your updates make it Flat B 100%. A pretty bay window is never going to make up for the lack of space, lack of storage, and what is coming from those damp patches and the upstairs leak.

helloelsie · 31/01/2023 19:32

YANBU
Flat B by a Mile!

LeilaDarling · 31/01/2023 19:37

Oooo, flat b, could you maybe post the Rightmove link so we can nose?

DixieSinclair · 31/01/2023 20:28

NibbledSwitch · 31/01/2023 16:08

Victorian conversions are normally really badly insulated... you would need to be happy to hear your neighbours talking, cooking, going to the toilet etc.
Tbh... apart from looking cute it sounds miserably small and already had potential leaking problems from the upstairs neighbours.
I would choose the modern flat IMHO.

I agree with this. We live in a Victorian conversion with neighbours above and below and the sound travels so much! We can hear everything, even their tv sometimes. It’s also riddled with damp and has loads of problems due to the age. We are moving as soon as we can

Againstmachine · 31/01/2023 20:30

Be careful with the new build any flats with amenities like lifts etc you will be stung when they need renewing.

New build flats can end up very expensive look what happened with many flats who had dodgy cladding after grenfell.

aibutohavethisusername · 31/01/2023 20:30

B definitely

OldTinHat · 31/01/2023 20:31

I would consider the length of lease first then cost of ground rent and service charge. Also look into the freeholder and see what their reviews are like.

After that, I'd look at the accommodation.

AdelaideRo · 31/01/2023 20:33

Service charges?

Freehold vs leasehold?

How many others to share with?

Proportion of BTL vs owner occupiers?

Mylaferret · 31/01/2023 20:37

Flat A sounds awful. Tiny and damp. I can imagine that "kitchen" would get very tedious. Flat b sounds nice.

superdupernova · 31/01/2023 20:51

What are the ground rent and service charges? My DH had a new build and the service charges increased by an extortionate amount each year. There was a private parking area with an electric gate. Advertised as a selling point but "being serviced" at least every two weeks. He was ready to rip the gate off it's hinges when he sold.

cittigirl · 31/01/2023 21:04

Flat B. No contest

Luredbyapomegranate · 31/01/2023 21:26

The first one just sounds too small.

Remember you aren’t looking at the front of your building much, you are looking at the interior of your flat, or out of the window.

lilacclementine · 31/01/2023 21:28

B. first one too small.

paintitallover · 31/01/2023 22:02

B

Damp is seriously unhealthy.

dizzydizzydizzy · 31/01/2023 22:11

B

I just sold a Victorian property because the repairs and maintenance were horrendous. Never again.

Also the storage space sounds so much better in B.

CreaturesAreSleeping · 31/01/2023 22:39

You've offered on both?

CoorieInByTheFire · 31/01/2023 22:49

Flat B.

I live in a modern purpose built flat, it’s south facing with huge windows the length of the living room, and I’ve only had to put my heating on a few times this winter. Friend in a tenement flat down the road is burning money trying to keep her old flat warm. I’d always choose modern over period.

Ground floor - very much depends on the situation, it’s gated like most of my development and there’s never been a burglary here in 14 years.

Thirtyandflailing · 31/01/2023 23:05

I’d be avoiding flat a like the plague. As soon as you said 2 kitchen cupboards and cooker in living room I thought hell no sounds like living in a shoebox. And that’s before the damp and leak came in! Flat B definitely. I love having an en suite, feels like a small luxury even though I’ve only used my en suite shower twice in 2022😩🤷🏽‍♀️

Sorted2856 · 31/01/2023 23:17

CreaturesAreSleeping · Today 22:39
You've offered on both?

my thought exactly?!

You should make the choice (well in England at any rate) before you offer. Otherwise two house owners think they have sold with all the inconvenience, cost and emotional disappointment up and down chains that that involves. Ok, in England no law has been broken but it’s behaviour like this that makes house selling a nightmare and made me wish that some form of financial deposit was required earlier in the process when I had offers fall through over 18 months of selling a house many years back. The toll on my mental health of thinking the house was sold then having to go through the same loop again and again was unbelievable.

Stayingstrongish · 01/02/2023 09:48

@Sorted2856 totally agree, it's an emotional rollercoaster for sellers thinking they have an offer only to have it withdrawn a day or two later. Heartbreaking.

Geranium1984 · 01/02/2023 09:52

I think if you are really wanting a victorian flat then you'd best to keep looking. Flat A sounds quite small with a terrible layout and a raft of problems.

So it's flat B for me if these were the only two options available.

dotdotdotdash · 01/02/2023 10:11

Offering on more than one property at the same time is out of order

Timide · 01/02/2023 10:21

Is it a no question. Flat B of course. Same location!

maranella · 01/02/2023 10:22

Definitely Flat B.

Period properties can be money pits even when they appear in good condition and the one you're considering has visible damp, plus a leak from upstairs, which you'll need to liaise with the upstairs neighbour to fix and could be a massive PITA. Cynically, I'd suspect that those two (expensive) issues are why the seller wants rid of it.

Notcontent · 01/02/2023 10:32

I love period properties but having lived in a few different flats since moving to the U.K. I will never live in a conversion. For me the biggest issue is the risk of noise from neighbours. Or, just as bad, neighbours complaining about noise from me.I have experienced both - never again!

I would go for the modern property but even then do some investigating to check the sound insulation. Also check if any cladding issues.