Living above a costcutters what's it like?

[NickettyNacketty]

never considered a flat above a shop before but a really nice one has appeared for sale and the vacant shop premises below is going to be a costcutters.
So anyone had experience they can share or of living above a shop generally.

I lived above a shop for about 6 years. It was fine, but noisy when the steel shutters were raised at about 5am every morning. BUT, when we put it up for sale (15 years ago) we had real problems. At that time, some mortgage companies weren't prepared to lend money for a property above a commercial property. It may be different now, but it's worth checking whether you could get a mortgage on it before you set your heart on it.

On the upside, you could cut a hole in the floor and fish for goodies from the comfort of your living room!!

We rented above shops for a time.It was very noisy in the evenings.Also bear in mind the inevitable steps up to the property which are a challenge when moving.

I plan to lower the smaller children down from the window to get supplies.

Faintly positive then? With a dash of negative.

It's also worth considering what happens if the landlord decides to apply for a change of use and it becomes a restaurant or an amusement arcade or something less appealing. (I was going to say a fish and chip shop, but if it is a Costcutter, it's probably too big!), where do deliveries arrive, will they disturb you. If they open very late and sell alcohol are you going to have to wade through lots of drunk teens if you come home late etc. Is it a busy road - what about parking.

Buying over a shop can be a great way to buy in a better location than you could otherwise afford but flats above shops can be much harder to sell.

Still undecided but veering slightly toward saying no.
The attractions are: two bathrooms! Newly refurbished so all modern clean and new kitchen and bathrooms. Very light. Slightly bigger rooms compared to where we are now. Boarded loft space. Open aspect at the back. Trees at the front on the street.

I think lots of research would be required for this decision.

how much cheaper is it, than a first floor flat that is not above a shop?

yes, you will be woken up by deliveries, some of them in the middle of the night (fruit, veg, newspapers, if they sell them) and it might turn into some other kind of shop or restaurant later.

If it is in a street with, or near, pubs and wine bars, you will get cheerful people late at night, chatting and arguing, some of them will jokingly kick over bins and bollards, and laughingly break windows or scratch cars.

BTW parking might be very difficult, and if there is a back alley it will sometimes be blocked by vans.

It is around 30-40 thousand cheaper than a flat in a block with say communal gardens and allocated parking.
Any cheaper flats tend to be in scruffy streets with a lot of rentals or don't have two bathrooms, any outside space or as big rooms.

sounds like you want it!

bear in mind when you come to sell, the buyer will go through the same questions.

Maybe have a look at the prices other similar flats-above-shops went for recently, to verify that the discount is about right.

I am going through another negative phase atm. Plan to go and view more properties next week to give me some perspective.

I've twice rented above commercial premises and went to view one for sale above a carpet shop this weekend. Yes, they are more affordable for sure and often much roomier, you've no-one above you, nominal or no maintenance.

I decided that renting one is a good option buy buying one is not for me, for many of the reasons already said - deliveries, parking, rear accessways which can end up like rubbish tips, hard to resell however well you do it up etc, higher insurance coz of greater risk of fire, burglary etc. Also I decided that I'd prefer to pay some maintenance charges in a block of flats rather than pay none and then have the hassle of trying to sort out the problem.

Hope you find what's right for you.