Buying a flat(instead of a house) because I'm probably going to be single forever?

[Dramallamaalpaca]

I can't work out if this is a stupid question or not, but I've gone round it in my head so many times, it's all muddled up!

So I'm early 30s, professional, want to get a mortgage. Healthy deposit, can afford nice house or high end city centre flat.

Also, I probably will be single forever. This is fine. I've accepted it. I also definitely will not be having children.

Now, everything I've read/everyone I've asked says..do not buy a flat if you can afford a house. Ground rent, leasehold, service charge etc etc.

But, I just feel like I have no use for a house. I would absolutely be rattling around in there, occupying a tiny bit of it whilst the rest gathers dust and draws attention to the fact that there is only one person living there.

I love the idea of living in a swanky, city centre apartment. I like apartments. I like the limited space. Inspires me to be minimalistic. It feels cosy. I'd like a little patio instead of a garden. I want tk be right in the centre instead of the suburbs. I like that there is physically less to go wrong when compared to a house.

But, I can afford a nice house.

Are the downsides to buying a flat that bad?

Please help!

I would buy a (small) house. I think you'd still want the space when you get older.

I have every intention of being single forever & I love my flat. It’s exactly the right size for me & I have a mini garden on my balcony.

Buy what you want, not what other people think you should want.

British people are irrationally attached to the idea of the home as a castle. In many countries it’s the norm - and even more desirable - to live in an apartment rather than a house. Millions of people across the UK live in flats, most of them without any issues. In all the years I lived in flats, my annual service charge and any contribution towards any major works averaged out as much the same as I now spend maintaining and repairing the exterior of my house and garden each year and put aside for big eventualities.

Try and avoid anything with cladding, and make sure your conveyancer both explains the lease and management arrangement to you thoroughly and is rigorous in questioning any irregularities and the service charge accounts.

Buy what suits you and your lifestyle. If you do get married in the future, want to start a family
and need somewhere bigger then you just move. But it sounds like a city centre flat is perfect for your lifestyle, so forget about what people say you 'should' be doing and do what will actually make you happy.

I love my house (apart from the neighbours) and would hate living in a flat, or in a city centre, but you have to pick what works for you! Maybe a house is a better investment from the head perspective, but it sounds like the heart perspective is probably more important for you right now. You need to love where you live for it to feel like home.

If an apartment is your style then go for it but you know the pitfalls. Also be aware of cladding issues, rising ground rents and service and maintenance charges. If the freeholder does upgrades you could get lumbered. I once had a maisonette with a 999 year lease which was pretty amazing so no need for any lease renewal for a long time for subsequent buyers. Do your homework on any potential leasehold property you intend to buy and don't rule a freehold out. All the best

I'm single. I intend to stay that way forever. I rented a variety of flats and houses, as I worked all over the country. When I was eventually in a position to buy, I went for a small house. So nice not to have people making lots of noise overhead/beneath/either side. During lockdown, having a garden was a life saver.

I feel like living in close proximity to so many other people would be what would put me off personally. Just something to think about.

Buy what you like best! Yes there are additional charges with flats, but you know that already. You're the one who is going to live there, not the ones who are telling you a house is better. Not everyone wants a garden...

A central flat would be a dream for your lifestyle! Do it!! It's also a very good time to buy flats as their price increases have lagged behind houses for a few years (although that might not be the case for long...). Just be careful what you buy. Well built and maintained period mansion flats are worth looking at (no cladding issues etc.).

Buy what you want and live where you’ll be happy. You don’t need to convince anyone but yourself, who cares what others think? (Although small houses and huge flats both exist so not a zero-sum game 😂)

I think there’s something to be said for a freehold property, but I’d always like the future freedom to be able to decide myself if I want to do Airbnb or rent it out and not have to ask permission/not allowed if I want a pet etc.

If you’re totally fine with potentially having various clauses and lease rules to live under (not hugely arduous usually but some I’ve seen would be too much for me to agree to, such as “no singing or dancing”) and property management considerations such as the meetings and frequency that these may happen and jump in with the as yet unknown characters you’ll be dealing with as fellow leaseholders, then definitely go for it. Good luck!

Do you live in a flat currently? If there is truly nothing about it that annoys you other than the fact you can’t decorate and you’d like to know you can’t be moved on next year then yes, I see where you are coming from.

if I were buying a flat these would be my rules:

no cladding (as above!)
no lift
no underground parking with electric gate etc
no pool / gym
no concierge

all things that hugely bump up the service charge. Regrettably people just don’t treat shared things/areas well at all so I wouldn’t be paying for a ‘garden terrace’ that my neighbours would put cigarette butts in!

If you can find a low rise block with no amenities go for it

What @ComtesseDeSpair said. We are downsizing into a flat and I can't wait.

Last week someone else's cat ripped a pigeon apart in our front garden.

We have spent £4k on a collapsed drain and since I became a minimalist, we have storage space lying empty.

We are ready to live in a much nicer area near a lovely high street of shops and restaurants in a very low crime area.

Bring it on!

If I had your life I would absolutely buy the city centre flat as long as it had some kind of private outside space like a balcony or something.

We bought an apartment that I adored. I loved it to absolute bits. If you know you know but on the other hand when we moved into a house, the action of sitting out in the garden on a nice day blew me away! Also we never were able to sell the flat whereas you can mostly sell a house easier, also you can't have a pet in a flat! You sound like you're ready for an apartment though, just make sure you check it out properly, our management company was a nightmare as was one of our neighbours

I'm a fence sitter: buy a ground floor flat with a garden; bottom floor of a big house. If you can afford to buy the flat upstairs and rent it out you're all set.

I have lived in both, with and without children.

The advantage of flat/apartments is huge in my opinion. You cannot extend, move walls, do a garden, fix the roof, worry about drains and so on. Houses are money pits, thay really are.

I LOVE apartments.

If you need the great outdoors there are plenty of beautiful parks - that you never have to maintain btw!

They are also future proof - usually on one level, with a lift etc.

Yes - you have maintaince in the building but it pales in conparison to a house.

A swanky apartment (with small terrace or balcony) in a great building in the centre of a great town would be my ideal purchase.

I can dream.

I have thought about this also but not until my daughter has left home. Following with interest but overall go with your gut and what you think you will be happiest with.

Absolutely this.

My brother and his wife bought a ground floor flat with a garden in what was then a fairly undesirable area of outer London. They loved living there, and they've sold it for a great price - they are moving to be near both sets of parents, and have had an offer accepted on a beautiful house with 8 acres of land.

FWIW I think people do want flats, but if you're looking to make money, you need a flat that is desirable as a flat, rather than something that's 'oh, we couldn't afford a house so we bought this'.

Thank you soooo much everyone for your replies. I think my heart is definitely set on an apartment and reading this thread is already helping me feel much better about it.

I currently live in an apartment and have done for the last 7 years, and love it!

I think I'm just going to have to tune out everyone else's opinions and forge ahead.

I lived in apartments for 20 years and now live in a house. I don’t really like houses or know how to live in them using all the space. In an apartment, I tend to use all the rooms throughout the day.

go for what you love!

If I was single, childless and petless, I'd buy a swanky flat. I'd want a little outside space, so it would have to be a garden flat or topfloor with roof terrace. Buy what you want!

Buy whatever you like best. It’s your life and your money.

I had a lovely tiny house that I bought when I was 23, it was fabulous. I was very happy there until my mid 30’s. But I loathe apartments, I don’t like noise from people and I like proper outdoor space. Most of my friends bought flats, but I always wanted a house.

I actually still own it, but it’s been rented out for years and years. It’s rented to a lovely single young woman, it’s nice to see it continuing to be lived in by a lone female ☺️

If you do buy a flat, get a very decent lawyer to do a thorough check of the documents. There's a reason all the property lawyers I know. (myself included) waited until they could buy a house, and skipped the buying a flat stage...

Flat.

Less maintenance, more secure, easy to lock up and leave.