Which is better for a first time buyer - a flat or a house? I’m not looking to flip but I will probably upgrade when I partner off and start popping out babies. My friend thinks a flat would increase in value quicker but to me a house is going to be the thing people really desire so I’m leaning towards getting a starter house. What did you start out with? Did you regret it?
I’d be buying in London, UK where houses increase by £1000000000000 every 5 seconds or something silly like that.
Be very careful, UK house prices are very high, and they cannot keep rising forever - if you stick there for 5-10 years then you will probably do fine, but if you need to move in say 3 years you might have a problem.
Interest rates are LOW now - be wary.
There are two types of flats, conversions and purpose built.
Conversions can be rather nice, but you can have problems from noise, people mis-installing washing machines and flooding you, ditto you flooding other people.
Purpose built flats can be quieter (if the floors are concrete rafts).
With flats you have to pay for communal maintenance, venal landlords buy up cheap freeholds so that they can use their own maintenance companies to fleece the flat holders.
With a house, you have your own roof and are not beholden to anyone, possibly you also have your own garden. Noisy neighbours can be a problem, especially with older Victorian cottages. Beware of single skin brick walls.
I suggest that you and Mrs Jim settle down and write out a list of things that you would detest, and work out how you would check for them.
I live in a flat, a Victorian conversion, in a popular area abut 15 miles from central London. In my twenty years I’ve had my kitchen flooded from above three times, my bathroom once, my main bedroom once and my spare bedroom once (all different causes and occasions). We have had neighbours from Hell twice - well two and a half times, and noise has been a problem a few times - although my ultimate sanction is to join the party.
I’ve also had problems getting access to tarp bits of roofing.
On balance it has not been so bad, and since the choice was a small Victorian cottage, I don’t think I would have done otherwise.
Thanks, I have to admit I’d not considered the differences between a flat in a house vs purpose built.
How concerned should I be about interest rates? Should I go for fixed rate even if it is a bit higher?
YES
Also get an interest only mortgage where you can pay off the capital
Basically the trick is to not get yourself in deep sh/t in the early years, and to pay off as much as you can early later on.
Eventually a mortgage becomes a minor nuisance, but in early years it can be extremely unpleasant.
Remember what I said about house prices - they will get sticky soon.
Find something you can (and will) live in for seven years
Is a flat the same as an apartment? It sounds like you are talking about what we Canadians would call a “condominium apartment”, because you are buying it, not renting it.
A ‘flat’ is what we British call an ‘apartment’
If you have the choice buy a freestanding property rather than a flat/apartment/condominium. Buildings lose value over time as they get older. Land however gains value, in an equivalent market, simply because they have stopped making it.
In Australia this is made obvious because if you invest in rental property you are allowed to claim a tax deduction for the devaluation of the building itself.
Ah, thank you. Sometimes in Toronto I see listings for both apartments and flats, and I always wondered whether there was a difference.