Another "would you buy this" post - garden flat

[HolyParc]

I enjoy these posts as they help me understand market perception of properties I'd be considering purchasing, hope they are also fun for you :)
For those not familiar with the area, this is a lovely residential area in SW London/Surrey border with great schools, transport, amenities, safe, near a lovely river walk etc. And because of this, very expensive :)

What do you think of this? https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136368815#/?channel=RES_BUY

I am not sure about being lower ground due to limited light and also, for some reasons it feels less safe? Location is as good as it gets though and I like the flat too.

I wouldn’t see 2.9x3.4m as a double bedroom. Fine as a spare or office, which is what it looks like they use it as. On the plus side, it has a separate kitchen. So many flats now have a kitchen-living room with no separate living area. It can mean you live, cook, eat and work in the same room and is standard in new builds.

I think this is right. Not all basement flats will have bars, but a lot do. People have tried to break in at the back mostly, as the back of the house is overlooked by lots of other flats (all similar converted houses) and they can see who lives there and possibly see into the windows (although the gardens are all a good size) She now has a conservatory at the back with bars on the doors (are they called concertina bars, they slide back into the door frame when closed?) This is quite an expensive area incidentally, 2 bed flats cost more than the one in your example.

No, the bedroom and reception room would be too dark for me

Looking closer, there are little cubbys for the bins to live in when they are not on the road. They will be right above your bedroom window. That could get nasty in summer.

Not just smells. I am thinking of vermin.

I used to live in a basement flat. As PP said, you get a lovely view of the bins on bin day, and they can feel quite damp year-round. Also it was quite cold compared to the flats upstairs. Lovely in summer, grim in the winter. Also felt oddly overlooked when people walked past. It looks like the wall would give some privacy but it’s a bit weird to be chilling in your room and feel that lack of privacy.

I’m a bit odd because I didn’t mind the lack of natural light. I’m a light sleeper and hate bedrooms where you get woken up early in the summer. It’s a nice flat. I think if the price is right for the area and you like it, you can probably overcome the things you dislike.

I know London prices and all but sweet mother of all that is good the price!!

Anyway, my aunt has happily lived in a basement flat in central London since I'd guess the 70s. Hers is a lot darker than yours. But it's nice. She also has sole access to the garden which is beautiful. She does have bars on the windows but I've never felt unsafe there, I haven't spent a nice there since I was a child but have visits recently.

It looks lovely and light for a basement flat, but I agree with @SurreyMumOfOne that the layout is not ideal. I'd have similar concerns as others regarding damp, security and noise.

The garden is nice, but I wonder if lack of privacy would prevent you from enjoying it fully. I often think that if I were to go back to living in a flat, I'd rather buy one with a view that is near green spaces, rather than pay a premium for outside space.

It's lovely, and in a fantastic area.

Note to Yorkshire poster: This is a pretty good price for this area.

I wouldn’t consider a basement flat because of the security issues.

For 650k you should be able to get a 2 bed in a purpose built mansion flat - which have better layouts and balance of space than conversion. But the service charges will be higher.

But no garden.

I knew where it was before I even clicked on it 😂. It's a lovely flat but I wouldn't be keen on a basement flat tbh because of the light and possible damp issues. Not very helpful sorry

The layout is poor. The main bedroom is at the opposite end of the flat to the bathroom and having the bathroom off the kitchen is not great.

I’m not hugely familiar with the London property market so can’t comment on the price. Like other posters, I would be concerned about the lack of pix, eight seems too few. With damp, in my experience, the small is hard to hide, and you can usually get a sense of it when you walk in. Also - on a viewing, open kitchen cupboards or fitted wardrobes that are against the wall as you can smell it in there too.

a quick look on Rightmove suggests you could get a lot more house for the same money in other locations nearby.

Victorian flat conversions are a huge no for me. I’ve lived in several and all were horrendously noisy. Nicely presented though.

Presumably OP is selling it and looking for feedback/clicks?

Quite a lot of mansion flats in SW London have communal gardens.

@OnionBhajis I am not selling anything. We are considering purchasing our first property in this area and our budget can only stretch to a flat/maisonette. I am not familiar with the UK housing market so I am interested to understand what people think of places I could potentially afford (i.e. is there anything I am overlooking or something to be mindful of if I needed to resell etc)

I live in a basement- shed loads of storage, more than anyone I know even with huge houses, as there are lots of big vaults under the pavements, and I’ve built storage around the stairs coming down. Outdoors space which is at a premium where I am.

Very cool in summer, easy to heat in winter and stays warm as protected on all sides. Dark, yes. Very. Needs to be painted in bright colours not white! White looks grim.

Damp, yes, much of the flat is damp proofed but not all! I’d want to know the whole thing had been damp proofed at once if I had to go in another basement.

Feels a bit overlooked, but I’ve grown climbing plants so no one can see in.

I wouldn’t choose to live in a basement if it weren’t for the most fantastic location; but the storage is out of this world, the space is better than upper ground flats, and you can find plenty of ways of making it feel brighter and dryer than it is.

this is far cheaper and would be lovely when done up:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136826732

This is also nice and cheaper than the flat you linked to and a garden floor instead of lower ground:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137959118

This flat is also lovely with a really nice garden:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135440564

This is a whole 3 bed house and is still a lot cheaper than the flat:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138736466

I think I would prefer all of these. This is based on knowing a friend who lived in a basement flat on that street and whilst it was lovely it was also dark being in the basement, especially in winter and whilst there weren’t damp issues, drying clothes on airers etc. didn’t work due to the basement and lack of sunlight etc.

I wouldn't want to have to go through the kitchen to get to a bedroom. Too smelly, and also not nice if you're not rigorous with the washing up.

All the lights are on in the photos, from which I infer that's it probably dark in the flat.

I'd be inclined to swap the living and bedroom round to get more light in the living room: it doesn't matter so much if bedrooms are dark. However, that's another bedroom you have to walk through to get to the kitchen/bathroom.

Garden is nice. Would it be yours, or shared? Who maintains it?

Ground/lower ground floor flats are no less secure than houses with doors onto the street (all of them).

And that's fine if you're happy to share your outside space with the entire block, but not everyone wants that.

Not everyone wants a dark, highly burglable flat.

Looks beautiful, but basement flats would always be a no for me for several reasons already mentioned...but also because watching people walk past and be only able to see lower half and nothing of the street would make me feel strangely isolated

True.

That's a great location. But yes I would insist on a full damp review and any remedial works needed would need to come off the asking price.