With TV shows like F.R.I.E.N.D.S, it’s a wonder that people aren’t jumping at the chance to live the apartment life. You could become best pals with your neighbours or fall in love with the boy across the hall, there’s SO many advantages to living in a flat. Whether you’re looking to purchase your first property, downsize or get back onto the property ladder again, there are loads of reasons why buying a flat could be the perfect choice for you!
It costs less. Yes, you heard me - living in a flat generally costs less than living in a house, and I’m not just talking about the overall property price. Most flats have a slightly smaller square footage than a house, meaning your water and gas bills should be lower. Flats also don’t tend to come with a garden, which not only saves you the effort of maintaining it, but also the cost of buying a lawn mower, strimmer, hose pipe etc… For some people, the lack of a garden is a deal breaker, but think about it – this is England. On the rare occasion we have heat and sunshine, wouldn’t you rather go and sit in a beer garden, or at the park with friends?
Blocks of flats usually have communal entrances which are great from both a social aspect, as well as for security. If you’re living alone – maybe you’ve recently split from a partner, or you are buying your first property – it can be quite unnerving being on your own for the first time. Living in an apartment gives you the comfort of knowing you have neighbours very close by, but you’re still living your independent life, with lots of privacy. In addition, it can be hard to make friends and get to know people if you’re moving from one town to another but bumping into neighbours in the corridor or on your way out can be a great way to meet new people and feel part of a community.
If you live on the ground floor, you don’t have to walk up or down ANY stairs – perfect for those with mobility problems or young children and pushchairs. If you live on the top floor, you have great views and a great step count... It’s a win-win! Not only this, but cleaning becomes easier too as there’s no tricky staircase to try and hoover up, and there’s only one hallway as opposed to an additional landing. All of this is just extra space that serves no purpose but adds time onto your Sunday clean when you could be putting your feet up.
One of the greatest reasons for choosing a flat over a house, is that you are helping the environment. At Aster, we have the aim of ‘everyone has a home’, and with the country’s housing crisis as it is, one way of us achieving this is to build more homes to provide security and shelter. Rather than spreading outwards, blocks of flats spread upwards, which means more people can have a home at less of a cost to the environment. Building up an extra floor or two doesn’t increase the amount of land taken up, meaning less of an impact on the environment.
Our aim of ‘everyone has a home’ is also supported through the sales of our shared ownership homes. You can get onto the property ladder with as little as a 5% deposit, and with a smaller mortgage as you purchase a share between 25%-75%. If you’d be interested in getting onto the property ladder in one of our fantastic shared ownership flats, take a look at what we have to offer here.
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