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?

I live in a flat and would pick it again every time over something smaller. It's nice having everything on one level and we've had far less neighbour noise here than we did in previous attached houses. Energy bills are less here too as we're insulated by neighbours above and below. Don't let people's weird prejudice against flats put you off if it's right for you.

Think you need to be brave and share the links op then we can help you make rational decisions not just based on whether people intrinsically prefer flats or houses. You can always change username after this thread.

On what you've said so far you seem to prefer the flat. I loved living in a couple of flats over the years but the private section of a shared garden can be annoying, and accessing via a communal area makes it less easy to use. If you're ok with those downsides then I'd go flat on the basis of what you've said, so long as you're confident of affording it at your top budget given the current economy and are able to afford contingencies because if you need a new roof etc from the sounds of your service fee you'll have to find the money independently. This is the same with a house of course.

Go with your heart OP. I've owned a flat with a shared freehold and never again (other freeholder refused to fork out for any maintenance) but if your heart is saying flat then I would trust it.

I love my flat but it's on a modern estate, part of 28 others.

So the freeholder has a service charge and a management company runs the day to day. (All flat owners own a freehold share)

But a 2 flat leasehold is more complicated, more hassle as negotiating is more personal. Your sharing a garden with 1 and not many which feels worse.

So I'd say neither. Rent if needed for a bit.

I would 100% say house over upstairs flat.

I think if the outdoor space is accesses via a staircase then you don't use it and it becomes a hassle. Imagine doing a BBQ and having to treck down to the outdoor space.

I would go for small outdoor space right outside the door over outdoor space down a flight of stairs every time.

I've lived in a flat in a conversion. I don't think noise or neighbours is necessarily a problem and more than in a house, but that outdoor access would be an issue.

You mention schools. This might also be a deal breaker for me, what are the secondary options form the flat and the house?

Honestly, flat. I am living with a very similar outside space at the moment and it is just too small by the time the washing is out and a few table and chairs. No way a child would have enough room to play. I also prefer more space overall as it is easy to outgrow space very quickly.

I would never buy a flat/leasehold property.
There are so many potential problems with the length of the lease, block management and repairs, maintenance charges, communal spaces.
A freehold house has none of those issues.

For secondary, the house is also slightly better. The living area is small. The open plan is bright and airy. But it is small. The flat is both bigger inside and out. Inside 20% bigger. Outside 3x though without direct access frequency of use will be lower. Overall the flat is in a much better state. Any money spent will be later down the road. For the house, need to do a lot of cosmetic update and replace boiler and at least one radiator.

These issues probably doesn’t apply in this case where the OP will own half the freehold and there is only one other flat owner. She will be in charge of the length of the lease and the management.

Of course, that depends on the other flat owner not being a nightmare. Maybe worth a knock on the door for a chat? If they are dreadful, better to know before contracts are exchanged.

House. Who wants to walk through a communal area each time to go to the garden? Certainly not me and certainly not if you have children or pets.

I had the choice I would opt for the house.

OP, can you put in links to the two properties?

If I had small children or pets I’d go for house.
older kids flat.
although the house has a small garden there will likely be more families?
do you have a front garden for you child to play?
if so definitely house.

House. You keep focusing on the smaller outdoor space, but the position/access to the flat's garden sounds like a pain in the arse. I'd rather have a smaller space with direct access than a bigger garden I have to trog through a communal garden to get to and can't just let DC run in and out of without going with them. Might as well go to the park. So house it is for me.

Also think a 4-bed flat is a harder one to sell on in future, if that's a factor.

If you are going for a second look at the flat, have a proper look round the garden space to see if there is an outside tap or power point in the shed.

It's not easy to water the flowers, fill a paddling pool etc otherwise. There are ways round a power point more easily. Petrol or battery operated lawn mower for example or battery hedge trimmer but it's extra faff that means you are less likely to take full advantage of the space.

Same with washing your car, cleaning bikes outside.

It does sound like you really want the flat and if that's the case you'll get over the inconveniences but you should go in with your eyes open to them.

Flat. Many children are brought up in flats. You'll outgrow the house before you know it and the costs you describe (eg new boiler etc) would put me right off. I live in a flat and neighbour noise is insignificant compared to when I lived in a house.

Normally in flat v house I'd day house but in this situation both space and location are better in the flat and you have 50% of freehold. Big bonus.

Go with your gut.

A flat that is dislocated from the outside space simply means you won't use the outside space. If there is no flow, you won't flow into it. Too much hassle to run up and down with trays of drinks and rugs and napkins and cutlery and newspapers for that picnic or morning breakfast. Your WiFi prob won't reach out there. Your neighbours may well stare.

And when you come to sell just bear in mind that there will always, always, be a bundle more people who will just not countenance buying a flat over a house so immediately you are limiting your pool.

And that's not bearing in mind anything that the survey throws up that might not be covered by the sinking fund that may/may not exist?

I think I'd always go for the house and particularly if it's better for secondary schools. They're vital.

you say you have 1 child but both propertiess have 4 bedrooms this increases living space in both properties as only 2 bedrooms are bedrooms one of the others can be home office and other another room for child playroom now study chillout room later
is outdoor space actually important to you? are there any 2-3 bed houses with larger gardens can always add shed as a shed or as home office or teenage den

I think the flat sounds great. I've had a similar setup (flat that was way bigger than a house) and it worked out really well because the other share of freeholders were solvent and quick to pay for anything that went wrong. I did have a friend who shared the freehold with one person, who was a wonderful old lady who had lived there since she was born. But she had absolutely no money at all. The options when the roof went were to either force her to sell or to just pay for the entire roof. My friend just paid for the roof herself and it was painful. But of course, in a house you're paying for the whole roof yourself anyway.

That said, with a kid I would avoid an upstairs flat. We lived in an upstairs flat when I was a kid and it was a nightmare and the downstairs neighbor was constantly yelling at us for making noise and making us weep into our cornflakes in the morning. I would make sure it's really soundproofed (carpeted?)

Also, the access thing is an issue with the flat. We have a really beautiful garden but we hardly use it within our own house because the access is not off the living areas. We would use a much smaller garden off the kitchen WAY more. But it sounds like the living area is way nicer in the flat so perhaps that would compensate.

I live in a 3 bed, 2 bath flat on two floors in a double fronted Victorian with shared freehold. High ceilings, lots of character and light, large rooms and garden. Cheaper running costs and Council tax and much nicer character. There is a risk with neighbours living above me but I don't mind. But shared freehold means external paint and repairs are shared responsibilities by agreement. The whole building is in a very good state of repair and done up to a high spec and no major issues identified by the detailed survey.

I've lived in a period flat with share of freehold (large Victorian house divided into four flats), a modern flat with a young child, and a large house with a small patio with a slightly older child.

The Victorian flat was noisy and one of the flat owners never had any money, so it was difficult to get repairs done. I had no access to my private share of the garden directly from my flat, so I didn't really get to use the garden. But the high ceilings and period detail were lovely.

You might get lucky and find out that the flat has really thick walls and that the conversion has been done properly. A friend of mine lived in one of these, and you never even heard the upstairs or next-door neighbours.

When we lived in the large house with a small patio there was a park next door, so the size of the patio didn't matter. It was nice to be able to keep the door to the outside open in the summer and not have to worry about who else was in the garden. And there was no grass to cut so we didn't have to spend all weekend gardening.

It also depends on what is at the end of the patio. We had neighbours that never used their outdoor space, so it was very quiet.