Things to look for with buying a flat?

[FluffyDucky]

Hi all, we are looking to buy our first place, with our budget and area it would be a flat. We have rented for a number of years, so I know to have a look for signs of mould and cracks.
I will need to ask about the property maintenance and fees, and I read on another post someone said to check water pressure.

Is there anything else to look for with a flat? Any advice?

Storage! Where will you keep the Christmas decorations and empty suitcases. It makes a really big difference having some decent storage, especially if you have direct access to a loft area, or indeed some form of secured area in a cellar or whatever.

You want to find out how the freehold is held and who by. Some will be 'share of freehold' which means all the flat owners jointly own the building. Others will have a management company. The former is more common in divided houses, the latter in bigger blocks. But that isn't set in stone. Both have pros and cons.

Any odd restrictive covenants on the flats. History of maintenance - e.g. an old set of flats with not much work ever done on gutters and roofs might mean an expensive bill in the not too distant future.

Responsbility for and access to outside areas.

Find out the cost of the management company if there is one. Speak to them directly if need be rather than get misleading info from estate agents.

Check out parking (if needed) and area re safety, amenities, transport etc. If possible, would recommend exploring the area at night, as late as possible, and possibly even at 3am on a Sat/Sun to see if there's a lot of noisy people staggering home from the pub! Call local police station to see if they are able to give out any info on area safety.

If you're buying large furniture, check if your postcode is accepted for delivery. Currys won't deliver to a friend's flat cos their van once got attacked whilst making a delivery (few small things nicked, not like a baseball bat attack!), even though it's not a bad area. Their loss of business, but worth checking that at least one company will deliver your fridge! Unless you have a van and strong people to carry things

Most importantly, check out neighbours. Especially at night, if you can, re music/parties/elephants playing basketball. This goes for both above/below, and side neighbours. If poss, pop up/down to see neighbours before buying - bit nosy, but say if you work office hours, having student neighbours who party til 3am during the week can be a nightmare... Equally a lovely old person who watches TV all night at top volume because they're deaf and insomniac... or someone who works offshore but parties solidly for the two weeks they're at home... Also check the door security works, buzzers, CCTV etc.

Also worth knowing if neighbouring flats are owned or rented re potentially constantly changing neighbours, empty flats (which seem prone to springing leaks!), dodgy landlords...

Pros and cons of the floor you're on.

Ground floor - pros are that your dcs won't annoy the neighbours running around and no stairs to climb. Cons - someone living above you, possibly colder and more expensive to heat.

Middle floors - pros, you benefit from everyone else's heat. Cons, you're in a sandwich neighbour wise which can drive you nuts if sound insulation isn't very good.

Top floor - pros, no noisy neighbours above. Fewer people walking past your front door to get to theirs so probably quieter, heat rises. Cons, when the roof leaks you know it.

When you're thinking about buying a flat it's definitely worth visiting at different times of day if you can so that you can gauge the amount of noise in the building. The state that communal areas are kept in can be a good clue to the people you'll be sharing with. Lots of rubbish in the back areas/doors in poor repair (eg kicked in or left unlocked), grafitti - all bad signs.

Personally I'd avoid buildings with a lift as apparently they = huge management fees.

Oh, and noise-wise, purpose built flats seem to be much better for sound insulation than any sort of conversion.

We're now on the second floor of a modern block and there's far less neighbour noise (almost none at all, even at NY when upstairs were having a party) than in our old flat which was a 100+ yr old tenement building, but one of our shared walls had been constructed about 30 years previously when the layout of the flat had changed. Luckily we had good neighbours, but you could hear people talking next door on that side compared to complete silence from the other which was the original wall.

Top floor = more stairs, but also potential access to roof space storage (our old flats top floor flats had private areas of loft, but all the other flats shared one communal area accessible from the hall).

Am I a bit obsessed with storage?

What others have said - particularly storage and the management company. Check out parking, too, even if that's not relevant now.

Make sure that you can open Every. Single. Bloody. Window. And that eg extractor fans are working properly - harder to get fixed in a flat sometimes.

Also make sure you go over everything on the lease with a fine tooth comb, especially if your flat has been renovated recently. Our solicitor (and we, to be fair) didn't pick up the change in floor plan between the plans in the lease and the actual floorplan, or the fact that wooden floors were banned under the conditions of the lease, but the flat was renovated with wood laminate flooring. It took ages and cost quite a bit to get the lease amended retrospectively when we came to sell and our buyers' solicitors were more on the ball!

You have to be obsessed with storage if you're buying a flat. Where will you put a bike? Pram?

My favourite bit of our new flat is the two huge hall cupboards and the odd little vestibule when you come in our front door which is perfect for keeping a scooter and folded up buggy.

If its in Scotland make sure the building has a factor who amongst other things is responsible for ensuring repairs are carried out on the building, don't go near if there isn't.

If its top floor check how easy it is to access the loft as burglars have been known to break into top floors through the ceiling. Also is it security entry.

Who owns the frehold and how long is left on the lease.

As others have said, check sound insulation - walls and floors/ceilings.

If in a block of flats, check management company fees and service charges - how much and how often charged.

Find out how repairs to building and common areas are handled and charged. Is there a 'sinking fund' or can you expect to be assessed for major repairs? Any well managed block should have a significant fund (added to every year) that is drawn upon when major repairs/redecoration are necessary. Ask to see the last years' accounts for the block.

If you are considering buying a flat in a house, again, I'd check on how repairs/redecorating are decided and paid for. I've heard terrible stories of one delinquent/obstinate flat owner who refuses to contribute toward upkeep and repairs.

Also find out what major repairs are 'on the horizon' for the next few years - new roof, new lift, new garage doors, redecoration of common parts, etc.

I'd also look into the 'rules and regulations' that govern the flat owners - i.e., what if someone decides to hang washing out of the window, or repeatedly plays loud music late at night, or has a dog that never stops barking, or leaves bicycles/prams/etc in the hallways, or doesn't pay their share of the service charge, etc. Is there any recourse?

These are fab and have certainly given us more to think about! Thank you

Fluffy Duck, you've already had some good advice and probably need to start making a list.

From experience of both a new build flat on the third floor and a Victorian conversion on the upper ground, then the conversion is much quieter, but it certainly has some quirks from when the original work was done. A fairly new build might still have a building guarantee or the balance of one, for major faults - although these can be hard to enforce if I'm honest.

One crucial thing is to make sure you or your solicitor gets actual copies of management charges and accounts whether from a professional management company, or in the case of a shared freehold, either the management company or the owners' association.
Don't take anyone's word for anything, see it for yourself Particularly important is the Service and Maintenance Charge, that all parties pay on time and accounts are up to date and that there is a decent sized 'sinking fund' for major repairs - and that there are no particular disputes going on.
We've learned from bitter experience that estate agents and vendors will gloss over things and mislead you in that regard.
Ongoing costs, parking disputes and actual ownership of the garden space being just three examples of problem areas.

Absolutely don't be shy in questioning every little detail and obtaining replies via solicitors and in writing. After the event you'll have to live with (and pay for) anything that you didn't get absolutely clear before the completion of your purchase.

That's not meant to sound too daunting, just don't be fobbed off.

The Leasehold Advisory Service website is good, they have a very good downloadable guide to how living in a leasehold flat works.

Another point on the management company/factor fees question - ask neighbours what their experiences are re repair times/costs/what's covered by buildings insurance etc. Ours (Glasgow, Spiers Gumley) were appalling on every level and had huge excesses on insurance, so even if something was covered, we still had to pay hundreds on the excess. And extortionate re management fees on top of all the other charges, which were vastly inflated by market standards.

When we lived in a flat, you needed a large majority (can't remember how much) of owners to be able to sack the factor. As most of our neighbours were renters, this was impossible to get so we were stuck with expensive and poor service. One significant reason for us moving.

Another thing to check is the clauses re bad debt, which is especially relevant where lots of flats are rented and the landlords don't bother paying factor fees/repair bills. A friend who has a different factor recently found out that she is liable for a share of the bad debt through the contract with the management company. This meant that the people who had paid their correct share of the original bills were then severally liable for the unpaid amount by other owners (which was in the £1000s even split several ways). They are still appealing against this as it's horrendously unfair but she's not holding out much hope as it all seems in order legally. So make sure you get to see any contracts before you buy!