Apartment living etiquette

We live in a flat!

That's exactly what I said Arewethereyet!
Americans call flats apartments!

BlueBelle
We’ll be using condominium soon. Another reason for a price hike.
it’s a flat ?

Aveline

Apartments are what Americans call flats!

I thought it was the other way around! In London I lived in a flat, in America I lived in an apartment.

I rented in a block of flats. There were 18 flats but arranged in groups of 6 with separate entrances so it seemed like there were just 6 flats. I was living there - top floor - for work purposes only for a couple of years so like to think I was a quiet neighbour as I rarely entertained and was usually away for weekends and holidays.

We live in a flat as there no young children here there are no prams and they are not allowed safety reasons. We have wood floors we are 1st floor everybody in our block have wood floors even our director, who manages our flats.
We aren’t allowed dogs or cats, our neighbour as two small dogs we have a cat and so does another neighbour. We found that the next block along from us has cats. We have lived here for 17 years about 5 years ago we all bought the lease on our flats so people can do what they now.

SueBdoo70, thank you for your comments, I find them very reassuring and you've made me feel a bit more confident about the future. But I take on board what you've said too, Madashell and Madeleine45.
It might end up as the only type of property I can afford to buy so I'll bear all that in mind.

Apartments are what Americans call flats!

In France the flat is bought ground, walls and roof, there is no leasehold.

Re retirement complexes: I wouldn’t buy on unless that was my only option:

Management charges, they like their pound of flesh, although having the responsibility of the external and communal areas in another’s hands can be a blessing.
There is often a difficulty in selling the flat on, not very desirable in the second hand market.
If not sold and you have fallen off the perch I think your estate has to carry on paying full charges.
The residents are all of a similar age, no youthful voices about.

When you do sell often the management company take a slice of that.

A friend bought one and regretted it straight away, the residents thought themselves a cut above. The communal lounge was a wasteland of lines of sensible chairs (not homely). It was not a welcoming place at all and the “manager” was replaced by emergency cords etc. She felt very isolated and didn’t make friends there.

I was very sad to have to leave my house , but more my garden, to live in a flat due to health situation, but have seen so many people stay too long n their house and end up going where they do not want to ive. This way I had some choice. I am in a ground floor flat , but could not bring my piano , which was rather sad and I do think about the neighbours and try to be courteous. My back is very painful, and when I was in my house if I was awake at 3am, would often go for a shower which would help a bit. Now , I would not have an early shower and if I want to watch some late tv I do put the subtitles on so that there is no sound to disturb the neighbours. but I have the railway station quite near, in case I can no longer drive my car. There are shops, the doctors surgery and a local hospital, so that hopefully I should be able to stay here for some considerable time

What’s the difference between a flat or an apartment?
Is it the same? So is it a generational name we always called them flats or is it just a posh name for a flat ?

Hi Willjac123 ... I made a long distance move from Yorkshire to the south to be closer to family. Consequently, I could only afford a flat. The first flat I bought was a conversion in a Victorian property, it was hell, for all of the reasons already mentioned. I managed to sell that and bought a retirement flat for over 60’s. I would recommend this for anyone on their own. It is an older building, about 35 years old, very well built, with concrete floors and solid walls. It is warm, safe, you can lock up and go without fear of being burgled. There is company if you want it, with a communal lounge and garden. A laundry, we don’t have to book, it is great to be able to dry the washing and put it away. And we have a live-in Manager to oversee it all. Of course all this has to be paid for by way of the service charge, but everyone I speak to thinks we get very good value for money, and if you are in receipt of pension credit, then it is paid for you. I had a detached bungalow in Yorkshire, and 3 noisy dogs in the garden next door ! It is so peaceful here, I will only be leaving in my box ! I actually can’t think of any negatives.

Living at the bottom the issues I have are door slamming, the person at the top stomping down the concrete stairs very early in the morning and waking me and another neighbour and his motorbike! He brings it to outside the back door and tinkers, revving it up etc. Much worse in the summer, I have to keep my back windows shut.
He used to do this until late evening until a neighbour with children in the back bedroom complained to him.

I would never live in flat again having experienced noise problems when I tried. I now live in a Victorian Terrace house which is remarkably quiet and wouldn't leave it...

If its okay to ask on this discussion thread, could anyone please give me the highs and lows of living in retirement flats/ blocks specifically for over 55's/60's? I was widowed last year and for various reasons will need to sell my house in the near future but the only property I will probably be able to afford to buy is a leasehold flat.
Which is okay. But I'm so used to (mainly) peace and quiet at home- I particularly feel stressed by the occasional loud music from adjoining properties.
So I was thinking that a retirement flat in a block just for older people might work for me and be quite peaceful?
Any thoughts from GN's who can give me advice?

When did flats start being called apartments ? I have luckily it seems always lived in detached houses. I might be too selfish to tolerate flat living and the thought of having upstairs neighbours clumping around in shoes on hard floors or a dog playing with a ping pong ball must be really very annoying. It means I can be as noisy as I like, Hoover when I want or play loud music without upsetting anyone else !

We are planning to move to a retirement apartment in the next 12 months. The ones we are interested in have a laundry room, does anyone have experience of these. I am sure someone said to me once you have to book a slot to use the laundry.

Absolutely no televisions hung on adjoining walls!! Our neighbour's living room backed onto our bedroom and their tv was on the adjoining wall, they used to watch into the early hours of the morning and we could hear every word!! They turned it down when we asked but it's still droned and vibrated into the wall.

inishowen

We loved in a lovely flat in Germany. We had a note pushed through the door saying "please shut your door lowly". Lesson learned!

What a lovely typo! (And I don't mean "lowly")

Somehow in Germany it seems possible to implement rules about when people may mow lawns or do other loud tasks in their flats or gardens. I only wish it were possible in other countries as well.

I have recently moved into a ground floor flat in a two storey courtyard development of 22 flats. I understood that there was a monthly payment to a factor for the upkeep of the communal gardens, parking places, bin stores etc. Have now discovered that the factor went bankrupt or simply disappeared a couple of years ago (with over £300 in the account) The residents committee has lapsed but some of the owners/tenants continue to maintain the gardens, put the bins out and litter pick etc. Others are using their flats to run businesses (Air B & B and car valeting) and there are 4 commercial vehicles regularly parked. This is expressly banned in the lease, as are wooden floors in upstairs flats. My upstairs neighbours have uncarpeted wooden floors. Thankfully being deaf this does not bother me much but visitors say the noise is terrible at times.

The vast majority of the owners/tenants are lovely welcoming and helpful people but there are a few who are in breach of the rules and it seems that the rest of us have no means of enforcing the terms of the leases.

T

My main bugbear when we lived in a flat was that although there were rules about not using power tools or a washing machine before 8 a.m or after 9 p.m. nothing could apparently be done to make people obey these rules.

Someone habitually moved DH's locked bike to the other end of the yard, and twice chained it to bikes to be collected by the police as ownerless. This although his bike was in daily use.

For years we had a pleasant upstairs nieghbour, but when he moved two small children were allowed to jump off their sitting-room furniture onto the floor. As our sitting-room was directly under theirs this was not pleasant. Complaints were met with "Children have to play:" when I pointed out that jumping should be done outdoors I got a very dirty look from the mother concerned and no effort was made to control the children.,

Hard floors are common here, so most people do wear slippers indoors or walk around in their stocking feet, but children riding trikes indoors or rolling balls across the floors has become very usual.

Glad we live in a house now, and I hope and trust we will not need a flat when we get older.

I have just retired and bought myself a ground floor flat with a nice little private garden. The main thing that annoys me is that there are only 3 flats, I’m on the ground floor by the entrance door and there are two upstairs. I am the only one who ever cleans and the communal entrance hall. Although it’s by my flat - everyone uses it. But also the stairs to the upper floors have never been vacuumed or the banisters and walls wiped down etc. I can’t do them because of my disabilities! I think the upper flats are both rented out but I’ve never seen the landlords.

Never lived in an apartment or flat but do live in a semi and things can be just as bad !
Previous tenant was actually a relative of my dads, but it didn't stop him from sweeping his own chimney at 8am on a Sunday morning and probably grinning while he did it, knowing that his chimney ran alongside my bedroom !
The new tenants can't seem to close a door quietly, least of all their front door that they have to slam for some reason!
They also have no carpet on their stairs and seem to enjoy running up and down in hob nailed boots whatever the time of day !

My main gripe is the noise from above. No consideration shown at all even though lease states must have suitable carpet and undelay fitted. Am sure they haven't. Loud noises early hours of the morning wake me up. Don't want to complain as need to get on with neighbours but it is getting to that stage.