house buying - should a young person buy a one bedroom flat

[SusanSocks]

or a two bed room flat or even a house

which is the best way to get on the ladder?

I’d stop thinking about ‘getting on the ladder’ because the ‘ladder’ doesn’t really exist any more in the way that it did. In my view it’s still 100% worth buying a place to live but buying anywhere and expecting to flip it and move ‘up’ isn’t that doable any more.

DS is only 21 but I must say I would advise him against a one-bed if he had other options. I wouldn’t say a flat is necessarily a terrible idea if there are limits to areas he wanted to live, but I would always say go for at least a 2 bed and tbh I would lean towards the house option every time.

With stamp duty etc and the cost of moving beibg so expensive I would be advising mine to future proof as much as they possibly can One bed flats can be difficult to shift in many areas so if they can afford a larger property that may still work when they gave a partner and potentially kids then that is what I would recommend they do. I also wouldn't rush these days until they are in a job amd location where they knkw they want to stay a while.

I would always avoid a 1 bed , a 2 bed will leave space for a lodger in tough times ( been there done that ) . A house over a flat , you and only you are responsible for your own maintenance and resulting costs so you have control . If you can stretch to easy parking and a small area of outside private space both will help saleability . Finally balance in as good a location as you can afford .

The one bed houses are normally called cluster homes - they were very 80s/90s so look on that era developments if you can only afford a one bedroom. They are normally four houses clustered together all with parking and a small front garden . There aren’t that many of them about though

Freehold House if you can every time, flats are dogged by being leasehold, annual maintenance charges, un expected building work charges etc.

A flat could fit their lifestyle better than a house.

For people to be helpful, you need to give some more information.

What can this person afford?
How long do they plan to stay in the area?
Do they plan to start a family soon?
What's their appetite for a lodger?
Where in the country are they looking/what's the local market like?

Without knowing the above, no-one can be usefully helpful.

I’ve always lived in a flat because I’ve never been able to afford a house in an area I want to live in. I value a decent area and easy commute to work over square footage and a garden! I’d stretch to a 2bed if you can, they offer more longevity - space for guests, space to wfh, even space to move a partner in and start a family, option to take in a lodger and I think they resale easier too.
but if a 1bed is all they can afford, I’d take that over paying rent.

Flats - how big is the block, is it mixed tenure, share of freehold, who manages it, service charges, lease terms and years, management fees and be prepared as you don't buy the flat but simply the right to occupy the space. / House - buying costs, so buy for tomorrow, not just today, able to let a room, long enough owned to cover moving costs, where you want to be... more than simply buying a home, but being able to manage ongoing costs and some of my thoughts about what to buy, if you have the choice to.

2 beds are easier to resell than a 1 bed, and income from a flatmate is an advantage. But obviously it depends on what they can afford.

it's difficult to be helpful with the information you have given.

If further lending will be required for a larger flat / house is it still comfortable for them?
How secure is their job and will they have any savings?
What is the cost of moving? In the SE / London high SDLT means it's better to stretch yourself if you can to avoid another move.
Does the person want to maintain a house, do they value a garden or will it just be a hassle to maintain?

There is no correct answer to your question - it really depends on a lot of things.

As someone has already said - there is not a better resale market for either of your options, as long as you have bought at the right price.

The question makes no sense. If you can afford a 2 bed house then buy a 2 bed house. But due to property prices being so high in many parts of the country, a lot of young people can only afford to buy a one bed flat, especially in London.

Buying a property you can grow into over years is the ideal. But not always something people can realistically do.

In fairness, it depends on a lot of variables and you haven’t given any information about their situation for people to be able to advise

I am advising my dd to go for at least 2 bedrooms, preferably at least a patio area, at least reserved parking. Freehold desirable but a house may be out of reach, and flats are mostly leasehold (which comes with additional costs). To avoid purchase schemes if at all possible as they sometimes have restrictive clauses (eg shared ownership schemes would sometimes limit her right to take in a lodger if finances needed it).
The reasons for this: to have somewhere that at a push would do for at least 10 years; babies come along at the most unexpected times even to people who swear they won’t be having children (as she does!); we all saw the benefit of private outdoor space during the pandemic; parking issues cause such stress (just look at Mumsnet); if mortgage rates went bonkers, or redundancy beckoned the easiest solution would be to install a lodger of your choice.
she’ll need a deposit of least £30k round here, and I’ve always said I’ll pay her conveyancing. (I also have some put aside to help with deposit but I don’t tell her that just yet, gotta keep her motivated.)
I bought my first place nearly 40 years ago for £52k on a £5k deposit, my mortgage was about £300 a month. I’m glad I remember that so I don’t underestimate how bloody hard it is for this generation of 20-somethings.

I would buy the biggest that they can afford as a) it will allow them to live there longer and b) will potentially be more attractive to future buyers.

Between my DH and I we have had 4 flats, and ALL of them had nightmare management companies. My first flat I bought was lovely, it was a two bed and I lived there alone after uni but the management company was awful. Caused so much stress. My DH had a basement flat in a huge Victorian house, but the top flat had a leak, they all had to pay for a new roof, it was 30k and this was 15 years ago. Some of the bills were crippling and often you didn’t even see the results.

I think if you can afford a house, go for it. I won’t encourage my kids to buy a flat.

Well the easiest way to get on the ladder is to start at the bottom. So a one bed or studio. But if they've got money or want to have lodgers/flatmates then they could go with two or three bed. It depends on what mortgage they can raise presumably?

That's like asking how long a piece of string is. It depends on the budget, location, long term plans, potential for resale, possible rental opportunities, etc etc etc.

I bought a 1-bed share of freehold garden flat as a FTB. I sold it easily a decade later for nearly double what I paid for it. There are too many variables for this to be a straight forward question though.

They should only invest in a flat/property if doing so is financially advantageous. So, if they would be paying 1100 in rent but can afford 1200 on a mortgage, then yes it should be considered. But they need to cost in additional costs - a bed, sofa, cooker/fridge and washer/dryer as the essentials. Can they afford this on top?

re whether flat/house - they need to speak to an estate agent and consider their local market? PPs have been dismissive about flats and leasehold - no need to be as they are ideal first time purchases, or even downsizing ones so there is always a market - in London for example 90% of the properties on the market are flats. Noone would live in London if everyone ruled out flats - I suspect the same is true of many cities. We are in the process of buying a city flat with 997 years leasehold in a new block - perfectly fine but obviously needs different legal checks as part of the conveyancing, especially post Grenfell as they do additional checks on building over 5 floors/11.5m in height now.

A house can come with much more upkeep and maintenance (garden, roof etc all need to be maintained and financed by the single owner - whereas the costs are shared in a leasehold/flat arrangement that has been paid into over several years to ‘save’ for these expenses). A flat, esp a new one, can be perfect for a young person who works long hours and has a social life - and doesn’t want to spend all their weekends cleaning and decorating.

Right now is a buyers market with some good bargains. Interest rates seem to be on a slight downward trend so a mortgage deal now would be pretty fair. So my advice would be to speak to an estate agent, look at what is on the market - look at what has been on for a while and been reduced to get a sense of what is not selling - and monitor it for a few months to see which type of properties seem to get snapped up. Perhaps agree a mortgage in principle now (the offers are usually valid for 6m) just in case your YP spots a bargain. But I reiterate - it’s only something to be entered into if YP can truly afford the additional costs associated with it - I am guessing that sites such as Money Supermarket may have a spreadsheet to do the calculations, so I’d start there?

The most balanced advice is from @CautiousLurker2 which makes a refreshing change from the anti-flat rhetoric from so many others. But the OP gives so little information about circumstances that she’s effectively asking how long a piece of string is.

As a FTB I bought a 1 bed flat. I chose a good size 1 bed over a small 2 bed (so flying in the face of much of the advice here). It was the best decision I ever made. I didn’t make my decisions based on making money or moving up the property ladder, I made them based on what would work best for me, my preferences and my lifestyle. I wanted my own space and to be near to work. As a renter I’ve done some hideous commutes so wanted to avoid that. My career meant my work locations could change but there were 2 prime areas where I was most likely to be based so I bought a flat between the 2. And made sure I had multiple good transport options nearby. Logic said that when it came time to sell, other people would be in a similar position to me (wanting to be near these 2 work areas) so there would be demand. Turns out I haven’t wanted to sell.😛The area has gone through the roof because of the location and I’ve more than made back my (theoretical) money.

Since Covid the London flat market has tanked. They are harder to shift than they used to be and don’t appreciate as fast as houses. (Prior to Covid flats were appreciating faster).

There’s a downside to a service charge which is that it’s unavoidable and bi/annual, you don’t have the choice to defer. With your own house you can choose when and and how much. And there can be windfall charges to cover unforeseen costs.

Also be careful of how many years are left on the lease. Short leases are best avoided and perhaps (indirectly) that’s one reason why there’s thousands of flats languishing on the market at the moment, some for years. More here about the issues with leasehold properties:

https://www.lease-advice.org/article/buying-a-leasehold-flat-10-things-you-should-check/

Agree with others anything freehold. I outgrew my 2 bed really quickly but at the time could have afforded anything else.

Yes, so now is a good time to buy as you are buying when properties are trading fairly close to the bottom of the market and interest rates are expected to lower in the short term. So there are still bargains to be had for a medium to long-term investor. You need to know your market and understand the trends in the postcodes you are looking to buy in - whether that is London or elsewhere.

And if you work in London and are paying rent in London it is still in your interests to consider buying there rather than funding a landlord’s retirement fund. If you can afford to - and if you accept that you MAY only break even vis a vis renting in the short-term. That’s why you do your research.

NB we don’t actually know where the OP’s YP is based, so best not to derail this thread with a debate over the London Property market.

It depends what your turnaround is. If you’re likely to want to sell within a few years to move up the ladder, London flat prices are stagnant, and you may even have to sell for less than you bought. A house would be a better investment. But in inner London that’s a million+ so it’s not likely to be of relevance to OP.