What is wrong with this flat?

[Danni677]

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/93970370

This ticks all my boxes. It is a reasonable price for the area but has been on since Jan. just wondered if I’m missing something?

It’s a fairly busy road but that’s ok.

Thinking of booking a viewing but don’t want to waste people’s time if there’s something obvious I have missed.

Thank you, everyone. There have been some really helpful and specific posts on here and I’m very grateful- especially the point about Airbnb.

The layout would actually work well for us in our specific circs so that’s ok (obviously relevant for resale though). I’ll have a chat with the agent.

sorry about the NC fail- nothing sinister, I just change a lot as I’m a bit paranoid about outing myself.

@Danni677 this one is well kept but smaller rooms and not so central. I think go see the flat, see what you think. If fear of wasting time is putting you off, then you’re not wasting time because you’re clearly keen.
check for upcoming maintenance/all costs etc and if you go for it, full survey!

I’m not the seller 😂

Breaking news, some people have more money than you, don't be so bitter. It's a lovely flat OP, very bright and airy. Sadly I couldn't afford it but if you can and you like it, go for it

I used to live on the street. It’s really not too busy. And the communal garden is amazing. I agree that it should be a 2 bed rather than 3 bed.

Imagine it during the next two days. Or in winter. It's basically all in the roof and I expect very hot or cold depending. I have a loft bedroom, and I wouldn't want it to be my only option for a living area.

Not remotely helpful but I live in south Yorkshire and recently was fantasizing about what house I'd buy if I won the lottery and how much I'd need to win to afford an indoor pool. For about 900k here you can get a massive house with a pool. Even though I know the price difference for property between the north and south is massive it still always blows me away. Anyway, back to saving for my pool....

I think it looks nice but personally I wouldn’t want to live there (being northern I nearly had a heart attack at the price but I’m going to ignore that bit!).

If you have children would you be comfortable being on a different floor to them? Both the bedrooms having access to a high balcony would also put my off if I had kids I’d always be worried of them getting out and falling off.

The living room/ kitchen area is very small- the furniture they have used is tiny and your sofas would smell like dinner. When the washing machine or dishwasher is on it’ll ruin your movie.

Storage would be an issue for me- I have a lot of crap but where would all your clothes go? I’d end up needing one of the bedrooms as a storage room.

Actually just read comments about the heat. Ours on that same street was second floor and boiling in summer, so I would definitely bear that in mind.
Also I don’t know why people keep saying they would buy a house and move further out. OP obviously doesn’t want that. It’s a gorgeous area and very centrally placed. Walking distance to Regent’s Park, Paddington Rec is great, very close to central London. We left the area but only moved slightly further out in zone 2 in order to get 3 bedrooms and our own garden. But we still live in a flat. Location was more important than space to us. Obviously OP is the same.

The living area is tiny (for a 3 bed place) - look how close to the sofa/kitchen units the table is, it's so crammed in. And one small 2 seater sofa and an armchair in the living space. Fine for someone living on their own, but beyond that...

I think it looks lovely

It's absolutely at the top end of the price bracket for three beds in that area, but has a tiny living area combined with the kitchen which gives it a bedsit feel. Other than that, it is very pretty. Great location. I think it is just overpriced. There's a lot of choice in the area for about 200k less, including a Victorian terraced house.

Look at this beauty nearby. It's over £100k cheaper with so much more living space, likely to be cooler in summer.

The one you are looking at has the advantage of being freehold not leasehold, but you'd need to check the service chanrges - they could be very high.

It's absolutely tiny. You only have one room in which to eat, cook and live. It's £1.2 million. It's in the roof so will be boiling. The bedrooms have restricted height....

It's just not big enough to be a 3 bed.

Look at the square footage. 860 versus 1030 in a nearby apartment which has a big garden as well as a basement patio, for 170k less.

I think the flat is pretty tiny for the money.

The other 3-beds in the same crescent that I linked to are £2.2m and £2.5m! But they are ground floor with direct garden access.

It's freehold. So legal issues and very difficult to secure lending with a freehold flat. Also likely to have high service charge.

no, its a flat with SHARE of the freehold. So you own both the leasehold and a share of the freehold company. not complex legally at all (mine is similar)

Bedrooms 2 and 3 are not true doubles as neither have any hanging space. They fit a double bed in by not really including any other furniture.

I've lost track of which comments were you OP but if there's any possibility you may want to rent it out in the future don't buy it. It will need to be a EPC of C or higher at some point in the next few years (when the government make their mind up) in order to rent it out and bringing it up to a C from an F will be virtually impossible and if it can be done, extremely expensive.

I think PP is right that the lease is likely quite long given that the flat has a share of the freehold too but I would want to check that out before booking a viewing.

There's a house around the corner from it - admittedly probably ex-council but definitely the prettier end of ex-council. Classed as '5 beds' but two beds would need to be knocked through to make a good reception. That leaves it as a 3 bed with big reception, eat in kitchen, whole house with garden for well under 1 million. In Maida Vale. There are loads and loads of reasonable 3+bed houses in Zone 2 for a budget of 1.2m.

Expensive, living area looks more like a bedsit, kitchen looks crap to cook in, nowhere in main bedroom to put a wardrobe. It definitely wouldn't tick my boxes.

We recently looked at a house with the master in the eaves. It was impossible to sit up in bed. That itself was enough to put me off.

The combined living/duning/kitchen is tiny. Plus you'd not get away from the noise of the washing machine, for example, or cooking smells.

I'm.not going to comment on the price except to say if its not shifting then its overpriced.

I live up north on a 300yr old stone 3 bed small holding with 20 acres and stables which is worth less than that. However if I had to live in London I’d quite like that flat. I much prefer it to the similar priced flats that had lower level poky gardens and views out of the windows onto other houses, despite them being bigger.

I like the amount of light, the fact that it’s not overlooked, the roof terrace that is private with a lovely view. The shaded balcony looks nice too. And the shared gated garden is attractive as well. People keep saying the master bedroom is not a master because there’s no bathroom up there, but there’s a little en-suite from where I’m looking. Yes it might be hot in summer, but I’d be up on the terrace or under a tree in that garden, and I’d probably get air con or fans.

Because it's ridiculously expensive and not a lot of people have £1million +for a flat.