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Original poster

New built flat or house? Pros and cons?

46 replies

Sandrine1982 · 04/04/2021 13:35

So we're planning to make an offer on a beautiful penthouse flat with a massive private roof terrace. It's in a very nice area in north London close to the tube and the flat is very spacious. However for the amount of money we plan to offer we could get a similar size house in the same area, slightly further away from the tube. Am I being stupid by considering such an expensive new built flat? We have totally fallen in love with it. What are the pros and cons?? Thanks

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Original poster
Sandrine1982 · 04/04/2021 14:47

Anyone?

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ItsSnowJokes · 04/04/2021 14:51

Personally I would go for a house. A flat will most likely be leasehold, you will have ground rent and service charges to pay on top of mortgage.

Also new build properties are normally very overpriced and also poorly built compared to an older property.

I can see why new builds are popular (we are in the middle of renovations and currently have no bathroom!) but they are small, noisy and even worse in a flat.

Pinkdelight3 · 04/04/2021 14:54

Cons for me would be service charges, leasehold, noisy neighbours, stairs/faff of top floor versus easily getting shopping etc into a house. Roof terrace sounds nice but not as nice as a garden on the actual earth. Resale on a house is likely to always be easily. Newbuild always loses value. I could go on. What's the pro of the flat over a house apart from being a bit further from the tube? ime areas close to a tube station are often less nice anyway, with the inevitable takeaways and litter etc.

MinnieMountain · 04/04/2021 16:27

I dread to think what the service charge would be.

Personally, I’m a conveyancing solicitor, I would never buy a flat if I could afford a house for the reasons @Pinkdelight3 has given.

OwlBasket · 04/04/2021 16:30

Yy house all the way

NewHouseNewMe · 04/04/2021 16:35

Would you be willing to say where in North London?
There have been loads of expensive luxurious apartments put up around here and are sold quickly. But they do struggle to get the same price when resold a few years later. There is one block with glorious views where the 3 bed penthouse is a million. You can get a small house for that around here and not have to pay service charges. So in general I would say house every time.
But if it's Hampstead I might change my mind. There is always a market for flats in Hampstead.

fairydustandpixies · 04/04/2021 16:35

House. I used to work for a freeholder, in my interview he asked if I lived in a flat, I said no. He said good because if I took the job I wouldn't be able to sell it quick enough and get out.

Original poster
Sandrine1982 · 04/04/2021 21:23

Thanks everyone. It's a tough one. The service charges (£1600pa) include allocated parking and bike storage which I think isn't too bad. The block is a low rise, the penthouse is on the 5th floor with unobstructed views over a lake. For me the pros are that it doesn't and probably won't need any work done for a long time, whereas houses are harder to maintain. Same argument for energy bills. The thin walls and noisy neighbours... well ... that I'm not sure of. It looks like the block is mainly occupied by young professionals and families who own, and the flat being on top floor has few shared walls. So I don't know. Is it always the case that houses have thicker walls so neighbours are less of a problem?? The noise is definitely a major factor for me so I'm looking into that. Are some developers better than others when it comes to new builds? I could look at reviews too. I'm thinking that in a house the sound of cars passing in the street will also really annoy me, which shouldn't be a problem in the penthouse...

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user1471538283 · 04/04/2021 21:55

Houses do not always have thicker walls. In fact new builds now have stricter regulations on insulation and soundproofing.

But you are dependent on neighbours. I've experienced noisy neighbours and it's made me so so sick.

PresentingPercy · 04/04/2021 22:42

I assume in thePenthouse fiat, Neighbours are below you. That’s a huge advantage. £1600 a year isn’t too bad but what about increases? When you come to sell, families might not be so interested. No garden. But location sounds great. At my age, I would like a house still. With a garden. When I’m 80 - it might be different!

OrcharD14 · 05/04/2021 01:15

If you can afford a house, then that’s by far the best option.Never buy leasehold over freehold.
I bought a modest flat many years ago in zone 6 West London & the management fees were initially reasonable & affordable. The developers left & the fees doubled, when a private company took over! The builder’s 10 year warranty decreases year on year & , when we needed to claim, 7 years on for issues with the roof, it was virtually worthless, so the management company demanded a few grand from leaseholders, in addition to their fee - it was horrendous! It’s far worse now for those poor people who have cladding, whose properties have been rendered worthless.

jessstan2 · 05/04/2021 04:10

If you are youngish and child free, it would be quite amazing to live in a penthouse (as long as you have a head for heights). It's value will increase tremendously too in a desirable area of North London. However make sure you have a good surveyor, there are often snags with new builds and, as has been mentioned, other costs involved with flats.

It does sound great. You can have a house later on.

HotChoc10 · 05/04/2021 04:54

If you've fallen in love with it, I think you would regret going for a house just to be 'sensib'

JackieWeaverFever · 05/04/2021 08:46

You really want the flat so check the terms of the lease and if uou are happy i reckon go for it. It sounds amazing....

In several parts of north London (Hampstead highgate muswell hill camden swiss cottage) there is always high demand for flats

PresentingPercy · 05/04/2021 08:51

Do those areas have lakes?

I see you have a roof terrace so there is outside space. I think it really depends on space. Build quality isn’t always great in older houses but a modern house/flat should be cheap to run and insulated etc. Modern electrics and everything new is a big bonus too.

CucumberandLemonade · 05/04/2021 08:59

The service charge sounds reasonable although like others have said, check which company is managing it and what the percentage increments have been like over the last 5 years. Also, what's the amount in Reserve Funds. Is there a Residents Association with Right To Manage (and can therefore fire managing agent if SC increases in an opaque way)? FWIW its always a tough one with flats vs houses. I think the real bugbear with houses especially in London is that one is often paying close to a million pounds without a garage or driveway and I find on street parking and the element of having to drive around and parking car on street, a couple of streets away where its liable to getting hit and damaged by some truck, quite stressful. So it depends on what kind of house as well. In the end, now that we're moving to a house we managed to find one with allocated secure parking. Comes with service charge as these things go, but low at £500pa mainly for car park maintenance.

Developers I would avoid Taylor Wimpey. Finishings aren't great. Ballymore is better but they are controversial at moment mainly due to cladding and SC issues (have a Google). Good luck!

Original poster
Sandrine1982 · 05/04/2021 12:24

Thanks! I'm going to ask the EA who the developer is and if there's a resident association with RTM.

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Bouncebacker · 05/04/2021 13:06

It totally depends on your life style. I would have jumped at the chance of a penthouse at anytime up to the point where my kids were born - and after they were about 10 - in between - we moved into a house (a new build town house in an urban area - not a larger suburban house we could have bought a few miles away). Key advantages of a house were:
being able to park on the drive and schelp all the beach / school / shopping / camping stuff in and out of the house easily.
A safe secure garden I could turn a toddler out into (not sure I’d have done this on a roof terrace)
Safe communal spaces and other kids to place with on the street

But if I didn’t have kids I’d totally go for the flat and we will probably look at flats when the kids are teenagers.

Obviously check for build quality but I love new build and love flats - Cala have been good in our experience

lalafafa · 05/04/2021 14:03

Is it near Manor House tube? if so I wouldn't fancy walking home at night from there.

ILoveAfternoonTea · 05/04/2021 14:25

I would choose a house over a flat

Flats generally don't have a garden or a driveway, often noise from above/below can be an issue. Leasehold, service charges etc

Houses are generally bigger than flats. We used to rent a top floor one bed and would have never considered starting a family whilst there, tiny and no lift. Had to park streets away at the wkend as shoppers would take on street parking up

Location was brilliant for a young couple but it depends where you are in life

Embracelife · 05/04/2021 14:47

A flat can be more spacious than a house
Depends on layout and size
Check for storage rooms at ground level to house your bicycle?
Sounds amazing
Hendon lakeside (Brent reservoir) development?

Embracelife · 05/04/2021 14:48

Ah you said
allocated parking and bike storage

Perfect!

VictoriaBun · 05/04/2021 14:53

Depends on your situation / stage of life etc.
If you don't plan children or have been there done that , then it sounds a lovely place to live.
Anything else , go for a house.

PresentingPercy · 05/04/2021 15:22

Very many builders have used cladding. It’s not just one or two.

I would therefore look at traditional build, quality of workmanship, size of development, nearby shopping, restaurants etc for a bit of local life and transport links. Views and outside space are also important.

Lots of new builds can have their issues. Often down to poor quality of site agents and their lack of ability to ensure work is of high quality. Accountants often determine overall quality. This can start pretty early with drainage and setting out issues where they seek to control costs. So check out build quality as far as you can.

Original poster
Sandrine1982 · 06/04/2021 09:39

Hmmmm, how would I check building quality? Apart from reading reviews of developer online? I would like to speak to people living in the building but it's gated so apart from camping outside waiting for someone to come in or out, I don't see a way. I might just do that...

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