Any advice on what size house to buy?

My large two bedroom /2 bathroom flat is freehold. Maintenance charges are less that I used to spend in my terrace house, AND includes all water rates and full 24/7 service contract on central heating/bliler/hot water system.

Management cttee is run by flats residents, not by an outside company. Love the security of a flat, love the easy living in a flat, love no worries about fences, gutterings, roof, external drains, etc. Could never imagine going back to a house or even a bungalow, with all those concerns ever again.

Poppsbaggie, so sorry you lost so very much on your flat. That is so much money to lose, I hope you have been able
start again.?

I would love to know where you can buy a flat for £100k! The decision has to be based on the amount of time you propose living there. I would buy just one home, not too far to travel to and from because I would not want the maintenance of two properties. I find the maintenance of one home more than enough.

Well I'm.just a poor, sick girl of 63 and I don't have a partner lol! I've worked hard all my life one way or another but somewhere I've been stupid and barely holding onto one cheap property never mind two but no matter. That is the way the die is cast. So what would I do if I were the OP? Live in the here and now. Don't worry about the 'future' as it is not promised. You have your main home and are choosing a second residence near your family. How exciting! Is it not like any property choice? You have to have the 'feel' for it? Be able to visualise yourselves sitting there relaxing - in your courtyard ( which could be beautifully done up with tubs, baskets, lights etc. Or maybe you are true gardeners and want a little plot at the flat to work on. Oh no you don't want to be having the grandchildren to stay lol! Just pop over and babysit them and come back to your comfy option. Whatever you do LOVE it and enjoy good health and happy times with your family.

thank you all for your comments. It's been very useful.

How big is the yard at the house? Enough for a small table/chairs/a few pots?
With care even a small, dismal-looking space can be made very attractive and if it’s going to be a 2nd home, I’d have thought a low maintenance yard or patio would be more practical than an actual garden.

Can I just say I bought a one bedroom flat to be near my children and I live here all the time. It’s one bedroom, I couldn’t quite afford a 2 bedroom but would have much preferred it if I could have.

I have a large balcony with pots which is enough for me. The maintenance charge is very expensive , much more than yours and it can vary year to year.

Internal repairs were only done for free in the first two years, I know have to find any plumbing problems etc myself and I think you’ll find this is standard.

I would always go slightly bigger/ no service charge if you can afford it.

Go large! The house every time!
Never have to worry about ground rent/maintenance fees going through the roof.
Just fully insure it, and enjoy it, you never know : you might want to move in there at some time in the future.....

I have just sold my small flat. Paid 245k 11 years ago, got 100k from a cash buyer. No BS would give a mortgage due to ground rent charges. I would advise buying a freehold property and give leasehold a very wide berth.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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..

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.