Opinions on Apartments

chops018 · 30-03-2020 5:27pm #1

Hi all.

Myself and my partner (with a baby in tow) are looking to buy a property.

We can stay in my home house or her home house for another while if needed but we really want to get our own place.

Houses in my area i.e. close enough to both home houses (not comfortable saying exactly where) are around €250,000 for a decent one. Apartments on the other hand are about €150,000 to €180,000 for decent 2 bed ones.

In a short while (about 2-3 months we would afford €200,000 properties) but right now we can only afford max €180,000.

I cheekily have been putting in offers of €130,000 on nice apartments within 10 miles and I've actually been getting responses to come look and discuss the offer. (Also cheeky €180,000 bids on houses but getting nowhere).

I do not mind living in a nice 2 bed apartment for 5-6 years once it is in a secure location and safe with a small mortgage, but just a few questions:

1. A lot of them are electric storage heating. My inclination is to steer clear of these, is that correct? Which is a pity as we saw an absolutely lovely apartment in a gated area with nice green areas and the apartment itself has a nice small garden, but alas, it was electric storage heating.

2. I've rented a 2 bed apartment before, it was nice and comfortable but not something I ever saw myself being in long term. Would this mean I wouldn't ever settle/be comfortable until we move on to a house? If so, should we hold off, even if we aren't fully comfortable being between our home houses for another while.

3. Is it realistic that in 5-6 years we would be able to trade up to a house? I am aware deposit then would be 20%. Say we luckily got a 2 bed apartment now for €130,000 and had a small mortgage and in 5-6 years we knocked a good bit off and weren't in negative equity and ideally the sale would make up the difference of the 20% deposit required. Has anyone done this? Obviously there's a risk and we end up not being able to trade up!

If anyone else has any other thoughts etc. in general I would happily hear them?

TL:DR Myself and partner between home houses, don't want to pay high rents, can't quite afford house but could afford an apartment and we said we would live in one for 5-6 years, should we go with the apartment or hang on another while even though we'd like to get our own place sooner rather than later?

bluelamp · 30-03-2020 6:12pm

Personally I would only buy an apartment if it allowed me to live in the perfect area for me that I otherwise couldn't afford even if I saved another couple of years.

I would also buy in an older block, I wouldn't touch one built in the past 20 years. You'll find some older blocks with gas heating, and most often there will be more owner occupiers in an older development.

If I were in your position I would try to do everything I can to raise the extra 50k needed, be it saving, increase your income, borrow from family, reduce your living expenses, try different banks to see if any will give you a bit more - then buy a house, especially since you have a child

Nobody has a crystal ball, but Id be fairly sure that house prices and rent prices arent going up any time soon - so sit tight a while and work out how to cut some more living expenses and up your savings.

Doop · 30-03-2020 6:26pm

chops018 wrote: »

1. A lot of them are electric storage heating. My inclination is to steer clear of these, is that correct? Which is a pity as we saw an absolutely lovely apartment in a gated area with nice green areas and the apartment itself has a nice small garden, but alas, it was electric storage heating.

Dont let the storage heating put you off... yes its a disaster but allow a budget to rip them out and install modern efficient electric heating. The stroage heaters are simply wall hung and wired in so not much upheaval to have them changed bar the expense of buying the new rads and paying an electrician to fit them.

See the likes of below for example... do some research on it yourself. These types of rads are going into alot of places and have come on massively in the last 10 years.
https://www.dimplex.co.uk/q-rad

chops018 wrote: »

2. I've rented a 2 bed apartment before, it was nice and comfortable but not something I ever saw myself being in long term. Would this mean I wouldn't ever settle/be comfortable until we move on to a house? If so, should we hold off, even if we aren't fully comfortable being between our home houses for another while.

I reckon thats pretty much a personal call you are going to have to make.. maybe your age might have a factor? ie mid 30's you might have less tolerance to apt living than mid 20's? hard to say

chops018 · 31-03-2020 9:21am

Thanks all. Plenty to think about there. Maybe we should hold off. Any other opinions or comments welcome!

0gac3yjefb5sv7 · 31-03-2020 9:27am

It does depend on what you want. I really enjoy apartment living and the benefits of it. Though most on here really do hate apartments so be cautious of that.

It's really up to you. Draw up a list of what's most important for you in your home and see if the house or apt first the bill more.

chops018 · 31-03-2020 9:28am

Pheonix10 wrote: »

It does depend on what you want. I really enjoy apartment living and the benefits of it. Though most on here really do hate apartments so be cautious of that.

It's really up to you. Draw up a list of what's most important for you in your home and see if the house or apt first the bill more.

What do you find are the main benefits? If you don't mind me asking, and you've time to set them out

0gac3yjefb5sv7 · 31-03-2020 9:34am

chops018 wrote: »

What do you find are the main benefits? If you don't mind me asking, and you've time to set them out

I'd say smaller living space, so less to clean, maintain and heat. Generally a better standard than many very old houses again due to it being smaller in size.

You can go away for weeks as needed with little risk of theft. It's more secure and safe. It's also cheaper in many cases. If you can get an apartment in a nice location, it's often not possible to afford a house in the same area.

Shelga · 31-03-2020 10:57am

Hi OP, I like apartments personally. I would much prefer an apartment in a good location to a house where I have a long commute (I live in Dublin though- might be different for you).

If it's a nice apartment and you're not far from green space when you need fresh air, sounds good to me. I don't have children though, so it might change my mind re. apartment living if I did. Are you planning on having another child within the 5-6 years? Could start to feel cramped very quickly. But then, houses can be small and cramped too. What does your partner think?

I also didn't know that you can rip out storage heaters and put in your own radiators, so thanks to the poster who provided that tip!

People also love to complain about the management fee, but you get a fair amount of stuff included in it, ie waste disposal and certain insurances I think, so they don't always have to be a rip off.

Caranica · 31-03-2020 10:59am

You say you've lived in apartments before, I take it that was before baby arrived? You need to think about storage, about space, about noise. Find the right apartment for a family.

Also think about exceptional circumstances like we have right now. My neighbour has two kids in a two bed apartment and they're going stir crazy at the moment.

Atlantic Dawn · 31-03-2020 11:03am

I'd hold plans for 6 months, can only see prices going south.

Tomspud · 31-03-2020 11:03am

Personally I'd steer clear of apartments. 2 of ye with a baby means all rooms are going to be filled in a 2 bed. What if another baby comes aloave friends

Tomspud · 31-03-2020 11:07am

Personally I'd steer clear of apartments. 2 of ye with a baby means all rooms are going to be filled in a 2 bed. What if another baby comes along.

I have friends that are trapped in 2 bed apartments who bought high , and now cannot sell but need to due to family size.

Also if you are able to trade up in a few years I think stamp duty will be more. Also deposit will be more as your not a first time buyer(I could be wrong)

Also dont apartments have maintenance fees , management fees. I wouldn't like to not have full control over the building. but that's my opinion.

Wish you the best regardless

Also whatever you do factor in costs on top of sales price.
Valuation 150 may be paid by bank
Solicitor fees approx 1500
Engineers report 400+
Deposit 10%
Stamp duty 1% I think

mickdw · 31-03-2020 11:13am

Buy a house if only for the fact that you get to properly own it and control it as opposed to apartment with management company, management fees, you wont own anything of the structure and are wide open re defectsvsuch as substandard fire proofing etc.

chops018 · 31-03-2020 11:33am

Thanks for the replies everyone. Plenty to think about. 2 bed houses in our area are reasonable also. Some nice ones. Would you also steer clear and hold off for 3 bed?

whiskeyman · 31-03-2020 11:35am

Huge benefit of having a house with parking outside to have car when transferring child / buggy / shopping.
Also just getting a buggy / car seat up and down from apartment.

Make life as easy as you can when you have a child.

Best of luck.

Idbatterim · 31-03-2020 11:41am

I wouldn’t go near apartment if there are alternatives... cAn you stay in either current house when baby arrives ?

chops018 · 31-03-2020 11:45am

Baby here already. Yes, we can stay in either house for as long as we want really but we want to get out and our own place! Probably shouldn't be a reason to rush I suppose.

frogstar · 31-03-2020 11:51am

I'd steer clear of an apartment, esp with a baby.

Maintenance fees are another big factor depending on where you are they can be anywhere from 800-3000 . I know some houses have fees but not near this level.

I have a baby and my saving grace at the moment is our back garden. I could not imagine living in an apt that only had a balcony. My own apartment didn't even have a balcony! Also need to think of all that storage needed that comes with an apt. An attic is ideal for old buggies, cots, etc... just in case you have number 2.

Hold off too as market likely to change over few months and it mat be harder to get a mortgage but prices may come down

Idbatterim · 31-03-2020 11:54am

chops018 wrote: »

Baby here already. Yes, we can stay in either house for as long as we want really but we want to get out and our own place! Probably shouldn't be a reason to rush I suppose.

With falling prices , just wait. I’m making an assumption that you will still get mortgage approval in say eight months to a year ...

BillyBiggs · 31-03-2020 11:55am

chops018 wrote: »

Hi all.

Myself and my partner (with a baby in tow) are looking to buy a property.

We can stay in my home house or her home house for another while if needed but we really want to get our own place.

Houses in my area i.e. close enough to both home houses (not comfortable saying exactly where) are around €250,000 for a decent one. Apartments on the other hand are about €150,000 to €180,000 for decent 2 bed ones.

In a short while (about 2-3 months we would afford €200,000 properties) but right now we can only afford max €180,000.

I cheekily have been putting in offers of €130,000 on nice apartments within 10 miles and I've actually been getting responses to come look and discuss the offer. (Also cheeky €180,000 bids on houses but getting nowhere).

I do not mind living in a nice 2 bed apartment for 5-6 years once it is in a secure location and safe with a small mortgage, but just a few questions:

1. A lot of them are electric storage heating. My inclination is to steer clear of these, is that correct? Which is a pity as we saw an absolutely lovely apartment in a gated area with nice green areas and the apartment itself has a nice small garden, but alas, it was electric storage heating.

2. I've rented a 2 bed apartment before, it was nice and comfortable but not something I ever saw myself being in long term. Would this mean I wouldn't ever settle/be comfortable until we move on to a house? If so, should we hold off, even if we aren't fully comfortable being between our home houses for another while.

3. Is it realistic that in 5-6 years we would be able to trade up to a house? I am aware deposit then would be 20%. Say we luckily got a 2 bed apartment now for €130,000 and had a small mortgage and in 5-6 years we knocked a good bit off and weren't in negative equity and ideally the sale would make up the difference of the 20% deposit required. Has anyone done this? Obviously there's a risk and we end up not being able to trade up!

If anyone else has any other thoughts etc. in general I would happily hear them?

TL:DR Myself and partner between home houses, don't want to pay high rents, can't quite afford house but could afford an apartment and we said we would live in one for 5-6 years, should we go with the apartment or hang on another while even though we'd like to get our own place sooner rather than later?

I’d agree with other posters to wait about 6 months and see what you can afford then. As others have said property isn’t going to go up in the next year.

ELM327 · 31-03-2020 11:58am

I had the same situation a few years ago and bought an apartment.
3 bed, blended family with 2 kids part time (9 and 14 yrs old so not toddlers).

On the plus side, it is saving us approx 1k a month in rent vs mortgage and also appreciating (until last month anyway).
I had an 80% mortgage so am not likely to see negative equuity and even if so, I'd just keep it if I wanted to move as the mortgage is only 390 a month anyway

Wouldnt do it again, the hassle of assigned parking, carrying shopping up a flight of stairs, no garden when lockdown etc. Not worth it.

0gac3yjefb5sv7 · 31-03-2020 12:07pm

Looks like no one sees the positives on apartments as mentioned earlier. Also regarding mgmt fee's these cover insurance, also houses cost more to maintain, bins are covered in mgmt fees. If you plan on more kids then I'd probably steer clear but many apartments are larger than houses, especially as you move towards the city center.

Ashleigh1986 · 31-03-2020 12:15pm

I've rented both apartments and houses .
Apartments are OK for maximum of 2 people and if your in your 20s .
Some apartments are designed well but most are not .
The sharing of a kitchen come living room can be a head wrecker .
When weather is good you can't beat a nice garden space to chill in .
As many have already said .... " hold fire 6 months time the property market could be to your advantage ".

0gac3yjefb5sv7 · 31-03-2020 12:30pm

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

I've rented both apartments and houses .
Apartments are OK for maximum of 2 people and if your in your 20s .
Some apartments are designed well but most are not .
The sharing of a kitchen come living room can be a head wrecker .
When weather is good you can't beat a nice garden space to chill in .
As many have already said .... " hold fire 6 months time the property market could be to your advantage ".

I disagree on your view on the apartments but best of luck! I can't see prices going up soon.

SteM · 31-03-2020 12:39pm

Apartment living suits some for sure.

Personally I wouldn't want to live as a 3 person family in a 2 bed apartment and certainly not for the benefit of 'smaller living space' - it's the opposite of what you want with a kid. Even if you try to be as minimalist as possible with 'kid stuff', as they grow they want their own space and you also want your own space. Also, having your own garden makes a huge difference with a child from toddler age up imo.

I have friends that pay the equivalent of an extra mortgage payment per year in apartment management fees - €1200 which is crazy when you think about it. I've just done some quick math and our bin costs per year and home/contents insurance are less than that. Yes, we have to pay to maintain our garden and paint the outside of the house etc but these are things that enhance our living space. The cost of plants, paint and time on an annual basis isn't that imo.

It's totally down to person's location and lifestyle I guess but the though of going back to a 2 bed apartment freaks me out, although some of that maybe given our current lockdown situation.

0gac3yjefb5sv7 · 31-03-2020 12:59pm

To heat a house & other maintenance over the lifetime of owning the house, like gutters, roof replacement etc will erode the mgmt fees paid.

Some people enjoy the security of apartment living as well. Stange on here, 99.9pc seem to hate apartments.

BillyBiggs · 31-03-2020 1:01pm

Pheonix10 wrote: »

To heat a house & other maintenance over the lifetime of owning the house, like gutters, roof replacement etc will erode the mgmt fees paid.

Some people enjoy the security of apartment living as well. Stange on here, 99.9pc seem to hate apartments.

A few months ago apartments were more attractive. With house prices about to fall in the coming year, you’d be mad to buy an apartment.

0gac3yjefb5sv7 · 31-03-2020 1:03pm

Why's that? Aside from an overall drop in prices & assuming I don't plan to rent the apartment

SteM · 31-03-2020 1:12pm

How often do roofs have to be replaced in a persons lifetime? Maintain your property and it'll never need doing is my guess.

The only time we've been broken into was while living in an apartment, thankfully it hasn't happened in the 13 years we've been in the house.

Look, it's all down to personal preference. No need to get defensive about your choice.

0gac3yjefb5sv7 · 31-03-2020 1:16pm

SteM wrote: »

How often do roofs have to be replaced in a persons lifetime? Maintain your property and it'll never need doing is my guess.

The only time we've been broken into was while living in an apartment, thankfully it hasn't happened in the 13 years we've been in the house.

Look, it's all down to personal preference. No need to get defensive about your choice.

Probably once? Fair enough - just providing an alternative perspective as someone who enjoys apartment living.

Idbatterim · 31-03-2020 5:06pm

BillyBiggs wrote: »

A few months ago apartments were more attractive. With house prices about to fall in the coming year, you’d be mad to buy an apartment.

how were apartments more attractive? :rolleyes:

Ill contemplate going homeless before I will end up in an apartment here again!

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