What do you think of this studio flat?

[Spring025]

We're going to view this flat with DS at the weekend. It's tiny but in a good spot for him due to being close to a nice town centre and easy to get to work - and all he can afford.
He's currently paying £800 pound a month rent for a room in a house with no access to a proper kitchen (only microwave and fridge) and a shared bathroom so is keen to be putting that money into his own place.
I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on it, thanks!

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/159386981#/?channel=RES_BUY

Dont forget the Service charges £1100 PA and Ground rent £50PA

It's beautiful and share of the freehold is good. My first flat was leasehold (freeholder lived in one of the flats).

Mortgage lenders don't traditionally like leases to be less than 99 years so that may be the issue with the other one.
Sensible to be trying to buy rather than rent, particularly if you think it would be for a number of years.
Does he struggle with the shared spaces? Is that part of the reason for moving?
However moving is now expensive so it might make more sense to stretch if he can.
Or whether the shared ownership increase the % they you own & therefore that could bring it into consideration

Looks a lovely studio flat. I lived in one for over 3+ years many years ago and met my future husband and it was perfect for me. Could walk to work, used the buses to get elsewhere.

He really likes the place he is renting because he doesn't really see anyone else there, the owners live there but they are a really nice older couple that have a separate space. He would definitely prefer not to be sharing a bathroom though.

Thanks everyone! It's such a big decision isn't it, and you never really know what it's going to be like till you live there.

Then maybe you need to get out more.

Nice enough for a single person. I don't understand why your paying a service charge when you would part own the freehold.

Know how much the maintenance fee or the land rent is,...

Dear God really. 🤔

I really do have to consider moving, it's impossible to even buy a garage in a block for £100,000 here.

Part of freehold seems to be a bit of a weird thing because it's not like having the freehold on a house - there's still a leaseholder.

Er you part own the freehold but there's still a leasehold. I can't see what services you would get for £1100 a year on a top oor flat. Who are you paying this too? What's it for?

Having part of the freehold has advantages and disadvantages. It can sometimes be very difficult to come to an agreement on money that needs to be spent and work that needs doing. But management companies can be absolute arseholes to deal with.

@Beyondburnout because things still need paying for whether that's communal lighting, building insurance or whatever

For me I pay around £240pm and we get - shared area cleaned and occasionally decorated, windows cleaned, buildings insurance, garden maintenance and other maintenance stuff (like if there’s a leak in the roof or someone broke the main door etc)

^ yes the op needs to establish what's covered for the service charge.

Decent sized kitchen.

id look at some sort of divider (ikea small ideas are brilliant!) to have a separate sleeping area and lounge area with plenty of storage.

what's rental like on a place like that? If he wanted to live on in the future could not become an investment property in the long term?

Top floor flat looks to have had a fire.

I lived in a studio flat for a few years, that was in a town centre too. I think all things considered, this one seems a sensible option - fresh lease, looks neat, allocated parking, can't be more than two (maybe three) other flats in the house. No chain is appealing too. Hopefully the fact it is terraced will help with retaining heat. Mine was all electric but Economy 7 was really good (at the time) and you can now get much improved storage heaters though they are costly. I like the big window and you could get interlined curtains and even secondary double glazing. My service charge rocketed when nobody was prepared to manage the block (of 17) but I have since lived in a maisonette of four which we managed between ourselves and that worked really well. I think you should ask questions about this arrangement - it could be that it is being managed well and there is a good build-up of funds for maintenance and repairs. Ask in advance of the viewing so they can have the information ready. Ask if there's anything budgeted for. This may have changed but ensure early on (if you're serious) that every flat's service charge is up-to-date or there could be problems before you complete. I had a sofa bed but my nephew has a Murphy bed which is great - the incentive to put it away is that the desk is under it! I'd get a really comfy sofa that faced the TV in the hope he would put the bed away! If your son can overpay - budget his same £800 each month - it could be a sensible move. My studio flat did lose a lot but I bought at the top of the market sadly. They don't perform well but if the alternative is £800 monthly rent with shared bathroom and kitchen...

Isn't that a 25 percent share.price?

What makes you think that @PickAChew ?

It's crazy how things differ across the country!

I'd never heard of a Murphy bed, that's a possibility.

There's some new e ideas here about decorating a studio flat https://medium.com/@dcp2020/how-to-decorate-a-studio-apartment-on-a-budget-746bc5eab8a0

The studio looks to be in a nicer building than the one bed and isn't much smaller in square footage.

I lived in studios in central London for over a decade and I’d be more than happy with that lay out. Separate kitchen with window and a decent sized living area, well enough to get a bed and a seating area. It’ll be useful having the main entrance into a room that isn’t the sleeping area, that bothered me sometimes (no idea why). Bathroom is functional. It has a very good configuration for a studio.

My first step on the property ladder was a small studio flat when I was in my late 20s and I loved it for being my own space plus I made a good profit when I sold it. You can easily get used to a living/sleeping space in one. For me what helped was having a built in (double) bed that pulled down from the wall. They fold away easily, bed clothes and all! I was fortunate in that it was already built in when I bought the flat - they aren't cheap but I'd say worth the money.
Another thing would be to look for a first floor studio with loft access as this helps such a lot with storage.

I'd live in it OP. I've lived in much worse. I hate to sound like the four Yorkshire men in Monty Python, but I lived in a squat with no back wall just plastic sheeting for a whole winter. Apart from the cold and the outside loo it was lovely. I didn't half get through camping gas bottles though. Also it was free.