ACCOUNTANT EXPLAINS House vs. Flat: Which Should You Buy?

In this video (for my UK friends, (specifically England & Wales)), I share the pros and cons of buying a house vs. a flat.

KEEP IN TOUCH:

00:00 - Why this is important
00:46 - What is the difference
01:41 - Hidden costs
04:23 - Ownership & value
05:35 - What you can & can't do
06:41 - Non-financial factors to consider

DISCLAIMERS & DISCLOSURES ❤

This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nischa does not provide tax or investment advice. The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.

This description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the channel at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!

[nischa]

Thank you for watching :) Please note, the content in this video is specific to England & Wales

[krzysztoffolta]

More property and investing in property videos would be great, for example comparisons of different opportunities with property such as buy to rent, HMO, etc.

[consideredthoughts]

You can summarise the two property types as follows:

With a freehold house, you own the building and ground it sits on. These two, generally, become more valuable over time.

With a leasehold flat, all you ever own is the right to live there. And that right steadily becomes less valuable over time - unless you pay to stop that erosion.

[jainejane]

Would definitely love to see more homeownership videos. Specifically how you started and how you manage your properties

[fredsmith]

What the Grenfell Tower situation has done to privately owned flats has completely put me off ever considering a leasehold flat. We have two tower blocks in my town which have been wrapped in plastic and scaffolding for years, because the freeholder had all the insulation removed on safety grounds (rightly so) and imposed a phenomenal cost (over £10, 000) to each leaseholder to pay for he remedial work which the owner company cannot afford to pay upfront. These unfortunate leaseholders now have flats which are unsaleable, cold and damp, and covered in plastic so they can't even look out of the windows. It's a scandal; my heart goes out to these hard working people.

[chitpaul]

Lease is not always bad, I have a 900+ years lease, my ground rent service costs are less than £20 a year. For £20 a year the landlord is responsible for the outsides. We’ve been here for 13 years. So leasehold is not always bad.

[TheTopStarz]

What you're teaching should honestly be taught in schools as a regular lesson from a young age but i've got a sense the government and companies wouldn't like most people knowing what you're teaching (not to sound like conspiracy head Lol) but I'm glad i found your channel and honestly, thanks for the videos, educating us and sharing your knowledge

[christinastender]

Yes please do make more on property. What you already are doing is great and very helpful and you make it easy to understand and therefore easier to make a decision what is right for me. Thank you for the great advice and content! Love it!!

[tomriley]

Service charge is the main difference I think between a house and a flat - if you own a house you can DIY it if you own a flat it can be extremely expensive plus it includes things like lifts that you wont have in a house. to be honest it often feels like I'm still renting despite paying a mortgage to "own" my flat. Downside of a house in London and elsewhere - more likely to be broken into.

[PropertyCouple]

We appreciate this style of content (and this series of real estate videos) Nischa. Very well structured and presented. Thank you for sharing 🙌

[MalluStyleMultiMedia]

I love the freedom and privacy of a house .. front yard .. backyard with no neighbors .. etc

I also have condos that I rent out and the association fees per month doubled over the last few years.

Another excellent video

[davidrieger]

This is a unique UK scenario. In Australia all apartments the land is part owned by the owners (scenario 3). There is no such thing as leasehold. This makes buying apartments a solid choice to get into the market. The only major cost is body corporate fees and maintenance levies (~$2k pa)

[starfish]

I simply love the way you present your content and how it is precisely communicated

[saratopic]

Thank you for sharing with us the factors that i would not have even thought of when deciding between buying a flat or a house. After this, my vote definitely goes to buying a house.
Keep up the great work and videos! 😊

[absenceoflimitations]

This video came at just the right time.

[sunevanheerden]

So many moving parts handled so well.
Thanks for organizing the info so well taking this onboard for my channel as well 😅

[alastair]

Great video, clear points, well made. This is something that I am starting to consider again now i'm looking at getting back into property ownership, so it's good to remind myself of the pros and cons!

[atishayabakshi]

Yes, property videos will be very helpful, also letting your property as an additional income stream will be an insightful topic. What to consider while buying a property to let in the future?

[sarah.wassila]

Wow! This was absolutely fascinating. I automatically thought a flat would be better because it's cheaper, but I had no idea how much impact being a leasehold has on a property. Not that I can afford a flat or a house at the moment😅, but this is all good info for the future. Thank you!

And yes, please to more content on this topic!

[mallorygraf]

Wow! I'm in California and am absolutely fascinated by your country's real estate laws. So interesting to see how it all differs.