Flat vs House

koolpc

koolpc

koolpc

Soldato
Joined
2 Dec 2004
Posts
14,536
Location
Under The Desk, Wales
As I am in the final stages of divorce and we will be selling our family home, I will be looking for a new place to Live.

I really couldn't afford a detached house like we have now so will have to settle for either a small terrace house or a flat.

I really don't want anything that requires work as my health is against that and money too. So, I have been trying to decide if a flat would be good? I will be buying, no mortgage. Not a big budget.

Two things put me off a flat. One is the maintenance cost that one has to pay early and the other, noise! Noise from all sides!

Do new flats come soundproofed these days? Is the yearly maintenance a lot? Anyone been in this position that can offer some advice please? Living in South Wales so house prices are not like London!

What I like about a flat is all on one level. No garden to worry about and hopefully if newish, no big jobs to worry about.

Thanks
 
If it's a new built flat, sound insulation is not great. I can hear my neighbors closing windows in their living room. Most of them have metsec walls & either 2 or 4 layers of plasterboard.
I don't know how much is service charge in Wales but in London is around 2k per annum, plus extra cost if there is some modernization do to to the building to be done.
I would try to find house - freehold is you can afford.
 
If you are worried about noise and service charges you need to find a house that is affordable buddy. If it were me id rather do a little home improvements that will take a few weeks/months rather than put up with noisy neighbours for the whole time i am there.

In regards to the sound insulation on newer flats. You are more likely to have better sound insulation on the older ones due to building materials getting lighter and councils/builders trying to save money at every point of the build.
 
Flats can be quiet.

In a block of flats I had the end of terrace, top floor one - green one in the pic below. It meant I had no joined walls with a neighbour and no one above me.

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If you can find an older flat, that's maybe a converted building, you also have a greater chance of better sound insulation from old brickwork.

Of course, all these benefits mean that they're more expensive to buy.
 
I had a top floor (3rd floor) one that was built in 2013 by Bellway.
The staircase was in the centre of the block of 8 apartments so you technically had no-one either side.
Couldn't hear anyone from underneath
 
Depends what you're looking for. Flats are easier to deal with but slugging bags and furniture up flights of stairs can be a pain.

Money-wise, you will usually find you can afford a bigger property with a house than a flat (mortgage repayments = flat remortgage repayments + maintenance fee)
 
Kemik said:
Depends what you're looking for. Flats are easier to deal with but slugging bags and furniture up flights of stairs can be a pain.

Money-wise, you will usually find you can afford a bigger property with a house than a flat (mortgage repayments = flat remortgage repayments + maintenance fee)
Click to expand...

I bought all my furniture new and used their delivery service to bring it up the 3 flights of stairs :D

The guys were not happy, but their stores had agreed to deliver up the stairs :)
 
We had a new build flat a while back, built 9 years ago. Despite being middle floor, the sound insulation was great. I think it really matters who built them, they can vary.
 
Going from a family home (assuming detached?) to a flat could be a nightmare with people above/below you and all around you? How about a small 2/3 bed semi?

Perhaps a house needing some work will be worthwhile so you can focus your efforts on it after the divorce?
 
Look for a semi detached or end of terrace house. My flat was built in 2004 and I could hear neighbours all day and night. I hated it. Plus, having a house means you have more options of getting the bbq going in the summer and no maintenance/ground rental charges.
 
There is no right or wrong answer as it totally depends on the flat/house development and if it is an old build or a new/newish build.

For example my friends new build flat is both quieter and cheaper to heat than my 50 year old house. With all of the fire doors and sound proofing I've never really heard his neighbours regardless of time of day, however I can hear my neighbour slam doors if I'm sitting in silence in my house.

Plus its not like Flats cost money in a service charge and houses are free. What you save in service charge you pay for in maintenance and general external upkeep.
 
johnny6 said:
Plus its not like Flat cost money in a service charge but houses are free. What you save in service charge you pay for in maintenance and general external upkeep.
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But considering the service charge doesn't actually cover the cost of the majority of things inside the flat it's far more expensive.
 
I rent my flat (maisonette) out which I lived in for 10 years, it was a 70's build and the walls are reasonably thick in a block of 4.

Hardly heard the neighbours and surprisingly quiet. The building is owned by the local council but I owe the dwelling.

Annual maintenance has never been a lot to be honest, with access to a communal area were talking £10 a year (lol!) and quarterly invoices for lighting and general maintenance (changing bulbs etc) were talking a few hundred per year.

Massive renovation work such as a new roof and wall insulation (back a few years) was covered by them, and I never paid a penny.

What I always missed living in the flat was my own outside space and my own car park allocation so consider that when looking. The idea of not having a garden to maintain might sound like a good idea but you'll wish you had it on a nice sunny day and your sat inside (was for me).

I live in South Wales also.
 
Skillmister said:
But considering the service charge doesn't actually cover the cost of the majority of things inside the flat it's far more expensive.
Click to expand...

Again totally depends, when we where in the market we looked at several flats and some covered things which I didn't initially consider. One development had recently replaced all of the boilers and radiators in the block via the service charge. As far as I'm aware the service charge can't make a 'profit' so whilst it might not be the best value for money (if you can do the work yourself), you are getting something for your money, even if that is just upkeep of the outside fences, green/parking spaces and internal communal spaces.
 
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