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Original poster

Buying the flat next door

13 replies

Plump82 · 19/01/2022 16:21

Our next door neighbour we think (from earwigging behind my front door and listening to his conversations !) is selling his flat.
We have always said we'd buy it if it ever did go for sale and knock ours and his into one.
The flat is in a pretty terrible state. He's not living there just now so I don't think it would go for anywhere near as much as we paid for ours.

Does anyone have any experience of this. Was it a nightmare?

Obviously we don't even know if it's definitely happening but it's nice to dream!

OP posts:
PurplePikachu · 19/01/2022 16:47

We did this years ago.

Things to bear in mind

  • you’ll need permission from the freeholder, and they will charge a fee. They don’t have to consent to this at all and will charge a fee even to consider it.
  • you’ll need planning permission - some councils are happier than others, in places with a housing shortage they won’t let you effectively merge two homes into one as you’re reducing available housing.
  • your eventual home will be a bit weird with plumbing/electrics etc set up for two kitchens. The two flats we bought were in a bad state so we were ripping it all out to start again anyway.
  • you’ll pay more service charge to the freeholder in future (and this may need to be documented by a variation of the lease, which is a whole big hassle as well).

It did work for us but was much much more work than just buying one bigger place to begin with.

mimos4 · 19/01/2022 16:57

I can't really picture the set-up - are you in a Victorian conversion, and looking to buy your upstairs or downstairs neighbour's house?

The OP may have a share of the freehold, which would make things simpler.

You might find this article useful www.themodernhouse.com/journal/open-house-mairead-fanning-navarino-road/

Original poster
Plump82 · 19/01/2022 17:24

I should have mentioned we're in Scotland so i dont know if that changes things.

Luckily my husband is an electrician so he would be able to deal with all that!

@mimos4 it's a converted Georgian house we're in. Our flat and our neighbour are on the 1st floor. There's only the 2 flats on this floor
@PurplePikachu did you get planning permission after you purchased the 2nd property. Im just curious to know what would happen if planning permission was denied.

Buying the flat next door
OP posts:
mimos4 · 19/01/2022 17:30

It sounds like an amazing plan, I wish you the best. I'm still a bit confused - will there be two separate ground floor flats below your new mega flat? Would it not make sense to try to buy the flat beneath you (if it comes up for sale)? Maybe I'm not imagining the space correctly!

Original poster
Plump82 · 19/01/2022 18:00

No, you're imagining correctly. Theres just the one below me. It's an odd shaped building situated on the corner of 2 steers. I don't know what the chances of it ever coming up for sale would be. The one next to us we could afford along with all the added costs for doing it up etc. We'd need to add a stair case between ours and the bottom one as well.
I really need to stop day dreaming about it as might not even be a reality!

OP posts:
PurplePikachu · 19/01/2022 18:05

Yeah we bought it then applied for all the permissions, it would have gone before we got them otherwise! But we knew that if we didn’t get the permissions we could do it up and rent it out, so it wouldn’t have been a disaster. This was in an area where flats generally rented out very well anyway.

Kshhuxnxk · 19/01/2022 18:09

I would do it. Worst case you don't get pp I would just knock a doorway through anyway. You can sell as two seperate flats at a later date.

user2908143823142536475859708 · 19/01/2022 18:13

My friend did this but it was next door through the wall. She ended up with 2 boilers, 2 kitchens etc but that was all easily rectified. She did say it was stressful though.

It did all work out and her house is beautiful and perfect for her family.

She will sell easily if they ever decide to sell it.

Mosaic123 · 19/01/2022 18:31

I know someone that did this but then found it hard to sell eventually as the flat was very expensive for the area. About one million in an area where most expensive flats are 700k. It looked amazing though!

Original poster
Plump82 · 19/01/2022 18:40

@Mosaic123

I know someone that did this but then found it hard to sell eventually as the flat was very expensive for the area. About one million in an area where most expensive flats are 700k. It looked amazing though!
In my street alone there's flats the range from around 90k right up to 700k. It's a huge street and the the flats that are cheaper are converted townhouse and the more expensive ones are the ones that aren't converted. We love this area and flat and it would just mean we could stay here a lot longer. Neighbours flat is much smaller than ours so we'd probably get rid of the kitchen, new bathroom and then 2 big bedrooms/office/dressing room/studio.
OP posts:
Mosaic123 · 19/01/2022 18:55

Sounds like it would work then! With careful planning you could probably live in the old one while you convert the new one then, possibly, move into that one while old one is redone. Depending where things are. Or at least only move out for a shortish while.

rifling · 19/01/2022 19:02

Go for it but move quickly! We wanted to do this but by the time we found out our neighbour was moving, he'd already sold it.

Allsorts1 · 19/01/2022 20:47

Yes perhaps a good idea to speak to neighbour and make an offer ASAP!

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