What is better house or apartment? Pros and cons, comparison table

Pros and cons of private houses

Choosing and buying a good house is not easy, and building is even more difficult. Therefore, before starting a deal, you must be sure of the need for such a project.

Pros of home

• Spacious house. A square meter in a house is much cheaper than in an apartment: therefore, their area is on average 20-50% larger. If you are building a home from scratch, create a construction plan to suit your family's needs. By asking the required number of rooms and their area, you will get the layout of your dreams.
• Possibility to increase living space... The only way to enlarge a room in an apartment is to combine it with a balcony. And many redevelopment options are prohibited in the BTI. In a finished house, you can easily make an extension or change the layout, if the need arises. True, some changes also need to be coordinated, for example, the construction of a new floor.
• Fresh air... The TOP advantages of houses necessarily include ecology. Villages and villages have fewer cars, no harmful industrial production and much more greenery. Depending on the location of the settlement, there may be a river or lake, forest or meadows very close. This kind of atmosphere is much more beneficial than city smog.
• Plot availability... You can dispose of your own adjoining territory as you please - from the cultivation of a garden / vegetable garden, to additional buildings in the form of a bathhouse or garage. In addition, you will never have a problem with parking - no one can take your place. In warm climates, it is possible to build a private pool.
• Freedom for animals. Chickens, geese, pigs, cows and horses need a farmstead with a plot. But even if you are not going to immerse yourself in agriculture, habitual pets will also like living in the house. Large and small dogs, cats, parrots and even fish. You don't need to walk with the dog, just open the door. And the birds will not interfere with loud singing if you settle them away from bedrooms.
• Autonomy and low cost of housing and communal services. The owners of private houses do not suffer from preventive water cutoffs and independently regulate the heating. Thanks to the installation of meters for water, gas and electricity, you will only pay for the resources used. Add to this the reduced suburban rates and get a small amount on top of your monthly payment.
• Lack of neighbors. Your nearest neighbors are at least 50 meters away, which means that even the sounds during their repair will not bother you. The rule works in the opposite direction: you can make noise after 9 pm without disturbing anyone.

Cons of home

• Underdeveloped infrastructure. The extent depends on the size of the locality. Large neighborhood centers have shops, hospitals, gardens and schools. Small villages may not have clinics and other socially significant facilities, so you will have to take your child to school or travel to a neighboring village for treatment.
• Service responsibility. The owners have to clean the snow on their own, repair the house, take care of the garden, and ennoble the territory. Compared to an apartment in a high-rise building, there is much more homework and it requires a lot of time and effort.
• Security threat. It is dangerous to just close the door and leave for a long time, because according to statistics, private houses are robbed more often than apartments. The only way out is to install an expensive security alarm.
• Difficulty of movement. In most suburban villages, there are difficulties with public transport - buses rarely run, there are few stops and it takes a long time to get to them on foot. Therefore, if you need frequent trips to the city, get a car. The daily commute of several kilometers to work or the transportation of children to and from school can be a problem.
• Impossibility of free relocation. The state provides preferential housing to owners of apartments in dilapidated buildings. But the residents of the houses do not have this privilege - the old house in a terrible state will have to be restored or rebuilt at their own expense.
• Bad connection. The absence or a small number of telephone towers leads to interruptions in the cellular network. Wired internet is absent almost everywhere, and satellite will cost much more. The same applies to television - cable replaces the dish, but its purchase and maintenance requires money.
• Absence or poor quality of roads. Smooth smooth asphalt is a rarity for suburban settlements. The asphalt road needs repair or has been replaced with soil or gravel altogether. This means that any bad weather can become an obstacle on the way home or from home - in winter you can get stuck in snow, in spring and autumn in mud.

Pros and cons of apartments

The quality of life in an apartment is influenced by many factors: from the series and the date of construction of the house, to the nearest neighbors. When deciding to stay in an apartment building or build your own - evaluate each scale.

Advantages of apartments

• Good infrastructure. Living in the city is easy: kindergartens, schools, shops are within walking distance. A hospital, workplace, university, large shopping or entertainment center can be quickly reached by car, public transport or taxi.
• Developed public transport system... Metro, buses, minibuses make the life of a city dweller much easier. The distance from home to the bus stop usually does not exceed 10 minutes, and it is quite inexpensive to get anywhere in the city.
• No need for maintenance. The management company is responsible for the condition and repair of common building communications, they also hire employees to maintain cleanliness and order on the territory. It should be noted here that not every company copes with its 5+ responsibilities, leaving yards and entrances in a terrible state.
• Great communication. The towers ensure high-quality operation of the telephone network. Installation of cable TV and the Internet is inexpensive and does not take long. High security. Home burglaries are less common than brownies. Partly due to the presence of neighbors. In addition, many apartment complexes have video surveillance and a pass system.
• Free relocation. If your property is in a dilapidated house, resettlement will be carried out at the expense of the state. You will receive a new apartment or funds to buy it, which will significantly save your budget when you move.
• Ease of buying and selling. In big cities, many apartments are sold and bought, so it will not be difficult to find an option to your liking while searching. And there shouldn't be any problems during the sale - after all, the liquidity of an apartment is higher than that of a house.
• Simplified registration of a mortgage... Banks are more willing to issue loans for the purchase of finished apartments than the construction of a private house. In addition, the terms of a mortgage for an apartment are much more profitable - the interest is lower, the package of documents is less.

Cons of apartments

• Air pollution. The abundance of cars, factories and factories has a negative impact on the environment.And bad ecology is a direct path to various diseases. In industrial cities and metropolitan areas, smog is more the rule than the exception.
• High price per square meter. Developed infrastructure, finished building and other advantages of living in the city affect the price of housing. The cost of an apartment of 100 m2 in comparison with the same house may differ 2 times.
• Small area. Although an apartment in a modern panel house is more spacious than in a Khrushchev, it is still difficult for a large family to live in it. If your property does not have a garage or garden, you also need to decide how to arrange seasonal storage - one balcony may not be enough.
• The likelihood of damage to property. Living in the same territory with many neighbors, the human factor cannot be excluded. They can start a fire or flood, the consequences of which can affect your home.
• Expensive communal apartment. In addition to the resources consumed, the owners pay for capital repairs, the work of the management company or HOA and other services. Centralized housing and communal services. Scheduled heating, seasonal hot water shutdowns and other situations cause discomfort for citizens.
• Difficulty parking. You will have to pay for a comfortable car placement in the city. Or, every time you return home, look for an empty seat. The higher the building and the smaller the yard, the more difficult it is to arrange a car.
• Lots of noise. Neighbors on the sides, above and below make a huge amount of sounds. If we multiply this by the excellent audibility in the panels, we get a constant flow of noise. “City music” is added to the neighbors - traffic beeps, shouts from the streets, etc. Sound insulation partly solves the problem, but high-quality will cost you a pretty penny.

Which is better: comparison table and conclusions

We propose once again to recall the advantages and disadvantages of both options and make a final decision:

We have reviewed the main pros and cons of living in apartment buildings and private houses. To determine the appropriate option, determine not only your needs, but also your capabilities: for example, can you take care of the adjacent territory of the house or would you prefer to entrust it to the janitor?