Buying a small apartment with DC, are we nuts?

[Somethingsgotthagive]

First Time Buyers in outer London with a DC. Finally in a position to have a down payment for a mortgage after years of saving and childcare fees almost behind us. We are currently tied to London and both commute frequently for work which means we need to stay put in current area due to easy commute and lots of amenities for DC.
We have a maximum budget of £530K (which would only get you a nice flat or maisonette here) but given the current high interest rates and job market uncertainty, I am now wondering if it’d be more wise to keep the cost lower and aim for a less expensive property, around the £480K mark - this would mean a smaller 2 bed flat, most likely 600 sq feet or so. Are we mad to consider that?

Please refrain from saying things like “I could buy a castle where I live in Wales with that budget”. I am in the London suburbs and have ZERO interest in moving to different parts of the country so need to work with what I have available to me.

Look - I asked you where you had to commute to, so I could see what properties were available in your area, so that I could help you find something.

You can’t really compare flats here to Europe but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a flat. 600sq is very small though so maybe opt for the bigger one.

But as this is the money matters board I don’t think London flats are the best investment

I posted a link of a house, in your price range in London because you didn't want to live in a flat.

I live in a flat I wasn't judging, mine was at least purpose built and has large rooms and has fairly reasonable service charges.

Generally flats in the UK are not built as they are in Europe. Have service charges that can have £1000s added for maintenance works, are hard to sell on. And that's before you get into those that are actually converted houses so little soundproofing, tiny rooms, poor lighting or dodgy cladding or non existent sprinkler systems that are a second Grenfell waiting to happen.

There are flats/apartments in London that cost millions,nobody is looking down on anyone for the type of housing that the live in. Just living in a flat in England isn't a good idea if you have the option to avoid it and go for a house.

@Singleandproud the thing is that we want to stay in our current area and we know for a fact we cannot afford a house here as they start at 600K+ for small 2 beds in less desirable parts of the area

@Houseofdragonsisback I don't think that's correct. Most companies are moving back to at least 3 days in the office and people are returning to London more and more, rents continue to increase as well and demand is high. Maybe we are behind the old days where flats in London would increase in value every couple of months and sky rocketed over the years (crazy, in my opinion) but the demand is still there.
We are also looking for a place to live based on current life needs, not just an investment.

I bought a flat as it meant I could afford a bigger home in a much nicer area than if I insisted on a house. (As per your request I won't tell you how much I paid...rural Scotland!) Families with kids live in my building and seem to get on just fine. It's purpose built so soundproofing is good and it's effectively the Scottish version of a share of freehold situation so we don't have grabby freeholders to deal with.

In general I don't think "what would people think" is a great way to make important decisions about your own life. And frankly anyone making judgements about choosing to live in a flat in London of all places is a bit of a weirdo.

@BellaDelBosco "doing one's own thing is charismatic" I love this sentence, need to remember it more

The sentence doesn't make sense.

It does. I read it to mean something like, have confidence in your own choices, doing the thing that's right for you and being confident in it is an attractive quality that other people will often admire and gravitate towards.

I lived in a flat with my son for many years. I sent him to private school so I prioritised his education over having a garden. I'm also from Europe. It worked for us and my son is doing very well. Living in a flat had not caused him any trauma

@heldinadream exactly!!

@heldinadream , @Somethingsgotthagive you underestimate the meaning of charisma.

That aside, if we knew where @Somethingsgotthagive was flat hunting we'd be better able to help.
I've lived in a flat and didn't like it as it as the noise from the stairs and above us was too bad, especially as it was late at night. I'm now in a house and that is noisy too but seems less disruptive. It's the noise from a family, so it tends to be quiet at night now the DC aren't babies.

@fedupwithbeingcold yes I think we Europeans are used to that and the majority of the families in the world live in flats too, even the wealthiest ones. It's a very British mentality that you need a 3 bed semi with garden at minimum when you have DC and I struggle with that and I fear that my DC will resent us for not offering the societal norm

I am a brit that moved to Europe and took me a long time to get over the 'a house with a garden is the only valid place for an adult with children to live' - so I totally get it OP.

What's the situation now? Are you keep to stop renting? With the market as it is I'd say put your money in a high yield savings and hang on - but I know renting is pretty dire at the moment

Over half the London population live in flats. You'll be fine.

And yes flats are popular in Europe but many countries in Europe have similar flat v house statistics to London.

Tbf, you’ve posted various versions of the same question in AIBU, London, money matters etc. You’ve asked about small houses, short leaseholds, small flats, inner London zones etc. No one is being negative but leasehold flat purchasing post Grenfell is not easy - a number of conveyancers are refusing to work on leasehold flats. Then add in the fact that over the last decade there has been a rise in using leaseholds as cash cows - for which the leaseholder is always on the hook. I don’t think anyone has been doing anything other than point out the pitfalls before you decide. It isn’t because we are somehow more uptight than European nations about flats! You are obviously struggling to make a decision but I’m not sure what you want to hear? Everyone has different priorities over space, location etc and we cannot make that decision for you - only you can.

I loved my flat, only moved when the children became teenagers and outgrew the place.

For your budget, you could buy a house?
Are you able to consider other areas?
Or a smaller house with room to extend.

To be fair, there’s a huge difference between a leasehold flat in a huge block with a greedy freeholder and cladding issues, and a good quality period conversion with share of freehold. I’d avoid the first like the plague but be very happy with the second. Its not living in a flat that’s the issue.

I loved my flat, we were ground floor though with direct access to the communal gardens. 60s build, good sized rooms with in built storage in the bedroom and hall.

My only issue with flats is noise transference from upstairs. MIL is in a modern flat and upstairs have three young kids who seem to like running up and down the hallway whenever they are in, you can hear everything, their washing machine makes the light fitting vibrate.

There’s nothing wrong with buying a flat, but I would look for a freehold and not on an estate or in a big block.

Which area of London are you looking at?

@Gabbsters yes, the type of properties we'd look at are nice period conversion flats, ideally with a garden but I know it isn't highly likely we will get outside space

@ranchdressing yes we want to stop renting and ideally buy something whilst we still have the stamp duty relief for FTBs; we are also in our 40s so the more we wait, the more we might struggle to get a mortage

Nowt wrong with a flat but I grew up in one that was about 550 square foot and it was too small. It’s fine for a one bed but if it’s a 2 bed that will mean a tiny second bedroom and no space for a table.

My current flat is 750 square foot and I would never consider anything less now, the landlords had 3 kids in it!

These are often the worst! Tiny second bedrooms and zero sound insulation because they were originally a house.

They might look pretty but be prepared to hear every fart from your neighbours. A 1930s ex council flat with concrete floors and ceilings might be ok and will have better sized rooms