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 live in an apartment and I love it. It's a purpose built building and it's huge, can never hear my neighbours. I love not having to worry about what day I put the bins out, I love the secure underground parking, I love that there's a concierge to sign for any deliveries and there's a coffee shop downstairs. I don't ever want to leave!

I don’t see what is wrong with buying a flat as long as you look at the leasehold and potential additional costs (and how they rise) very carefully. Lots of people are very happy in flats and I don’t believe that a house is necessarily better than one. It’s all down to the individual and what suits you.

I'm a single parent, so when my (young now) DC have left home, I will be on my own.

I'm buying a house because it suits my personal circumstances, I'd prefer to have control over the costs of my own, and not be bothered by things like ground rent, service charge, major works etc, not to mention things like lift breaking down and waiting for someone to fix.

A small house may suit you, if you feel you'd be rattling around in it otherwise.

Just check the leasehold really thoroughly. Ours had a ‘sinking fund’, but even with everyone paying in their maintenance fee we were £40k short to complete some necessary works - that’s a very nasty surprise to have to cough up!

Also, consider if you’d want pets

You only get one life live it. You want the apartment and the life it brings, so go for it. Even entertaining the idea about buying a house because you think that’s what others think you should do is bonkers. If in 5 years you have a family and want a house then you can move. You don’t have to be old fashioned and buy one house and stay there forever.

100% this! It’s a bizarre and very English attachment to ‘a house’ rather than a home.
I’d always want some outside space, a balcony or terrace and good advice upthread to avoid cladding and check ground rent and lease terms.
I can’t wait to divest myself of my empty 4 bed semi and live on one level with a view.

Nothing wrong with flats! As for service charges - well they are there to pay for things like roof and common parts and if there are amenities like a gym then may well be worth it! But go in with eyes open. I'd want one that is in a mainly owner occupied building, has a rule against short term lets (like Airbnb) and is in an area that has shops and things - not one that just looks out on to a busy roundabout with floor to ceiling windows!

Flats with private roof terraces are fabulous.

The best flat I lived in was top floor (about 18th - amazing views), had a balcony, and a supermarket downstairs on the other side. I don't even like cooking that much but coming home and just picking up your food then hopping in the lift was utterly brilliant. I miss that place.

I have kids so would love for them to have a garden..but I hate gardening. It takes so much time and effort to have a beautiful garden. I'd love a veg patch too, but it takes time and energy to do that too..and a supermarket downstairs is far handier! 😂

I currently live in a largish house with my family. When the kids have flown the nest, DH and I plan to live in a flat we've just bought in the Center of a city. I've loved the chaos and clutter in the sticks years, and I'm really looking forward to the central, city, minimalist, high ceilinged years too. It's your life, live where gives you joy.

@noborisno the thing about flats is that they are usually in urban areas where you generally have lower transport costs and where the extra mortgage for a house would be above and beyond whatever service charges there are i.e. an extra £1k per month. Hence why the OP is a flat in the city centre or a house in the suburbs. Not a flat in the city centre or a house in the city centre.

For me personally, it was £150 per month for service charges plus tube fares or £800 per month to commute from a town outside London (me and DH combined) and where the 'house' would be a 2 bed terrace with the same floor area as a 2 bed flat. I know which one is cheaper.... And in london, you can do without a car

I’d never live in a flat again. Noise from every angle was hellish & felt so claustrophobic. Also, some, flats had an external issue that we all had to contribute to the cost of fixing, even though it wasn’t affecting all our flats.

If I was living on my own, for some reason, I'd feel safer in a flat.