What is better to buy a house or an apartment reviews. Where is it better to live: in an apartment or a country house. Cons of living in an apartment
what is better to buy a house or an apartment - find out the pros and cons, finally weigh the pros and cons!
What is better to buy a house or an apartment: we decide
The concept of “better” is rather loose, more precisely, very vague and sometimes not at all unambiguous for different people ..
Nevertheless, I will try to highlight the pros and cons of a house and an apartment. But first, let's draw a picture of an ideal home. Most likely, if it differs little from an apartment in terms of infrastructure development and good quality finishes.
Let it be a brick house (one- or two-story) and not far from the city center, ideally with central heating.
Even if your own house does not match the picture I have drawn - it does not matter! There are pluses in the house and here they are! Neighbors don't drill or hammer into your wall, you don't have to drag shopping bags with groceries to the fifth floor (I mean five-story buildings without an elevator).
The feeling of being constantly in a concrete birdhouse disappears already in the second week of living in your own house.
It is very nice to have, along with the house, a small plot of land for an orchard and a small garden. In Soviet times, for example, they allocated 6 acres each - this would be quite enough even now ..
The advantages of buying your own house with a garden plot will be felt by families with small children, who can be fed vegetables and fruits from their own garden, and there is also a place where they can play on the sand that is not polluted by yard dogs.
If the plot is larger, you can even prepare jams and pickles for the future, which is also very nice. The territory of the house is not limited to rooms and a corridor in the entrance - children, if any, can run anywhere and any way and quite safely (unless, of course, you forgot a few rakes in the yard ..)
Finally, you will get rid of the talk that the janitor does not clean the yard, the HOA constantly raises the payment .. No common house needs: maintenance, Maintenance, overhaul.
And you can also install a pool right in your yard! Of course, there are some shots that do it in the apartment, but everyone decides to take risks or not.
Small inconveniences of your own home
When buying a house far from the city, you will need to have at least two cars in case one of them breaks down. At the same time, it should be taken into account that you most likely will not have a janitor, which means that snow cleaning, territory cleaning and weeding are all yours.
Do not exclude also small chores for which you will at least need to acquire a small set of tools. It is also financial expenses: to fix the fence, the sidewalk, and so on.
If you have a harsh winter, then the water supply may freeze - a small nuisance. It is much more important to have a well-functioning sewer.
Ideally, take it to the central one, if there is no such possibility, then you will have to buy a shambo and regularly order a cleaning service.
Or is an apartment better?
At the same time, living in an apartment has its advantages. For example, the location of apartments often gravitates towards the boundaries of large settlements, although if the city expands its borders, then an apartment building can stand in a wasteland without a developed infrastructure.
Okay, let's not touch the new buildings, but draw a picture of the apartment as follows: it is located in one of the good areas of the city with a developed infrastructure, on the middle floor in brick house, not angular .. Well, there are already more requirements than for a house ..
In apartments, there are often no problems with running water, central heating and the Internet. Repairs can be done every 5 years - re-paste the wallpaper, tint, whiten, change household appliances.
Having an apartment in the city, you will be freed from digging in the ground, because the only piece of land will be in front of the house and it’s not a fact that it won’t be rolled up under asphalt and parked.
If by some miracle this does not happen, then the fertile soil will be constantly fertilized by local dog breeders ..
In the apartment, of course, you feel safer - it is located high (if it is not the first or second floor) from the ground and therefore it is hardly worth expecting a random guest who entered the window, living on the 8th floor..
Central heating in the apartment is provided by a CHP plant, which cannot be said about your own house. Your only problem may be current batteries, but you don’t have to procure solid fuel and periodically throw it into the potbelly stove so as not to get cold on a winter evening ..
And if you plan to install a gas boiler, then be prepared for the fact that you first need to properly install it and get it working, and then make sure that it performs its functions properly.
Otherwise, when carbon monoxide or weakening the pressure will go out and that's it ..
Minor shortcomings of apartments
But the question of what is better to buy a house or an apartment would not be fully resolved if we did not consider the cons of apartments. They flow smoothly from the pluses.
You can wait 40 minutes for a locksmith who has not yet remembered his name, while hot water is gushing from your battery.
Yes, this happened to my friend: he just installed new batteries and one of these just fell off.
During the 40 minutes that the water lashed, the wallpaper flew off not only in his apartment, but also three floors below. And the locksmith was in no hurry ..
Or not so long ago there was an explosion of domestic gas in one of the apartments where the marginals lived. I also don’t really want not only such a neighborhood, but also surprises in the form of a fire show by the Ramshtein group ..
Real life example:
And here is a very recent example from my practice of communicating with neighbors. There was a need to call a carpenter to work for several hours on a weekday from 18:00, because. earlier, for objective reasons, I could not free myself.
The guy began to drill, saw and other wisdom that spewed out decibels .. The neighbors did not take long. After 40 minutes, the doorbell rang and the neighbor, with "white" eyes, asked what time we would make noise.
The worker replied that before 22:00, I repeated to her. She was indignant and asked to finish earlier, but I can’t rush the specialist, otherwise the quality suffers. In general, he promised not to delay. An hour later her husband came. He smiled .. (he probably did something dirty before that, I thought)
He gave an example of how they do it - all repairs are completed before 18:00. Give everyone the happiness to live like this, to do this! In general, he also went home, because the carpenter has already finished!
I even benefited from this case - I got to know the neighbors and their patience closer)) I hope we will be friends!
This is how you have to live with your neighbors if you decide that buying an apartment is better than a house. And this is just one small example, one evening ..
So you can continue indefinitely and not decide objectively, because everyone decides for himself that it is better to buy a house or apartment.
If you have an opinion on what is better to buy, an apartment or a house, write below!
Many people dream of living in their own home. Most of them are dominated by those who grew up in small apartments and remember bright moments from childhood about trips to the country for barbecue. Team today Aykyu Review Discuss the pros and cons of your home versus an apartment.
Private house or apartment - compare the pros and cons
Opponents of apartments see them as in this picture:
regular patio
Panel five-story building with a dirty entrance, noisy neighbors, painted walls. Yes, I don't really want to live in one of the cells of this commublock. To begin with, let's collect all the minuses of apartments in one list.
Cons of living in an apartment:
- neighbors, among whom there may be brawlers and drunks;
- noise from the street;
- high monthly utility bills;
- low ceilings;
- small area;
- lack of greenery;
- parking problems;
- some social pressure on your private life;
- gas pollution and poor ecology;
- high price per square meter;
- difficult to keep pets.
But if things were that bad, people would settle in houses at any cost. So there are significant benefits!
Advantages of the apartment:
- household infrastructure within walking distance;
- good transport accessibility;
- fast internet;
- delivery from online stores and cafes;
- mail is not lost and arrives quickly;
- greater security from robbers;
- central communications;
- significantly higher fire safety;
- all street and common building problems are solved by public utilities;
- it is easier to leave an apartment empty for a long time - homeless people will not get in there;
- the apartment is easier to rent;
- you can also sell it faster, the market is more liquid;
- when demolishing a house, the state is obliged to buy your apartment at a market price or provide an equivalent one.
We figured out the apartments, now let's talk about private houses. A private house is presented to Russian inhabitants as a palace. "My home is my castle!". This stems from the Soviet mentality and historical housing problems.
My home is my castle!
Pros of your home:
- you can't see or hear your neighbors;
- large living area;
- own land;
- greens, fresh air;
- no noise from the street;
- plenty of parking space, you can have several cars;
- low price per square meter;
- you can have several pets;
- certain status in society.
There aren't really many pros. And what about the minuses, why don't people massively move out of town?
Cons of a private house:
- repair at your own expense;
- care of the territory at their own expense;
- laying communications at their own expense;
- terrible transport accessibility;
- there is no infrastructure within walking distance, except for the general store;
- food delivery is often impossible;
- the post office does not work well when there is one old postman for the whole village;
- living alone is scary;
- cannot be left empty for half a year, it can become a refuge for the homeless;
- when the house is dilapidated, no one will give you a new one;
- dear land;
- often bad internet - ADSL or Iota in general;
- everything constantly overgrows and looks neglected if you do not follow the site;
- self-cleaning snow in winter;
- frequent power outages - after any hurricane, the private sector is without electricity, first of all, the lines leading to high-rise buildings are being repaired;
- cleaning a larger area is harder for a housewife, in spring and autumn all the dirt is dragged into the hallway.
Did you notice a pattern here? If you have not noticed, then let's on the fingers.
All the disadvantages of an apartment in practice come down to a small area, unimportant ecology and poor sound insulation. That is it cons related to the additional comfort of living. If we take a private house, then the main complaints against it are the high cost and complexity of operation, coupled with poor infrastructure .
From here, we come to the old folk wisdom that you have to pay for comfort. How does this translate into practice?
High building“My parents have long moved from Moscow to a cottage in the suburbs. I have a pretty clear idea about the problems of a private house, I don’t want one for myself. Let's start with the cost. A normal cottage costs from 20 million rubles. I will not say how much more expensive ours is, it does not matter. It is important that all the decent land near the city, from where you can get to Moscow in a short period of time, is worth its weight in gold. At the same time, having invested so much money, you can rent it for well, thousands for 80-100 per month, and then if you find a client. Basically, you can only take summer season. If you try to sell the house for a normal price, and not for a penny, this operation can take 2-3 years. Already from here it is clear that cottages are no investment. Move on.
Operating costs . Do you think there are no utility bills for your house? We receive bills "for watering, for livestock." As I saw it, I was taken aback. I say, they say, mom, what kind of watering, you haven’t planted a single bush in your life. Is cattle a shepherd or what? To which the answer was that it is easier to pay than to make trouble with them. Central electricity, central water supply. There are no bills only for overhaul, which you do at your own expense, and it costs many times more than in an apartment.
Every winter about 4-5 times, a snowplow is called for 4-5 thousand rubles, simply because the gate is covered with snow, and the car cannot leave. Two years ago, my parents got tired of it, and they bought some kind of self-propelled snowplow for one and a half thousand dollars stupidly to clean the paths on the site.
In summer the situation is no better.. Every visit to my parents I listen amazing stories about the Uzbeks, who are on the site almost all the time. They cut branches, mow lawns, hang wind-blown wires from the intercom, and so on. But they don't have their own Uzbeks. And many neighbors were tired of paying 2-3 thousand for each sneeze, they simply built houses on the site and settled servants there with a monthly salary and year-round living.
On the asphalt road up to the gate, the neighbors threw off a thousand dollars each. And not all, but only normal. All sorts of Soviet grandfathers who had no money simply refused to pay and got a road for free, like land in their time. For 7 years it was gouged and it is necessary to make a new one. It is worth building a private road, KAMAZ trucks will surely rumble along it 10 times a day, an interesting worldly observation.
External fence it cost, I don’t remember how much, but it’s expensive, the prices are in thousands of dollars. They decided not to spend money on internal fences, they are wooden. It is interesting here that no one repairs them until they collapse, and then a scandal begins - who should pay. If you think that you will not communicate with neighbors in a private house, this is a delusion. Saved on land - got poor neighbors with whom you have to constantly fight. Well, if you have so much money that you don’t need to save on land, you can build three-meter stone fences around the entire perimeter - just go, congratulations. Another option is unnecessarily "cool" neighbors. A neighbor across the street broke the lawn at the fence and dug concrete pillars, as if it were his personal land, now it is inconvenient to enter the gate by car. There are also those who “mow down” like the cool ones, who take a small plot and build four-story houses close to the fence - and then you look at them through the windows.
Repair. Somehow the wiring burned out from a voltage drop or something else, I don’t remember. Once the TV burned out in a thunderstorm, this does not happen in apartments. It cost 70 thousand to replace the wiring - a thousand per point. In my apartment, I did an electrician for 300 rubles per point. If the master finds out that you have a house, you automatically "get on the loot." At home in Russia only the bourgeois, the bourgeois must suffer. Such is the logic of the working people.
Personally, I do not plan to buy and build any houses for myself. The love of my life is apartments in high-rise buildings with panoramic views of the water. A small studio on the fortieth floor is better than any huge cottage, just because you live higher and have best view out the window than 39 families from below."
A private house in Russia is a good option for retirees who have nothing to do and who like to dig in the ground, fix fences, etc. In addition, in Russia there are almost no normal cottage settlements (except for super-elite ones with wild prices). So problems with transport, infrastructure and local drunks are provided. The Russian suburbs have nothing to do with the European or American ones you see in films.
History of living in a private house Alexander shared:
“I was 13 when the family moved from a kopeck piece in a city near Moscow to a private house in the suburbs, inherited from my grandfather. Private houses are designed specifically for the elderly, they are not suitable for families with growing children. If you are a married couple and hate your child, it's time to move to a private house, preferably a wreck and away from the city.
The apartment, which was half registered in my name, my mother sold (in guardianship she told me to agree, because my mother knows better) for 25 thousand dollars and used the money to repair the house. Since she had no experience of repair, the repair was delayed ... well, how should I say it ... forever, because they decided to seriously reconstruct the house, and there was not enough money. By the way, this was just before the start of the real estate boom, and in 5 years my apartment would be worth $100,000. But that's not the point.
We had wires hanging in the corridor, Ilyich's bulbs, in the kitchen, for which there was not enough money, my grandmother pasted 12 types of different wallpapers from the remnants obtained somewhere back in times of shortage. In general, there was enough money, judging visually, only for a fence, sheathing of internal walls with clapboard, partial replacement of furniture and partial redevelopment. After 2 years, this lining dried out and hung half a meter over my father's bed, threatening to break his head at one fine moment.
From the outside, the house looked pretty, and the large green area made a good impression at first. But inside… Firstly, I was ashamed to invite friends or a girl to such a hut. Secondly, no one would go there for 5 kilometers. Everyone gathered in apartments, everyone lived near the school. And I had to get to her every day. Thirdly, private houses are built with adjoining rooms. Every time I needed to go to the toilet at night, I was sure to disturb someone, wake someone up by stumbling. Everything creaks when walking, silence at night, it is impossible to walk quietly.
Then I had to go to the institute from this hole, spending 4 hours a day on the road (I didn’t go to the hostel according to the territorial minimum of distance). How I envied classmates living in apartments next to transport! My parents didn't have money for a rent for me. In general, I got out of this hell as soon as I could. Now I have my own little odnushka, I would not exchange it for any houses in the outback.
Garden, vegetable garden, own land - it's all great. When you are over 50. The worst thing you can do with your youth is to spend it in a private house. If I ever buy myself a house, it will be at least a cottage with a private pond, landscape design and fountains. Otherwise, the poorest one-room apartment is better than your own house.”
About the risks of owning your own home says Marina:
“For 10 years, two houses of our neighbors burned down. Both were struck by lightning. Both are wooden, located within a radius of 300 meters from ours. It’s good that it’s not in ours, we don’t have money to rebuild, we also have wooden house. There is a lightning rod, I don’t know how it works, but it’s calmer with it. Be sure to install a lightning rod. One hostess went mad with grief. They built a new, smaller house a long time ago, but now she stands on the road and begs every day. She was a decent woman, hardworking.”
This is what happens without a lightning rod
The cost of maintaining your home
The cottage is good in theory. In practice, this is a black hole into which money, time and effort will go.
Annual expenses:
- lawn mowing;
- pruning branches;
- garbage collection;
- utilities of the central network;
- in a cottage settlement payment for the services of a management company;
- snow removal;
- light in the yard;
- property tax.
Periodic repair costs:
- fence repair;
- painting or cladding of the facade;
- internal work;
- repair of sagging and rotten elements (gate, porch, doors, gates, window frames);
- replacement of wires after hurricanes (intercom, lights).
If you bought a plot and are building a cottage from scratch, we will talk about communications.
If there are no communications, they must be brought, and this:
- water pipes;
- gas pipeline;
- landline telephone on request;
- the Internet;
- connection to the mains;
- sewerage or septic tank;
- asphalt road to the entrance to the gate.
All this is insanely expensive in Russia. But these costs are not enough. The owner will have to “bring it to mind” all the time. This mainly concerns issues of convenience, security and autonomy.
Perhaps you will sooner or later spend money on:
- installation of lights on the site;
- video intercom;
- lawn mower;
- snowplow;
- leaf harvester;
- diesel generator;
- water pump;
- solar panels;
- fruit trees and shrubs;
- paving slabs;
- elements of landscape design;
- surveillance cameras;
- alarm (panic button);
- smart home systems;
- lightning rod;
- satellite TV.
The list is not complete, we do not even take into account outbuildings such as a greenhouse, a guest house, a garage, a workshop and a sauna.
Summing up , we note that the maintenance of a normal house, not a wreck, costs an average of 100 to 400 thousand rubles a year, if there are no servants and do not do all the work by hand. Everything is individual. It may be that this year you will spend 10 thousand, next 15, and in the third year something will happen, and you will urgently need to look for 300 “pieces”. The costs here are unpredictable. This is much higher than a communal apartment in the city.
Winter in a private house
In your house is also bad, at a high price you can’t sell it and don’t hand it over quickly. In general, a cottage in Russia is a pleasure for accomplished people of pre-retirement age who have no problems with money and who do not have to go to work in the city every day. Therefore, do not be surprised the next time you see an ad "I will change my house to an apartment." Squirrels and greens are great, but not everyone can afford it!
Life is changing, and more and more people are asking the question: own house or city apartment - which is preferable to choose? This situation is quite understandable. On the one hand, political and economic changes in the country have led to the fact that many people can afford to spend significant funds on improving living conditions. On the other hand, technological progress indulges these desires: new building materials make it possible to quickly erect inexpensive and high-quality buildings; perfect engineering equipment provides high level comfort in country house; the development of telecommunications and roads provides communication and movement to the most remote corners; engineering networks are being laid that feed individual housing even in the outback.
In more developed countries, this process began much earlier, and today we see that somewhere in Toronto (Canada) it is much more prestigious to live in a private household than in an apartment building. Now people do not like the environmental and transport problems of big cities. Rather, they are ready to live in the suburbs, getting to work and study every day on a good road in their own car. In the same Toronto, a significant part of the city consists of two-story buildings.
Toronto. Skyscrapers and cottages nearbyIn Moscow things were different. However, a considerable number of native Muscovites have acquired plots and acquired country cottages not far from highways. The luckiest get now by train to the city center in 30 minutes. Let's also deal with all the pros and cons of living in a private household in accordance with the following content.
Choice factors
The question: why is it better - your own house or an apartment building - arises in people for various reasons. For example, my mother moved from the village to the city, because in old age it is difficult to be in a house without amenities when there are no relatives nearby. On the contrary, my wife and I decided to build our own house when the family's income allowed us to think about improving housing conditions.
People living in an apartment have little idea of the living conditions in a private house, especially outside the city. On the contrary, the villagers moving to the city are not aware of the specifics of living in an apartment. In any case, when choosing a place to live, it is necessary to determine priorities for yourself, the main of which are:
- The housing area must be sufficient; ideally, each family member needs separate room; It is desirable to have rooms in which the whole family can comfortably spend time.
- It is wonderful when there is a piece of land where adults can relax and children can play.
- Long and difficult commute to work is unacceptable! Look for another option.
- An infrastructure is needed to ensure trouble-free and comfortable living, that is, shops, medical institutions, entertainment and sports halls, a school, a kindergarten, a cinema, etc. must be available.
- Pure environment is an important factor of our time. Forest and lake - very good! A busy road is useless.
- The location of housing should not create problems in communicating with relatives and friends.
- A sufficient level of security both in the house or apartment itself, and on the way to it.
Of course, any family can add their own requirements and values to this list. We will try to consider all the possible advantages and disadvantages, subtleties and options for resolving the issue: where is it more convenient to live - in your own house or in an apartment building?
Place and again place
Village outside the city
Urban planning for apartment buildings provides a certain standard of accessibility to public transport, shops, pharmacies, schools, etc. At the same time, we all dream of having housing in a certain area of the city, most often closer to the center, not far from work, and so that there is a school that suits us nearby.
In the case of choosing a private house, the task becomes more complicated. Most often, everything is arranged in such a way that the quality of roads and utilities, the level of medical services and the range of products in the store are inversely proportional to the distance from the city center. It is in these places that plots for building cottages are most often offered.
However, if the cottage village is located near the motorway, which takes 30 minutes to drive. to the city center, then there are no problems.
An acceptable situation is when an elderly family is retired and wants to live outside the city. Grandchildren will have a wonderful rest in the fresh air in the summer and even eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Land for sale in the city
In fairness, it should be noted that in most regional centers of our country there is a real opportunity to purchase a place for building a cottage in the city. Only money should not be spared and time searching for a suitable option.
Believe me, it's worth it! Specifically, such a plot at a cost approximately corresponds to a one-room apartment. Then you will receive both gas, and electricity, and central sewage, and all other infrastructure, as well as the availability of other benefits that we have already talked about. It is quite inexpensive if we want to build a private house 5-10 times larger than a one-room apartment.
It is in this place that the cottage that you see in the photo is located. There are all communications, asphalt nearby, infrastructure in the immediate vicinity, quite a quiet and calm, 15 min. to the city center.
Private house in the city
Space and comfort
There is no doubt that the level of comfortable living directly depends on the area of housing. This refers not only to a separate room of sufficient area for each family member, but also a room for spending time together: a kitchen, a living room. It is very convenient to have a spacious bathroom and toilet, and the latter is not in a single copy. It's great when there is a gym, pantries, sauna, etc.
In fairness, it should be noted that an apartment can also be purchased with a sufficient area, with all the listed attributes, but everyone understands that such an apartment will be very expensive. The explanation is simple: apartments of this class are usually offered in the city center, where the cost of housing is very high. On the contrary, to build a cottage, gradually investing money, is very real. For us, this means that, when discussing a large and small area, we will talk about personal households and apartments, respectively.
Interior of a private house
Spacious housing also has disadvantages: big square cleaning, need to wash a large number of windows, etc. However, if the family consists of five people, the issue is automatically solved by a sufficient number of workers. In addition, with sufficient space, all corners of the rooms are not crowded and not littered with things: cleaning is easy! On the contrary, if the family is small, nothing gets polluted! This means that cleaning can be done less frequently. In our house, for example, there is a built-in vacuum cleaner, which simplifies the task even more.
Your own home is silence! AT apartment building many people live, which means that quite often a situation arises when someone makes repairs, sorts things out, or vice versa - has fun. On your own site, there are also problems with noise: the neighbors have a loud barking dog or belated guests make noise in the yard. So it will be right to clarify the conflict of neighbors before acquiring a plot. In any case, it is really peaceful to negotiate with a small number of people.
Gym in a cottage
Equipment maintenance: house or apartment?
When deciding to live in an individual home, you need to understand that you take responsibility for the normal functioning of all technical systems. The most important thing is heating, it must work properly. This means that you must carry out maintenance in accordance with the regulations and not save money by waiting for the heating boiler to fail. But here lies a huge plus: you can turn the heating on and off at any time, as well as maintain a comfortable temperature for you. Hot water also in your hands: and no one will ever turn it off for the notorious prevention.
Water supply in the private sector, unfortunately, is also turned off. However, we found a good solution in our house: we installed a storage tank and made a special plumbing layout. Now, in any situation, the tap works in the kitchen, in the bathroom and one toilet. Enough stock for the day.
Storage tank for water
By the way, there is a toilet on the site: it works without water. An indispensable thing when you are in the yard and do not want to go into the building. It is very convenient if you invite strangers to help with the housework.
We note one more circumstance: you will not “flood” anyone with water, and no one will flood your premises! Just in case, we have provided an original and simple system against leaks in our house: after all, there are a lot of unreliable flexible hoses.
Features of power supply in the cottage
There may be problems with the power supply in a personal household. If a neighbor likes to work by welding, the lighting will “blink”, and the refrigerator will “twitch”. Any electronics can fail. As we have already said, it is better to choose a good neighbor when purchasing a plot. Law and order in such a situation does not work well. Somehow the stabilizer helps. A stabilizer, by the way, in your own household is not at all a luxury, but most often a necessity. Power supply lines in our cities are often outdated and do not provide normal voltage: the number of electrical appliances last years increased greatly (air conditioners, heaters, electric furnaces…). There is a way out - a separate power line from the substation. It costs a lot. There is an interesting possibility: you put an electric generator - and now there is electricity in any situation.
Stabilizer and built-in vacuum cleaner
Of course, a private house provides a higher level of comfort than an apartment building. However, the guarantee of the operation of all technical systems requires attention. Not bad if the landlord is technically literate. Another important point: leaving on vacation, the apartment can simply be locked; it is better to look after an individual house: neighbors, relatives, friends ... Below is a video that tells how the issue of choosing housing was solved in practice.
Plot - the advantage of a private house
There is one fundamental difference between living in an apartment and a private house: the degree of freedom and independence. In an apartment building, your power extends to the area of the occupied premises, for example, 50 sq.m., and ends at the front door. In your own house, you are the owner of a plot of at least 500 sq.m. Here your power ends behind the outside of the fence. Agree: inspires! It seems to me that this is the main reason why the inhabitants of their homes say: “I will never agree to live in an apartment!”
Courtyard of a private house
Yes, of course, not everyone likes to mess with plants, tint the wooden parts of buildings, mow the lawn, remove snow, etc. Having “practiced” for many years in the country, our family also almost became allergic to this kind of activity. Taking into account the experience gained, we have provided several solutions that relieve the acuteness of the issue: a plot - no more than 6 acres; none fruit trees; platform for 2 cars, paved with paving stones; lawn area of 100 sq.m.; sports town with artificial turf; automatic watering; electric snow blower; lawn mower.
Now we perceive as a rest from work at the computer the care of 2 vines, 3 beds of tomatoes and flowers. Cars are protected in the garage from the sun, rain and snow. If the garage is guarded, you can have the most stolen car and not pay for CASCO.
Children's sports corner, brazier from natural stone, lawn and veranda create excellent conditions for recreation and entertainment in any company. In the yard you can build whatever you want, up to one more house: for a family of children, for elderly parents, for workers, for guests.
In general, the courtyard of your own house is, of course, both duties and opportunities. Decide for yourself what is more convenient for your family: build your own house or live in an apartment?
Security features
It is much easier to protect an apartment from intruders, especially on a high floor, than a separate building. If you put an alarm, then generally great. There are also negative nuances: often odious personalities ring the intercom, who either want to "save your soul", or exactly the opposite - to deprive gullible pensioners of their savings. From the car to the entrance at night you have to walk, and this can be an unpleasant adventure.
On the contrary, if the garage of a private household is equipped with radio-controlled gates, the problem of evening arrival is removed. Actually the house itself, of course, must have an alarm system. In case of a long absence, you should ask the neighbors to look after him.
A wonderful means of protection in your own yard is a dog. At the same time, you must remember the responsibility that you take on by acquiring a faithful watchman. The dog needs to be cleaned up, fed and walked. In a private yard, all these issues are resolved.
In general, the way of life in an individual house and apartment differs markedly. So what will we choose - a private house or an apartment? Of course, it is up to you to decide: to buy a private house or to have an apartment! For those who decided to build a house with their own hands, we have prepared a wonderful video!
Opinions and personal experience entrepreneurs.
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 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 blind fences. And if you choose a house in a good area, there is also a convenient infrastructure (kindergartens, a school, sections, a sports club).
The road to the Moscow Ring Road, as a rule, takes about 15 minutes. Next - the usual Moscow traffic jams. I plan a week like this: I am at home for several days (I work at a computer, on the phone). A couple of days - in Moscow (I appoint several meetings in a row in the city).
Shopping days go according to the planned route, and I do wardrobe analysis at the client's home. Problems with movement, taking into account the developed habit and free schedule, are not particularly felt.
Cons of owning a house: Dependence on a stable income of an “above average” level. Utilities and general costs for 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. Separate gardening services, snow removal and maintenance of the house in good condition.
Higher spending on social infrastructure. A good kindergarten costs an average of 60 thousand rubles a month, schools - from 120 thousand rubles a month, a sports club - 100 thousand rubles a year, Sport section for a child - about 30 thousand rubles a month. Kids in local schools usually talk about "cool cars" and the latest phones.
The main disadvantage of living in your own home is the time spent on trips to Moscow. Any unscheduled meetings during busy hours can turn into 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 go from the center. This is very comfortable, especially when the entire calendar is filled with appointments.
If you live in Moscow, you can do without a personal car, using taxis, carsharing and public transport. In the case of your own home, this possibility is excluded: the absence of a car is inconvenient and involves high expenses.
My parents live in a house outside the city and are happy with such a life. They really appreciate peace, the opportunity to spend more time in nature, 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: sometimes something is wrong with the gas, sometimes with heating, sometimes the gates began to open poorly. In winter, you need to clean the snow, in the summer - 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.
I had to solve a lot of problems that the resident of the apartment does not even think about: heating, cleaning the pool, poison for mice, and so on. I realized that I was emotionally unprepared for such changes.
Plus, I'm only 37 years old. Most of the time is spent working. My friends and family also like to travel where it is warmer. If you spend less than two or three months a year in the house, there is no point in buying it.
It's good to have a cottage. 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
CEO of PR Partner agency
I live in Rostov-on-Don. Definitely my choice is home. I spent my entire childhood in 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 (for an introvert this is a real test). Loud music, fear of being flooded by those above, or 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 owner of the house is much higher.
What does it do for the residents of the apartment Management Company- takes out the garbage, cleans the yard, cleans the snow, repairs the fence, trims the trees and much more - the owner of the house takes over. But the comfort is worth it.
Alexey Puzanov
The owner of the literary site "Buklya"
I live in a private house, since I was not born and raised in an apartment. I want freedom and privacy. The house has a small minus from the point of view of the entrepreneur: you grow to it. Selling a house is harder than selling an apartment. And, accordingly, if the business requires relocation or, in general, you want to change the sphere, region, country, there will be more problems.
I would not buy a house, but rent it. But in my region, houses that would suit me in terms of price, location and layout are not rented out. Having bought a house and lived in it for some time, I began to understand that dreams about it and reality are different things.
When I bought a house, I thought that every evening I would sit by the fire, go to the river. But everything turned out differently. The house is a constant work to maintain order and cleanliness in the building and on the site. You can solve the problem yourself or hire workers. The first option destroys 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 state of which I dream, according to preliminary calculations, it is necessary to spend as much as the house cost when purchased.
Roman Alekhin
Founder of the group of companies "Ortho-Doctor"
My husband and I have a family business: wholesale and retail sales of Vologda products in St. Petersburg. When we opened the business, we lived in a St. Petersburg apartment. In 2016, due to business needs, they left for Vologda. First rented an apartment, and then bought small house 15 km from the city where we now live.
Everything in the house is 100% satisfied: clean air, silence, a bathhouse, 10 acres of land, a place for a barbecue and a sports ground. From the infrastructure there is only a shop, but there is a good transport connection: the city is 20 minutes by car or 40 minutes by bus.
The price of a house corresponds to the cost of a one-room or two-room apartment. The maintenance of 50 square meters for two costs the same money as apartment utility bills.
In a year we plan to return to St. Petersburg (again because of business) and again we will 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: do not go to the theater again, do not visit a doctor, do not 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 network "Gifts of the Vologda Region"
For 32 years I managed to live in different parts 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 away from large cities near Moscow. Chernogolovka has everything you need for life. And children here can go to school on their own (Muscovites do not have such a luxury).
For the first few years, I lived in an apartment. Moved into the house in 2017. It has more space. It is possible to sunbathe on the lawn or fry meat on the grill for dinner.
Our house is located next to the forest. Two hundred meters away is a picturesque lake. In order not to waste a lot of time on the road 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 a few 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 a month, including all utilities). 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 districts of St. Petersburg - including in the center. As a result, he came to a consensus between an apartment in the city and a country house: he bought a two-story house in the city. 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 you are on your own territory. You are fully responsible for the condition of your home and should not wait for someone to do something for you. You can always tweak things if needed.
The apartment does not give such freedom. There are noisy neighbors, high rents, lack of communications and other disadvantages. At the same time, the cost of the house will cost no more than a four-room apartment. And it will provide much more convenience.
When choosing a district, 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 ride a bicycle to the office.
Our neighborhood has very quiet neighbors. Even if someone celebrates holidays, they are hardly heard. The quality of the roads is excellent, as the house is located in the city. There is no question of the inconvenience of moving. No car - can be reached by public transport.
Alexey Bannikov
General Director of the group of companies "Photosklad.ru"
I don't have my own place, but I've lived in many places. I tried different options: a private house in the city center, apartments in the suburbs and the center, an apartment in Khrushchev, in the 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 runs over the head and under the feet (it was good in the attic, but the pigeons stomped like elephants), and most importantly, opened the door - and you are already on the street. In addition, I have three children. Fresh air and free space are very important to them.
There is another small one near our house. It houses the temporary office of my company. So everything is at hand. Eventually, I plan to buy my own home. But first you need to decide on the country.
Kirill Bragin
Head of web studio GoodSellUs
I have long wanted my own house. But for the time being, I consider it inappropriate to move out of town. There are two main reasons: infrastructure and personal meetings.
Of course, I do not have to be constantly present in my own stores. But it happens that you need to quickly go to one of them. And to do this, living in the suburbs, is very problematic. In addition, in the next year and a half, we plan to open new points. So, now you need to actively select the premises. Office, banks are within an hour's reach from our apartment.
Also nearby are a kindergarten and circles 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 serious constraining factors are the availability of polyclinics and urgent medical care.
Perhaps the infrastructure issues could be resolved by buying a home in a cool cottage village. But this is completely different money: the cost of cottages, and maintenance, and annual fees, and taxes. Therefore, while we stay in the city and look for a summer cottage for weekend trips and summer holidays.
Boris Zak
Owner of the Plyushkin-Ville chain of hand-made stores
The times when a business was tied to a specific location are over. For the last four years I have been living in Kazan (my husband is a professional field hockey player and has a contract with a local club), and my business partner is 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 e-mail and in 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 suburbs. Good location, developed infrastructure, nice neighbors.
We do not have a dacha or land on which it could be built. The market price of our apartment is about 10 million rubles. For this money, one could buy a good ready-made house, or at least a section in a townhouse. However, there is neither the desire, nor the strength, nor the time to get involved in their own construction.
Opponents and supporters of living in a private house have long been fiercely arguing about what is still better: a three-room paradise with all 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 settlements around large cities are growing like mushrooms, and there are more and more people who want to build their own house and leave the noisy city. But even in high-rise buildings of new buildings, apartments are being bought up at a great speed, the cost per 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 later you will not have to regret the step taken.
Pros of living in an apartment
Living conditions in large and small cities, of course, are very different from each other. Huge metropolises with developed infrastructure are not at all like quiet and cozy provincial towns where everyone knows each other. Therefore, it is always worth considering the fact where the apartment is located, in which area, in which house and in which city. A lot can depend on this, but apartments have something in common.
- Firstly, it is the presence of transport infrastructure near the house. This important fact allows you to feel confident enough for those who have to go to work every morning. Living outside the city, it will be necessary 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, it is the location near the house of important social facilities. Kindergartens, schools, technical schools, institutes, hospitals, pharmacies, sports centers, houses children's creativity greatly simplify the life of a family in which there are children of any age. The need to take the child to school every day in the morning and in the evening Kindergarten often calls into question the possibility of living outside the city of a family in which both parents work from morning to evening.
- Thirdly, the apartments are provided with centralized communications services. All issues related to the supply of water, electricity, gas, as well as worries about waste disposal and disposal Wastewater fall on the shoulders of specialized services. It is enough for the owners of apartments to simply pay the receipts on time and not worry about anything else. The issues of replacing pipes in risers, repairing the roof, clearing snow in the yard or ensuring cleanliness in the entrance should be addressed by the relevant persons in the prescribed manner.
- Fourth, cities have shops, entertainment and shopping centers, theaters, exhibitions, cinemas, concert halls, clubs and other objects of cultural life, which are almost completely absent in the private sector or rural areas.
- Fifth, a serious argument for many is the ability to connect to high-speed Internet, digital television and other information achievements of civilization.
All these factors very often become decisive when a family faces a serious question about what to choose, a house or an apartment. But living in a city apartment has its significant drawbacks.
Cons of living in an apartment
Not all the minuses are noticed by everyone who lives in the 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 the data of the meters, but also the costs for common house needs are distributed, and a fee is charged for the overhaul of the house. Very often the rent for a small two-room apartment turns out to be much higher than all the costs of maintaining a 100m 2 house.
- Dependence on those who live in neighboring apartments. Problems such as: noisy neighbors, damaged repairs, which were arranged by those who live on the floor above, those who like to drink or smoke in the stairwell are very frequent companions of those who live in an apartment building.
- Strong air pollution constant noise from passing cars, the lack of parking spaces in the yard and much more does not add joy either.
When making a choice between a house or an apartment, the pros and cons of which are different for each person, all possible difficulties should be foreseen.
Advantages of living in a private house and disadvantages
Among the fans of living in their own home there are people of different ages and marital status. Someone consciously tried all his life to get away from the noisy city, and some were simply forced to take such a step due to various circumstances. But according to experienced realtors, people are more likely to change their apartment for a house, rather than vice versa.
The advantages of living in a private house for many are too obvious:
- fresh air, proximity to nature, peace and quiet of country life;
- a sense of freedom, lack of dependence on neighbors, the ability to go out into the yard at any time and do what you love;
- the presence of its own parking space for a car, motorcycle, bicycle or any other equipment;
- a great opportunity to put a small child to sleep every day in a stroller 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, the maintenance of which in the apartment would be very problematic;
- the presence of a garden and a vegetable garden allows you to grow organic fruits, vegetables and berries, which in the summer can be eaten directly from branches or beds;
- relative independence from utilities, the ability to independently set heating and supply modes hot water, lack of summer "pressure tests" and frequent shutdowns of hot water supply;
- with properly organized heat supply, maintaining a house is many times cheaper than paying utility bills for an apartment of a smaller area.
The issue of the cost of utilities for many is very relevant. Therefore, when deciding what is cheaper, a house or an apartment, one should definitely take into account the difference in their area, as well as the fact that the house will have to pay only for what was really used.
If the house is built with high quality, well insulated and heated with modern equipment, then there will be no problems with it. Therefore, when buying or building a house, special attention should be paid to the quality of communications.
But living outside the city has its own small drawbacks, which often stop many city dwellers from moving.
A private house. Are there any disadvantages?
The first and most important drawback of living in the private sector is considered by many to be remoteness from all the benefits of civilization. The lack of transport, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, shops, pharmacies and other attributes of urban life makes those who want to escape from the hustle and bustle seriously think big city and is it worth it.
In addition, your house requires more attention than an apartment. In winter, you need to remove snow in the yard, sweep fallen leaves in autumn, mow grass in summer, repair the roof if necessary, change plumbing, and monitor the condition of all communications. If you do not do all this regularly, then very soon even the strongest and most well-built house will begin to fall into disrepair.
Caring for a personal plot can also take quite a lot of time, so if the parents work in the family, then it may not be easy for them to maintain the garden in good condition.
But for many, such work is only a joy. Everyone must decide for himself how it corresponds to life in a private house. However, there are certain categories of citizens who will find it difficult to adapt to living in such conditions, these are:
- lonely unmarried women or young mothers with children;
- elderly or infirm people suffering from 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 a lot of fans of both options, and each gives very convincing arguments. Each person must make his own choice and determine his own destiny.