(3
ratings, on average: 5,00
out of 5)
Let's look at two directions for solving the housing issue: house or apartment what to choose, what to buy? In this article, I want to compare both of these real estate options according to different criteria, so that you can make your own conclusion which one is more suitable for you. Buying real estate is a very important step; for many people and families it happens only once and for the rest of their lives. Needless to say, how important it is not to make a mistake with your choice? So, house or apartment: let’s look at what you need to consider when choosing.
Criterion 1. Price. An important (and for many, the most important) criterion when choosing real estate is its price. If you compare a house and an apartment of the same area with the same renovation in the same area, the house will cost significantly more, mainly due to the cost of the land plot on which it is located. At the same time, in a residential area or suburb (where private houses are most often located), a house can have the same cost as an apartment in the center, but at the same time be larger in area and have a good plot of land.
Criterion 2. Location. If you want to purchase real estate in a specific area, then it is easier to focus on an apartment in this regard. In some areas (especially central ones) there are no private houses at all. And, conversely, if you dream of living in the suburbs, in the countryside, closer to picturesque natural places, your option is definitely a house.
Criterion 3. Land plot. One of the most significant advantages of a house compared to an apartment is the availability of a plot of land on which you can set up a garden, vegetable garden, or even build something else. In the vast majority of apartments this is not provided, unless we are talking about the so-called. “apartments on the ground” or apartments on the 1st floor with a small adjacent garden, but even this is significantly different from your own plot of land.
Criterion 4. Availability. For many, when choosing a house or apartment, it is important how quickly they can move in and live there. There are different options here. For example, you can buy a house ready-made, or you can buy a plot of land and build it - this will take some time, which for various reasons may be delayed. In the same way, an apartment is possible: in the first case, you will need to wait until the house is completed and put into operation, and this may also take a long time.
Criterion 5. Area and layout. The layout of apartments has a tighter framework than the layout of private houses. It is very rare to find huge kitchen-dining rooms or spacious halls for entertaining guests there. Spacious apartments with a large area, if found, will cost a lot of money. While in a house this issue is simpler: people build the way they are most comfortable. Even a ready-made private house can be bought with a much more convenient layout than an apartment, but if you engage in independent construction, then even more so you can provide for all the desired nuances.
Criterion 6. Communications. The vast majority of apartments have all modern communications available: water, electricity, gas, telephone, heating, sewerage, internet. And in many private houses, some communications may be missing (for example, there are many villages without gas, many houses with “outdoor amenities” and a cesspool instead of a sewer). This essential criterion must also be kept in mind.
Criterion 7. Risks. An important point that should be taken into account when choosing a house or apartment. When you buy real estate on the secondary market, in both cases the risks are low. But when buying housing on the primary market, there is always a risk of bankruptcy of the developer or the occurrence of some other force majeure circumstances, due to which the construction will not be completed or will be very delayed. This is especially true for purchasing housing “at the foundation pit stage,” that is, when construction has barely begun. When buying a plot of land to build a house, there is also a risk that it will not be built, but at the same time you will still have a plot of land and unfinished construction in your property, which can at least be sold, which cannot be said about an apartment in a “frozen” construction site.
Criterion 8. Re-registration of property. Re-registering ownership of an apartment (or registering it when purchasing on the primary market) is easier than in the case of a private house. It's all about the land: all actions with land usually involve lengthy bureaucratic procedures, which are also associated with additional costs.
Criterion 9. Cost of maintenance. What is cheaper to maintain: a house or an apartment is a controversial question. On the one hand, utilities in the house are usually cheaper: there is no rent, there is no expensive and often low-quality central heating, everything is autonomous, residents are highly interested in the reasonable consumption of all utilities. On the other hand, the costs of current repairs in the house and maintenance of the local area are higher than in an apartment: here you need to take care not only of the inside, but also of the outside of the property. If this is a newly built house, such expenses may be small for many years, but if it is an old one, very serious expenses can often arise.
Criterion 10. Possibility of mortgage. You can have both an apartment and a house, but in the case of apartments, banks usually lend more actively. Registration of a private house and land as collateral causes more difficulties and additional expenses. In addition, buying an apartment on the primary market with a mortgage is easier than taking out a loan to build a house if a person does not have the opportunity to provide another property as collateral.
Criterion 11. Investments, passive income. It's no secret that many people view the purchase of real estate as an investment for the purpose of further profit or resale. In this regard, as a rule, an apartment is a more profitable option. The demand for renting apartments is in most cases higher than for renting houses (exceptions may be real estate, for example, in resort areas), in addition, if you buy an apartment during the construction stage and resell it after putting the house into operation, you can get a good speculative profit.
Criterion 12. Personal preferences. And finally, the choice of a house or apartment cannot be made without taking into account the personal preferences of the person or family who are going to live there. Some people want to have their own yard, run their own household there, and devote more time to their home and garden. But for some, all this, on the contrary, is unacceptable - there is already not enough time, and the less time housing takes up, the better.
These are the main criteria, in my opinion, that need to be taken into account when thinking about what to choose: a house or an apartment. Of course, each person is individual, and perhaps you will have other selection criteria that are important specifically for you, for your situation - I will be glad if you add them in the comments to the article.
In the meantime, I say goodbye to you, see you in other publications on! Join the ranks of our regular readers and follow the updates - then your financial literacy will always be at its best!
Purchasing your own home is a responsible step, in which you need to weigh the pros and cons. In order not to make a mistake with a purchase, thorough theoretical preparation is required on all issues - from legal to technical. Let's try to briefly consider the main ones, which in practice will help you decide what is more profitable for you - a house or an apartment.
Alternatives in the urban real estate market
If you are looking for housing within the city, most likely you will be offered three options to choose from - an apartment in a new building, secondary housing or a city cottage. Each of them is seductive in its own way.
The new building has a modern layout, fresh housing, this is the most common option for a mortgage, the payment of which begins already at the construction stage.
Resales are attractive due to their price and the ability to instantly arrange a housewarming party. In general, the good thing about an apartment is that you don’t have to worry about maintaining the building and the site, and its location is often much more convenient in terms of transport and infrastructure around it.
But living in the house is calmer and more pleasant, and not only because you are its only owner. If you successfully choose a house (cottage) in the city, you can enjoy all the benefits of the metropolis, but at the same time not have problems with accessible entrances, neighbors and poor sound insulation.
Even the part of the house that you have purchased gives you a feeling of calm and solidity, which cannot be said about some “isolated” apartments in panel houses, where it is very difficult to feel alone because of the noise from all sides - from the street, behind the wall...
To quickly decide what to choose - an apartment or a house, think about the disadvantages, namely:
- new buildings shrink within 10-15 years, which entails potential problems - cracks and distortions of the walls;
- Sometimes you have to wait 3-4 years for the commissioning of a new building due to the completion of communications and paperwork, even if the building itself is already ready;
- resale houses, especially cheap ones, require repairs, sometimes major ones, with replacement of pipes, batteries, wiring, plumbing, remodeling... the contribution to repairs can ultimately amount to a third or even half of the cost of housing;
- when you move into an old house, you also get an environment that may be far from your ideas about ideal neighbors;
- becoming a homeowner, you will inevitably encounter specific problems that only you will have to solve - keeping the basement, roof, yard, fence, bathroom, water heater, heating system in order;
- Utility bills for a house are many times higher; from the point of view of monthly payments, it is still more profitable to live in an apartment building.
So there are pitfalls everywhere, and it would be wise to choose where to settle based on the shortcomings that you can put up with or that you can correct.
Apartment or country house - which will cost less?
There is an opinion that you can save on housing by moving to the suburbs. Some families deliberately go to villages in the belief that they can live well and raise healthy children only outside a polluted city. But still, the majority are sure that moving to the countryside means a decrease in the standard of living. And this stereotype has developed for two reasons: the price of a house in the village is low, and you can eat normally from your farm on the site.
And again there are pitfalls. As mentioned above, maintaining even the simplest house is expensive, and an attractive starting price does not mean that you can save on real estate.
American businessman and realtor R. Kiosaki has been trying for many years to convey to people the simple truth that home ownership is an expensive pleasure (and in the conditions of our villages, it is also dubious).
Remember that a cottage, no matter how luxurious or modest it is, is a liability in your budget, an item of constant and considerable expenses for heating, repairs, additions, gas and land tax, if any. For some, these nuances will be a good reason to refuse to move out of town.
If your goal is to pay as little as possible for the purchase, and the future costs of maintaining the farm do not scare you, then you can safely look for options. The financial issue - an apartment or part of a house - will always be in favor of the latter.
But remember that the following factors also affect the cost of a home:
- availability of a train and bus station nearby;
- convenient travel along the street and to the house (ground or asphalt);
- Do you need to drill a well to have your own source of water?
- is the site gasified?
- are there any utility rooms;
- whether there is sewerage or amenities in the yard.
These are all details that can make your life either comfortable or unbearable, so it’s worth paying attention to them, along with the area and materials of construction.
Is a townhouse an apartment or a house?
In recent years, suburban conditions in some areas have noticeably improved, and all thanks to a new type of homeownership for us. A townhouse is several cottages combined into one block. The townhouse is intended for the development of suburban plots or separate landscaped areas in rural areas.
If you look at this building, it resembles a series of cobbled-together houses on two floors that look neat and modern. Inside, it is more reminiscent of urban housing with its mandatory attributes - a bathroom, the absence of large office spaces and an adjacent wall with neighbors.
The facade of the townhouse faces an asphalt street, there is a small courtyard at the back, but the land may not belong to the owner of the property.
As a purchasing option, a townhouse has its advantages:
- urban comfort in rural conditions;
- affordable price;
- communications - electricity, gas, water supply, sewerage;
- equipped entrance to the building.
The disadvantages clearly include the following details:
- the quality of construction is often low, construction on a panel basis generally negates the idea of warmth and silence;
- there may be problems with plumbing and heating, again due to poor quality construction;
- responsibility for maintenance is collective, so you will have to negotiate or argue with your neighbors;
- the adjacent area is negligibly small, only in rare cases can you build something of your own on it (and there is nowhere, and often it is not possible by law).
A townhouse is an intermediate option between a squalid house and a cottage, a long-awaited choice for an economy class in a suburban environment. This alternative is certainly worth considering.
Is it better to buy an apartment or build a house?
This question is probably the most difficult, because a lot depends on the details: where to build, what to build from, how many floors and rooms, etc. Let's reveal the truth right away - today it is more profitable to build yourself than to buy in a new building.
Building from scratch an average cottage with optimal amenities, a landscaped area and communications will cost you about the same as an isolated apartment of the same usable area. At the same time, notice the difference - you will have a landscaped area with services.
In terms of timing, your own construction is also more profitable. A small cottage can be built in 6-8 months, while you can wait several years to move into a new building.
The answer to the question of what is cheaper - a house or an apartment - turns around the other way if you are set on secondary housing. It will be cheaper, and the housewarming party can be arranged much faster. As for the documentation for real estate, registration of a secondary property is not more difficult, but much simpler than land, which, moreover, cannot always be purchased. So here the saving of time, nerves and money speaks in favor of the apartment.
If you have thought through everything with your finances, all you have to do is honestly ask yourself what is better for you - a house or an apartment, and move towards your goal.
Opponents and supporters of living in a private house have long been engaged in fierce debate about what is better: a three-room paradise with all the amenities or six acres with a house in the fresh air? The arguments of both sides are very weighty, but often purely individual.
In the last decade, the number of fans of country life has noticeably increased in our country, cottage villages around large cities are growing like mushrooms, and there are more and more people who want to build their own home and leave the noisy city. But even in multi-storey buildings of new buildings, apartments are being bought up at a tremendous speed, the cost of a square meter of housing is becoming more expensive every year, and young families are happy to take it.
It is difficult to unequivocally answer the question of what is more suitable for permanent residence: a house or an apartment. Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages. And before making a final decision, it is worth carefully studying all the pros and cons. Then you won’t have to regret the step you took later.
Pros of living in an apartment
Living conditions in large and small cities, of course, differ greatly from each other. Huge megacities with developed infrastructure are not at all like quiet and cozy provincial towns where everyone knows each other. Therefore, it is always worth taking into account the fact where the apartment is located, in what area, in what building and in what city. A lot may depend on this, but the apartments also have something in common.
- Firstly, this is the presence of transport infrastructure near the house. This important fact allows those who have to go to work every morning to feel quite confident. Living outside the city, you will need to somehow resolve this issue. Lack of a car or huge traffic jams at the entrance to the city can be a serious obstacle to moving to the private sector.
- Secondly, this is the location of important social facilities near the house. Kindergartens, schools, technical schools, institutes, hospitals, pharmacies, sports centers, children's art centers make the life of a family with children of any age much easier. The need to take a child to school or kindergarten every morning and evening often calls into question the possibility of a family living outside the city in which both parents work from morning to evening.
- Thirdly, the apartments are provided with centralized communications services. All questions regarding the supply of water, electricity, gas, as well as concerns about waste disposal and wastewater disposal fall on the shoulders of specialized services. Apartment owners just need to pay their bills on time and not worry about anything else. Issues of replacing pipes in risers, repairing the roof, removing snow in the yard or ensuring cleanliness in the entrance must be resolved by the appropriate persons in the prescribed manner.
- Fourthly, in cities there are shops, entertainment and shopping centers, theaters, exhibitions, cinemas, concert halls, clubs and other cultural facilities that are almost completely absent in the private sector or rural areas.
- Fifthly, the ability to connect to high-speed Internet, digital television and other information achievements of civilization becomes a serious argument for many.
All these factors very often become decisive when a family is faced with the serious question of what to choose, a house or an apartment. But living in a city apartment also has its significant disadvantages.
Disadvantages of living in an apartment
Not all the disadvantages are noticed by everyone who lives in an apartment. But in most cases, those who consciously chose to live in a private home give the following reasons.
- High cost of utilities. The receipts take into account not only meter data, but also allocate expenses for general house needs, and also charge for major home repairs. Very often, the rent for a small two-room apartment turns out to be much higher than all the costs of maintaining a house with an area of 100 m2.
- Dependence on those who live in neighboring apartments. Problems such as: noisy neighbors, spoiled renovations caused by those who live on the floor above, those who like to drink or smoke in the entrance - are very common companions of those who live in an apartment building.
- Severe air pollution, constant noise from passing cars, lack of parking spaces in the yard and much more also do not add joy.
When choosing between a house or an apartment, the pros and cons of which are different for each person, you should consider all possible difficulties.
Advantages and disadvantages of living in a private house
Among the fans of living in their own home there are people of different ages and marital status. Some people consciously sought throughout their lives to move away from the noisy city, while others were simply forced to take such a step due to various circumstances. But according to experienced realtors, people more often exchange their apartment for a house than vice versa.
The advantages of living in a private house are too obvious for many:
- fresh air, closeness to nature, peace and quiet of country life;
- a feeling of freedom, lack of dependence on neighbors, the ability to go out into the yard at any time and do what you love;
- availability of your own parking space for a car, motorcycle, bicycle or any other equipment;
- a wonderful opportunity to put a small child in a stroller to sleep every day in the courtyard of the house, without the need to walk with him through the dusty streets of the city for several hours in a row;
- you can have any pets, keeping them in an apartment would be very problematic;
- the presence of a garden and vegetable garden allows you to grow organic fruits, vegetables and berries, which in the summer can be eaten directly from the branches or beds;
- relative independence from public utilities, the ability to independently set heating and hot water supply modes, the absence of summer “pressure tests” and frequent shutdowns of hot water supply;
- with properly organized heat supply, maintaining a house is many times cheaper than utility bills for a smaller apartment.
The issue of the cost of utilities is very relevant for many. Therefore, when deciding what is cheaper, a house or an apartment, you should definitely take into account the difference in their area, as well as the fact that in the house you will have to pay only for what was actually used.
If the house is built with high quality, well insulated and heated using modern equipment, then no problems will arise with it. Therefore, when buying or building a house, special attention should be paid to the quality of communications.
But living outside the city also has its small disadvantages, which often stop many city residents from moving.
A private house. Are there any disadvantages?
Many consider the first and most important disadvantage of living in the private sector to be the distance from all the benefits of civilization. The lack of transport, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, shops, pharmacies and other attributes of city life makes those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city seriously think about whether it’s worth it.
In addition, your home requires more attention than an apartment. In winter, you need to remove snow from the yard, sweep up fallen leaves in the fall, mow the grass in the summer, repair the roof if necessary, change the plumbing, and monitor the condition of all communications. If you do not do all this regularly, then very soon even the strongest and well-built house will begin to fall into disrepair.
Taking care of a personal plot can also take up quite a lot of time, so if the parents in the family work, then it may not be easy for them to maintain the vegetable garden in good condition.
But for many, such work is only a joy. Everyone must decide for themselves how suitable they are for living in a private home. However, there are certain categories of citizens who will find it difficult to adapt to living in such conditions, these are:
- single unmarried women or young mothers with children;
- elderly or frail people with serious illnesses;
- young families with small children, in which adults work in the city, and children attend kindergarten or school;
- men or women who do not like physical labor and prefer watching TV in the evenings to snow removal.
There is no single and correct decision for everyone about what is better - a house or an apartment. There are quite a lot of fans of both options, and each makes very convincing arguments. Each person must make his own choice and determine his own destiny.
Before buying real estate, many people ask the question: should I buy a house or an apartment? What is really better and what to choose, because both options have their pros and cons. In order for our article to be fair, I propose to talk about the choice of an apartment and a house of the same area, say 100 square meters...
In my article I will try to describe the pros and cons of this or that choice, and I think the first in our article will be a private house.
Pros:
1) The first and most obvious advantage of the house is its own territory, which is not disturbed by anyone; you can do whatever you want on it. Whether you want to plant flower beds or plant everything with a lawn and paths, in general, no one can tell you.
2) Silence in the house, no one except you will make noise there, no neighbors - no noise.
3) Possibility to build additional buildings, from a garage, a bathhouse, a gazebo, to a winter garden. Here, as they say, it’s a matter of taste – color and wallet.
4) If at the moment you have a small house, then if you have the funds, you can always be upset - add additional space to the house.
5) Design. You can choose for yourself and build the house you want, and if you have money, you can build something fantastic.
6) Heating and hot water. In your home, you can regulate your heating and hot water consumption yourself. If your house is perfectly insulated from the cold, then you will spend much less on heating than in your home (provided that the apartment and the house are the same area). For example, a house of 100 square meters. meters (well insulated from the cold) for heating and hot water comes out to about 2000 - 2500 rubles per month, for an apartment of the same area (central heating) you will pay about 4000 rubles + hot water another about 600 rubles per month (by the way, what is it save).
7) Electricity. On your own area you can place solar panels and batteries to store energy, and be practically independent in energy consumption.
8) Water. If you don’t want to pay for water, you can drill a well and use water from the well.
9) You can always remodel your house, even every six months, if you’re tired of one design, you can tear down all the walls and rebuild it in a new way. No one will stop you from doing this.
10) Car. If you have your own home, you don’t need to think about where to park your car; you either have garages or your own space. By the way, you can buy a car wash and wash your car for free right on your site.
11) Cost of the house. Thanks to new construction technologies, such as these, houses cost almost as much, and sometimes even cheaper, than apartments.
Minuses:
1) You almost always need hands on the house; if something breaks, there are no housing and communal services, you need to fix everything yourself. Of course, you can call specialists, but they usually cost more than housing and communal services specialists.
2) Sewerage. With sewerage near houses, everything is more complicated, and if your house is located somewhere in the countryside, as a rule, there is no central sewerage system and you will have to make it autonomous, it is either a cesspool or modern septic tanks. However, both are not as convenient as central sewerage.
3) Heating. If your house is poorly protected from the cold, then you can simply heat the street at your own expense, then heating will be much more expensive than in an apartment. So insulating your home is an important part!
4) Security. The fact that no one sees you is, on the one hand, good, but on the other hand, no one will see the thieves if you are not there! So think carefully about protecting your home.
In principle, a house with the same area is cheaper (I emphasize again - subject to good thermal insulation). There are also many advantages in the form, garages, your own territory and of course the design and creativity of home improvement.
Pros:
1) Freedom of choice. Let's face it. You can buy an apartment in any area of the city, from the city center to the outskirts. You can’t buy houses that easily, but there are none in the city center or closer to the city center.
2) Utilities. Remember how one of the famous singers sang: - “a communal paradise, without hassle and worries.” Indeed, you don’t need to think about where to get water, heating, electricity, etc. Everything has already been thought for you, live and be happy.
3) There are, but rarely, houses with autonomous heating; their costs for hot water and heating are comparable to those of a private house, and in some cases even cheaper.
4) Many houses are guarded, and the neighbors are not sleeping! :) So your apartment is better protected than your house.
5) Many houses, especially as it has become fashionable now, club houses (3-4 floors of buildings), have a guarded area where you can leave your car, and where your children can walk safely. There are practically no strangers.
6) If something breaks in the entrance or nearby the house, you don’t need to do everything yourself. There are housing and communal services specialists, great for people who cannot do anything with their own hands.
Minuses:
1) Limitations in planning and design. I’m generally silent about the design of the house - you can’t change it in any way, also the layout of the apartment is very limited, many partitions cannot be demolished (because they are load-bearing), so redevelopment of an apartment is much more limited than redevelopment of a house.
2) Still, in many apartments (which operate from a central heating network - hot water), heating and hot water are more expensive.
3) Limited parking spaces. In 80% of houses, parking space is very limited. That's why the cars are literally stacked on top of each other. And then there are accidents - traffic jams in the yards, nerves and fights with neighbors.
4) Since you do not live alone, there is constant noise. Well, there’s a neighbor planning to drill something at 9.00 in the morning or listening to TV loudly, well, etc., I think you understand me.
5) Leaks. You are not immune from the fact that your neighbors will spill on you!
6) Apartment insurance. In fact, it is advisable to insure the house, but it is preferable to insure the apartment, because as from the previous point, they can get spilled, and you have expensive repairs, and your grandmother lives upstairs, who will not be able to pay for it for you.
7) Entrances. Sometimes the entrances of houses (which are not guarded) are much more dangerous than the street at night.
8) Garbage chutes. Many high-rise buildings have garbage chutes, which means constant unsanitary conditions and smell!
9) Price of the apartment. Apartments in good areas, with good yards, are much more expensive than houses (for the same area).
As you can see, when choosing a house or an apartment, there are many pros and cons on both sides. However, I think a house is much more convenient and profitable, but it still needs to be bought - built, and this is also not easy!
Faced with a choice - buy an apartment or build a private house– many people think for a long time and weigh everything advantages and disadvantages of both real estate. This article discusses the pros and cons of a private residential building. Reliable information is drawn from the personal experience of homeowners who built or bought a private house and lived in it for many years.
The house itself and its location
- pros:
√ The best thing about a private house is that the owner himself decides what it will be like. size his living space and layout. Alas, in the case of an apartment, you have to take what is offered (or rather, what is built by development companies), and the most that can be done is the rooms in order to tailor them as much as possible to your own needs and concepts of comfort.
√ In a private house, over time, you can even expand the living space by adding a room, a terrace, or converting the attic into a cozy attic, or adding something else (workshop, gazebo, bathhouse, etc.).
√ No dark courtyards or dirty entrances. Instead, a clean, neat courtyard with designer lamps and a porch with an exclusive
√ In any private home it is necessary to start cellar. In it you can store not only fresh vegetables and fruits, but also numerous preparations, wine, tinctures and liqueurs of your own production from berries and fruits. In winter, this cellar becomes an invaluable nourishment for both the physical (jar of raspberry jam) and mental (bottle of wine) health of the family.
√ An advantage that is difficult to overestimate is independence in terms of heating. Own heating system provides a lot of comfort to homeowners. Private owners do not have to freeze in the fall, when the heating season has not yet begun, and overheat in the early spring, when the temperature outside is above zero and the heating has not yet been turned off.
√ An undeniable plus - wardrobe. If in an apartment this is a pipe dream, then in a private house it is a successful planning element. Even a small dressing room is much more convenient than the most spacious closet.
√ Only in a private house can you equip a separate playroom for children (in addition to the nursery), and toys will no longer be scattered under your feet throughout the apartment, and the little one will feel more at ease in their own territory.
- Minuses:
− First of all - distances. If your house is in the suburbs, and you have to go to the city to work, then in most cases this means early rises, long hours on the road, traffic jams, money for travel or fuel. Private owners are deprived of such advantages as residents of apartment buildings in residential areas, such as a grocery store on the ground floor, a kindergarten or a school within walking distance. Shoe repair, cafes, post office... all of this will most likely have to be reached by transport.
− A big and for many very painful disadvantage is House cleaning, especially the big one. Alone window it costs a lot to wash! Without help (a housekeeper or trained household members), the task may be overwhelming.
− Roads in the suburbs, where people usually buy private houses, still in our time leave much to be desired. Unfortunately, not everywhere there is asphalt and street lights. A dirt road has ruts, mud and puddles in which you can swim a boat and drop an anchor. And this, unfortunately, becomes the daily reality of private owners. If you are lucky and the road is asphalt, then it is rarely or almost never repaired, cleaned, etc.
Local area and plot
They, in principle, are a plus due to the fact of their existence, since apartment owners, alas, are deprived of this. A vestibule where you can unload winter shoes, down jackets and sleds with bicycles does not count.
Here is a list of the advantages of a local area (just to understand how many issues are solved by having your own piece of land):
√ No problem with parking. There is always a place for a car (or a boat, whatever you like), since there is not only a spacious yard, but even your own garage in the house or near it.
√ Instead of a dull courtyard of an apartment building - landscape design to your own taste with a sea of flowers, a fountain, a waterfall, a pond, a stream, an alpine slide and other delights in the form of a garden.
√ On the site you can embody your wildest and craziest ideas. A bathhouse, a gazebo, a summer kitchen and a summer shower are no longer surprising today. But there is a decorative pond with a fountain, a waterfall and exotic fish, a swimming pool with slides, a sports or helipad...
√ On your own piece of land there is always a place for a swing or a hammock, there is a place to sunbathe or barbecue with friends.
√ For private owners it is much easier and It's more comfortable to keep pets(and the animals themselves are better off in the open air than in cramped city apartments). Moreover, homeowners have a unique opportunity to acquire such pets that in urban conditions are not considered possible at all: for example, a horse or a hunting falcon.
- And now about the disadvantages:
− First of all, it is necessary to stipulate that any additional buildings or animals are extra hassle, anyway. For many, the most painful topic is the vegetable garden. Even several beds and a dozen trees require care, which means time and effort. However, if you limit yourself to parsley and dill, minimal effort will be required. Everyone decides for himself whether he wants as many fresh fruits, vegetables and berries on the table from his garden or free time for other purposes.
− Another headache - an annual one site cleaning, even if there is a continuous lawn and a couple of bushes growing on it. To keep your lawn looking tidy, it needs both watering and regular mowing. Shrubs also tend to grow and become impenetrable thickets without proper care. There is only one way out - to roll everything into asphalt, but this, alas, is not very aesthetically pleasing.
− And one more nuance - snow in winter. Snowy winters turn owners of private houses into convicts, forced to swing a shovel almost every morning to clear paths and approaches to households. buildings, access to the road and a path from the front door to the gate, etc.
− With removal garbage also a problem. As a rule, there are no garbage containers. Under the contract, household waste is collected once a week, or independently. Construction and garden waste (branches, sticks, grass, furniture) must be disposed of independently.
Psychological and physical well-being
In this part I would like to touch upon a rather large and important topic: what effect does living in a private house have on health and mental state in general.
- The positive effect is expressed in the following:
√ First of all, a private house allows you to provide more high level physical security, and it's worth a lot! Private owners understand that their own safety is in their hands. There is no chance that a neighbor will forget to turn off the gas, and the house will fly into the air, crushing the residents with heavy concrete debris.
A neighbor's fire will only be their problem, not everyone's. Modern and rigid building materials minimize the possibility of fire spreading.
√ Another undeniable advantage: psychological comfort and feeling of reliability. You don’t have to worry that the neighbors upstairs will flood, ruining expensive repairs and your favorite furniture. Likewise, the chance to flood the neighbors from below disappears, which is usually fraught with conflicts and many other unpleasant moments.
Leaking taps or a broken washing machine hose are just an annoying nuisance that can be solved by fixing it, and not by the need to “resolve” a difficult situation, smooth out a conflict, calm down and please neighbors in every possible way.
√ If the house has a garden and vegetable garden, then this always fresh, natural vegetables and fruits, the process of growing which is completely controlled by the owner of that same vegetable garden and orchard. The chance that food grown with chemical fertilizers or treated with dangerous pesticides will end up on the table is minimized.
√ You can breathe in your own space fresh air, filled with the aroma of flowers, and not exhaust fumes. You can safely walk barefoot on the grass, without the risk of running into a nail or being cut by glass from a broken bottle.
√ In the private sector, as a rule, no noise pollution. This allows you to fully enjoy the silence of summer nights. And, conversely, due to the size of the plots and the distances between buildings, you can live a full life without fear that it will interfere with the neighbors behind the wall. All these little things are very relaxing and contribute to an overall positive attitude and optimism in life.
√ And the last thing is the priceless inviolability of personal space, privacy, which can only be provided in a private home. It’s not for nothing that they say: “my home is my fortress.” High fences allow you to do whatever you want on your property, even walk in nude style and not be afraid that someone will see and judge you. This is an opportunity to isolate yourself from the whole world, and this is what we all sometimes lack so much in the age of total urbanization.
- Negative effect:
− Along with all the positive aspects hidden behind the fence and privacy, there is also a possible negative, which for many may seem serious.
A private house forces a little more solitary lifestyle compared to crowded high-rise buildings. If you suddenly need a drill, salt, life advice or help, in an apartment building you just need to look out onto the landing and knock on the next door. In the private sector this is already more difficult.
− Children are also forced to spend most of their time alone, when parents do not have the opportunity to take them to sections and hobby groups. In the private sector, it is simply impossible to gather the number of children running around the courtyards of residential areas, which means that the child is deprived of the opportunity in the most active way socialize.
− Another factor causing concern among home owners is theft. A private owner has a constant fear for his property, because it is not at all difficult to take something away from an unguarded yard. And the gardens are constantly being invaded by voracious children who believe that the neighbor’s Antonovka is much tastier than the Koshteli from their own garden (remember your childhood).
Financial side of the issue
The financial issue causes a lot of controversy and discussion. The opinions of homeowners and tenants differ, which prompts a more detailed study of this issue.
According to some expenses for the maintenance of a private house and apartment approximately are the same.
According to others, significantly higher.
And still others argue that the monthly costs of maintaining a private residential building are much below than in a similar apartment. Moreover, all arguments are supported by facts and figures.
And yet, according to the majority, in financial matters home maintenance comes out expensive than apartments, even though prices for living space in apartment buildings are unreasonably inflated due to the pricing policies of developers and the corruption on which they depend.
√ However, rough comparisons of monthly payments for utility bills in a private house and apartment they show only minor differences. In winter, the main expense item for homeowners is gas (if the heating is gas). In summer - water (watering the lawn, garden, etc.). But with the right, competent approach, these costs can be reduced by insulating the house or your own well.
And yet let's not lie, your home is very, very expensive pleasure. And it will cost significantly more than an apartment in an area close to the center.
− The average house is 120 sq. m. + a small plot of 4–6 acres comes out to 5–7 million. rubles (for the Russian Federation). All this because of enough dear earth. However, having compared the cost of apartments and land plots in different cities and regions, many still prefer to buy land (with or without a finished building), calling this a more profitable and economical option than purchasing an apartment.
− Not only to buy private living space expensive, but also service. You will have to do small and large repairs yourself or hire craftsmen. You need to constantly monitor everything in a house and it needs investments much more than an apartment: either the roof is leaking, or it’s time to change the wiring, or the fence is tilted (relevant for very old buildings), etc. to infinity.
− The cost of maintaining a home should include the purchase of equipment and tools. , without which high-quality maintenance of both the house itself and the surrounding area is impossible. Lawn mower, electric or chainsaw (for cleaning the garden or preparing firewood), garden tools (shovels, rakes, hoes, secateurs, garden shears), fertilizers and chemicals. plant protection products, etc. Even banal garden furniture is a pleasure, but quite expensive.
− Additional expenses: mandatory insurance, and tax for land and real estate (once a year).
As you can see, there are almost no advantages in the financial issue. To refute the majority opinion about the high cost of living in a private house, more detailed research will have to be conducted.
And yet no disadvantages will tip the scales in its favor. Comparing the advantages and disadvantages of a private house, you are once again convinced that living in a private house, especially in the suburbs, is very cool! Do you agree with me?
Opinions and personal experiences of entrepreneurs.
To bookmarks
A couple of years after the wedding, the question arose: a house or an apartment. And in the fall of 2017, it will be exactly seven years since we started living 15 km from the Moscow Ring Road. We have a townhouse with an area of about 300 square meters, six acres of land with a garden and sociable neighbors with small children.
The advantages of owning your own home: fresh air (and breakfast on the veranda), the ability to quickly switch (from working at the computer to your own flower garden), your own yard in which children play, the absence of solid fences. And if you choose a house in a good area, there will also be convenient infrastructure (kindergartens, school, sections, sports club).
The road to the Moscow Ring Road usually takes about 15 minutes. Then there are the usual Moscow traffic jams. I plan my week like this: I’m at home for several days (working on the computer, on the phone). A couple of days - in Moscow (I schedule several meetings in a row in the city).
Shopping days follow a planned route, and I do a wardrobe analysis at the client’s home. Taking into account the developed habits and free schedule, there are no particular problems with movement.
Disadvantages of owning your own home: dependence on a stable, above-average income. Utility bills and general costs of maintaining a house are higher than for an apartment. Territory maintenance, site maintenance and other expenses range on average from 15 to 30 thousand per month. Separately, gardener services, snow removal and maintaining the house in good condition.
The costs of social infrastructure are also higher. A good kindergarten costs on average 60 thousand rubles per month, schools - from 120 thousand rubles per month, a sports club - 100 thousand rubles per year, a sports section for a child - about 30 thousand rubles per month. Children in local schools usually talk about “cool cars” and the latest phone models.
The main disadvantage of living in your own home is the time spent traveling to Moscow. Any unplanned meetings during busy hours can result in stuck in traffic jams.
Diana Laretskaya
Founder of DL Image School, RANEPA expert
While you are young and passionate about your work, it is better to live in a city apartment than in a country house. The main thing is that you can easily get to your home and place of work. I get to the office in half an hour. All the locations I need are approximately equidistant if you drive from the center. This is very convenient, especially when the entire calendar is filled with meetings.
If you live in Moscow, you can do without a personal car by using taxis, car sharing and public transport. In the case of your own home, this possibility is excluded: not having a car is inconvenient and involves large expenses.
My parents live in a house outside the city and are happy with this life. They really value peace of mind, the opportunity to spend more time in nature, and to improve the area around the house. Maybe with age my views will change, but for now I feel like a resident of the capital.
A house is an autonomous living organism, in which something often breaks down: something is wrong with the gas, or with the heating, or the gates begin to open poorly. In winter you need to clear snow, in summer you need to mow the lawn. The main costs are expressed primarily not in money, but in personal time.
Anatoly Emelyanov
CEO of digital agency One Touch
I live in an apartment in a gated community and I love it. One summer, when we were undergoing renovations, my husband and I rented a house in Aprelevka (Moscow region). We were tired of driving because we spent at least three hours a day on the road.
We had to solve a lot of problems that an apartment resident doesn’t even think about: heating, cleaning the pool, poison for mice, and so on. I realized that I was emotionally not ready for such changes.
Besides, I'm only 37 years old. Most of my time is spent working. My friends and family also like to travel to warmer places. If you spend less than two or three months a year in a house, there is no point in buying it.
It's great to have a summer house. Many Russians rent apartments in Spain for the summer with a barbecue and a swimming pool. It would be nice if Russia also had such houses or apartments.
Inna Alekseeva
General Director of PR Partner Agency
I live in Rostov-on-Don. Definitely my choice is home. I spent my entire childhood like this. As a student, I lived a lot in rented apartments. I can't stand these “boxes”. You constantly have to get along with your neighbors (this is a real challenge for an introvert). Loud music, fear of being flooded by those above, or of flooding those who live on the floor below.
The only advantage of the apartment is the price and availability both for purchase and maintenance. In Rostov-on-Don, two-room apartments cost from 2-2.5 million rubles, houses of the same area - from 4 million rubles. At the same time, the cost of maintaining housing for the home owner is much higher.
What the management company does for the residents of the apartment - takes out the garbage, cleans the yard, clears the snow, repairs the fence, trims the trees and much more - the owner of the house takes upon himself. But the comfort is worth it.
Alexey Puzanov
Owner of the literary website “Buklya”
I live in a private house, as I was not born and raised in an apartment. I want freedom and privacy. The house has a small disadvantage from the point of view of an entrepreneur: you grow on it. Selling a house is more difficult than selling an apartment. And, accordingly, if the business requires moving or in general wants to change the sphere, region, country, there will be more problems.
I wouldn't buy a house, but rent it. But in my region, houses that would suit me in terms of price, location and layout are not available for rent. Having purchased a house and lived in it for some time, I began to understand that dreams of it and reality are two different things.
When I bought a house, I thought that every evening I would sit by the fire and go to the river. But everything turned out differently. A house is a constant job of maintaining order and cleanliness in the building and on the site. You can solve the problem yourself or hire workers. The first option ruins dreams, the second increases maintenance costs.
I bought my house on the secondary market: I chose the area where I was born, not far from my parents. To bring the building to the condition I dream of, according to preliminary calculations, it is necessary to spend the same amount as the house cost when purchased.
Roman Alekhine
Founder of the Ortho-Doctor group of companies
My husband and I have a family business: wholesale and retail sale of Vologda products in St. Petersburg. When we opened the business, we lived in a St. Petersburg apartment. In 2016, due to business needs, we left for Vologda. First we rented an apartment, and then we bought a small house 15 km from the city where we now live.
Everything in the house is 100% satisfactory: clean air, silence, a bathhouse, 10 acres of land, space for a barbecue and a sports ground. The only infrastructure is a store, but there are good transport links: the city is 20 minutes by car or 40 minutes by bus.
The price of the house corresponds to the cost of a one-room or two-room apartment. Maintenance of 50 square meters for two people costs the same as apartment utility bills.
In a year we plan to return to St. Petersburg (again because of business) and will again live in an apartment. To find a house there, you need to settle at least 15 km from the city - otherwise housing will be too expensive.
The best option for this city: to have an apartment in St. Petersburg and a house in the Leningrad region. Distance is a significant limiter: don’t go to the theater again, don’t visit the doctor, don’t sign up for courses or trainings. And if the car breaks down, getting home is a real problem.
Irina Statsenko
Co-owner of the wholesale and retail chain “Dary Vologda”
For 32 years I managed to live in different districts of Moscow. But then, unexpectedly for relatives and friends, he moved to live in the Moscow region (Chernogolovka). This is a cozy scientific village, which was specially built far from large cities near Moscow. Chernogolovka has everything you need for life. And children here can go to school themselves (Muscovites do not have this luxury).
For the first few years I lived in an apartment. In 2017, he moved into the house. It has more space. There is an opportunity to sunbathe on the lawn or grill meat for dinner.
Our house is located next to the forest. Two hundred meters from it there is a picturesque lake. In order not to spend a lot of time commuting to work, I moved the agency’s office from the center of Moscow to Chernogolovka. This decision was not easy for me, but as a result, I have several free hours a day that I can spend with my family in nature.
In my opinion, there is no point in buying a house. Firstly, it is much more economically profitable to rent it (we pay only 60 thousand rubles per month, including all utility costs). Secondly, it’s easier to move to another place if you don’t like something about it.
Aleksey Ivanov
I lived for a very long time in different areas of St. Petersburg - including in the center. As a result, I came to a consensus between an apartment in the city and a country house: I bought a two-story house within the city limits. Now there are quite a lot of such offers on the market, especially in the northern part of St. Petersburg.
Owning your own home is convenient. You are your own boss and are in your own territory. You are fully responsible for the condition of your home and should not wait for someone to do something for you. If necessary, you can always add something.
An apartment does not provide such freedom. There are noisy neighbors, high rents, poor communications and other disadvantages. At the same time, the cost of the house will not be more expensive than a four-room apartment. And it will provide much more amenities.
When choosing the area, I wanted it to be green and as convenient as possible in terms of transport: there are practically no trees in the center, and in the summer I go to the office by bicycle.
Our area has very calm neighbors. Even if someone celebrates holidays, you can hardly hear them. The quality of the roads is excellent, since the house is located in the city. There is no question about the inconvenience of moving. No car - you can get there by public transport.
Alexey Bannikov
General Director of the Fotosklad.ru group of companies
I don’t have my own home, but I’ve already lived in a lot of places. I tried different options: a private house in the city center, apartments in the suburbs and the center, an apartment in a Khrushchev-era building, in an attic. I came to the conclusion that it is most comfortable to live in a private house.
Now I rent a house with an area of almost 80 square meters. No one is running over your head or under your feet (it was nice in the attic, but the pigeons stomped like elephants), and most importantly, you open the door - and you are already outside. In addition, I have three children. Fresh air and free space are very important for them.
There is another small one near our house. It houses the temporary office of my company. So everything is at hand. Over time, I plan to buy my own home. But first you will need to decide on the country.
Kirill Bragin
Head of web studio GoodSellUs
I've been wanting my own home for a long time. But for now, I don’t think it’s advisable to move out of town. There are two main reasons: infrastructure and personal meetings.
Of course, I don't have to be in my own stores all the time. But sometimes you need to quickly go to one of them. But doing this while living in the Moscow region is very problematic. In addition, in the next year and a half we plan to open new points. This means that now we need to actively select premises. The office and banks are within an hour's reach from our apartment.
Also nearby are a kindergarten and clubs that children attend. In 2018, the eldest daughter goes to school. We would like the school to be of high quality, and not just any other one. Other serious limiting factors are the availability of clinics and emergency medical care.
Perhaps infrastructure issues could be resolved by purchasing housing in a cool cottage community. But this is completely different money: the cost of cottages, maintenance, annual fees, and taxes. Therefore, for now we remain in the city and are looking for a dacha for weekend trips and summer holidays.
Boris Zak
Owner of the chain of handmade stores "Plyushkin-Ville"
The times when business was tied to a specific location are over. For the last four years I have been living in Kazan (my husband plays field hockey professionally and has a contract with a local club), and my business partner lives in Moscow. We have an office, but due to the specifics of the PR business, all work is mainly done online: on remote media, via email and instant messengers.
Someday we will return to Moscow. There we have a spacious two-room apartment in a new building in the north-west of the nearest Moscow region. Good location, developed infrastructure, pleasant neighbors.
We don’t have a summer house or land on which to build one. The market price of our apartment is about 10 million rubles. For this money you could buy a nice finished house or at least a section of a townhouse. However, I have neither the desire, nor the energy, nor the time to get involved in my own construction project.
Write
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 definitely 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 11 pm 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, the tariff for consumers who live in houses with gas stoves is 2.98 rubles/kW, multiplied 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.