Tips about buying new apartments: 8. Interior architecture and balconies – Who dares to ignore their importance?
Investment in a new apartment is one of the most important moments in the economic life of each and every one of us. Statistics say that we usually buy 1 – 3 dwellings during our life, so every mistake counts. When we talk about an apartment in a new project, things are quite complicated. Except all the other parameters to analyze, some people forget that the interior architecture of their future apartment will influence their daily life. In the same time, they tend to ignore the real usage of their balcony and its cost ofcourse. But this can cause very big problems, even to worse one's life and empty his pocket more than he expected.
Interior Architecture: Vital for your future life
Many men ask only for the sq.m. built, the useful and the price of a property. Well, thank God we have women to ask for all the rest! They are the ones who focus on this, as they realize the actual value of a welldesigned interior architecture in an apartment. What you should check:
1. Bigger apartment than you can afford? How people paid this mistake
In 2007 – 2008 many people got spoiled and started comparing their future home with the dwellings they were watching on television. Also plenty of developers and Real Estate brokers created a propaganda which had the main idea of "why shouldn't we live in large apartments, like the ones the developers themselves live in back home? Are we inferior to them?"
- The first outcome was several people buying bigger apartments than the ones they could finally pay, so they didn't have money to buy the… furniture!
- Everything was calculated based on the most positive scenario for the buyer. So, when life proved that there are also bad moments, many of these guys lost their advance payment, as they could not pay the rest of the amount.
- Also, a large spacious apartment means higher monthly costs too.
If you can be sure that you can afford it, go for it. If not…
2. Bedrooms: Forget 18 – 25 sq.m., go for 11 – 14 sq.m.
It is not by coincidence that the majority of Greek "apartments of three rooms" have bedrooms of 11 – 14 sq.m. (useful surface). Apartments have to adjust to clients' budget and it is more important to have one more room in our home than to have more space in less rooms.
2. Bedrooms: Do they fit all you want?
It is obvious that most of the newly designed apartments will have a smaller surface comparing to the past, people can not afford large expensive surfaces. So, is it enough for us to accept that we will live in smaller rooms? No, the next step is to check if these rooms can really "host" all we want to place there. Make sure that your future bed, closet and everything else you wish to have there really fits. It is not always the case, because some architects… shrink the rooms too much, that in the end you can barely walk around your bed. And I guess we all agree that saving money is economy, but feeling like a mouse in a trap is stupid.
3. Bathrooms. Be careful for "virtual reality"
I have a friend, architect in Greece. He swears that 15% of the projects that are available for sale in Romania at a very low price have fake lay outs when it comes to bathrooms. "They show you a bathroom of 5 – 6 sq.m. and they tell you that you can fit there a washing machine, a wonderful bath tub and God knows what else. But the scale is not right, it is just an image, a "virtual reality" in order to initiate you to buy. And the real bathroom is significantly smaller". We did the test with several projects in the Western part of Bucharest and he was… right. So, measure carefully the surfaces, before you will have an unpleasant surprise.
4. Living rooms and corridors. Check their balance
We want the largest possible living room with the smallest possible corridors. But sometimes a bad interior architecture "costs" unnecessary long corridors, which "steal" surface from the apartment (and still we pay for them). A careful study will show you that almost 5% of the projects available today have apartments with this architectural mistake, so check it carefully.
5. Hallway, Living room, Kitchen, Bedrooms, Bathroom (don't mix the order)
Isn't it obvious that we should not cross the living room when we want to reach our bathroom? Well, not really, many projects send you explore your home anytime you wish to reach your bathroom. So don't forget to pay attention to how the rooms are located. Ideally people prefer splitting the apartment in two: From one side the hallway, the living room and the kitchen (where guests may also enter) and on the other side the rest of the rooms, the most private ones. Make sure that this will be the case for your new apartment as well.
6. North, West, East, South. Do you know which room should be located where?
A special interior decorator, friend of mine, will write to you more about these (plus Feng Shui and even more).
Balconies: New rooms? Useful? Overpriced?
During the "glorious years" of the past, some developers were asking for a balcony even the same price with the rest of the apartment (!) But each sq.m. of an apartment represents a major investment, while most of the balconies cost 3 – 4 times less. So keep in mind the following:
- Only a big apartment should have large balconies. Still this is not obligatory.
- It is also matching with apartments that have nice view (rare). Just that sometimes developers of those ask the cost of "one more apartment".
- If you don't have the view which deserves to be seen, you will probably not need to sit on your large, expensive balcony (and watch the neighbor washing her clothes, except if she is… such a beauty, but I doubt).
- I am against transforming a balcony into storage space, because balconies are located next to windows and doors. Like this you lose natural light and many more benefits. You gain some questionable sq.m. of "storage" and you transform your new apartment to something close to the old ones you tried to escape from.
- Negotiate the price of a balcony, if it is not included in the price.
- To cut the long story short: For a "normal" apartment of 2 or 3 rooms, a small balcony is enough and its cost should either be included in the price or should not exceed a very small cost. Neither at the same price / sq.m. with the rest of the apartment nor with half of it, much less.
On Monday, 19th of April:
- Finished project or under construction?
- Advance payment: Why they ask it, why they need it.