Which property would you choose?

[Clementiness]

Option n1:
A bright, spacious apartment in a nice part of the town. Easy commute to work, good schools for DS, currently renting in this area so wouldn't need to worry about finding a new nursery and we are in the process of applying for schools so whatever place we are given we can go ahead with.
We like the area, have friends living nearby and just a generally easy life and suits our lifestyle.
Cons: it's a flat, not a house. Service charge on top of mortgage payments (but wouldn't pay extra in commute so money wise it'd be similar to option 2).

Option n2:
House further out. Commute is decent but not as good as option n1. Trains would be more expensive and potentially a bit trickier for pick up/drop off but manageable.
Slightly smaller space than option n1, needs a bit of work but nothing major.
Not very familiar with the area, less amenities and would need to drive much more than we do now (I don't drive but have licence so would need to re-learn). Nice schools, although we'd likely have to apply after the deadline and will need to find temporary childcare for DS as couldn't continue to use current nursery as too far.

Both properties are within budget and they are 2 bed. I suspect we can potentially get a better deal on the flat because currently less in demand. We are planning to buy a place where we can live for at least the next 5 years, potentially much longer.

I would go with option 1, the flat. It is all familiar to you and in my opinion that counts for so much. All the very best.

You sound much keener on option one so for that reason if no other, I’d go for one. It doesn’t mean you have to stay there forever.

Option 1
Unless option 2 is detached and bigger it would be option 1

I think from the way you’ve written this, all positive on one, all negative on 2, you want 1. So just do that then.

I think you want option 1. As long as you can get a good deal on it, go for it.

I have re-read the post and realised I have talked about option n1 more positively.
The reality is that we’d rather have a house with a garden than a flat tbh, but we still cannot decide whether a house with a garden is worth a compromise in terms of area and commute or not.
I should add that option n1 is in an expensive area, hence why we are looking at a flat for our max budget. It’s unlikely we will ever be able to upgrade to a house there.

Option 1. My experience is that flats in a great location can be a really nice way to raise a family, as long as the soundproofing is good. Is there a balcony for putting washing out on etc.?

@user1477391263 no, no balcony unfortunately

If the house had more internal space than the flat, it might be a harder decision, but as it is you are giving up internal space to gain a garden, and potentially adding a fair bit of inconvenience to your life. If you bought the house I think you might end up wanting to move again sooner rather than later.

I also think flat work very well for families. As being on one level the bedroom being on the same level and nearby can double up as a playroom/homework room.

I think no2 the house, then when you want to move up in 5 years or so then you are already settle into the area. As you say that you will never be able to afford a house in no1 area then you are going to have to move out the area at some point. Better to do it now whilst kids are young and easily getting into friendship groups etc.

I would always choose a house over a flat! Especially as your kids grow up, you’ll be amazed how much they’ll love playing outside and in the summer months you can just let them out and watch from the inside. Makes life so much easier.
If there were ever to be another lockdown (God forbid!) you would be so grateful to have the outside space.

@NicLondon1 I would also choose a house over a flat but there are other factors for us to consider, such as commute, schools, amenities etc so it’s not as straightforward

Since you don't presume this to be your forever home - choose which would increase in value more. Some questions: Will DS be an only child? Which is more expandable/ improvable? What if you get irritating neighbors in the flat?

@Clementiness The house area doesn’t sound that bad though… decent commute, do-able drop-offs and nice schools…. The amenities aren’t usually as much as you’d get with a flat as flats tend to be in the centre of things. Most people in houses make do with some but less amenities in exchange for their own garden.
If you need to get into a school catchment by 15th January, you could push to exchange by then?

Also consider if there is potential to extend into the loft or at the back, then you could have much more space one day…

Really, it depends. Some kids play outside in the garden, others can't be bothered, or only want to do the sort of games that need more space than the vast majority of gardens have, or neighbors complain about the noise. The person I know whose kids use the garden most has two football-mad boys, but her garden is exceptionally large for the UK (it's an ex council house, built in the days when they often gave new builds very big gardens!)

Some families have a lifestyle where the kids come home from school and run straight out into the garden to play, and weekends are spent hanging around the house while the kids do more garden play.

In other families, kids may be in clubs or childcare until quite late and at weekends their parents may prefer getting out and going to parks and outdoor spaces together.

We visit my parents for a month once a year (I live outside the UK) and they do have a big garden, but my 4yo doesn't play it in that much and my 11yo not at all, really. We use holiday clubs while I work, and when I'm not working we prefer to do days out together; I like parks and public places where we can meet people, and I don't like days spent hanging around the home.

I am sure there are loads of people to whom a garden is indispensable, but there are other people like me who are not bothered and much prefer having a central location. I don't think you can generalize. It depends on how the OP prefers to spend her free time.

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@user1477391263 I am sure DC would love a garden but I have to say it’s mainly for my and DH’s sake I’d like one as we would love our own little outdoor space.
I just don’t know whether that can fully outweight the comfort of living in an area you know and love and that fits your lifestyle perfectly

@NicLondon1 yes the house area isn’t bad, just not as good and convenient and it’s not known to us so don’t know whether we’d genuinely live living there once the excitment of a new house is over

Tricky. Any chance of holding out for a flat with a balcony of usable size?

Commuting by train would put me off the house. How expensive is it? How often are trains delayed? Can you work from home if there are strikes?
If you need to start driving again, how much will a car cost? And the insurance, tax and MOT?

Is the flat ground floor or on a different level? Purpose built or converted house? How many years on the lease? My tip would be to consider sound proofing and the impact of service charges/fees.

I bought my ground floor apartment over 5 years ago. No issues with upstairs until the neighbours recently changed. The amount of noise nowadays is driving me insane to the point I'm preparing to move in the new year. It really impacts your well being. With the housing crisis, you have families of 4 or 5 trying to rent small 2 bedroom flats as they desperately need a home. This has a huge impact on noise to the surrounding properties.

The management company on my flat recently changed and now the service charges have increased dramatically as they are charging for all sorts of things that the previous company didn't. All within the terms of the lease unfortunately. Also, I have no say over the buildings insurance which increases a huge amount every year. This year was over £650 for a 2 bed flat! Madness.

Like you, I only bought this flat as it was walking distance to child's school (and childminder back then) the train station for commuting and our favourite local areas.

@S72 sorry about that. Are you planning to move away to get a house now?

To answer a few questions; purpose build flat in a nice building (not new build); there aren’t many flats with balconies around here. You do find the occasional garden flat but humidity issues and having the bedrooms at street level put me off them.
Commute to work would be about 20 min longer from the house + 15 min walk to the station. Trains are less frequent from there but still ok. Where we are now is just so well connected that we don’t really have to worry about train times etc
Yes my job allows me to wfh 1-2 days per week and if there are strikes etc but it’s more the normal delays that worry me as they do happen sometimes.
Re driving, we have 1 car and if I were to drive I don’t think we’d buy a second one because high mortgage repayments + more expensive commute would mean more outgoings than we currrently have

We are still facing this dilemma so bumping to get extra opinions! :)