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Original poster

I have fallen in love with a house but...

65 replies

WestCountryLass · 06/10/2007 22:32

...it is a flat and it hasn't got a garden. DH is undecided, he really likes the property though. What to do, what to do????

We could never afford a property of the scale that the flat is if it were a detached house or even a semi....It is my perfect living space with three bedrooms on a seperate floor so the kids could have theor own space....it is huge....it has loads of character, two ensuites, loads of living area....but no garden. It is opposite a small beach with a promenade that leads to a park with a park round another corner though.

I LOVE it but DH says where will we have a BBQ (we have only ever had 2 BBQs in 10 years!!!!),

Arrggghhhhhhhh!

OP posts:
Original poster
WestCountryLass · 06/10/2007 23:06

Kids are 6, 3 and 6 months.

OP posts:
Screaminglips · 07/10/2007 09:13

thats a gorgeous flat that is.....very well kept....but its a no for me!. You must get a garden!...

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 09:16

Schools?
I could potentially live without a garden (although we don't have one atm and it is v v irritating) if schools were great

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 09:17

Oh just saw you've linked, will have a look at it!

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 09:20

It looks fab
is it freehold or share of?
who's in the other floor? Is there one?
Is being on the front going to piss you off in the summer season? Appreciate it's not MAJOR tourist attraction but...

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 09:23

Could you lose a bedroom and have a garden if you bought another place?
Is it absolutely the flat of your dreams?
I think the market is v volatile atm and likely to go down
Ikwym about 5 beds though, we saw somewhere we wanted with 5 beds a while ago and although we didn't buy it I now really want that extra 2 rooms

If you do go for it make a silly offer, really. We offered asking less 15% recently and they said no but 2 motnhs later asked if our offer was still on. Market's cooling rapidly imo.

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 09:25

same road but has a garden only 4 beds tho

scarybee · 07/10/2007 09:28

If the communal garden's just across the road, I don't think it's that much of a problem. I like gardening so not for me but if you're not keen, it's quite nice having someone else do the maintenance

PeachesMcScream · 07/10/2007 09:31

Well that one looks gorgeous too (apart from tiles in kitchen but hasn't it got steps up to the front door? (I'm guessing WCL will have to deal with a pushchair for a couple more years yet) and it's only glimpses towards the sea? Ooh, show me some more!! I love virtual house hunting.

Screaminglips · 07/10/2007 09:32

yes it is a fab house that one. The kitchen reminded me of a bumble bee!!

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 09:32

link{http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-17036597.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy\here}
This is 5 bed doer upper in REDLAND! With a garden and I know it says in excess of £400k but they may end up taking less that than. So I think your flat is overpriced actually, given what I think of the market atm.

I think a lot of places on at £400k will go at £300k or thereabouts and so on.

I know it's Weston but hey 7 beds!

terrace but 5 beds in LA, good schools

but appreciate you may have decided on Clevedon!

I guess I think for that money you really shouldn't have to compromise and you want a garden so you could maybe wait until the house with a garden comes up, and it will.

It's a funny business buying a house isn't it? We saw a wow house of our dreams and I thought I had to have it but 2 months on and I'm not sorry we didn't go for it (it had been flooded)

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 09:36

first link again

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 09:38

propertysnake nothing in Clevedon on there but 40% drop in Reading

ScaryScaryNight · 07/10/2007 09:38

A beach across the road?

Tell me again why you need a garden??

You will not live in your garden in the winter, when it rains, etc.... NO gardening, no watering of plants, weeding, mowing the lawn.... raking up fallen leaves.
Yet you have outdoor space on your doorstep,

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 09:40

And at 6, 3 and six months you're a way away from saying to them 'yes, go to the beach on your own'

I'd hold out for a garden

pinkbubble · 07/10/2007 10:28

Have you ever lived in a flat?

How many flats are in the same bulding as yours?

Is there a communal frontdoor near any of your windows?

What is the rent and maintenance on the property? ( we got stung on this year after year, we were told that rent and maintenance together would be £250 a yr - Ha ha, more like £1250, and that was a good year!)

Is the building managed by a property company or is it shared by the occupants(ours was a property company so was very efficient but was very expensive!)

We lived in a flat fo 6 yrs, we chose it because we of space, location etc. After we had been in 6 mths I missed the garden, the outside drying of my clothes, I hated the fact that people were above us, we could hear them opening and closing doors, playing music. I would have to say I would never buy a flat again, so please think carefully!

chonky · 07/10/2007 10:32

WCL - I could be swayed knowing how fabulous Clevedon is! DH and I visited there recently for the first time and were really taken with it, I work in Bristol so we started umming and aaarghing whether it would be do-able for us to live there

Flat looks great. I think with the parks and seafront you don't really need a garden, but then that's coming from someone who doesn't garden and who doesn't ever use their garden - we go to the park instead!

portonovo · 07/10/2007 14:17

I wouldn't do it I'm afraid. The inside space sounds super, but the garden would be the deal-breaker, no two ways about it. Having the beach and park nearby are great, but no substitute for a garden. My kids haven't outgrown a garden, and they're 14, 12 and 10! Their friends always love coming round to our house because of the garden, and we all use it so much all year round. And just the privacy of having your own outside space away from everyone else...
And where would you dry your clothes?!

Perhaps we're not the most representative people to ask though - we have a 150 ft garden, an allotment and my husband is still fretting because he needs more space!

Original poster
WestCountryLass · 07/10/2007 14:45

Yes, I would need to look into the maintainance/legalities of it properly first.

There is no front door near the flat windows as the other front door is accessed through the front garden and that door is to the side of the building (above the door you can see in the picture). Because it is a victorian property I wouldn't worry about hearing my neighbours anymore than I can now.

We live on the other side of Portishead at the moment and DS goes to school in Portishead, we wouldn't change his school as we are pleased with the school he is at and actually changed his school at Easter because the local one is pants.

Do you think anyone would mind if I hung my smalls out on the promenade ballustrade (sp?) to dry?

OP posts:
Original poster
WestCountryLass · 07/10/2007 14:56

And WWW, I agree, we think it is over priced considering there are other flats in similar properties on for about £275 in the area. I know it is bloody cheeky but we were considering offering £249,999 for it because of the price of other properties and because of the damp treatment/tanking needing to be done and also bearing in mind stamp duty

I should find out how much they bought it for...

OP posts:
WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 15:05

You CAN find out how much they bought it for, hang on, will find a link for you.

There were some wow houses in Portishead when I searched on primelocation and rightmove earlier! I think a cheeky offer is absolutely the right thing to do and I don't think £249k is that cheeky, ooh, reduced stamp duty too if you get it for anywhere near that.

WideWebWitch · 07/10/2007 15:08

nethouseprices

berolina · 07/10/2007 15:15

We live in a very nice (typical Berlin turn-of-the-last-century) but gardenless flat. I love the flat but hate, hate, hate having no garden. We have wonderful botanic gardens relatively close by but it's still a half-hour trip on foot/by bus and it got very tiring over the summer, heavily pg, taking ds1 there most days. We vry likely won't be moving for a couple of years at least but when we do a garden will be right up there on the priority list.

The beach would (for me) go some way to compensate, though.

SpookyDooooo · 07/10/2007 15:16

Hmm this is a hard one.

I live in a flat now for the 1st time & i HATE it, but it may just be the flat i am in.

I suppose if you have the beach across the road that is a good thing, but this summer i did miss opening the back doors & leaving them open for the kids to wonder in & out as the pleased, Your kids are young so you will have to take them out at all times.

I will NOT be in this flat next summer, my kids are going to have a garden, you don't know how important a garden is until it has gone, i miss hanging my washing out too in the fresh air!

Original poster
WestCountryLass · 07/10/2007 15:22

Any more questions I can ask?

Hello

My husband and I viewed this property a few weeks ago. Please could you get in touch and let us know:

  1. Details of maintainance/legalities/cost etc. Is it maintained by a company or by the owners?
  2. How many flats are there in the building?
  3. Confirmation whether we would be able to keep rabbit in the garden.
  4. How long the current owners have lived there and why are they moving.
  5. How much in the council tax?

Could you also let me know what number Victoria Road it is?

With thanks

Mrs Westcountrylass

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