Does anyone have anything positive to say about apartments?

Lived in one for years. Loved it. Convenient to public transport - 20 mins to city centre. Very secure - could lock the door and leave it for weeks at a time while I went traveling. I had no garden to maintain. I had no external repairs - painting, gutters, roof tiles etc. Great insulation due to other units either side & up and below - I had very low heating bills!

Noise wasn't an issue as people didn't tend to have large gatherings in their apartments. There was usually a hubub of noise from people coming and going but not much more than you'd expect in other densely populated areas in urbAn environments.

No natural congregation areas so no anti social behaviour. There were plenty of green areas but all were overlooked by apartments so had great surveillance and were not suitable for angst ridden teens to hang out!

I had an apartment and lived there for ten years. There's pros and cons as with houses. The underground parking, if you have it, was a godsend in bad weather. Practically no maintenance. But the fees were huge and not worth it. I moved because I wanted my own garden and privacy, and freedom to reconfigure the living space e.g you can't knock down walls or extend. The noise of the general coming and goings of neighbours got to me after a while. I would recommend an apartment as a temporary measure but didn't suit me long term.

I’ve lived in an apartment for the last 3 years.
I find a massive positive is how easy it is to keep the place clean, when you just have one floor and no carpets (in this apartment anyway) I can have the place literally spotless after a full blown party in the space of an hour if I wanted to.

Very little maintenance to be done.

Mgmt company look after all areas around the apartment including bushes and garden (which again for my apartment really good as it’s ground floor so the bush beside my balcony is well kept)

Apartments are great especially if your single.
If it was me looking to buy property as a singleton.
Apartment all the way. It would be poxy to have a whole house to look after by yourself without the help of someone especially when it comes to cleaning etc.

Lived in apartment for 4 years when I lived in Dublin ...ideal location and rent was cheap back then. We kept it in perfect condition and landlord never bothered us.
It was just the two of us and we both worked during the day. We were lucky as the complex was quite and had outdoor space.
So many positives to living in a smallish two bed apartment.. easy to clean , close to public transport, restaurants, gigs and good night live.
Very little maintenance costs and cheap enough utility bills.
I would recommend looking at one with a good management company and not a complex full of student accommodation.

The problem with apartments in Ireland is that for the most part they are designed as buy to let rather than a home for life.

If you are looking for an apartment for life to live in, spend the extra & get a decent square footage. Personally I'd buy a two bedroom just for more space even if it's just you living there. You also have the option of renting out the spare room tax free under rent a room scheme

Hi. Similar situation to yourself, I bought a ground floor apartment in an estate 2 years ago. The estate is a mix of houses, apartments & duplex. I love it. Have my own street level front door, patio area, the size is ideal for me. One person buying with no plans for family has no need for a house.

I previously lived in apartment blocks for over 10 years so had no concerns about buying one. When I started looking I would have said ground floor is out but this one changed my mind. If you find the one for you then I would say absolutely go for it.

caviardreams wrote: »

People always list management fees as a negative, almost as if you don't get anything in return for them...

And also ignore the costs associated with maintaining a house - that don't apply to apartments

I live in an apartment and always thought I would like to buy a house eventually, but the older I get, the more I wonder whether that would be right for me. I have no interest in maintaining a garden for instance, I get nobody knocking at my door canvassing, selling stuff or looking for sponsorship etc....that kinda stuff. I certainly don't enjoy paying what I consider to be a hefty yearly management fee however, and having had extremely noisy children living next door in the past, I appreciate that noise can certainly be a problem. However that's just as likely in a terraced or semi-d house. I also don't enjoy having to trek to the bin shed instead of just opening my back door and putting stuff in the bin there.

I do feel quite safe living here, as I am a couple of floors up and it would be that bit more difficult for Johnny Scumbag to gain access to the apartment. He'd probably have an easier time trying a ground floor window in a house.

The problem in a lot of apartments is storage. I have a hot-press sized storage cupboard in my hall, and that's it apart from the wardrobes and kitchen presses. That's fine for me as a single person who doesn't have a lot of 'stuff' but would certainly be inadequate for someone trying to raise two or more kids in an apartment, no matter how minimal you try to keep things. They will never be suitable for families until planners accept that cramming shoeboxes together with basically no storage and inadequate parking/outside space and facilities is untenable. A small utility room/cupboard, separate kitchen/diner, a decent-sized storage room either in the hall or in a basement á la the American model would be better. Unfortunately a lot of apartments that were built during the boom fall into the shoebox category and as such will never be really suitable for families - I know there are families living in them, but you can bet that a lot of them are renters with no other option, or couples who bought an apartment as a 'starter home' in the boom and now cannot afford to move and must raise their families there, usually in a two-bed, as three-bed apartments are relatively rare. These types of apartment are not attractive options for families. While my apartment block is grand in general, and we are lucky to have adequate parking and outside space, I would not like to raise a family here.

I'm happy enough in an apartment I guess, management fee notwithstanding. But OP, if you do buy an apartment, definitely go for a two-bed if finances permit. It's nice to have a spare room for guests, and even if you never have guests, it can be a walk-in wardrobe, small home gym or office, plus extra storage.

I've lived both in apartments and houses, and when it came to buying a few years ago we bought a house.

If I could do it again, I'd get an apartment - but I'd be careful about where.

I hate - HATE - gardening and all the outside maintenance that comes with owning a house. It honestly sucks half the joy out of owning my own house. I know that might seem silly but it really, really does. When we bought I was high on having a great garden and everything but honest to God if you don't have kids to use it, or don't have a huge interest in maintaining a garden it very very quickly just becomes a pain in the arse. Likewise having to paint the outside walls, wash windows, clear gutters, mow the lawn... I hate it.

It all depends on how you want to spend your time. I know folks talks about maintenance fees for apartments but add in painting all external walls (which is EXPENSIVE), possibly having to get professionals in to wash high windows, clean gutters, the time spent maintaining the driveway etc... I don't know if it's really that much more expensive, plus you don't have to think about it. What is your time worth, I guess?

I've certainly lived in apartments that were thin walled and that was annoying, but they tended to be the houses that were split into flats in the boom. So they were never designed to be self contained. Any of the purpose built flats Ive lived in were great. Barely heard anything - including one I lived in near Christchurch, and one on Camden St. The main noise issue from both those was outside noise, and obviously we couldn't change to double/triple glazing since we didn't own, to offset the noise.

I'm pretty much decided, since we know now (since buying tbh) that we're not going to have children that our next move will be to a decent 2 bed apartment or a duplex kinda scenario. I'd take my time to buy one that is built well, with a decent patio or some outside access just for the odd BBQ etc. Our 2 cats are indoor cats anyway, so no issues there. But location is a big issue too, I want to be near city centre.

Don't get caught up in the draw of a house, OP. That's all I'll say. There's pro's and con's of both living arrangements.

I'm considering a duplex apartment myself. We are in a rented house now and even though there is a back garden, my kids never play in it, they always want to go out onto the shared green to play with the other kids. We are not very outdoorsy people, so they only thing I'd really miss about having a garden is having a proper washing line. The front "garden" here is basically just a driveway.
One thing I would definitely recommend with an apartment/duplex is to have a parking spot quite close to your door. In a previous place I lived, it was difficult carrying shopping bags from the car to the apartment, and it required a few trips back and forth. I found that annoying.

Actually the owners are the management company.
If more owners admitted that they know this but feel that someone else should do all the work then you would get to the bottom of the main issue with living in an apartment building in Ireland.

I would be much warmer towards apartments myself if parking was better. I don't know if you drive OP, but if you do you would ideally want to be able to park right outside your front door. Many apartment complexes have shared 'communal' parking where literally anyone can park there and in most cases there are always far more cars than there are spaces. The last thing I would want after a hard days work is to come home and find no space to park anywhere. Or getting involved in parking wars with neighbours. Even with dedicated parking you cant guarantee someone won't take your space.

On top of that I drive a plug in electric vehicle, so I would absolutely need a private driveway to charge the car. Most cars are moving to electric so I often wonder how people in apartments will work that one out.

Have lived and rented in both over the years but when buying would come down to definately only considering a house in Ireland.

Management companies/agents in this country are not regulated and are a law onto themselves. They can walk away from managing your appartment or decline to renew a contract and there is little you can do about it. Often they are set up or run by the families of the builders or estate agents. They have a vested interest in protecting themselves and have their own interests at heart first. I would no more tie myself to them for the lifetume of a mortgagae that I would opt to have healthy teeth removed without anisthetic.

Sink funds for appartments. As the years go on and the newly built celtic tiger fast build low cost appartments get older their materials, lifts, infrastructure and exteriors will need more and more financial input. This comes or should come from a sink fund which is saved from the management fees and unvested over the years. Has your appartment got 150 or 200k saved for repairs? Or is it a scramble every year to collect basic fees for services like bins and communal cleaning. As the years go on this is going to be the next ticking bomb for basics -and it is those owning that will be left with the bill - the renters will just walk away and rent elsewhere.

Fire, safety and structural faults. We have already seen several expensive and high profile cases of appartmwnt owners left holding the can when their builders walked away or closed their cimpanies leaving appartment owners totally screwed - having to continue paying their mortgages and with appartments and appartment blocks that have been condemed and shut down and everyone moved out by the fire brigage. These people who owned these appartments still have to pay their banks but cannot live in their own condemned appartments.

Structural flaws. Pyrite, building regulations ignored, fire traps without compliant safety features installed as per regulations. Despite being signed off by the council inspectors and banks loaning on them, appartment owners are left with properties no bank will loan on as they are known to be problem appartments - some cannot get insurance - which means banks will not loan on them. Not only will you be left hilding the repair can but you also run the risk of it being unsellable in the future when you want -or need - to get out.

Block renting. Housing charities and block renting - you have no idea who you will be sharing your corridor at night with nor what you will be facing into. Might be nice,might not.

Criminals leaving prison are housed by the council - remember the outcry when Larry Murphy was released - and housed. How would you like your wife or teenage daughter coming home on a dark night in a stairwell with that - or sharing an enclosed lift. Apparently paedophiles are entitled to be protected and unlike in the uk or usa we as law abiding citizens have no rights to know or be able to protrct our families from the monsters who are put amongst us. Again - personally I like to know who is outside my sitting room door at night or who has access to my children and family in interior corridors where I live and where we think they will be safe.

Noise. Antisocial behaviour in other closeby corridors. Dirty people leaving leaking bins on stairwells or dragging them down along corridors. Who is responsible and how quickly are communal corridors cleaned and lights replaced,leaks fixed, etc

And as peoples families grow and they are unable to trade up or move to accomodate their growing families needs where are the prams,bikes, pushcars etc all stored and who cleans up after them on the carpets/corridors etc. Ditto managing noisy teenagers.

Smokers and vapers in communal areas and on the balcony next to or above or just below yours.

Students or whemever,cost saving and living far beyond the capacity of the 2 or 1 bed appartment. No regulation of the humdreds of appartmwnts with far too many people living in them and putting pressure on everyone around them.

Etc

House all the way. Its not perfect - but it mitigates much of the above. And you can always get your garden paved.

baby and crumble wrote: »

I hate - HATE - gardening and all the outside maintenance that comes with owning a house. It honestly sucks half the joy out of owning my own house. I know that might seem silly but it really, really does. When we bought I was high on having a great garden and everything but honest to God if you don't have kids to use it, or don't have a huge interest in maintaining a garden it very very quickly just becomes a pain in the arse. Likewise having to paint the outside walls, wash windows, clear gutters, mow the lawn... I hate it.

I agree and I bought a house! I spent a good chunk of money putting in artificial grass and a nice patio so that was one problem taking care of! It's actually not too bad when you take that massive maintenance issue out of the way.

One massive bonus I will say about apartment living is that you can live a private life whereas in an housing estate it's a different issue. Also the peace of mind that you don't need to constantly think of the place while you're away. Personally if I ever went back to apartment living I would pick the duplex type with my own front door over sharing common stairs and lifts.

Irish_rat wrote: »

I agree and I bought a house! I spent a good chunk of money putting in artificial grass and a nice patio so that was one problem taking care of! It's actually not too bad when you take that massive maintenance issue out of the way.

One massive bonus I will say about apartment living is that you can live a private life whereas in an housing estate it's a different issue. Also the peace of mind that you don't need to constantly think of the place while you're away. Personally if I ever went back to apartment living I would pick the duplex type with my own front door over sharing common stairs and lifts.

I agree. I'm looking to buy at the mo, and will seriously consider a duplex. The pros for me are no garden to maintain, a good price for a turn-key condition 3 bedroom property, own door, designated parking outside the front door. The major con for me is considering balcony safety as I have 2 young kids. A lot of people put up balcony fences for safety and privacy. I think I would still worry though, so I really need to think about that.