Where is it better, more convenient and more profitable to live - in a city apartment or in a private house? Everyone has their own opinion on this matter. Some believe that having an apartment has fewer worries, while others argue that you can sacrifice anything to live without neighbors. Who is right?
Apartment life
There are many advantages to city life. One of the main ones is transport accessibility. No matter where the apartment is located in our city, there is always a public transport stop with several routes not far from this place (in extreme cases, at least one Gazelle definitely runs there). It is for this reason that many do not want to move outside the city; they cannot do without a car. And if there are children in the family, then they will also have to be taken and picked up by car to school or kindergarten. Another plus is centralized communications. There is no need to worry about heating, hot water, etc. - housing and communal services have already taken care of all this. And if anything happens, they will all do the repairs. When living in an apartment, you don't need to think about how your home looks from the outside and how to improve its appearance. Here practically nothing depends on the residents. There is no need to tint anything, correct anything, repair the roof, etc. All this is the responsibility of the management organization (whether it fulfills its duties or not is another question).
Of course, there are also plenty of disadvantages. Many people complain about their neighbors - either they are too noisy and unpleasant, or, on the contrary, they complain that you are making noise after 23.00 and call the police. Another option is that they constantly drown you, or you drown them. In general, there are enough misunderstandings. An important irritating factor is constant noise outside the window, but this only applies to those who live near highways. The ecology of urban housing also leaves much to be desired due to its proximity to roads. Car owners are also inconvenienced by the insufficient number of parking spaces in the yard.
Life in the house
The disadvantages of “apartment life” in private households turn into advantages, and vice versa. There are no neighbors behind the wall, you can calmly go about your business without fear that a neighbor’s party will interfere with your concentration or falling asleep on time. An important point is a piece of land on which you can realize all your fantasies: grow a vegetable garden, plant flowers, and if you are too lazy to do all this, then just sow everything with lawn grass and plant a couple of Christmas trees, and also use it for parking your car.
On the other hand, a private house is for hardworking owners; lazy people have nothing to do here. You will always have to do something around the house: either on the site, or in the house itself, since responsibility for the condition of the home falls entirely on the shoulders of the owner. Communications play a big role here; if, for example, they are completely failed, then there is nothing to worry about. The absence, for example, of central or gas heating adds quite a lot of worries and takes up time.
Making calculations
Many people are concerned about such issues as paying housing and utility bills. Where is it more profitable to live in this regard - in an apartment or in a private house?
As an example, let’s make a calculation for a two-room apartment with an area of 50 square meters. m, in which two people are registered, and for a house of the same area. To simplify things, let’s take the maximum city tariffs.
For apartment
For an apartment, the calculations are as follows.
- Cold water supply, maximum city tariff 14.44 rubles/cubic meter. m multiplied by the standard (if there is no meter) 5.357 and by two more (since there are two registered ones). We get 154.7 rubles.
- Water disposal, maximum city tariff 11.39 rubles/cubic meter. m multiplied by the standard 9.576 and by two more. We get 218.1 rubles.
- Hot water supply, maximum city tariff 84.30 rubles/cubic meter. m multiplied by the standard 4.219 and by two more. We get 711.3 rubles.
- Heating, maximum city tariff 1044.79 rubles/Gcal multiplied by the standard 0.02 Gcal/sq. m and an apartment area of 50 sq. m. We get 1044.79 rubles.
- Electricity supply, tariff for consumers who live in houses with electric stoves - 2,086 kopecks. /kW Since each apartment has an electric meter, this indicator will be individual. For example and simplicity, let’s take 100 kW per month, it turns out 208.6 rubles.
- Repair and ongoing maintenance of housing, citywide tariff 7.85 kopecks per sq. m multiplied by 50, we get 392.5 rubles.
Total 2729.99 rub. But this amount is not final; one additional benefit will be added to it - general house needs. It is not easy to calculate them; the amount depends on the availability of meters, the area of the house, the area of the apartment, etc. On average, for a “kopeck piece” in a five-story building equipped with common house meters for water and heat, but which does not have individual meters, the amount of one was one 400 rubles. As a result, the total amount of payments is 3129 rubles.
For a cottage
For a cottage, the calculations will be simpler, since the central communications in such houses are usually only water and gas.
- Cold water supply. The amount is the same, since the calculation principle and the number of residents remain the same. The maximum city tariff is 14.44 rubles per cubic meter. m multiplied by the standard (if there is no meter) 5.357 and by two more (since there are two registered ones). We get 154.7 rubles.
- Gas supply will be the most important point, since houses are often equipped with gas boilers for heating and water heating. If gas meters are not installed, the gas consumption standard for heating residential premises in the absence of a centralized heating system from January 1 is 8 cubic meters. m/sq. m, multiply by 50, we get 400. Multiply by the tariff - 4.3674, we get 1746.96 rubles. If you install a meter, gas costs can be controlled and reduced.
- Electricity supply, tariff for consumers who live in houses with gas stoves - 2.98 rubles / kW, multiply by 100 kW, we get 298 rubles.
This is where the costs end. Sewage in private houses is usually local, water is heated from a gas boiler, and there is no need to pay for routine maintenance and repairs. Total - 2199 rubles.
Buying a home is a very responsible and important step for every person. That is why it will require preliminary theoretical training on many issues, ranging from legal to technical. Let's consider the most basic of them, which will allow you to finally decide what is better to buy - a house or an apartment.
It is worth noting that until relatively recently, life in the city was characterized by a higher level of comfort than in private ownership. However, today a lot has changed. The construction market offers autonomous engineering equipment and new materials, telecommunication technologies are improving, motorization of the population is increasing, and in general the well-being of people is improving. Thanks to this, the answer to the question of what is better to buy - a house or an apartment - is becoming increasingly difficult. Indeed, today the comfort of private housing is often higher than that of a multi-storey building. At the same time, in addition to their home, the owners receive an environmentally friendly environment in the form of their own plot and independence from public utilities.
So which is better - an apartment or a private house? Let's try to figure it out.
City real estate
When considering the question of where it is better to live - in a house or an apartment, there cannot be any rigid assessments. Each of these options has its own characteristics. Whether they are advantages or disadvantages - all this will depend on the priorities and composition of the family, its capabilities and requirements, specific conditions, as well as on the psychological attitude that the future owners have.
Anyone looking for housing in the city may be offered a choice of three options. Among them:
- secondary housing;
- apartment in one of the new buildings;
- city cottage.
And here the following question will immediately arise for buyers: house or apartment - which is better? Each of the options discussed above has its own advantages. For example, a new building is attractive with its modern layout and freshness of housing. At the same time, it is most often considered as an option for a mortgage, starting to pay the necessary amounts gradually, already at the construction stage. As for secondary housing, it is attractive due to its price, as well as the opportunity to immediately celebrate a housewarming.
New neighborhoods and private developments
Often, buyers cannot decide which is better - an apartment or a house in the city. If the question concerns housing in high-rise buildings, then those who chose it do not need to take care of the site and maintain the building. At the same time, apartment buildings, as a rule, are located much more conveniently in terms of infrastructure and transport.
Nevertheless, finally decide which is better - an apartment or a private house , it’s still very difficult in the city. After all, living in a cottage is still more pleasant and calmer. And this is not only because its owners are the only owners of the building. With a successful selection of the location of the cottage in the city, all the benefits of civilization become available. At the same time, there are no various problems associated with car parking, access to the house, poor sound insulation and neighbors. Moreover, even part of the house can be purchased as property. And it will give its owners a feeling of solidity and calm. This can never be said about apartments, especially those located in panel buildings. It is simply impossible to feel alone with yourself in them. The noise comes from everywhere - from behind the wall, from the street, etc.
Anyone who wants to quickly decide on the question of what is better - to build a house or buy an apartment, needs to consider the existing disadvantages of housing in high-rise buildings. Thus, new houses will continue to shrink for another 10-15 years. Such a process can lead to some problems. Sometimes the walls become distorted and cracks appear on them. Sometimes, because of this, the commissioning of a new building is delayed for 3-4 years. All this time, the builders are bringing communications to the required state and drawing up documents.
Secondary housing and private developments
Sometimes people prefer to buy apartments in old buildings located in the city center. Of course, this secondary housing will not have the problems that are typical for new buildings. However, in this case, even despite the readiness of the building, such apartments, especially inexpensive ones, will most likely require major repairs. In this case, there is a need to replace batteries and pipes, plumbing and wiring. Many owners, in order to decorate the interior according to their preferences, decide to remodel the premises. As a result, the contribution to such repairs sometimes amounts to a third or even half of the cost of the apartment. In addition, moving into an old house will quite possibly give you an environment that is very far from the idea of ideal neighbors.
A private house also has certain disadvantages. New owners will inevitably have to face some specific problems, the solution of which will fall entirely on their shoulders. This applies to keeping the roof and basement, fence and yard, water heater and bathroom in order, as well as the heating system. It is also worth noting that utility bills charged to the owners of private cottages are several times higher. If we consider the monthly payment, then the question of what is better to buy - a house or an apartment - is decided in favor of housing in a high-rise building.
Thus, pitfalls are everywhere. That is why, before buying a home, it is necessary to choose an option whose shortcomings can be tolerated by future owners or they can correct them.
Selecting a location
Can country houses be better than apartments? And in this case, an alternative choice also arises, which has certain reasons. For example, a young couple may strive to move to the city from the village in order to live as close as possible to their places of study and work. On the other hand, a family that is crammed into a small apartment in a metropolis dreams of their own home, where they will be spacious and comfortable. Sometimes middle-aged people change the city for the suburbs. At this age, many people have increased financial capabilities, and there is a desire to build a good house, leaving an apartment for their children. Someone already has a plot of land and decides to build housing on it. Very often, retirees move out of town. In this way, they strive to maintain health and occupy their time with pleasant chores in their own area. The opposite situation, when pensioners living in the countryside want to move to a city apartment, can be observed extremely rarely. Most likely, people who are accustomed to a large space, which includes a house and a plot, find it difficult to imagine themselves in urban housing with a limited area. But those who live in a metropolis and at the same time have a dacha are, as a rule, satisfied with a small but comfortable apartment.
Positive aspects of suburban housing
Anyone who has lived his entire life within a metropolis is unlikely to fully imagine the specifics of life in a private home. Especially if such housing is not very close to the city. What is better - a house or an apartment? Reviews from those who have acquired a suburban home clearly indicate the different possibilities of these two options. That is why, when making a choice, it is necessary to proceed from the availability of available benefits and decide for yourself which of them are obligatory for the family, and which ones can be sacrificed. Among the issues under consideration, it is necessary to address the most significant of them, which relate to:
- Sufficient area for living. After all, many people really want each family member to have a separate room. The ideal option is to have your own plot, which serves as a wonderful area for relaxation, playing with children, etc.
- Availability of an environmentally friendly environment. So, far from the metropolis, the air is fresh, the silence is pleasing, the proximity of a pond, forest, etc.
- Availability of all the benefits of civilization (pharmacies and shops, sports and entertainment facilities, clinics and kindergartens, children's clubs, schools, etc.).
- Conditions for social life (opportunities to relax in accordance with one’s own interests, communicate with relatives and friends).
- Convenient communication with organizations and enterprises. This, if necessary, will allow you to get a choice of work if you want to change your old place.
- Security. It consists of protecting housing in the absence of owners. Living in a house and apartment should also be calm. The site also requires some protection.
In addition to those listed above, each family, as a rule, has its own additional wishes for living conditions. They depend on the profession of the owners and their age, as well as on the habits of the people.
Where is the best place to live? An apartment or a private house is most often chosen when considering the cost of time and money for transport and maintenance of the home.
Modern tendencies
If we consider the life of cities in developed countries, we can note that their growth today is insignificant. As for capitals and megacities, the number of residents in them is even decreasing. People are trying to escape the environmental and transport problems that exist in large industrial and economic centers, settling in the suburbs based on their own requirements and understanding of comfort. Thanks to this, the lifestyle of megacities is becoming increasingly widespread in villages. In many countries, people living outside the city do not engage in agricultural labor at all, which is traditional for these territories. They consume services and work, as a rule, within the city.
However, according to statistics, the world has seen an increase in urbanization. However, it comes at the expense of developing poor countries. It is in these states that the number of urban populations and the area of megacities is growing very quickly. People move here in an effort to leave their poor villages and find work that would improve their living conditions.
Benefits with conditions
Why is a house better than an apartment? Yes, because country life has its own attractive features.
First of all, the house has sufficient internal space. Each family member in a private home can be assigned their own room. In addition to comfortable accommodation, the owners can arrange in their home an office and a dining room, a winter garden, etc. Where is it better to live - in a house or in an apartment, for those who have many children or several generations living together? Of course, only the first of these two options can provide the highest level of comfortable living. In a standard city apartment, normal conditions are achievable only for families consisting of 3-4 people. And even then, in this case, it is necessary that the housing have 4 or 5 comfortable and spacious rooms. However, when discussing which is better - your own private house or apartment, it is worth noting that large areas of the home will require significant costs for its maintenance.
Another advantage of country life is the opportunity for cottage owners to spend a lot of time outdoors. Having your own plot, it is not at all necessary to go to nature on weekends and on vacation, or send your children to the village during the holidays. However, the environmental advantage of a private house arises only when the building is located not in a dusty village near the railway, but in a clean area.
For those who have not yet finally decided which is better - a house or an apartment, the advantages of country housing should be considered in the possibility of using your own plot for a hobby or for farming, as well as as a place where you can park your car without worrying about parking and without paying anything for parking.
What else is good about a private house? It provides the opportunity to swim in the pool, invite large companies and arrange a barbecue for them. This is simply impossible to do in an apartment. However, you should not rush to sudden conclusions about where it is better, in an apartment or in a house. Your area needs some maintenance. Moreover, the more comfortable and extensive it is, the more time will need to be allocated for its maintenance. In this case, only the person who really loves to do this can receive pleasure.
One of the important advantages of a private house is the absence of neighbors behind the wall. This guarantees peace and quiet at night. High-rise apartments, as a rule, have poor sound insulation. Because of this, they can hear a lot of what is happening in the neighborhood. In addition, the city lives its own 24-hour life, giving its residents constant noise. In the form of a certain sound background, it is present in megacities even at night. In this regard, the acoustic comfort of a house is much higher than that of an apartment. However, those who have decided to purchase suburban housing are advised to first make sure that the people living behind the fence of the neighboring property are quite decent and will not periodically start rows, causing problems for others.
If the owners like to receive guests, what is better to choose, a private house or an apartment? You can host receptions of any size in your own cottage. After all, in such a home there is quite enough space. Friends or relatives will not restrict the freedom of the owners, even if they intend to stay longer. Separate rooms may be allocated for them. On the territory of some country houses, guest houses are built especially for such cases. There are no such opportunities in the apartment. However, even in country houses, guests prefer to come in the summer. In autumn and winter, darkness comes early. With its arrival, life in the villages practically comes to a standstill, which causes an unpleasant feeling of isolation, uncharacteristic of the city.
Another advantage of the cottage is the possibility of increasing it. For example, you can add an additional floor, rooms and a veranda. It is also easy to find a place on the site for some additional buildings (workshop, garage, house for children or parents, etc.). And this point is also important when deciding what is better - a house or an apartment. After all, you can expand your living space in an urban environment only by moving to another house. It is also possible to purchase and join a neighboring apartment.
Safety regulations
When figuring out for yourself which is better - a house or an apartment, you need to remember that the risk of robbery in a cottage located outside the city is higher than in city housing. This issue especially concerns those buildings that are remote from busy places.
The safest in this regard are cottage villages that have a fenced protected area. But it is worth keeping in mind that living in such towns is quite expensive.
In a private home, individual protection methods can also be used. So, owners can get a dog that will become a good guardian of the property. A wonderful remedy against robberies is a video surveillance system, which is connected to the village security console. It will allow you to control the situation in cases where the owners are not at home. Effective is the automatic complex control of the cottage, which at a given time turns on the lights in the absence of people, lowers and raises the shutters, etc.
Purchase Features
After the future owners have finally decided which is better - a house or an apartment, they will need to move on to solving the first practical problem, which can also affect the final choice. Indeed, in this case, a certain difference arises between the two options.
It is much easier to build or buy an apartment than a private house. First of all, when choosing the first option, there are much more offers. And even despite the fact that the quality of construction of modern high-rise buildings generally cannot be called ideal, their construction still complies with existing standards and technologies.
If the apartment is located in a ready-made building, then you can purchase it quite quickly. This process is not complicated even with unfinished construction. Here you just need to wait a while, without delving into numerous problems and the process of connecting engineering equipment. If desired, the apartment can be redeveloped even before moving in. The main thing is to invest in the available budget.
The process of buying a country house is somewhat different. It will require considerable effort and time from future owners. If the cottage has already been erected, then it is not possible to determine the quality of construction work. It is worth noting that technology violations can be found almost everywhere. Obtaining a guaranteed result when building your own home is possible only in a case where the owners delve into the intricacies and are also involved not only in organizing, but also in controlling the construction processes.
Buyers often ask the question: what is better for a mortgage - a house or an apartment? There is no difference in this case. The only thing worth keeping in mind is that when building a house, the collateral will also include the land occupied by the building and necessary for its maintenance.
Alternative options
Having considered all the positive and negative aspects of purchasing apartments and houses, many potential buyers probably began to think about buying their own cottage located within the city. However, not many people can afford such luxury. As a compromise option, the modern real estate market offers developments that combine the advantages of suburban and urban housing, which does not have any associated disadvantages.
The first of these options is multi-storey housing located on the outskirts. Today, many complexes are being built, which, on the one hand, are located within the city, and on the other, close to a forest or other natural environment. Such houses have playgrounds and parking lots. Their territory is a protected area. In such residential complexes you can buy two-level apartments, the layout of which resembles a country house for a large family. When purchasing such housing, there is no need to independently monitor the serviceability of engineering systems and maintain the site. At the same time, high-rise buildings are provided with convenient transport services, as well as social and living infrastructure.
Another alternative option is townhouses. They are residential complexes, which include interconnected 2-3-story individual houses. Each such dwelling has a separate entrance. Sometimes there is a garage on the ground or first floor of such a cottage. Next to each house there is a small private plot of land ranging from 0.5 to 2 acres. All engineering communications of townhouses are integrated into a system that is maintained centrally or partially autonomously. Residents of such houses, which are located, as a rule, on the outskirts of cities, are provided with an ecologically clean environment, sufficient area of premises located on several floors, a garage, a plot that does not require much care, as well as socially close neighbors.
Purchasing real estate raises many questions, among which the main one is which is better: a house or an apartment. Once you decide on the type of housing, you can make the right choice.
Benefits of buying a home
The quality of life in your home is better than in an apartment, and their cost is often comparable
The house is distinguished by the presence of a garden area, which is your property and where you can do whatever you want, regardless of the opinions of your neighbors.
Related to this are the advantages of living in a private house:
- No problems with parking and parking; your car will definitely not be stolen or parts removed while it is parked in your own yard.
- Heating is always as you need it, taking into account the meter charge.
- You have constantly clean air and a cozy environment at your service, without the need to communicate with your neighbors if you don’t want it.
- Children walk in the fresh air away from the highway, they are more independent and responsible, they have a sense of ownership.
- If you wish, you can take care of your garden, vegetable garden, or raise livestock.
- All the necessary equipment and tools are always at hand and within walking distance; you don’t have to go to the country house or garage to get them.
Pros of living in an apartment
Apartments are more suitable for small families with one or two children
- Living in an apartment is good because you are only responsible for the interior decoration of the room; all other problems related to cleaning the local area and entrance do not concern you. They are common to all residents, and it is enough to pay the required fee for these services.
- Apartments are often located in busy areas, where everything is close at hand - schools, kindergartens, supermarkets, and houses, as a rule, are built far from infrastructure. You won't have to travel long to get to work or take your children to school with transfers.
- Communications are centralized and serviced in a timely manner, which means that problems with heating or water supply can be easily resolved by contacting the management company or specialists.
How to make a decision
Taking into account all of the above, you need to decide on your priorities and then make the final decision on how you see your living in a house or apartment where you will be more comfortable and comfortable. Lay out all the pros and cons of both options for you personally on paper, this will help visually highlight your main preferences for one option or another. Study this topic in detail, consulting with friends, and refer to thematic forums on the Internet.
Decide on the amount you can have, taking into account credit and borrowed funds. If you still see yourself as the owner of a house, but you only have enough money for an apartment, consider your financial capabilities and prospects for purchasing your own home in the future.
Once the decision has already been made, direct all your efforts to choosing a specific option for a house or apartment, based on your preferences regarding the area, living space and number of rooms, taking into account your financial capabilities. Take your time and approach your choice carefully, taking into account the profitability of each specific offer. There may be a desire to quickly finish with the “housing issue” and settle on the first suitable option. There is no need to rush, because the home will be yours for more than one year. Consider all details carefully before entering into a purchase agreement.
What is better to buy a house or an apartment - find out the pros and cons, finally weigh all the PROS and CONS!
What is better to buy a house or an apartment: let’s decide
The concept of “better” is quite elusive, or rather very vague and sometimes not at all unambiguous for different people.
Nevertheless, I will try to highlight the pros and cons of the house and apartment. But first, let's draw a picture of an ideal home. Most likely, if it differs little from an apartment in terms of infrastructure development and quality finishing.
Let it be a brick house (one or two storeys) and close to the city center, ideally with central heating.
Even if your own home does not match the picture I drew, it doesn’t matter! There are pluses in the house and here they are! Neighbors don’t drill or hammer into your wall, and you don’t have to carry shopping bags with groceries to the fifth floor (I mean five-story buildings without an elevator).
The feeling of constantly being in a concrete birdhouse disappears already in the second week of living in your own home.
It is very nice to have a small plot of land along with your house for an orchard and a small vegetable garden. In Soviet times, for example, they allocated 6 acres - this would be quite enough now.
The advantages of buying your own house with a garden plot will be felt by families with small children, who can be fed with vegetables and fruits from their garden, and there is also a place to play on sand that is not soiled by yard dogs.
If the plot is larger, you can even prepare jams and pickles for future use, which is also very nice. The territory of the house is not limited to the rooms and the corridor in the entrance - children, if there are any, can run anywhere and however they want and quite safely (unless, of course, you forgot a few rakes in the yard..)
Finally, you will get rid of conversations about the janitor not cleaning the yard, the HOA constantly raising fees... No general house needs: maintenance, routine repairs, major repairs.
And you can install a pool right in your yard! Of course, there are some shots who do this in an apartment, but everyone decides for themselves whether to risk it or not.
Minor inconveniences of your own home
When buying a house far from the city, you will have to have at least two cars in case one of them breaks down. It should be taken into account that you most likely will not have a janitor, which means clearing snow, cleaning the territory and weeding is all yours.
Don’t rule out small chores, for which you will at least need to acquire a small set of tools. There are also financial expenses: fixing the fence, sidewalk, etc.
If you have a harsh winter, your water supply may freeze - a minor nuisance. It is much more important to have a trouble-free sewer system.
Ideally, take it to the central one; if this is not possible, then you will have to buy a shambo and regularly order a cleaning service.
Or is an apartment better?
At the same time, living in an apartment has its advantages. For example, the location of apartments often gravitates towards the borders of large settlements, although if the city expands its borders, then an apartment building may stand on a vacant lot and without developed infrastructure.
Okay, let's not touch the new buildings, but let's draw a picture of the apartment as follows: located in one of the good areas of the city with developed infrastructure, on the middle floor in a brick building, not on the corner... Well, there are already more requirements than for a house..
Apartments often have no problems with running water, central heating and the Internet. Repairs can be done once every 5 years - re-paint the wallpaper, tint, whiten, change household appliances.
Having an apartment in the city, you will be freed from digging in the ground, because the only piece of land will be in front of the house and it is not a fact that it will not be rolled under asphalt and a parking lot will not be arranged.
If by some miracle this does not happen, then local dog breeders will constantly fertilize the fertile soil.
You certainly feel safer in the apartment - it is located high (if it is not the first or second floors) from the ground and therefore you can hardly expect a random guest coming through the window, living on the 8th floor...
Central heating in the apartment is provided by a thermal power plant, which cannot be said about your own home. Your only problem may be running batteries, but you don’t need to prepare solid fuel and periodically add it to the potbelly stove so as not to die from the cold on a winter evening..
And if you are planning to install a gas boiler, then be prepared for the fact that first you need to properly install it and get it working, and then make sure that it performs its functions properly.
Otherwise, when carbon monoxide appears or the pressure weakens, the shutdown will go out.
Minor disadvantages of apartments
But the question of whether it is better to buy a house or an apartment would not be completely resolved if we did not consider the disadvantages of apartments. They flow smoothly from the positives.
You can wait 40 minutes for a mechanic who has not yet remembered his name, while hot water is gushing out of your radiator.
Yes, this happened to my friend: I just installed new batteries and one of them just fell off.
During the 40 minutes that the water gushed, the wallpaper flew off not only in his apartment, but also three floors below. But the mechanic was in no hurry...
Or not so long ago there was a domestic gas explosion in one of the apartments where marginalized people lived. I also don’t really want not only such a neighborhood, but also surprises in the form of a fire show by the Ramshtein group..
Example from life:
Here is a very recent example from my practice of communicating with neighbors. There was a need to call a carpenter to work for several hours on a weekday from 18:00, because... Previously, for objective reasons, I could not free myself.
The guy started drilling, sawing and other wisdom that spewed out decibels... The neighbors were not long in coming. After 40 minutes, the doorbell rang and the neighbor, with “white” eyes, asked until what time we would make noise.
The employee replied that until 22:00, I repeated to her. She was indignant and asked to finish earlier, but I can’t rush the specialist, otherwise the quality will suffer. In general, I promised not to delay it. An hour later her husband came. He smiled.. (he probably did something nasty before that, I thought)
He gave an example of how they do it - all repair work is completed before 18:00. May everyone be happy to live in such a way as to do so! In general, he also went home, because the carpenter had already finished!
I even learned something useful from this incident - I got to know my neighbors and their patience better)) I hope we will be friends!
This is how you have to live with your neighbors if you decide that buying an apartment is better than buying a house. And this is just one small example, one evening..
This can go on ad infinitum and not be decided objectively, because everyone decides for themselves whether it is better to buy a house or an apartment.
If you have your own opinion on the question of what is better to buy, an apartment or a house, write below!
Many people dream of living in their own home. Most of them are dominated by those who grew up in small apartments and remember bright moments from childhood about trips to the countryside for barbecues. Today the team iQ Review will discuss the pros and cons of his home compared to an apartment.
Private house or apartment - compare the pros and cons
Opponents of apartments see them as in this picture:
Ordinary courtyard
A five-story panel building with a dirty entrance, noisy neighbors, and graffitied walls. Yes, I don’t really want to live in one of the cells of this commie block. First, let's collect all the disadvantages of apartments in one list.
Disadvantages of living in an apartment:
- neighbors, among whom there may be rowdies and drunks;
- noise from the street;
- high monthly utility bills;
- low ceilings;
- small area;
- lack of greenery;
- parking problems;
- some social pressure on your private life;
- gas pollution and poor ecology;
- high price per square meter;
- It's difficult to keep pets.
But if everything was that bad, people would settle in houses at any cost. This means there are significant advantages!
Pros of the apartment:
- household infrastructure within walking distance;
- good transport accessibility;
- fast internet;
- Delivery from online stores and cafes is available;
- mail is not lost and arrives quickly;
- greater security from robbers;
- central communications;
- significantly higher fire safety;
- all street and general house problems are solved by public utilities;
- It’s easier to leave an apartment empty for a long time - homeless people won’t get in there;
- the apartment is easier to rent;
- you can also sell it faster, the market is more liquid;
- When a house is demolished, the state is obliged to buy your apartment at the market price or provide an equivalent one.
We've dealt with apartments, now let's talk about private houses. Russian citizens think of a private house as a palace. "My home is my castle!". This stems from the Soviet mentality and historical housing problems.
My home is my castle! Pros of your home:
- you don’t see or hear your neighbors;
- large living area;
- own land;
- greenery, clean air;
- no noise from the street;
- there is plenty of parking space, you can have several cars;
- low price per square meter;
- you can have several pets;
- certain status in society.
There really aren't many advantages. But what about the downsides, why don’t people move out of town en masse?
Disadvantages of a private house:
- repairs at your own expense;
- maintenance of the territory at your own expense;
- laying communications at your own expense;
- terrible transport accessibility;
- no infrastructure within walking distance, except general stores;
- food delivery is often impossible;
- The post office does not work well when there is only one old postman for the entire village;
- It’s scary to live alone;
- cannot be left empty for six months, it can become a refuge for homeless people;
- when the house falls into disrepair, no one will give you a new one;
- dear land;
- often poor internet - ADSL or generally Yota;
- everything is constantly overgrown and looks neglected if you don’t take care of the area;
- self-removal of snow in winter;
- frequent power outages - after any hurricane, the private sector is left without electricity, the lines leading to high-rise buildings are repaired first;
- cleaning a larger area is more difficult for a housewife; in spring and autumn, all the dirt drags into the hallway.
Are you noticing a pattern here? If you haven't noticed, then let's keep our fingers crossed.
All the shortcomings of the apartment in practice come down to a small area, poor ecology and poor sound insulation. That is, this disadvantages related to additional living comfort. If you take a private house, then the main complaints against it are the high cost and complexity of operation coupled with poor infrastructure .
Hence, we come to the old folk wisdom that you have to pay for comfort. How does this translate in practice?
“My parents moved from Moscow to a cottage in the Moscow region a long time ago. I have a fairly clear idea of the problems of a private house; I don’t want one for myself. Let's start with the cost. A normal cottage costs from 20 million rubles. I won’t say how much more ours costs, it doesn’t matter. It is important that all the decent land near the city, from where you can get to Moscow in a short period of time, is worth its weight in gold. At the same time, having invested so much money, you can rent it out, well, thousands for 80-100 a month, and only if you find a client. Basically, you can rent it out only for the summer season. If you try to sell a house for a normal price, and not for pennies, this operation may take 2-3 years. From here it is clear that cottages are not an investment. Go ahead.
Operating costs . Do you think there are no utility bills for your home? We receive bills “for watering, for livestock.” When I saw it, I was taken aback. I say, Mom, what kind of watering, you haven’t planted a single bush in your life. Is cattle a shepherd or what? To which the answer came - it’s easier to pay than to make trouble with them. Central electricity, central water supply. There are no bills only for major repairs, which you do at your own expense, and they cost many times more than in an apartment.
Every winter about 4-5 times, a snowplow is called for 4-5 thousand rubles, simply because the gate is covered with snow and the car cannot get out. Two years ago, my parents got tired of this, and they bought some kind of self-propelled snow removal unit for fifteen hundred dollars to clean the paths on the site.
In summer the situation is no better. Every visit to my parents, I listen to amazing stories about the Uzbeks who are at the site almost all the time. They cut branches, mow lawns, rehang intercom wires torn down by the wind, etc. But they don’t have their own Uzbeks. And many neighbors were tired of paying 2-3 thousand for each sneeze, they simply built houses on the site and settled servants there with monthly pay and year-round accommodation.
On the asphalt road neighbors chipped in a thousand dollars at the gate. And not all of them, but only the normal ones. All sorts of Soviet grandfathers who did not have money simply refused to pay and got the road for free, just like the land in their time. Over the course of 7 years it has been torn apart and a new one needs to be made. If you build a private road, KAMAZ trucks will definitely rumble along it 10 times a day, an interesting everyday observation.
External fence It cost, I don’t remember how much, but it was expensive, prices were in thousands of dollars. We decided not to spend money on internal fences; they are wooden. The interesting thing here is that no one fixes them until they collapse, and then a scandal begins about who should pay. If you think that you will not communicate with neighbors in a private house, this is a delusion. If you save on land, you end up with poor neighbors with whom you have to constantly fight. Well, if you have so much money that you don’t need to save on land, you can build three-meter stone fences around the entire perimeter - just go, congratulations. Another option is overly “cool” neighbors. The neighbor across the street laid out a lawn near the fence and dug in concrete pillars, as if it were his personal land; now it is inconvenient to drive a car through the gate. There are also those who are “cool”, who take a small plot of land and build four-story houses close to the fence - and then you look through their windows.
Repair. Somehow the wiring burned out due to a voltage drop or something else, I don’t remember. Once again the TV burned out in a thunderstorm; this doesn’t happen in apartments. It cost 70 thousand to replace the wiring - a thousand per point. I did electrical work in my apartment for 300 rubles per point. If the master finds out that you have a house, you automatically “get the money.” Only the bourgeoisie have houses in Russia; the bourgeoisie must suffer. This is the logic of working people.
Personally, I don’t plan to buy or build any houses for myself. The love of my life is high-rise apartments with panoramic views of the water. A small studio on the fortieth floor is better than any huge cottage, simply because you live higher and have a better view from the window than 39 families below.”
High building A private house in Russia is a good option for retirees who have nothing better to do and who like to dig into the ground, mend fences, etc. In addition, in Russia there are almost no normal cottage villages (except for super-elite ones with wild prices). So problems with transport, infrastructure and local drunks are guaranteed. The Russian suburb has nothing in common with the European or American suburbs you see in films.
History of living in a private house Alexander shared:
“I was 13 when the family moved from a two-room apartment in a town near Moscow to a private house in the suburbs, inherited from my grandfather. Private houses are designed specifically for the elderly; they are not suitable for families with growing children. If you are a married couple and you hate your child, it’s time to move to a private house, preferably a dilapidated one and away from the city.
My mother sold the apartment, which was half registered to me (in guardianship, she told me to agree, because my mother knows better) for 25 thousand dollars and used the money to renovate the house. Since she had no repair experience, the renovation dragged on... well, how can I put it... forever, because they decided to seriously reconstruct the house, and there was not enough money. By the way, this was just before the start of the boom in real estate prices, and after 5 years my apartment would have cost 100 thousand dollars. But that's not the point.
We had wires and Ilyich light bulbs hanging in our hallway; in the kitchen, for which we didn’t have enough money, my grandmother hung 12 types of different wallpapers from leftovers obtained from somewhere during times of shortage. In general, there was enough money, judging visually, only for a fence, lining the internal walls with clapboards, partial replacement of furniture and partial redevelopment. After 2 years, this lining dried out and hung half a meter over my father’s bed, threatening to break his head at one fine moment.
Externally, the house looked nice, and the large green area created a pleasant impression at first. But inside... Firstly, I was ashamed to invite friends or a girlfriend to such a hut. Secondly, no one would go there 5 kilometers away. Everyone gathered in apartments, everyone lived next to the school. And I had to get to it every day. Thirdly, private houses are built with adjacent rooms. Every time I needed to go to the toilet at night, I was sure to disturb someone, wake someone up, and stumble. Everything creaks when you walk, there is silence at night, it is impossible to walk quietly.
Then I had to go from this hole to the institute, spending 4 hours a day on the road (I didn’t get to the hostel due to the territorial minimum distance). How I envied my classmates living in apartments near transport! My parents didn’t have money for rent for me. In general, I got out of this hell as soon as I could. Now I have my own little one-room apartment, I wouldn’t trade it for any houses in the outback.
A garden, a vegetable garden, your own land - it's all great. When you're over 50. The worst thing you can do with your youth is spend it in a private home. If I ever buy myself a house, it will be a cottage with at least a private pond, landscaping and fountains. Otherwise, the poorest one-room apartment is better than your own home.”
About the risks of owning your home Marina says:
“In 10 years, two of our neighbors’ houses have burned down. Both were struck by lightning. Both are wooden, located within a radius of 300 meters from ours. It’s good that it’s not ours, we don’t have the money to rebuild, we also have a wooden house. There is a lightning rod, I don’t know how well it works, but it’s safer with it. Be sure to install a lightning rod. One housewife went crazy with grief. They built a new, smaller house a long time ago, but now she stands on the road and begs every day. She was a decent woman, hardworking.”
This is what happens without a lightning rod Costs of maintaining your home
The cottage is good in theory. In practice, this is a black hole into which money, time and effort will go.
Annual expenses:
- lawn mowing;
- pruning branches;
- garbage collection;
- central grid utilities;
- in a cottage village, payment for the services of a management company;
- snow removal;
- light in the yard;
- property tax.
Periodic repair costs:
- fence repair;
- painting or covering the facade;
- interior works;
- repair of sagging and rotten elements (gate, porch, doors, gates, window frames);
- replacement of wires after hurricanes (intercom, lights).
If you bought a plot and are building a cottage from scratch, the conversation will come up about communications.
If there are no communications, they need to be brought in, and this is:
- water pipes;
- gas pipeline;
- landline telephone optional;
- Internet;
- connection to the electrical network;
- sewer or septic tank;
- asphalt road for access to the gate.
All this is insanely expensive in Russia. But these expenses are not enough. The owner will have to “bring it to mind” all the time. This mainly concerns issues of convenience, security and autonomy.
You may sooner or later spend money on:
- installation of lights on the site;
- video intercom;
- lawnmower;
- snow blower;
- leaf harvester;
- diesel generator;
- water pump;
- solar panels;
- fruit trees and shrubs;
- paving slabs;
- landscape design elements;
- security cameras;
- alarm (panic button);
- systems such as “smart home”;
- lightning rod;
- satellite TV.
The list is not complete; we do not even take into account outbuildings such as a greenhouse, guest house, garage, workshop and sauna.
Summing up , we note that maintaining a normal house, not a wreck, costs on average from 100 to 400 thousand rubles a year, if there are no servants and all the work is not done by hand. Everything is individual. It may be that this year you spend 10 thousand, next 15, and in the third year something happens, and you will urgently need to look for 300 “pieces”. The costs here are unpredictable. This is significantly higher than the communal fee for an apartment in the city.
Winter in a private house It’s also bad for your home; at a high price, you won’t be able to sell it or rent it out quickly. In general, a cottage in Russia is a pleasure for accomplished people of pre-retirement age who have no problems with money and who do not have to go to work in the city every day. So don’t be surprised the next time you see an ad “I’ll change my house for an apartment.” Squirrels and greens are great, but not everyone can afford them!
