Would you choose the house or the flat?

[whatafineday]

We made an offer two weeks ago. Heard nothing so continued the search and made another offer this Monday. And found out in the space of 24 hours that we have two choices.

Both are 4 bed 2 bath. Flat is 20% bigger and 15% more expensive. Would stretch our budget to the max. Access to private section of garden down the kitchen and via a communal area. Share of freehold in a period conversion. High ceiling and windows in both bathrooms. On a nicer street.

House is a modern build so presumably upkeep is less costly. But it has only a small patio, only big enough for a small table and few chairs and pots. Open plan living with glass door opening out. Though small, it does feel bright. Privacy better. Slightly better school options. But in terms of commute, need to add 10 minutes. And water marks in bathroom. Not sure if leak has been properly fixed. Cannot afford to walk away after survey as flat will be gone. But of course with the flat, all sorts of things can come out in the survey.

There is no option C. We need to move by a certain date and given how challenging the rental market is, would not want to move into a rental.

Which one should i go for?

Any fees on the flat? DS found that factoring in service charges a house was better value.

The house. There are likely to be service charges/maintenance costs that you have no say in on the flat. A period conversion will cost a lot more to run and maintain. If the garden isn’t attached to the flat you are unlikely to use it, a terrace you can just step out onto will get much more use.

How long is left on the freehold of the flat? Have you been told anything about the neighbours above/below?

I used to live in a period conversion turned into a flat (house split in two). I can tell you it was noisy. I could hear neighbours to both sides and below, including when they flushed the toilet. But other than that was ok. You would need to ask the other freeholder permission if you wanted to do any building work.

I’d never pick a flat over a house- living ontop / under neighbours can be a nightmare, more so if you or they have kids. Plus even with a share of a freehold there are costs associated with them that I just loathe.

House every time.

You can make the outside space work. You're way less likely to use the flat garden when it's not direct access.

The house -
it would be more future proof particularly if you can convert the loft
you'd also soon get fed up with locking up your flat every time you wanted to go in to the garden, not just walking in and out, hanging washing
just being able to have the doors open on Summer days even if you're inside

House

Ground rent 0. Service charge 0. 50% share of freehold. Just the hassle of negotiating with one neighbour.

The house sounds like the sensible choice as your not stretching yourself to the max budget wise. Bright & better school nearby is also favourable. Ten mins is not a lot. However - I love period properties and I’d likely go for the flat !

No loft conversion or extension possibility with the house. Everything done already. Patio too small to do anything...

Who is “we” @whatafineday? I’m assuming yourself and partner. Any children to consider?

I actually sold a property last year that sounds exactly like your flat option. We had access to the garden from a balcony with stairs too. Lived there 7 years when it was just DH and I. When we had DC everything became annoying - the stairs with the pram, up and down stairs into the garden too, we ended up with a noisy neighbour 🙄
We also had issues as there was maintenance needing done to the roof after we’d been there about 5 years (ownership split 5 ways between properties in the building) and certain owners were always dragging their feet over things that needed done.

As much as we loved our flat to begin with, we sold and moved to a house almost half the size and have been much happier!

Its like you prefer the flat so go with that.

House is the sensible option but sounds like you prefer the flat? Do you have links to post?

House every time!

Especially as you do not have direct access to the outside space with the flat. I think you’d get far more use and pleasure even from a small courtyard garden that you’d get from the bigger space set back away from the flat. Just having doors open onto some outside space stops you feeling closed in.

House every time for all the reasons above.

A house every time. My friend had a weed smoker underneath. Could not escape the stink

DC 6. No more pram! But don't think i can let her go down to the garden by herself just yet. No kids in the downstair flat, judging from how bare their side of the garden looks. Likely we will be the one being too loud and getting complained. The shared responsibility is a worry. But I'm wondering with the house, i will still have to deal with neighbours because of party wall...

I wouldn't buy a flat if I had a choice

Am not brave enough to share the links : )

My head was set on the house a few hours ago but am getting worried about the bathroom leak.

Heart with the flat. It's just a prettier house. And move in ready. I don't even need to paint the walls. With the house, there are a lot of minor fixes.

House always every time. I never felt I really owned a freehold and always governed by the freeholders

The flat sounds great - to me a short commute is the biggest thing affecting quality of life here

100% the house. I would never choose to live in a flat with kids, constantly having to tell them to be hurt doesn’t sound like fun.

@whatafineday You might still have to deal with neighbours in the house (we do as we’re in a semi-detached) but it’s very different to having a shared access too 😊
Also, think of a lovely sunny day - what would you rather…a bigger garden space for you and DC to play in, BUT you’re having to make small talk with neighbours while you’re out there and having to carry your lunch up and down the stairs to eat outside? Or a small courtyard where you can play inside/outside with the door open and have your own privacy & you can easily have a little table that you can make good use of outdoors?

Sounds like small issues but it’s the kind of thing that becomes very annoying. There are so many great ideas online for space saving decor in a courtyard garden. Personally, I’d go for that every time 😊

@whatafineday Also - I got really great advice on our move here when I shared the links. People were able to point out things that I hadn’t thought of myself 😊