Upper flat with shared garden for a family?

[brokenkettle]

We are looking to move to somewhere a bit bigger. Currently in 2 bed ground-floor flat (with garden), family of 3 (child in primary school). Ideally we'd like a 3 bed house but we live in a very expensive, competitive area as far as family homes are concerned.

Saw a spacious, first-floor Victorian sandstone flat with a shared garden which is about a 30-second walk from the beach, which maybe makes up for the shared garden? It's only 2 bed but could probably extend into loft. Very inexpensive for the size as well.

Would you consider this with a young child? The lack of private garden is concerning us but the downstairs neighbours (the only others who'd share the garden) have a little fenced-off private deck area through their back door so I'd suppose they'd sit out there most of the time rather than in communal area.

We're also in Scotland so wouldn't need to worry about leasehold.

Just curious for your views!!

We did it when our eldest was 18 months-3 years old.

Wouldn't do it again. Don't suppose anything regarding what the downstairs neighbours will do.

They might sit out in the shared bit every single day...they might get pissed and have BBQs for all you know.

I wouldn't do it. We shared a garden and every time we went out, the older woman from downstairs would come out....and talk to us about one of the other neighbours...and then HE'D come out and tell us all off for being "loud"

Shared anything is a no. Driveway, garden, whatever. Just no

I have a couple of friends who lived in upper flats with kids and they have all had problems with the downstairs neighbours complaining constantly about noise- and these were not noisy kids. It really affected their lives. I would therefore think very carefully about this, as in period houses (even those which are purpose built) do not have good sound insulation. I would much rather be in a ground floor flat which is a bit smaller than worrying about noise all day.

No.

1. shared garden with children could be an issue, in fact, could cause the issues.
2. Don’t count on extending into the loft. In addition to planning permission, the ground floor flat would likely have to give permission and could withhold it on fairly spurious grounds.
3. You want a three bed house. A two bed flat (even with a possible extension) doesn’t meet your needs.

Thanks all - all valid points. I feel like we are getting desperate as everything else is so expensive and in demand . Don't want to move area as this is where grandparents are and we feel settled. Argh! Just argh.

are you likely to have another child? If not, i'd suggest you stay put until DC is bigger and then move. I really dont think secondary school kids make such noise and often dont care much about a garden..but with a primary age one -being able to run around in their own home without being told off plus own garden trumps space.

Are you likely to have another child? I think this would inform the decision.
Going from a ground floor to a first floor flat can be a bit problematic with little ones, even if they are not noisy, it tends to cause trouble with downstairs. If it is very inexpensive for the size, alarm bells would ring. Being so close to the beach is amazing.
Do you love your current house and is it just that it is a bit too small? Could you really pour the love into it, do a big decluttering session, fix any niggles? It is just that it sounds you love your area and lifestyle so maybe you don't need to move or you won't feel the benefit in moving.

No, no more kids for us!

Yes, the noise of a very boisterous child impacting on downstairs neighbours is also a concern!

Our current flat is ok - bright with large bedrooms but cramped kitchen and lounge. Also starting to feel more restless as I'm tired of putting up with new upstairs tenants every couple of years, two of whom have enjoyed using our garden as a bin.

Focusing on making our flat as nice as possible is a good idea, thank you. Need to be grateful for what we have but it's so easy to get trapped in negativity sometimes

Oh, another reason for wanting to move is that partner and I will most likely be working from home long term, so we like the idea of having a spare room/office, even if it's a bit of a luxury

It sounds like the wheels are spinning.
It's great that you're open to looking at different types of property but the upper floor apartment does not sound like the right place for you. If it's a lovely flat within a beautiful house it's easy to get carried away but you need to be practical about what you need. As someone said above, having some outside space with a small child is very valuable (and even more so now in the pandemic). Shared gardens are problematic - there's often one party who consider it 'theirs' and you can't relax in the same way as you might if it was your own. You could hit lucky with your neighbours but that's no guarantee.
If you have been looking extensively and can't find what you want in your area then perhaps you're not being realistic. I too would consider making where you are as lovely as possible (it sounds great). Could you swap one of the bedrooms to make it a living room?
Alternatively test yourselves and go and view some places outside your preferred area. Check places out, ask for recommendations from friends and family. There may be some perfectly pleasant little pockets which are more reasonably priced that aren't too far away from where you are now.
If you saw some properties with real potential that tick more on your wishlist, it might make the idea of compromising on location a little more palatable. Look for 2 beds that give you an option to build into the attic or put in a home office at the bottom of a garden or maybe just have a better ground floor layout. Good luck