Would you buy a one bedroom flat?

[flirpy]

We live in London. We don’t want to move far out or leave our current area. All we can afford is a one bedroom flat. We are a newly married couple. Aged 25 and 26. Living the London professional dream of long hours….

Even if the OP and her husband were to unexpectedly find themselves with a pregnancy, people do raise kids in one bedroom flats, at least for a bit - I've know several who've done it. They are ruthless about avoiding clutter, they keep the baby with them for a bit, then get a sofa bed for a few years, while looking into other options. I mean, it's obviously not ideal, but the sky won't fall in and it does the kid no harm.

My daughter bought a one bed in London for 450k in 2022. It made sense for her and doesn’t appear to have depreciated in value because it’s in a good area and the sort of property FTBs often want (Victorian conversion in a nice street walking distance to a tube). She didn’t expect to make money on it when she bought it as the media was already warning that house prices were generally going to fall & especially in London. Nevertheless, flats have sold recently in her area for about what she paid or slightly more.

So I would say buy if you want to & understand the property may not increase in value for several years. But it as a home not an investment. And stay clear of new build flats as they tend to lose money in the first few years because they are no longer brand new once someone has lived there. Do your research and make sure you don’t overpay and that you buy the sort of flat that holds its value well.

I wouldn’t actually.

A 1 bedroom flat is fine, but it’s likely going to cost you more than just renting a 1 bed a few more years. Especially as many 1 beds are in purpose built flats and the service charge annually can be huge (and increases). With renting the service charges are included. And stamp duty, estate agent fees etc you don’t want to pay then pay again in 3 years time if you move

I would keep looking for a 2 bed. It’s better long term, and you can rent and carry on saving in meantime. Buying also means lots of expenses in renovation and maintenance costs so it’s harder to save once you own

There’s actually loads of 2 bed flats with garden for £450k and less on zoopla. If for example I type in Wandsworth and within 1 mile, there’s 240 properties. If you type Hammersmith and Fulham, 84 properties with 2 beds and outside space.

My first property was a one bed flat, 20 minutes on the mainline into a London terminal, I bought it on my own at 25 nearly 26 in 2010. Now DH moved in 2.5 years later. I ended up keeping it longer than expected and lived there nearly 7 years. It was great for us as a couple, close for work, socialising etc. Also sold it after one open morning and 7/8 offers and made a really good profit which allowed us to move further out and buy a good sized 3 bed semi with a large garden, drive etc. We'd also been able to save lots of extra money to pay for our wedding and have a good pot of money to renovate the house we bought, because we weren't stretching for the mortgage.
Absolutely do it. That flat was the best purchase I've ever made.

Yes, i absolutely would. Rents are bonkers, and whilst I haven't done the maths, I don't agree with pp that the costs will necessarily be more than renting.

What I would do is be very savvy and make sure you buy in a decent area which is walkable to a tube or train.

I had a quandary when I moved to London because I really wanted a two bed (vague idea of renting one out), but the second beds were boxy or the flats hugely expensive. So in the end I got a one bed with a sitting room large enough for a huge sofa bed in a great area and it was perfect.

We had DS when I was 34 , we were married and has bought our house. When we lived in the flat sometimes we'd just find a cheap Friday fight and just go off somewhere for the weekend at short notice. We were always out at gigs, exhibitions, restaurants etc. So by the time we moved further out and had DS I was perfectly happy to cut back on that lifestyle