This conversion apartment for a family of 3?

[Wannabemamas]

Found a lovely conversion apartment within budget. It’s in one of our fav streets, very close to good schools, lovely building. I am in love with the living room and the two double bedrooms have a good size but kitchen is tiny and not sure I can get over that :(
What do you think?
(We are in London so please refrain from saying “I’d rather get a 5 bed detached etc etc” as it simply isn’t an option given our area and FTBs budget!)
Share of freehold for 900 years, ground rent is cheap.

Yeah I like it. Keep the dining table up the end where the kitchen is. I’ve only got a little kitchen but as long as it’s got all you need it’ll be fine.
Have to keep on top of the washing up otherwise whole room looks messy.

It’s lovely.

The main drawback in my view is there’s only really room for one to work from home. But that may not be an issue for your family.

Yes, the kitchen is small, but you can shut it off. (So if you can’t fit everything in the dishwasher in the evening, you don’t have to look at the dishes - you can shut the door.)

That bathroom is pretty small - clearly wasn’t big enough to put a bath in. Have you been to see it? The bedrooms look ok sized but you’d need to see in person as photos can be misleading.

Sorry if I've missed it, but what floor is this on?
Just noting the living room without fitted carpet - could be an issue (but easily fixed) if you aren't on bottom floor.

Is it possible to see a floor plan?

What is the storage like, and do you have a lot of things to store? (Christmas decorations, mementos, books, seasonal clothing, etc.)

If you love the location and will be out and about walking a lot, it seems pretty nice.

No garden? Are there parks nearby?

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats 1st floor - I would NEVER have carpet, hate it with a passion so regardless of that, I wouldn't have it. Would also get rid of it in the bedrooms

Sorry - ow noticed the plan says first floor. You'll really need to fully carpet the living room to avoid noise for your downstairs neighbour. Hope you don't have a flat above with a similar arrangement.

@LaurieStrode I have uploaded the floorplan, you should be able to see it if you scroll back.
We do have stuff but currently live in a smaller flat so even though this isn't huge, it will be an upgrade from what we have now. I have lots of books though.

Yes, plenty of parks nearby. I never had a garden, would love one but all garden flats in my area are lower ground floors and I wouldn't want that.

Your downstairs neighbours are likely to hate you with a vengeance then...

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats no, I wouldn't do it, I hate carpet. Not sure why it is such an issue? Most people I know wouldn't want carpet in their home, surely the wooden floors are an extra selling point (it definitely is for us, I wouldn't consider this property if it had carpet all over it as I'd need to spend ££ removing it and fitting wooden floor instead).

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats the flat already has wooden floor... we are not going to jump up and down all day, not sure why the carpet would make such a difference?

Carpet hater here too. It never felt clean.

Soundproofing… usually the long lease will have clauses saying you have to carpet the bedrooms and living room. Sound travels horribly in flats with wooden floors - what do you have at the moment and has it not been an issue?

Keep your wooden flooring. I can see those bedrooms are carpeted. I have laminate flooring in the bedrooms now. I live in a house and the only carpets are on the landing and stairs. DH wants carpets on the stairs because he says wooden stairs are slippery. That's our compromise.

@piglet81 but why would they have wooden floors in it now then if it wasn't allowed?

@ReadyForPumpkins it's disgusting and dated, cannot bare it and don't get the british obsession with it, it looks awful!

What piglet81 said.
Wooden floors are lovely if you own all the floors in the house. They tend to be absolutely vile for your downstairs neighbours if you don't.

I don't have problems with my children or DH walking upstairs. The kids stomp like elephants and I can hear them running down the carpeted stairs anyway. Not much difference to them walking on the laminates in their bedrooms.

As you can see in the photos, the living room has lovely wooden flooring already.

Does it have a dishwasher?
Is there room in the kitchen to store and use appliances like an air fryer or toaster oven?

Is there any way you could squeeze a stacked washer and dryer into the bathroom? Or could you put a dryer above the washing machine in the kitchen? Where will you dry clothes otherwise?

Is the hall big enough to accommodate a space to hang coats and leave boots and shoes? You may like to wear slippers or light shoes indoors to keep the noise at a minimum for your downstairs neighbours.

I'm with you on the subject of carpet.

Hate it.

It looks fab. Location is so important and it ticks all the boxes. Looks like there's room for a table in the living room.I also hate fitted carpet but have large rugs and wooden flooring.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/4180260-Is-there-nothing-I-can-do-about-upstairs-neighbours-and-noise-from-their-wooden-floors

The other viewpoint.

Nicely staged, well maintained and "easy to move into" are the clear pros alongside presumably location and amenities

My reservations would be....

• it's cleverly staged... Perhaps too cleverly. Open wardrobes etc. there isn't much storage and the room sizes are small and will feel smaller once a proper wardrobe is fitted.
• why is there a random electric heater in one pic... Is there no gas heating? It would be a bit of a red flag that either theres no gas or there is a problem woth rads OR rads are kicking out a high enough BTUs.
• The kitchen. It's designed for people who eat out or shop every two days. That's fine if that's how you live but if not it's a bit cramped.
• The flooring. Irrespective of you liking it.... Children (if no 3 is a young child) plus wooden floors do not mix. It's a tale as old as time and I don't nee dto be mystic meg to know your downstairs neighbours will be coming up get pissed off / you get pissed off because it cant be that loud (oh yes it can!), it was like this before blah blah.

My home is my sanctuary this kind of premptable conflict is just not for me.

How is it heated? I can’t see any radiators in there? Plus what are the white and black things either side of the bay window in the living room? Heaters? Dehumidifiers? Either would put me off. I have a house the same period and those rooms with bay windows lose heat like crazy.

If it’s first floor then do you have loft space too (assuming it’s a two storey conversion)? If you “own” the loft space and roof then it’s a much more attractive option as you could do the loft conversion later. If you don’t then who does?

I can see why you like it but if there’s no loft space then there’s literally no storage. Where do you put your hoover / ironing board / mop and bucket, let alone Christmas decorations etc. There’s also nowhere to dry clothes or put a tumble dryer. Combined washer dryers are downright useless - I am on my third in 12 years.

Taking the wall down would help expand kitchen space but it isn’t that great a space to be honest.

I do believe totally in location should be the main driver BUT I would go for a bigger flat in an ugly building if the exterior is all that’s putting you off. I lived in an ex council flat as my first home - it was enormous and in a perfect location. When you’re in it you can’t see the outside.

The floor likely has soundproofing.

We once converted a large Victorian house into 4 flats, with engineered wood boards on every floor (tiles/stone in the bathrooms). We were required by building regs to soundproof the floors.

Check, as part of the questions to
the vendor’s solicitor.