Why do people choose tiny houses over huge flats?

[MovingtoParadise]

I don't understand it at all

The flat next door to me is for sale, it's 1200 square feet. All done out, no work needed. Lovely roof terrace with views over London. 10 foot ceilings. Own entrance.

Tiny cottage round corner is £150k more, back patio smaller than roof terrace. No views, on a busy road. Only 600 square feet.
Only 7 feet ceilings.

Cottage is half the size. Why aren't people interested in square feet

I don't get the issue with service charges - if you have a house you have to pay for a new roof and windows and stiff

Service charge doesn't in my experience cover anything like that though. In my last flat the service charge was £75 A month (thankfully my landlords responsibility) it basically covered the communal area being cleaned and the garden (patch of mud) being maintained. If there were repairs etc every household was billed for their share over & above the monthly fee. They all got hit with a £700 bill for roof repairs a few years ago. So you can effectively be paying the service charge AND for repairs

No one above. It's 2 storey. Yes, a flat below in the basement.

150 year lease, we'll all be long dead. Got massive cupboards for storage, lovely early Victorian staircase.

No service charges.

I would go for the bigger flat. I'd rather have the space and there is also less hassle with outside maintenance with flats. It would depend on the service charge being reasonable.

Neighbours. I never want to share walls again. If that means a small property so be it.

We went for the flat. No leasehold issues as its a peppercorn rent situation with the upstairs flat. We are the freeholder to theirs and they are to us. We have a giant flat, lots of outdoor space etc.

Other friends have houses ans whilst some are bigger (and nicer!!), others are smaller. The main perk with their smaller houses is (1) a drive (2) an attic and or garage for storage.

Rreeeeeeeaaaallly want links though.

In this case there's no attic, drive or garage with the house or flat.

That particular flat sounds brilliant, OP - but the reasons why people aren't looking at flats are still the same. If you're not searching for a flat, for all the reasons stated, then you just won't bother seeing it. Unfortunately all the good things can't fit in a Rightmove listing headline, I guess.

I think houses often feel bigger because they are spread over two floors - even if they are actually smaller.

I would also much rather have a house than a flat whilst I have DCs living at home. We used to live in a first floor flat above a very pernickity man who thought children should never ever make a sound (or use the communal garden). It was a nice flat in a lovely area but never again!

For me, rather a tiny house than a shared entrance, no garden or shared gardens and potential noise from above

It's a peculiarly Anglo Saxon snobbery.

Leasehold by experience means bastard freeholders, hefty monthly charges and being whacked for 000s for non routine repairs. No control over any of this, timing, amounts etc. Plus noise from above/below meaning more money on soundproofing, having to share communal space like gardens.

A house is complete autonomy, its up to you to save for repairs, repainting etc. Noise only from neighbours either side rather than above/below, own garden, extra crannies for storage.

The things that put me off flats:
-leasehold (if buying no renting)

• service charges

-having to try to tiptoe around silently to not annoy neighbours below- and with dc aged from 2 to 11 that just won't happen- and/ or be angered by the noise of neighbours above -less chance of a private yard/ garden -I am very afraid of heights so couldn't handle a balcony or let the dc on a balcony -the cats would hate it and I'm not sure how they'd have access in and out

Things in favour:
-often cheaper to buy or rent than a similarly sized house
-warmth from other flats, maybe lower heating bills
-no stairs

Other people. I don't want the awkward encounters with other human beings in a stairwell. At least when I step outside my front door I'm not confronted by them in a confined space. Silly, I know.

Sounds like a decent flat. I would never buy a flat though for all the reasons mentioned above, so it just wouldn't feature in my search.

It's a peculiarly Anglo Saxon snobbery.
Or possibly because the legal/housing system here makes flats much more problematic to live in.

Dh and the dd's are currently upstairs playing and they sound like elephants! At least when I've had enough 5 minutes I can yell up to them to be quiet.

We are in end terrace 2 bed and I won't move unless it's a semi or completely detached house. Having neighbours both sides, let alone above or below would send me crackers.

I wouldn't want to live in a flat. Mainly because of the leasehold and service charges. But, also because it's harder to get out if there's a fire; and anyone in the block could start one. I don't trust other people enough to live in a communal lbuilding.

No service charge on a flat is even worse than having a service charge. This is because there will be no sinking fund when major things need doing such as roof, redecoration of exterior etc.

Leasehold issues and restrictions in lease regarding floor coverings, pets etc.

I live in a flat and it's fine. It's the South East where flat living is considered normal as no one can afford a whole house. It will enable me to be mortgage free before I'm 40, then the only ongoing cost is £60 per month service charge / ground rent. Long lease so no worries there and I like having no garden. When I'm at work all day or enjoying the world, lack of garden will be the least of my concerns.

I love my garden, I spend hours every day in it with my 2 pre schoolers. Couldn't imagine not having a garden.

The fear of fire. Noise. People coming and going at all hours of the day and night. Noise. Lease. Noise. Service charge. Noise. Inconsiderate people. Noise. Litter in communal areas. Noise. Floors that amplify noise and the noise is why. Windchimes and fucking clacky windmill things. Bikes and buggies in communal areas, other people letting their dog shit on ground you pay towards. Constantly being expected to take in and then deliver everyone's parcels because you are home. Other people watching my comings and goings and thus no privacy of any sort. Being able to hear the neighbours shagging on Sunday mornings and when one lot stop another lot start and having to explain same to DC. Knowing that although you currently like the neighbours, they could leave at any point and you could be plunged into the seventh circle of hell neighbour wise and there's sweet FA you can do about it. Oh and...the noise. I would rather live under a piece of torn cloth than in a flat again.

The mismanagement agency of our old flat were a nightmare, all leaseholders had to pay into a pot for one off external repairs, the company that did it were fairly obviously crap, we told agents before it started.

Work was of poor quality, some not done at all and snagging never finished, management agency's response was to say (2 years later) that they would get another company in to fix it. At our expense.

We also had to live very close to other people.

And despite owning our property we weren't allowed pets.

Plus service charge was raised every year.

And a shared entrance.

So yeah, that's why.

Oh yes, and neighbours. My neighbour is super friendly so I'm lucky there... BUT, she piles junk up outside the flat (for months at a time), walks with mud all over the communal hallway (after I've redecorated in my evenings all by myself and paid for everything). Right after I moved in, she left an old toilet outside our front door, along with other junk for a few months. That, on top of lease charges, inability to extend etc. You don't have issues like that with a house. Saying that, I prefer the look of a lot of flats compared to cramped little houses, but because you don't have control over your own living space, I wouldn't want a flat again if I could help it.