The Pros And Cons Of Apartment Living

To rent or to buy is one of the fundamental dilemmas of our time. Choosing to live in an apartment or to buy a house is an important financial decision that carries a significant impact on your life. Each option has its merits, but it can be difficult to sort through the relative advantages and disadvantages when trying to make the best decision.

Having a clear sense of the pros and cons of apartment living before you start asking around is always a good idea. Being aware of what you can expect from apartment living, in comparison with living in a home or condo, will help you to make the best choice for your circumstances.

To help you make the best decision for your preferences and needs, let’s look at some of the essential pros and cons of apartment living.

Advantages Of Apartment Living

Apartment living offers a number of benefits, though many of them are at the hands of your chosen building’s body corporate. The body corporate is generally in charge of dealing with any maintenance and repairs that fall within the confines of the property but are not attached to any individual apartment. More information on choosing or changing a body corporate can be found by speaking with Strata consultants in Melbourne.

Benefits of apartment living include:

• Better Security: Owning a home entails taking on a certain degree of risk when you leave it unattended. When going on holiday, you may need to enlist the help of friends and family to keep an eye on things while you are away. Certainly, this will depend on where you live. However, with an apartment, you can simply leave your home with the full confidence that it is safe and secure. Apartment complexes, especially newer ones, have multiple doors and many neighbours to watch out for anything suspicious.

• Maintenance Peace Of Mind: Most apartment dwellers do not have to worry about maintaining or repairing things when they break down unless they are responsible for the damage. Usually, landlords or strata managers will take care of this type of work. In comparison to the stress of owning a home, where maintenance is a never-ending job, this provides unparalleled peace of mind.

• Affordable Utilities: In many cases, utilities will be included in the rental price of an apartment. In the worst case, you can expect that the cost of utilities will be much more affordable if you live in an apartment in comparison with a larger house.

Disadvantages Of Apartment Living

While the benefits outlined above make apartment living ideal for some, there are some disadvantages that need to be kept in mind when making your decision. Specifically, these drawbacks include:

• Lack of Privacy: Apartment dwellers must accept a certain reduction of their privacy. When living in close quarters beside others in the apartment building, it is likely that you will hear your neighbours and your neighbours will hear you. However, the degree of this intrusion into your privacy will depend on many things. If your apartment building community establishes a sense of mutual respect, this may not be a problem at all. 

• No-Pet Policies: For those who cannot bear to live without a furry friend, it is important to be aware of the pet policies of the apartment building you are planning to live in. Many apartment complexes have specific rules for which types of pets are allowed to be in the building and which are not. Make sure that you are aware of these before you make the move. With that said, amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 have made it significantly easier for pet lovers to find accommodation that suits their needs, so this is less of an issue than it once was.