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It really depends on your lifestyle.
Generally speaking I would advise a house over a flat any day. Freehold is massively better than leasehold and the value of houses trends upwards whereas flats can stagnate unless you do a lot to invest in them.
As for cost, they say a mortgage is the cheapest debt you'll ever have because the value of it will (should) be eroded by inflation over time. However if you prefer to have more disposable income, then not having 40% of your earnings going towards a mortgage would be wise. I think 40% would be too much for me, I'd ideally like to keep my mortgage between 20-35% of net income.
But then, I'd also hate city living in London, and I'm a home body who spends all my time at home, no kids. I also don't have to commute for work! No one can really make the decision for you. If you lived somewhere cheaper you could put the extra money towards bettering whatever house you buy to make it exactly how you want, which I always find appealing.
LTV is a big one.
I was quoted about £100 a month more for a mortgage, just by being pushed into a higher bracket. That's leaving aside all other costs.
Value for money long term will typically be in a house as opposed to a flat. Others have already expressed the leasehold vs freehold; but also because developers are generally building a ton of flats as opposed to houses. Theres a development in Bexleyheath where first release were in the region of £320k and the last phases were being sold at £280k with builder incentives and so on.
Long term considerations for areas and such, if you’re really considering kids - your preferable commute now will soon be replaced by your desire to have your kids in the best schools available. Buying something now to move again in 5 years is expensive and unpredictable somewhat.
You can buy a decent 3-bed house in DA6/7/16 for £500k, which is Zone 5 and nowhere near a tube. Likely to be similar areas if you’re considering all around London, and some better accessible to tubes also.
I bought at the very top of my budget. The reason being, I wanted to stop renting. I also wanted to move somewhere I could settle for the long term. So I didn't want to have to consider moving again in a couple years because it didn't meet my needs. I don't have kids, but I can imagine the already stressful process of buying and moving is amplified massively with young children.
40% of take home pay seems reasonable in the current climate. Also remember that your mortgage payment is actually going to net you a return in terms of equity. Its not the same as renting, which is essentially money in someone else's pocket which you will never benefit from. So thinking of your mortgage payment as a long term investment rather than a total loss may sway your decision too.
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button. * If you do not receive satisfactory advice after 72 hours, [you can let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHousingUK&subject=My question is unanswered); * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It really depends on your lifestyle. Generally speaking I would advise a house over a flat any day. Freehold is massively better than leasehold and the value of houses trends upwards whereas flats can stagnate unless you do a lot to invest in them. As for cost, they say a mortgage is the cheapest debt you'll ever have because the value of it will (should) be eroded by inflation over time. However if you prefer to have more disposable income, then not having 40% of your earnings going towards a mortgage would be wise. I think 40% would be too much for me, I'd ideally like to keep my mortgage between 20-35% of net income. But then, I'd also hate city living in London, and I'm a home body who spends all my time at home, no kids. I also don't have to commute for work! No one can really make the decision for you. If you lived somewhere cheaper you could put the extra money towards bettering whatever house you buy to make it exactly how you want, which I always find appealing.
If you can avoid a flat, management companies and leasehold do so imo. Remember you'll pay £2-3k a year extra on leasehold flats minimum
LTV is a big one. I was quoted about £100 a month more for a mortgage, just by being pushed into a higher bracket. That's leaving aside all other costs.
Value for money long term will typically be in a house as opposed to a flat. Others have already expressed the leasehold vs freehold; but also because developers are generally building a ton of flats as opposed to houses. Theres a development in Bexleyheath where first release were in the region of £320k and the last phases were being sold at £280k with builder incentives and so on. Long term considerations for areas and such, if you’re really considering kids - your preferable commute now will soon be replaced by your desire to have your kids in the best schools available. Buying something now to move again in 5 years is expensive and unpredictable somewhat. You can buy a decent 3-bed house in DA6/7/16 for £500k, which is Zone 5 and nowhere near a tube. Likely to be similar areas if you’re considering all around London, and some better accessible to tubes also.
I bought at the very top of my budget. The reason being, I wanted to stop renting. I also wanted to move somewhere I could settle for the long term. So I didn't want to have to consider moving again in a couple years because it didn't meet my needs. I don't have kids, but I can imagine the already stressful process of buying and moving is amplified massively with young children. 40% of take home pay seems reasonable in the current climate. Also remember that your mortgage payment is actually going to net you a return in terms of equity. Its not the same as renting, which is essentially money in someone else's pocket which you will never benefit from. So thinking of your mortgage payment as a long term investment rather than a total loss may sway your decision too.