Any advice on what size house to buy?

A house would be a much better investment in the long run IMO, who ever is left to! Personally outside space would be crucial for me. A second bedroom would be very handy.

If it is a second home I would go for the flat with a garden.
Are you likely to spend as much time there as in your main home?
It doesn't seem like it .
Since it is to be situated near to your daughter I wouldn't worry about having an extra room in case people came to stay.
We used to have a sofa bed for that reason.
We had to get rid of it as it was so uncomfortable

The extra space and garden. The house for me!

Yes, we had to get rid of a sofa bed for the same reason lancs

I'm trying not to sound mean here, and I am grateful for the advice, as it is useful, but I've twice said that the issue is that the house wouldn't have a garden (just a small courtyard) and the flat, though smaller HAS got a garden. Please read what I typed.

Flat with the garden in that case!

Think about storage , where will you store your hoover, ironing board/ do your ironing. What happens if one of you becomes I'll and you need extra space for equipment or sleeping arrangements ?
Where to dry your washing if it has to be indoors ? Personally for the extra £20-30k I'd pick the terrace.

I think I'd go for the second bedroom if possible, so you can have GC to stay and maybe the occasional visitor, or room for hobbies? I think a yard or patio with plant pots would be preferable to a garden with grass because of maintenance while you are away (and when you're there!)

flopen
If you are going to make use of the extra space then yes or look at it as an investment as in my book space sells.

If you are having doubts about the flat now,if you buy you will find you will come to regret it . Speak from experience!

This sounds like gloating to me.some don't have the option to buy one let alone a second property.sorry if you think that's harsh.But that's how it looks.you could have asked the people you know personally for advice on this.

When I think of flats, I always think of neighbours, possibly noisy ones..

It sounds as if neither property suits you. Flats are a nightmare. Leasehold, lots of restrictions like tv aerials and satellite dishes, washing etc. Charges can go up. My father had to pay £400 a month for his. Hated it and moved to a house. A freehold house is a far better option, but one with small garden and definitely you’ll be glad of an extra room. The flat sounds so cramped. Just don’t buy a property that needs loads of maintenance.

I think a lot depends on how long you intend to stay there at a time. You won't need a lot of storage space if you are only there for a few weeks at a time. Even if you wanted to take grandchildren there, they would probably think it was great fun to sleep in the living room on a blow-up bed. Is the flat on the ground floor? For me, a flat with no stairs would be a big advantage over the terraced house, especially as I got older. I would also want a garden, but that is a personal choice, as I love gardening.

We had a second home, flat in London, surrounded by beautifully tended gardens, overlooking Kew. We rarely went into the gardens, so when we were looking to find a new 2nd home it definitely had to be a house with our own garden.

Nannan2. You seem to have personal issues if you grudge the OP a second home. If people have worked hard and saved enough then I don’t grudge them the benefit of a place nearer their family.
flopen As everyone has been saying it really depends on how much time you intend to stay there each year. Have you considered ever moving there permanently? What about if one of you died? Would the other one want to settle closer to family?
Whatever you decide, enjoy it!

If it were me I'd go for a house every time. It also occurs to me to wonder if the flat would be leasehold - which can lead to lots of problems. Also how the block of flats is managed, which can also be problematic, and how much noise you'd hear from neighbours might be an issue too. Of course in the end you need to do whatever seems best for you. Good luck either way!

I would wait a couple of weeks. The raising of the stamp duty limit will mean that lots of people will be planning on moving, mostly upsizing, and the market will soon be flooded with some real bargains. My DD has decided to move and there are already far more houses on the market than last week. Does it have to be one or the other? I would give it a few more days then start checking out Rightmove. I , personally, would not fancy just one bedroom. Victorian houses tend to have steep staircases.

Leaving a flat empty would be more secure than leaving a house empty for long periods of time.
I have friends who moved to a Flat because when they retired they wanted to be able to go on frequent holidays without worrying about leaving their house.
They flat is in an over 60s complex which is ideal for them.

Whatever it you decide don't forget to factor in the 3% second home surcharge if you sell your current holiday flat and buy another second home. The current stamp duty holiday only applies the ordinary rates of SDLT on principal or only homes, not the surcharge rate, and 3% applies to whole of price i.e on 150k purchase price you will still need to pay £4500 SDLT surcharge for purchase of
a new second home, so make sure the extra bedroom/space/garden is worth this tax . Also you need to be mindful of any capital gains tax on the selling price of your flat..

I would always prefer to have a little more space if possible if I can manage it.

Under the current rules I think you’ll find that only the extra 3% is payable on second homes.

I would sell my main property and just move into a nice modern fairly new house with a manageable garden and maybe buy something cheap in the area you now live in. Best of luck anyway.

As it's a second home, do you really need a dining room and second bedroom? I'd rather have the flat with large garden as a lock up and leave option. You can get a gardener to maintain the outdoor space if necessary.

My seaside place is a ground floor conversion. It has one bedroom (converted garage), bathroom, a kitchen/diner/sitting room and a conservatory (there's a comfortable click-clack second double bed in there).

The couple upstairs have keys and the use of the garden when we're not there (most of the time). They keep it all very spick and span in exchange.

Surely there are garden flats with 2 bedrooms. Then you could have the best of all choices. I am not surprised at how many people seem scared of leasehold flats. I was for many years. Now I am living in my lovely flat I cannot imagine ever going back to a house. And a garden flat - for you - gives you the outside space you need. It is your second home, sure one bedroom would suffice - you could always have a really nice sofa bed in your living room for the occasional overnight visitor.

As has been said, flats are far more secure to leave for periods, as you would need to do if it is a second home, and means that you have no worries about maintenance on drains, gutters, fences, etc.etc.

You need to be aware of the length of the lease on a flat. Best if it is 99 years or more. One friend had to find £2,000 extra towards a new lift to be installed and then more needed to be done updating the common parts. Another had to find £4000 as the flat roofs needed replacing - she was very indignant as she lived on the ground floor so wasn’t troubled by the leaky roof. My brother recently had to pay towards new boilers as the heating and hot water is a jointly owned set up. Most of these places have a fund set aside for future maintenance but it rarely seems enough and you don’t have total control as you would with the house. You also need to know if the inhabitants manage the ground rents and maintenance as a residents association, or if they are owned by a company who might sell and you find the costs all rocket but I think there have been changes recently to stop this. As long as stairs aren’t likely to be a problem in the near future a house might be a better solution.