Home Sweet Home
August 4, 2009 4:20 AM Subscribe
What are the good points and the bad points of living in an apartment building, when compared to your own home.
I’d like the good and bad points of both the sides, and if you could, tell me why you’d prefer to live in your choice.
For example, I live in a house, and of course there are amenities of living here like doing what ever you want, how ever you want it, but, since the buildup of construction work over here, and the raise in property prices, people are moving away, or converting their houses, into apartment blocks.
I myself would prefer to live in a flat, but would want one where good people lived and, hopefully one day, build a house on the plot of land that I might by now.
What do you think?
For example, I live in a house, and of course there are amenities of living here like doing what ever you want, how ever you want it, but, since the buildup of construction work over here, and the raise in property prices, people are moving away, or converting their houses, into apartment blocks.
I myself would prefer to live in a flat, but would want one where good people lived and, hopefully one day, build a house on the plot of land that I might by now.
What do you think?
This post was deleted for the following reason: chatfilter with "I'll go first" bonus. -- jessamyn
Well, I'd say that the "plot of land" and the natural events and critters connected with it are a minus when it comes to home ownership.
Depending on your location, you'll be coping with ants, termites, and bugs--more so than you would in a flat. You'll be prone to basement flooding, and a heavy snowstorm--if you live in a northern clime--can result in roof and foundation problems. A failure in your heating system can lead to a pipe burst and a five-figure insurance claim.
Not to say that apartments aren't accompanied by problems, too. But living in a house demands extra preparedness, and money.
posted by Gordion Knott at 4:52 AM on August 4, 2009
Depending on your location, you'll be coping with ants, termites, and bugs--more so than you would in a flat. You'll be prone to basement flooding, and a heavy snowstorm--if you live in a northern clime--can result in roof and foundation problems. A failure in your heating system can lead to a pipe burst and a five-figure insurance claim.
Not to say that apartments aren't accompanied by problems, too. But living in a house demands extra preparedness, and money.
posted by Gordion Knott at 4:52 AM on August 4, 2009
Living in an apartment is easy. You have no property taxes and no dealing with yardwork or pests or shovelling snow off your driveway. You can more or less come and go as you please (obviously there are leases to sign, but you know when they end and at the end, you don’t have to worry about selling the place or finding a new occupant). You have no maintenance. If your stove or refrigerator breaks, the landlord replaces it. If your pipes get clogged, the landlord takes care of it. You have to worry about a lot less with an apartment than with owning a home.
Cons for an apartment are, obviously, that you have less freedom with some things; you can’t choose the carpet or paint or oven or refrigerator that goes in your apartment. You can’t really make home improvements. Generally you don’t have a yard (which could be a pro or a con, depending on whether you like yards.) Large dogs do not mix well with apartments. Sometimes parking can be an issue if you drive. You may have a difficult landlord who doesn’t fix things in a timely manner. People will also say you are "throwing money away" because you aren't investing in property. Investing in property is not always worth it, particularly right now. Think of your rent as money you are paying to live somewhere, because that is exactly what it is.
Neighbors are a pro/con on either side. You can have obnoxious neighbours in either situation. Some people enjoy the camaraderie of sharing an apartment building with others and see it as opportunity for more friendships.
I prefer living in a flat. Ideally it would be nice to be able to make improvements on my flat and it can be annoying that if I’d like to change the carpet or something (the carpeting in my flat, for example, is beyond needing to be replaced, and the walls desperately need to be repainted. I could do these at my own cost, but I don’t really want to because I don’t own the place; if it were my house, I would do this stuff without hesitation. My landlord also makes me keep the nasty old curtains that were hung when we moved in, as well as the shower curtain (!!!). I’ve changed both of these items for my personal use, but have to keep that old crap stowed away in storage that we really don’t have. So things like that are incredibly annoying).
posted by Polychrome at 5:07 AM on August 4, 2009
Cons for an apartment are, obviously, that you have less freedom with some things; you can’t choose the carpet or paint or oven or refrigerator that goes in your apartment. You can’t really make home improvements. Generally you don’t have a yard (which could be a pro or a con, depending on whether you like yards.) Large dogs do not mix well with apartments. Sometimes parking can be an issue if you drive. You may have a difficult landlord who doesn’t fix things in a timely manner. People will also say you are "throwing money away" because you aren't investing in property. Investing in property is not always worth it, particularly right now. Think of your rent as money you are paying to live somewhere, because that is exactly what it is.
Neighbors are a pro/con on either side. You can have obnoxious neighbours in either situation. Some people enjoy the camaraderie of sharing an apartment building with others and see it as opportunity for more friendships.
I prefer living in a flat. Ideally it would be nice to be able to make improvements on my flat and it can be annoying that if I’d like to change the carpet or something (the carpeting in my flat, for example, is beyond needing to be replaced, and the walls desperately need to be repainted. I could do these at my own cost, but I don’t really want to because I don’t own the place; if it were my house, I would do this stuff without hesitation. My landlord also makes me keep the nasty old curtains that were hung when we moved in, as well as the shower curtain (!!!). I’ve changed both of these items for my personal use, but have to keep that old crap stowed away in storage that we really don’t have. So things like that are incredibly annoying).
posted by Polychrome at 5:07 AM on August 4, 2009
Apartment life is less expensive and less work. It's also less of a commitment.
Owning a house forces you to invest money in an asset (though despite what everyone says, you cannot count on getting that money back when you sell, but then if you invest your spare cash in the market you can't count on it either). You have more room and more privacy, and you are much more likely to get into decorating and altering the place to suit your needs and tastes.
Frankly, I think it's a wash. Depends on what your particular needs are though. I'll just say that if you do buy a house, don't get in over your head with a huge mortgage, and if you do rent an apartment, don't blow all your discretionary income.
posted by orange swan at 5:10 AM on August 4, 2009
Owning a house forces you to invest money in an asset (though despite what everyone says, you cannot count on getting that money back when you sell, but then if you invest your spare cash in the market you can't count on it either). You have more room and more privacy, and you are much more likely to get into decorating and altering the place to suit your needs and tastes.
Frankly, I think it's a wash. Depends on what your particular needs are though. I'll just say that if you do buy a house, don't get in over your head with a huge mortgage, and if you do rent an apartment, don't blow all your discretionary income.
posted by orange swan at 5:10 AM on August 4, 2009
Noisy neighbours can be a pain almost wherever you live!
I have them now, in my apartment, and I also had neighbours in the house I lived in before, who were so bad we got all council-noise-control on their ass.
If you can see em from your windows, chances are they can give you sonic grief should they be inclined. Don't let that sway you one way or the other :]
posted by greenish at 5:27 AM on August 4, 2009
I have them now, in my apartment, and I also had neighbours in the house I lived in before, who were so bad we got all council-noise-control on their ass.
If you can see em from your windows, chances are they can give you sonic grief should they be inclined. Don't let that sway you one way or the other :]
posted by greenish at 5:27 AM on August 4, 2009
I've rented a house on an acre of land, I've lived in large apartment complexes, and I've lived in a 2-apartment house with a small yard.
IMHO, the more control you have over the environment (renting or owning the entire house and the land it sits on) the more expense and risk you bear. Obviously, the risks of ownership are well-described above - I am being pressured by the fam to buy a house and my "no" response is backed up by "Right now, if the roof needs a repair or the foundation cracks or the water heater dies, it's someone else's problem, and I'd like to keep it that way". I am willing to give up control (not paint, not pick my appliances, etc.) in exchange for the reduction in basic costs (taxes, insurance, water and trash bills, etc.), risk costs (even knowing that insurance offsets some of these costs) and perceived future pain in the ass. So, the key in the decision to me is to weigh your need for control against your willingness to incur costs/risks.
It's normally pretty easy, at least with a smaller building and one with lower turnover, to meet your neighbors in a rented apartment before moving in. I've lived in about 10 different apartments over my lifetime, and been lucky enough never to have really bad neighbors.
posted by bunnycup at 5:31 AM on August 4, 2009
IMHO, the more control you have over the environment (renting or owning the entire house and the land it sits on) the more expense and risk you bear. Obviously, the risks of ownership are well-described above - I am being pressured by the fam to buy a house and my "no" response is backed up by "Right now, if the roof needs a repair or the foundation cracks or the water heater dies, it's someone else's problem, and I'd like to keep it that way". I am willing to give up control (not paint, not pick my appliances, etc.) in exchange for the reduction in basic costs (taxes, insurance, water and trash bills, etc.), risk costs (even knowing that insurance offsets some of these costs) and perceived future pain in the ass. So, the key in the decision to me is to weigh your need for control against your willingness to incur costs/risks.
It's normally pretty easy, at least with a smaller building and one with lower turnover, to meet your neighbors in a rented apartment before moving in. I've lived in about 10 different apartments over my lifetime, and been lucky enough never to have really bad neighbors.
posted by bunnycup at 5:31 AM on August 4, 2009
I rent in a high rise apartment, and it's nicer than I expected, although I still can't wait to own my own little house or brownstone someday. I think the best things about living here are (1) there's someone in charge of security for the whole building (2) there's always someone here to accept my packages, and (3) if something breaks, I make a call and someone comes to fix it for free that week.
As an unexpected terrible effect of living on a high floor in a high rise, I now have sinus problems, for the first time in my life. I get semi-regular sinus headaches, and when I fly, I get a MASSIVE sinus headache a few hours after I land. I can only hope this goes away once I am not living way up in the air again.
And, if you are an introverted person as I am, it can be taxing to say hello to neighbors you recognize, the doorman, the maintenance guy, etc, every time you see them. You're less likely to see your neighbors walking into a dwelling with no other units. Of course, outgoing people could have the opposite reaction: it is certainly never lonely where I live.
Of course, most of these upsides and downsides are because the particular building I am in is so HUGE.
posted by lesli212 at 5:46 AM on August 4, 2009
As an unexpected terrible effect of living on a high floor in a high rise, I now have sinus problems, for the first time in my life. I get semi-regular sinus headaches, and when I fly, I get a MASSIVE sinus headache a few hours after I land. I can only hope this goes away once I am not living way up in the air again.
And, if you are an introverted person as I am, it can be taxing to say hello to neighbors you recognize, the doorman, the maintenance guy, etc, every time you see them. You're less likely to see your neighbors walking into a dwelling with no other units. Of course, outgoing people could have the opposite reaction: it is certainly never lonely where I live.
Of course, most of these upsides and downsides are because the particular building I am in is so HUGE.
posted by lesli212 at 5:46 AM on August 4, 2009
I've lived in houses, halls of residence, an apartment in a big apartment block, and a few flats in converted houses. Based on my limited experience I'd say you have to make a distinction between apartment-block flats and converted-house flats. If you're just another anonymous resident in a big block you'll probably interact less with your neighbours and have access to on-site facilities (anything from garbage chutes, to onsite supers, to swimming pools). If you're in a converted house you'll probably speak to your neighbours more, you'll certainly feel less anonymous, and you might have some housekeeping responsibilities (moving the trash to the street on a rota etc).
I'd say skip the converted-house flats. They don't give you perks that a larger building does, and they may lay some of the responsibilities of a house on you.
This all depends on location and cost, obviously. Avoiding having a crack den for a neighbour beats having to take the trash out, even in maggot season.
posted by SebastianKnight at 5:49 AM on August 4, 2009
I'd say skip the converted-house flats. They don't give you perks that a larger building does, and they may lay some of the responsibilities of a house on you.
This all depends on location and cost, obviously. Avoiding having a crack den for a neighbour beats having to take the trash out, even in maggot season.
posted by SebastianKnight at 5:49 AM on August 4, 2009
nax: I've lived in three different apartment buildings, and never shared a wall. I did recently live in a house, however, and the wall was shared on one side. The side with windows was so close to the house next door that I could hear everything in their house.
I like having a balcony to put plants or to sit in the sun, but I don't need a yard. I like the added security of an apartment since I travel so much. But I don't like bumping into the neighbours.
In all the places I've lived, an apartment would be all I could afford to buy. There is no sensible reason for me to go into massive debt for a courtyard since many apartments and houses in places I've lived are the same size.
Not sure the OP is necessarily asking about renting an apartment vs buying a house, though that assumption has been made upthread. You can paint the walls and change the carpets no matter what you own, though in a flat you may have to get permission to make noise and put in a new kitchen.
posted by wingless_angel at 6:15 AM on August 4, 2009
I like having a balcony to put plants or to sit in the sun, but I don't need a yard. I like the added security of an apartment since I travel so much. But I don't like bumping into the neighbours.
In all the places I've lived, an apartment would be all I could afford to buy. There is no sensible reason for me to go into massive debt for a courtyard since many apartments and houses in places I've lived are the same size.
Not sure the OP is necessarily asking about renting an apartment vs buying a house, though that assumption has been made upthread. You can paint the walls and change the carpets no matter what you own, though in a flat you may have to get permission to make noise and put in a new kitchen.
posted by wingless_angel at 6:15 AM on August 4, 2009
I think one of the big differences between a house and apartment are that houses almost always feel too big for one person (to me). I'm in a pretty tiny apartment, about 25 square meters (one room plus separated kitchen and bath areas). Sometimes I'd like another room, but honestly it seems like it's a fine size for a person on her own. Even a small house (in the US at least) tends to be at least 90-100 square meters. I'm always a little uneasy in a house on my own--they creak and settle and make me paranoid. With apartments, I know that there are people next door. Somehow this calms me down some.
Noise can be an issue, but my biggest noise issue is whatever compressor/pump/heater/whoknowswhat goes whumwhumwhumwhum on the roof (I'm on the top floor). Get a fan or some sort of white-noise generator, and you'll be all good.
posted by that girl at 6:29 AM on August 4, 2009
Noise can be an issue, but my biggest noise issue is whatever compressor/pump/heater/whoknowswhat goes whumwhumwhumwhum on the roof (I'm on the top floor). Get a fan or some sort of white-noise generator, and you'll be all good.
posted by that girl at 6:29 AM on August 4, 2009
I grew up in houses, and moved to an apartment building-style condo where I've lived for 10 (cringe) years now.
Apartment:
pro: less responsibility for big problems. Con: less control over getting them fixed. If the roof leaks or the plumbing freaks out, you still have to live with the problem until it gets fixed.
Pro: cheaper if the housing market is hot. Con: more expensive if the rental market is hot.
pro: you can get up and go when the time comes. Con: you are either stuck with a lease, or pay more for month to month lease.
Pro: Potentially cheaper for the square feet and amenities. Con: you are closer to your neighbors. Noise, parties, yelling, dancing, music, etc. Yeah, call the landlord. But you have already been disturbed.
Pro: in larger/nicer buildings, you have nice services like security and desk service and whatnot. Con: you pay handsomely for it. Think about what it costs to employ these people, and divide that by how many units in the building. That portion of your rent directly pays for those services.
House:
pro: your own space. con: your neighbors have their own space too and might use it in irritating ways.
pro: you only pay for what you want. where with an apartment, you pay for what the landlord wants. Con: you are stuck with the bill. In an apartment, part of your rent is sort of "escrow" for big bills. The landlord has the risk, and charges you for it.
Pro: you have more rights regarding privacy and people coming into your living space. cons: so do your neighbors.
Pro: always cheaper in the long run. When the house is paid off, no more rent. Maybe it's a few hundred a month more than rent in the first few years, but after that, rent becomes more expensive. In 20 years, you still have (generally) the same payment. I doubt rent would be the same. Con: it takes a long time for that to balance out.
Irrelevant: Property taxes. You don't get a bill, but you pay them through your rent. Maintenance costs. In an apartment, these costs are just included in the rent payment. You may benefit from economies of scale, but you are paying for it somehow. Plus profit for the landlord.
Wingless angel- I'm not sure how you didn't share a wall in an apartment building. Unless each story floats above the other. In this context, floors and walls are equivalent for noise purposes.
posted by gjc at 6:44 AM on August 4, 2009
Apartment:
pro: less responsibility for big problems. Con: less control over getting them fixed. If the roof leaks or the plumbing freaks out, you still have to live with the problem until it gets fixed.
Pro: cheaper if the housing market is hot. Con: more expensive if the rental market is hot.
pro: you can get up and go when the time comes. Con: you are either stuck with a lease, or pay more for month to month lease.
Pro: Potentially cheaper for the square feet and amenities. Con: you are closer to your neighbors. Noise, parties, yelling, dancing, music, etc. Yeah, call the landlord. But you have already been disturbed.
Pro: in larger/nicer buildings, you have nice services like security and desk service and whatnot. Con: you pay handsomely for it. Think about what it costs to employ these people, and divide that by how many units in the building. That portion of your rent directly pays for those services.
House:
pro: your own space. con: your neighbors have their own space too and might use it in irritating ways.
pro: you only pay for what you want. where with an apartment, you pay for what the landlord wants. Con: you are stuck with the bill. In an apartment, part of your rent is sort of "escrow" for big bills. The landlord has the risk, and charges you for it.
Pro: you have more rights regarding privacy and people coming into your living space. cons: so do your neighbors.
Pro: always cheaper in the long run. When the house is paid off, no more rent. Maybe it's a few hundred a month more than rent in the first few years, but after that, rent becomes more expensive. In 20 years, you still have (generally) the same payment. I doubt rent would be the same. Con: it takes a long time for that to balance out.
Irrelevant: Property taxes. You don't get a bill, but you pay them through your rent. Maintenance costs. In an apartment, these costs are just included in the rent payment. You may benefit from economies of scale, but you are paying for it somehow. Plus profit for the landlord.
Wingless angel- I'm not sure how you didn't share a wall in an apartment building. Unless each story floats above the other. In this context, floors and walls are equivalent for noise purposes.
posted by gjc at 6:44 AM on August 4, 2009
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The biggest drawback is that, for the last year, we had noisy, noisy downstairs neighbors who liked to throw parties that began at 2 a.m. You could end up with bad neighbors in a house, too, though.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 4:49 AM on August 4, 2009