How much should a small decent flat cost in the UK?

[verywell]

If the flat in question is
- very small, one-bedroom, -- just for a single individual, with a neat bathroom;
- probably old, but rather clean and not requiring expensive repairs;
- not supposed to require high taxes and annual service fees;
- located in England, but not in London or other big cities;
- property type is leasehold or freehold;
- ownership is not shared,
how much should it cost?

Of course, there are sites like "Zoopla", but there are flats meeting these criteria that cost, for example, £ 50 000 or £ 150 000, and, as a foreigner, I have a hard time figuring out the difference. Are there typically any hidden issues with cheap flats? I'd appreciate someone enlighten me on the veracious average cost of such a small, clean flat. Thank you.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

Concerning.

e: Mods? Mods!

 

[moon man]

i don't really have much knowledge but i would be looking at how much fixed those service and maintenance charges could be raised ,this flat near the ocean for instance is freehold but the land around is maintained by a management company at 1100 a year

 

[bloodiedathame]

Bout treefiddy.

 

[Freakbro]

I hear there's cheap flats above the chippy in Aberdeen

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

 

[verywell]

Concerning.

e: Mods? Mods!

May I please clarify, why? Why concerning?

 

[verywell]

i don't really have much knowledge but i would be looking at how much fixed those service and maintenance charges could be raised ,this flat near the ocean for instance is freehold but the land around is maintained by a management company at 1100 a year

Thanks for the suggestion. In this particular case, do you believe the price indicated in the listing is fair? As a foreigner, I'm not quite sure whether having the ocean in close proximity is a downside or the opposite. Also, the listing says "refurbishment is required"...

 

[slinxy]

it all depends on location, location, location.... what part of the UK? places in Wales are generally cheaper, what town or city? London is crazy prices compared to somewhere like Nottingham, then the area that the flat is in that town and city.

In most towns and cities there are great areas with catchment areas for highly rated schools and then there's the slums...

Figure out roughly where you want to live and see what type of area for that town/city that you can afford to live in.

 

[verywell]

I hear there's cheap flats above the chippy in Aberdeen

Thanks for the tip. I noticed there're listings for quite a few cheap flats over there. The flats mostly look neat, and the buildings are OK, too... What could make them this affordable? Location in the northern part of the country may be?

 

[verywell]

it all depends on location, location, location.... what part of the UK? places in Wales are generally cheaper, what town or city? London is crazy prices compared to somewhere like Nottingham, then the area that the flat is in that town and city.

In most towns and cities there are great areas with catchment areas for highly rated schools and then there's the slums...

Figure out roughly where you want to live and see what type of area for that town/city that you can afford to live in.

I see. Good point. So if we talk location, for instance, the above suggested Aberdeen, -- is it considered a good area? Not living in a big city like London is a don't care to me. I prefer small cities. After all I can just commute to London on rare occasions, if need be. You also mentioned slums. How does one tell such places from better areas? Is it just unpleasant street views or being too remote from certain places of interest? Forgive me my ignorance..

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Almost every flat in the UK will have an ongoing (monthly/annual) cost associated with the maintenance and management of shared spaces. These costs can be ridiculously high. The seaside flat above (the one that said refurbishment is required - means you will need to get work done to make it habitable) has £1100 a year, which isn't insignificant. And it will go up over time. Also, you do not own the land under your property. I would always recommend buying a house.

 

[Cromulent]

A studio flat near me is approaching £1,000 a month and no I'm not in a city.

 

[verywell]

Almost every flat in the UK will have an ongoing (monthly/annual) cost associated with the maintenance and management of shared spaces. These costs can be ridiculously high. The seaside flat above (the one that said refurbishment is required - means you will need to get work done to make it habitable) has £1100 a year, which isn't insignificant. And it will go up over time. Also, you do not own the land under your property. I would always recommend buying a house.

Yep, that flat needing refurbishment concerns me exactly in that sense, -- as a foreigner, I'll find it difficult to gather all needed resources to get that work done to make it habitable. As for the maintenance fee, -- yes, £1100 is quite steep. But which figure would you deem reasonable? Thank you.

 

[throwaway4372]

nothing about the uk housing market is reasonable

 

[mattyfez]

Depends entirely on location....

Flats are bad though as above, they are leaseholds and have weird fees you have to pay, and they almost always have no storage space.

You'd be much better off with a nicely maintained freehold, 2 bed end terrace house or something, you might even get a bit of a back garden aswell which is a huge plus.

Price depends entirely on location, and varies wildly so you need to decide where you want to be in the UK... south is typicaly a lot more expensive than north, but even up north some areas can be comparativley expensive...citie more expensive than semi rural towns, etc.

You also need to reaserch the area well, for example i live in quite a nice neighbourhood in my town, but there are some neighbourhoods that should be avoided at all costs...crime, drugs, anti-social louts, general depravation, etc.

So when I bought, I opted for a smaller place in a nicer part of town, a 2 bed place... for a similar price I could have got a significanlty bigger 3 or 4 bed place in a rough part of town... I'm happy with my choice!

 

[Mr Badger]

Concerning.

e: Mods? Mods!

May I please clarify, why? Why concerning?

[FnG]magnolia is the unofficial forum watchdog. They swear that they can sniff out a wrong'un at twenty paces, although these days it doesn't seem to take much to make her clutch her pearls.

Generally property searches are driven by needing to live in a certain area for work or whatever. If your question is serious, it might help if you explained what you are ultimately trying to achieve, so people can better understand your requirements.

 

[mattyfez]

i don't really have much knowledge but i would be looking at how much fixed those service and maintenance charges could be raised ,this flat near the ocean for instance is freehold but the land around is maintained by a management company at 1100 a year

It's cheap but it looks horrendous... flat roof, loads of damp, like everywhere...... you'd probably have to spend 100k on it to make it decent... the ceilings look dodgy and the kitchen and bathroom just want smashing up and starting again... and it still has maintenence charged for the grounds it's built on...

..I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole!

 

[Jono8]

If the flat in question is
- very small, one-bedroom, -- just for a single individual, with a neat bathroom;
- probably old, but rather clean and not requiring expensive repairs;
- not supposed to require high taxes and annual service fees;
- located in England, but not in London or other big cities;
- property type is leasehold or freehold;
- ownership is not shared,
how much should it cost?

Of course, there are sites like "Zoopla", but there are flats meeting these criteria that cost, for example, £ 50 000 or £ 150 000, and, as a foreigner, I have a hard time figuring out the difference. Are there typically any hidden issues with cheap flats? I'd appreciate someone enlighten me on the veracious average cost of such a small, clean flat. Thank you.

I mean, you really need to choose or stipulate an area/region, as it is going to vary wildly depending on where it is...

"England, but not London or a big city" is not going to help

 

[arknor]

. Are there typically any hidden issues with cheap flats? I'd appreciate someone enlighten me on the veracious average cost of such a small, clean flat. Thank you.

Probably just their location.

You need to watch out for cladding https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cdg4kq5x60dt


Up north where I live flats seem to start around 50-60k and go all the way up to 250k which just seems like a joke when I look at the buildings from the outside.

Ideally you should probably find a city you like, and then goto that cities page on reddit and ask on there.

Where I live Newcastle Upon Tyne, people are kinda sick of Londoners asking about which area is the best to live etc.... so some places might be against helping you



Most areas of cities in the UK that have a bad rep, are living on a reputation they had in the 1990s and early 2000s.
in reality most of them will be quiet areas now

Just avoid the places they are dumping destitute migrants in.
they don't respect the areas
Poverty attracts crime and bin divers... literally see people bin diving in house hold waste these days... it's mental.