Advice about moving to a flat

Another alternative, equity release. If this would give funds to get your place as you want it, even paving garden partly to make it low maintenance.

I know this option is to be treated with great caution, but just an idea.

Maybe a 'retirement flat' in a building specifically for older people, could be worth considering.
(I have no experience of them, tho.)

Moved from our big 4 bed house with a large garden to a new build 3 bed flat a couple of years ago. We have a large balcony and communal gardens to sit in. Love it. Love being on one floor. No problems with noise. We are on the top floor with a lift. Best decision we have made.

Would it be possible to move to a different bungalow with a more desirable room layout, if that is your preference, and a smaller garden too instead of a flat. Detached properties are always the better option. I would never give that up to have closely attached neighbours. You will have to factor in £20,000-£30,000 to move though.

We moved from always living in houses to a flat.
I won’t tell you what to think but I will give you our list of priorities that we had when looking for ours. We have been in ours 11 years now and love it.

A purpose built flat not a conversion. Soundproofing is better and pipes are in the right places.

Not a new development so you get a chance to see how the property is maintained normally.

Not too small a development. If it’s only 4 or 6 flats the charges don’t usually generate enough money to keep the maintenance up.

Not too big a development so you get lost in numbers or tennants.

We bought our flat it is not leasehold and the owners run the management company. Ask for back copies of management meetings so you can judge how things are run and what costs are.

Look at the ‘rules’ of the place you are thinking of. Does it state no hard flooring (you do not want to have noisy people clomping around on uncarpeted floors above you.)

Do the rules mention anything about noise restrictions. Ours state no noise that can be heard outside your own apartment between 11pm at night and 8am in the morning.

Check on insurance cover. Who is responsible if the flat above leaks water into yours.
Off the top of my head that’s the best I can come up with.
Good luck ?

As Jane says, there are flats and there are flats.

When I divorced 16 years ago I moved into my lovely ground floor flat, with private garden, in the middle of London next to the Thames. To say I love it here is an understatement.

As to neighbours - unless you live in the middle of nowhere, you are at the mercy of your neighbours: so many tales on GN of those in houses having disputes over shared drives, noise, fencing, boundaries, noisy DIY, unkempt gardens, etc.

At least in a well-managed development with a proper lease, you have some basic rules!

The trouble is with flats, you just never know when an awkward or noisy person might move in to the flat above or below you, and make your life hell. Plus the maintenance costs which are rather outside your control.

I was going to say, you could probably sell a bungalow and buy a cheaper but nicely done up terraced house with perhaps a little courtyard garden. But then there are the stairs, if ever you had mobility problems. You could choose a house with straight stairs and enough room for stair lift.

Hard to say, without knowing exactly what you don't like about your bungalow. Maybe friends/family could suggest some improvements that wouldn't cost the earth. Others sometimes have great ideas you might not have considered. If you made the bungalow yours by decoration etc, you might start to like it more. Good luck.

There are flats and flats! We are so very glad that we moved to a flat from our family home. Its a 60s building so is much more spacious than more modern ones and there's loads of storage space. It has a large beautiful garden which is maintained by our resident caretaker and residents who like gardening. The management charge covers insurance, maintenance, lighting etc etc so we don't have these to worry about.
The only snag is the insulation is not up to modern standards but we deal with that by having full length fleece lined curtains for the winter.
The neighbours are mostly kindred spirits. Noise isn't a problem. I know we are very lucky but I didn't want the OP to think that all flats are awful!!

We’ve lived in flats, houses and are now in a bungalow.
Hated the flats, no outside space, every time we went out we had to ‘dress’ , at home you can just pop on a woolie and potter around.
We rarely saw our other neighbours, once their door was shut that was it, but we certainly heard them, clopping around day and night, they probably heard us with 2 small children too. But a flat with a balcony would at least let you step out of doors.
If you bought a terraced house or a semi, would you still have some money left over?
Don’t forget that wherever you move, the fees will be an amount to be factored in.

Impulse moving is rarely a good move at the best of times

Not all flats are leasehold or run by management, you just have to look around . Yes, a flat apartment in a small block requires an annual fee towards the maintenance etc and that would depend on the area of your choice to the amount you'd have to pay.

I'd stay put if I were you as you've got nobody either above or beneath you, which can pose a problem too.
I'm with your daughter here that it would indeed be a bad move.

Pros of flats: can be quite sociable, sense of people around you might make you feel secure, easy to look after. Cons of flats: neighbour noise, uncomfortable proximity if you don't get on with neighbours, joint expenses, sometimes the common parts look neglected because no-one takes responsibility. It's a tough call. We have lived in some great flats, although at the moment feeling the need for greater privacy and more control over expenses. You might be able to get an idea from the management company of any block of flats what sort of expenses have applied over the past ten years, say. Best of luck. Nearly all of our property decisions have been quite impulsive so maybe you'll just see something and fall in love with it.