Apartment Vs House: Which One is more Pocket Friendly?
When moving on to the bigger steps in life, the first question that comes to mind is that of a place to live in. Another question that plunges right after is whether to choose to rent an apartment or to own a house to live in. Now that is a tricky part as it is a decision that will not only impact your finances but also your lifestyle for years to come.
More often than not, the first thing that people brainstorm upon is the location of their house or apartment, as the neighborhood has a direct impact on your day to day chores. Moreover, opting for a better location allows you to have a better appreciation of your investment. The next thing that must be decided upon is whether a house works best in your favor or an apartment is better suited to your needs. As per common perception, buying an independent property in the form of a villa or a plot can be heavy on your pocket, but there are some other key factors as well that should be thoroughly analyzed before making up your mind about investing.
Provided down below is an elaborative comparison between the pros and cons of renting an apartment and buying a house that will help you in weighing your needs and making up your mind about it.
Things to Consider At the Time of Buying
1. Amenities
The kind of amenities that are offered by apartment complexes these days are indeed hard to compete with. What with the exotic swimming pools, state-of-the-art gyms, water parks, jogging tracks, sports clubs, security, parking spaces, and much more fancy tid-bids that make up for a killer lifestyle. Of course, such facilities do include some extra cost, but when you try and set up even one of these things in an independent property, that amounts up to a total of around 4-5 percent of the property value itself! Moreover, when you opt for your own property, you always have the added advantage of extra space so you can always add or remove the things you want, such as an attic, garages and a wide closet! Now, who doesn’t want that, right?
2. Mortgage
When it comes to paying for the place you are actually going to buy, some might find themselves in a position where they need to take a loan. Now, if you are opting for an apartment, the loan is fairly is easier to apply for rather than an independent property. Banks often make a list of sanctioned projects, which makes it easier for the buyer to get loan approval, whereas when you apply for a loan in case of an independent property, the only chances of it getting approved are after very strict scrutiny. In most cases, banks only provide 60% or 70% of the total cost, in which case you will have to arrange for the rest of the amount yourself.
3. Under-construction Property
Some people choose to play safe and build-up for the future by investing in a property that is under construction. This works well when you are investing in an apartment project as the construction part is not your headache at all. It is in the hands of the company that the project is registered under and all you are responsible for are the installments. On the other hand, when you choose to buy a plot and then build a house on top, it can be a cumbersome task that will require your time and attention for a very long period. This also comes in with an advantage of playing within your own timeframe, which is not the case in an apartment project because that will leave you at the developer’s mercy.
Things to Consider After the Time of Buying
1. Payment and Deposits
When you rent an apartment, you are obliged to pay a deposit whenever you sign a lease. These can vary in amount and there is a huge possibility that they maybe never be refunded, even after your lease. Moreover, some apartment owners make you pay a pet deposit in case you want to bring in a pet, and sorry to break it to you, but they are mostly non-refundable as well. In case you choose to buy your own house, you will have to go through the process of down payment first and then you may be required to pay a homeowners association fee, which depends on the locality of your house.
2. Maintenance Cost
If you are enjoying the perks of living in an independent property, there might soon come a day when you will be required to repair something like a hot water heater or to renovate the kitchen, because maintenance, cleanliness, and repair is a part that is inevitable. These things are costly when you live on your own property but when you are a part of a community and live in an apartment, these things get taken care of by the management staff. This applies for a much lesser cost as the pooled resources do not weigh much on every individual, so you won’t have to face additional expenses.
3. Salability
Everybody has been through the Herculean task of reselling an asset like property at least once in their life. It gets even harder when you are trying to sell an independent property. Due to the change in the developmental sector, apartments are now in more demand and hold an appeal for families looking to move places. Besides, getting someone to make an investment in a plot or a villa can be pretty daunting and not just you, but your property needs to be effectual.
4. Flexibility
As with everything, whether you rent or invest, both come with their own kind of freedom. When you are a homeowner, you have the flexibility to make whatever changes you or your wife would like to see in their home. You can paint the walls according to your desires, get new flooring done, add exotic features to your garden, basically anything and everything! But when you are a tenant, you lose that authority to make changes. Although, you do have the freedom to change places whenever you want to or to move to a better part of the city, as per your requirements.
End Word
Whenever you decide to buy a property or rent a place, there is this grand scheme of things that you need to look at before diving into it. For example, know the worth of a house. At the end of the day, it all comes down to your needs and the amount of money you are willing to spend. Now that you are well equipped with the pros and cons, hopefully, you can weigh the odds and make them work in your favor.