Flats or Houses? Which is Better?

When you’re just starting out on the property ladder, you might have an idea of whether you want to buy a flat or a house. Which is better? There’s no right or wrong answer to whether a flat or a house is better – at the end of the day, it all comes down to your budget and lifestyle. 

There are big differences between flats and houses though and I’ll have a look at some of these below. 

Cost

While it used to be true that, in general, flats were cheaper than houses, these days it’s not so much the case. For example, a trendy one-bedroom apartment in a brand new housing development in Hackney is going to cost far more than a two-bedroom terraced house a few miles down the road in Dagenham. 

Also, flats usually come with ground rent and service charge. How much that is varies wildly but if you have an apartment in a well-maintained building with lots of facilities, it can be in the thousands, whereas if you have a conversion in a Victorian terrace, it’s more likely to be in the hundreds. 

If you own a freehold house though, you won’t have any ground rent or service charge to pay. 

Maintenance

As I said above, if you have a leasehold flat, you’ll have ground rent and service charge to pay. You’ll be able to find out from the lease what exactly that service charge covers but if you have a house, you’ll have to pay for any upkeep and maintenance of the building that needs to be done yourself. 

Outside space

Lots of flats come with gardens, balconies, or roof terraces but, more often than not, they don’t. With a house though, you’re likely to have your own back garden and possibly a front one too. 

Flexibility

If you own a house – space and planning permission permitting – you can extend outwards, downwards or upwards. You can convert attics, basements and garages, you can have a summer house or jacuzzi down the bottom of your garden and you can knock down walls and decorate however the heck you like. 

In a leasehold flat, however, your flexibility is limited. You won’t be able to make any changes to the structure of the building without permission from the freeholder, your lease may forbid you from having wooden floors if there are neighbours downstairs from you and you may not even be allowed to own any pets. 

Saleability

Selling a house is 100% easier than selling a flat. Flats are usually leasehold and leasehold holds everything up in the conveyancing process. If you think you might want a quick sale in the future, do not buy a flat. It’s also cheaper to sell a house as there’s more work for the solicitor with a leasehold property and more work for the solicitor means a higher bill for you. 

Is a flat or a house right for you?

As you can see, there’s a lot to think about when deciding whether to buy a flat or a house. You need to make sure it’s the right choice, as buying a home is one of the biggest purchases you’ll ever make. One isn’t necessarily better than the other though – a lot will depend on your budget and lifestyle and, of course, what’s available on the market in the area you want to live in at the time.