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Original poster

Would you consider this property?

72 replies

carryavan · 05/04/2024 10:45

Pic attached. New block of flats going up the back wall of the block will be against the wall you see here. Top floor will be above the wall, middle floor (which we're looking at) will be mostly below ground at the back. What questions do we need to ask about drainage? Do you think it will mean damp through the walls?
The base you can see is for the underground parking etc.

Would you consider this property?
OP posts:
OlderandwiserMaybe · 05/04/2024 13:38

Honestly @carryavan I think your first image is misleading everyone. The floor plan makes it clearer that most rooms will have their own window.... so Yes the kitchen doesn't have its own window but it's open plan to the lounge and dining area so you should have loads of borrowed light from there.
As a new build it should have a 10 year new build warranty. I'd be wanting to check the fine print of that to ensure it covers any issues with he damp proofing.

Also I'm assuming i will be leasehold so I'd want to look at the details of that - any ongoing charges etc and also check who would be responsible for any failing of the damp proofing... is the leaseholder responsible - or you.

Personally I'd never buy a flat i I could help it - let alone one built into the side of a hill...... BUT if its the best option in your price range - and you've obvs lived in a flat before so know the pros and cons of that - then I don't see a particular issue with this property.

Riverlee · 05/04/2024 13:44

No. Kitchens and bathrooms need windows.

I’d worried that it would be too dark and feel hemmed in.

Will the rainwater run off the bank down the side if the walk?

Original poster
carryavan · 05/04/2024 14:19

Will the rainwater run off the bank down the side of the wall?
I did ask this and both DH and the agent looked at me as if I was from another planet... apparently this is not possible! I still don't see why.

OP posts:
brocollilover · 05/04/2024 15:27

show your dh this thread

and ask him whether he feels you’ll ever be likely to sell or if you do… how much you’d lose

brocollilover · 05/04/2024 15:28

how much is it selling for?

viques · 05/04/2024 15:38

Why don’t you tape some brown paper over your kitchen and bathroom windows for a couple of weeks and see how it feels. I would also be unhappy about underground parking, electric vehicle fires would worry me, and if access is through that up and over garage door it would be rattle and noisy, especially at night underneath bedrooms.

I also think it would be unbearable noisy,dusty and dirty being so close to a main road, would you ever feel comfortable having the windows open?

Lapwingsreturn · 05/04/2024 15:41

Categorically not !!!!!

I made the mistake of buying a tanked house many years ago.

The tanking started to fail within 2 years and it was a nightmare trying to make a claim against the Architects certificate. It cost us a fortune to remediate in the end and we lost a lot of money. It also took ages to sell.

The lesson we learned is to never buy a forseeable problem.

Original poster
carryavan · 05/04/2024 15:42

Honestly, you don't want to know that. Prices are insane round here 870k inc. parking space. There are two properties cheaper in the region, but significantly smaller rooms. Four similar size and similar priced but at the bottom of the hill new builds on land that is known to get waterlogged in winter. I refused to consider those. Everything else is a fair bit more expensive. There is one larger flat within the upper limit of our price range but it's 10m from a mobile phone mast.

OP posts:
Original poster
carryavan · 05/04/2024 15:46

garage door it would be rattle and noisy, especially at night underneath bedrooms.
oh I hadn't thought of that. Thank you'

tape some brown paper over your kitchen and bathroom windows for a couple of weeks and see how it feels.
One bathroom we have now has no window and in our last place neither did. When there's sun I have to have the shutters closed else the flat heats up - I spend most of the summer living in a cave.

The tanking started to fail within 2 years and it was a nightmare trying to make a claim against the Architects certificate.
Do you know how they did it and what materials they used?

OP posts:
RoseBucket · 05/04/2024 15:49

So the kitchen has light from the balcony and the lounge open plan area? One of my bathrooms has no window it’s fine.

It sounds like you really dislike it anyway re your other comments so on that basis it would be an issue and if you’re thinking this if you want to sell in the future that might also be an issue.

UnbelievablySelfish · 05/04/2024 15:50

Are you in California OP?
I suppose all of the above issues will still exist ..

EpicPineapple · 05/04/2024 15:51

No. I’d be worried about damp, darkness and subsidence. I’d rather have a smaller place that’s a safer bet.

Original poster
carryavan · 05/04/2024 15:54

@RoseBucket yes.
I don't particularly want to move but I can't deny that the flat we have now will likely have issues, expensive ones, in the next 10 years. This place has much less storage than we have now so will be a hassle. However it's one of the few things nearby (and we don't want to move the DC too far for various reasons). The new place would have more public transport options.

We would be looking to sell in maybe 15-20+ years (DH will inherit PIL's flat at some point which we would then move to).

OP posts:
brocollilover · 05/04/2024 15:55

carryavan · 05/04/2024 15:42

Honestly, you don't want to know that. Prices are insane round here 870k inc. parking space. There are two properties cheaper in the region, but significantly smaller rooms. Four similar size and similar priced but at the bottom of the hill new builds on land that is known to get waterlogged in winter. I refused to consider those. Everything else is a fair bit more expensive. There is one larger flat within the upper limit of our price range but it's 10m from a mobile phone mast.

can you link to it?

brocollilover · 05/04/2024 15:56

I don't particularly want to move but I can't deny that the flat we have now will likely have issues, expensive ones, in the next 10 years.

your asking price will have to reflect that fact

ODFOx · 05/04/2024 16:02

DB is on LG floor of a 90s block like that and had to pay himself to get it tanked 10 years ago even though it's a building issue as the freeholder wasn't interested. It was very expensive due to the construction of the block and he still hasn't made the money back on price uplift. Based on his experience I would never buy a tanked leasehold property.

mondaytosunday · 05/04/2024 16:02

If all the light is coming from the roadside won't it be like living in a fishbowl?

CHEESEY13 · 05/04/2024 16:08

Hmmmmm, if you like caving/potholing, I suppose........

SpringOfContentment · 05/04/2024 16:46

OK, I think you are looking for reasons not to like it.
How built is the block? Can you actually go and get into the flat?
The kitchen will have light from the massive windows at the end of the room.

We lived in a lower ground floor flat for a bit - you entered at street level, and went down a flight of stairs. The kitchen (and bathroom) literally had no window - if the lights were off it was pitch black.
Both rooms were pretty unappealing - but that could also have been the 30 year old facilities in them - and the building itself was more like 100 years old.

There was a flat below us, accessed from the rear of the building.

It wouldn't be top of my list to live in again, but id look if it was one of only a few places coming up in budget.

I don't know how it had been tanked, but it wasn't an issue while we were there.

Original poster
carryavan · 05/04/2024 18:03

@SpringOfContentment the photo was taken a couple of days ago.

OP posts:
Heronwatcher · 05/04/2024 18:15

I guess it might be more normal in California then, but the only thing I would say is that any warranty/ guarantee is only worth anything if the company who has given it (a) agrees that the work is needed/ covered by the guarantee (most will argue that it’s not for quite some time), and (b) remains solvent. If it’s a massive job the builder/ developer may see it as a better option just to go insolvent and start again (this may not be something that happens in the US quite so much but it can definitely happen in the UK). So if you did proceed I’d want cash in the bank to do the work myself if the warranty/ guarantee failed.

DrJoanAllenby · 05/04/2024 18:26

The glass frontage looks awful. Avoid at all costs.

GreatGateauxsby · 05/04/2024 18:42

There is no way i would consider that flat for reasons stated by others the hairpin is another negative but my main issues would be the dark damp and cold...
my friend bought a flat like this with garages underneath, it was so cold. i visited in winter and my feet were cold to the point i couldnt leave my feet on the floor and sat on the sofa with them hovering before politely escaping.
i also think several people will have yhe same view as peopke on here ie. damp dark concerns which means when you come to sell it will be a pig to shift.

Based on what you've said i would really think about going back to the drawing board and revisiting your search catchment area.

At 870k for that flat you cant be anywhere that rural so there should be more than 5 properties meeting your search criteria if you expand a bit.

ClematisBlue49 · 05/04/2024 19:01

I'm going against the grain here, but I have to say I think it looks great, really spacious, good layout, and will have loads of light from the side away from the slope. I don't understand the issue with damp / tanking as it isn't a basement flat, but perhaps I'm missing something. There are what look like retaining walls behind the building, which will have to meet building regulations. It seems to be on a hill, but this property won't be at the bottom of it so I'm not sure where the flood risk comes from. Lots of places have homes built up steep cliffs / slopes, with hairpin bends, and I always think it looks lovely.

CobraChicken · 05/04/2024 19:12

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