Instructions: How to choose an apartment in 2020

Often, buyers have only a superficial idea of
​​how to choose an apartment and by what criteria to determine its value .
With this approach, buying an apartment can become a bad investment. Living in it is unlikely to bring joy, and the inability to resell it will only increase the bitterness of disappointment. The real estate market never ceases to be replenished with new offers. Among this diversity, you can easily get lost and, worst of all, make a mistake. Therefore, before you start looking for an apartment, you need to set yourself clear guidelines by which the selection will take place: starting from determining the purpose of the purchase, the budget, and ending with which floor to choose when buying an apartment. Ultimately, it is necessary to draw up a complete list of specific requirements for the desired housing.

Pros and cons of apartments located on the ground floor

Many people prefer to buy property on the ground floor.

Pros:

1. Housing prices have been reduced, which helps you save money.
2. A family with disabled people or small children will be able to go outside with ease.
3. Very often, apartments on the first floors are bought for retirees (especially if children live far away).
4. In the event of a fire, residents of the first floors will be able to evacuate freely.

Minuses:

1. Due to the close location to the basements, the humidity in the apartment is constantly increased.
2. The lighting is worse due to the trees.
3. It is necessary to constantly curtain the windows and make bars.
4. In winter, cold creeps into the apartment due to its close proximity to the entrance door.
5. All floors except the first have balconies, which is not very convenient, because residents need somewhere to dry their clothes.

Pros and cons of the last floor

Pros:

1. There are no neighbors upstairs, so noise and trampling will not disturb you. When you go out onto the balcony, you won’t see a cigarette butt flying overhead or debris from knocked-out rugs.
2. Good lighting.
3. There is no need to curtain the windows, as no one will be watching you.
4. You can make a fireplace with a chimney outlet to the roof (optional).

Minuses:

1. If the elevator does not work, residents of the upper floors will have a hard time getting home, especially if they have small children or people with disabilities.
2. If you purchase furniture, delivery is paid.
3. Washing windows becomes an inconvenient procedure.
4. It is difficult to rent out an apartment, since many people do not want to take it due to its shortcomings.

New buildings

The trend of increasing prices every year applies specifically to apartments in new buildings. If you decide to purchase real estate in a new building with a mortgage, then banks will provide loans without any problems. You can get a loan to buy a secondary home, but the loan terms are less favorable.

This is the most risky option, since construction companies practice selling apartments either in an unfinished building or even when construction is at the stage of the zero cycle.

Before concluding a purchase and sale agreement for an apartment, find out:

• is there cadastral registration of the land plot on which the building is being erected, and what status does the land plot have?
• legal address of the construction company and coordinates of its director;
• how many subcontracting organizations are carrying out construction, their addresses and managers.
• require a permit to carry out construction work;
• if a company sells apartments at dumping prices, then it is better not to take risks and not enter into a deal.

A big disadvantage when buying an apartment in a building under construction is the chronic delay in putting the house under construction into operation. There has even been a community of defrauded real estate investors who are fighting for their rights to obtain legally purchased housing.

The buyer should be wary of the seller’s proposal, which offers to pay for the living space as a contribution to the shared construction of a house. This may be a signal that the construction company is experiencing financial difficulties and is trying to save its position at the expense of potential apartment buyers.

Reinforced concrete or brick – cheaper or better quality?

In most cases, economy-class high-rise buildings are built from reinforced concrete panels - this technology significantly reduces the developer’s costs and allows apartments to be sold cheaper. This technology is not new to builders - it was actively used in the 80s of the last century, when the state took on the mission of making all citizens happy with square meters.

Surely, you have heard that reinforced concrete structures overheat in summer and become too cold in winter. The problem is solvable, the only question is who exactly will take on the solution – the development company or the residents? If there are tenants, then the cost of insulation and air conditioning must be automatically added to the cost of the apartment.

A significant drawback of panel houses is the internal load-bearing walls, which limit the possibilities of remodeling the apartment. But it is in these cases that you can most often find an option with a ready-made, albeit rather modest, renovation, which will allow you to immediately move in and live in your new home.

In monolithic frame houses, apartment owners feel much more at ease. There are only four load-bearing walls here, so inside everyone is his own master and can implement any layout, both at the construction stage and after the housing is put into operation. Brick houses are being built the least often today, and for obvious reasons - this is an expensive material, which, moreover, does not allow houses to grow in height.

Advantages of apartments in new buildings

1. All apartments are built according to an improved layout that meets all the amenities necessary for residents.
2. Construction is carried out using new technologies using modern materials that meet construction standards and standards.
3. All utility lines are connected to the house, which are distributed among the apartments in accordance with the communications plan
4. Multi-storey buildings have two elevators: a passenger elevator and a freight elevator.

Before buying an apartment in a new building, evaluate the infrastructure of the area:

• availability of shopping and entertainment centers;
• proximity to public transport stops;
• availability of medical institutions, kindergartens and schools;
• well-kept house and the presence of playgrounds and parking spaces for cars.

Buying your first apartment is the dream of many, especially young families. But this is also a serious step, which entails not only large one-time, and for many even huge, costs, but also increases your monthly expenses by an order of magnitude, unless, of course, you live in a rented apartment, for which you also have to pay a lot to rent .

And before you go on the difficult journey of finding your first apartment, read the list of certain factors that you should pay attention to in order to choose the right apartment to buy.

Market

The real estate market can be divided into two groups: a buyer's market and a seller's market.

A buyer's market is when there are more offers of real estate on the market than there are buyers for them. This, as a rule, happens during periods of sharp rises in inflation, as, for example, in 2014-15, and even now, in fact, the market has not yet completely settled down.

A seller's market, on the contrary, occurs when the number of apartments sold does not cover all buyers' requests.

However, when choosing an apartment to buy, it is important to understand that each area is characterized by market fluctuations either in one direction or the other. Therefore, the first thing you should do is talk to your real estate agent (I wrote about how to choose a good realtor here, I recommend reading it) to understand how negative the market influence will be for the buyer, i.e. how much the supply of apartments exceeds the demand. And in the case of a large number of offers in relation to demand, the buyer can count on a certain price reduction at the time of the transaction.

What you need to do before you start looking for an apartment

Buying an apartment is by no means a banal trip to the supermarket for groceries, or even buying a car. This is a complex process that requires the preparation and study of certain documents, such as documents for obtaining a loan (if you need it), studying documents confirming the seller’s ownership of the apartment, etc. Actually, your real estate broker will tell you all these nuances.

First purchase of real estate The main thing is, don’t rush to pay all the money for an apartment, try to bargain. You will still need money to cover the costs of re-registering the apartment, some repair work, which, as a rule, is carried out by almost any buyer in the purchased apartment, and even more so, if it is a new building, then you may generally need a considerable amount in order to properly arrange your new home.

Also, if you need a loan to buy an apartment, I would recommend first getting at least preliminary approval from the bank so that you can understand what kind of apartment you can count on. Unfortunately, in my practice there were several cases when the buyer really liked the apartment, and he had already agreed on the price with the seller, then he goes to the bank for the missing amount, and he is simply denied a loan. Accordingly, there is not enough money, and the buyer is forced to look for other simpler and less profitable options for him.

Apartment type and location

Which apartment do you mentally see yourself in? Is this a large two-level apartment in a new building? Or is it a cozy apartment in a quiet area? Is it important for you to have parking near your home? Where will your child play on warm summer days? Do you need a convenient place to work remotely at home? There may be many such questions, but you need to answer them in order to determine for yourself which apartment will be ideal for you. And only then, starting from the ideal and the available amount of money, move on to searching for suitable options.

At the same time, do not rush to cut down your wish list too much; tell your broker about your “wants”, maybe he will immediately find the most suitable option for you.

As for viewing different options, I would advise you to go to viewings with a qualified realtor, because... he will be able to help you sort out the documents confirming ownership of the apartment, and will also tell you what you should pay attention to in the apartment itself and hint when you can start bargaining.

When communicating with the owner of the apartment, be sure to check with him how much he pays on average monthly for utility bills, because... this is also important.

Distance from work

Work is also one of the important components when choosing an apartment, and this also needs to be paid serious attention to. First, you need to understand how stable your job is. By the way, banks also look at this factor when you take out a loan from them.

Is it possible for you to move territorially for work in the next few years (for example, transfer to another region for another position)? All this is important, if only because when you change jobs, you may want to change your apartment, or maybe you will stay in the same one, but you will go to work every morning, leaving the house a couple of hours earlier. Agree, this often happens when we become attached to a place and feel happy in our cozy apartment, although we are incredibly tired from traveling to work and back. Distance of the apartment from work

Or maybe you even work at home, and then you will just need to make sure that in the apartment you are purchasing you can equip yourself with a comfortable workplace, be it a small workshop or a mini-office.

Home repair and maintenance

Some expenses will definitely go towards repairs and maintenance of the purchased apartment. When thinking about what kind of apartment you can afford, keep these costs in mind. Be sure to thoroughly inspect the apartment option that is suitable for you before purchasing. Suddenly it turns out that, for example, the air conditioner needs to be replaced, or the roof is completely leaking. Accordingly, if you do not have the necessary funds, you will need to set aside this money every month to cover the costs of those unforeseen situations that will arise more often than you think. Apartment renovation

In my practice, there have been such options when people, for relatively little money, bought an apartment that needed major repairs, and after they invested the money saved during the purchase into renovations and made it “for themselves,” the result was, one might say, an ideal an apartment for yourself.

Children

Do you have children or are you just planning to have them? If so, then you will need a kindergarten and school nearby. But even if you don’t have children, it would still be very wise to pay attention to the availability of children’s educational institutions in your area, because... in life everything flows and changes, and you may unexpectedly decide to have children.remote work

Also, besides school, when you have children, don't forget about other factors that may be important. Take a look at the surrounding area. Is there a good playground near the house? Is there heavy traffic on the surrounding streets? Is there a swimming pool and sports sections nearby? Are the sidewalks well maintained? What about other children? All this is important to keep in mind if your life values ​​are family.

A few more important points about fraud and more

The euphoria of receiving ownership of a long-awaited home can end very quickly if it suddenly turns out that the apartment is at a certain risk and could easily be lost. And this can happen not only when you fall for scammers, but also possible in cases where there are prerequisites for the termination of the seller’s ownership rights to real estate, and, accordingly, the termination of your rights as a buyer.

But don’t get scared ahead of time. Here are the most common points to pay attention to:

If the cost of an apartment is less than the market price by more than 20%, then this is already suspicious. Practice shows that in order to sell “unclean” housing as quickly as possible, unscrupulous owners significantly reduce its value. This has a hypnotic effect on the buyer, and he often loses his vigilance, and we all know very well that free cheese only comes in a mousetrap.

When I hide from you who really is the owner of the apartment, or offer to sell the apartment by proxy, then this is most likely also a harbinger of a problematic transaction, which should be abandoned immediately. It is important to check the authenticity of all documents and the history of transactions with this apartment before the transaction.

The more owners an apartment has had over short periods of time, the more such a property should be of concern to the buyer.

The persons registered in the apartment, as well as the owner himself, are the people who should interest you primarily. It is important that none of these persons are at risk (alcoholics, drug addicts or mentally ill people), because this may lead to the termination of the transaction in the future.

If a redevelopment has been carried out in the apartment, which was not registered with the BTI, and during a purchase and sale transaction, documents from the BTI are not mandatory, then in the future you may encounter serious problems and high costs when re-registering the papers.

It's no secret that in order to reduce costs when decorating an apartment, many sellers insist on reducing the cost of the property being sold in the purchase and sale agreement. But if for any reason your transaction is declared invalid, then you will only be able to get back the amount that was stated in the notarized agreement. And in order to avoid these possible problems, it is necessary to transfer money correctly and correctly draw up receipts.

If the owner was previously married and is now divorced, then it is important to check in what period and by whom the apartment for sale was purchased, because in the case where the apartment was purchased during marriage, then each of the spouses has equal rights to it. This means that, without the consent to sell one of the spouses, you will probably have to share the new apartment with him in half.

The next important point is registration in the apartment and discharge of minors. Thus, when, before the sale, a minor child is discharged to a social or orphanage, the prosecutor’s office, as a rule, easily returns ownership of the apartment to the child through the court. And given the speed of our state machine, it is always only the innocent buyer who suffers in such situations.

If someone from the apartment was discharged to prison, then it is also important to note that the law establishes the right to living space for these people as well. This means that having returned to his apartment after serving his sentence, this person has every right to live in it.

When buying an apartment that was inherited by the seller, it is important to check whether there are still legal heirs to this property. And in this case, in order to avoid unforeseen problems, it is worth signing an agreement with the seller, in which he undertakes, in the event of other heirs, to give them a proportional part of the money received from the sale of the apartment.

And lastly, be sure to check whether the property you have chosen is not involved in disputes, and whether it carries certain encumbrances that may in the future affect the legality of the transaction.

Buying an apartment is a very responsible and complex matter, so if you decide to take this step, it is better not to take risks, but seek help from qualified real estate agents.

These are all the main points that relate to the question of how to choose an apartment to buy and what to pay special attention to. If you have anything else important to add to the above, write in the comments, it will be very interesting to know what I haven’t said yet.

Secondary housing

The bulk of available housing on the real estate market is represented by secondary housing.

When choosing a secondary home, you need to find out:

1. Are there any encumbrances on the apartment you have chosen? The arrest or apartment is pledged against a loan from the bank.
2. Check with the housing and communal services office to see if all the residents previously registered in this apartment have checked out.
3. After the privatization of the apartment, was there a share allocated for a minor child as part of the property?
4. The seller of the apartment must provide a document confirming his legal capacity at the time of the transaction.

There is an option to purchase housing with a mortgage. What should you pay attention to?

If you are buying an apartment with a mortgage, the choice of housing will depend entirely on your financial capabilities.

Purchasing home ownership through a mortgage is carried out by agreeing on all documents with the bank that will issue the mortgage loan. This amount usually does not exceed the down payment on the mortgage. The bank takes the apartment as collateral.

There are a number of requirements for apartments taken on a mortgage:

1. The living space must be located within the city.
2. A document is required confirming that the house is not included in the list of emergency houses subject to demolition.
3. Mortgages are issued only for apartments purchased in panel or brick houses. Banks do not take apartments in wooden houses as collateral, and therefore do not issue loans.
4. Banks may impose requirements for the number of floors of a building.

When buying an apartment, you need to be careful and carefully check the documents provided by the seller for their authenticity. If you have the slightest doubt about the integrity of the seller and the authenticity of his documents, refuse the transaction without regret.

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Which apartment is better to choose: advice from psychologists

You need to choose an apartment in an absolutely calm emotional state, according to reviews from psychologists. The fact is that emotions can sometimes get the better of us, we may not pay attention to important issues, lose sight of them, and in the future greatly regret the purchase we made. When this might happen:

• For example, you entered an apartment, and it reminded you of the home of your beloved grandmother or first teacher, you plunged into memories and nostalgia and immediately forgot about an objective assessment of the apartment. No one denies that you should feel emotionally comfortable in an apartment. But think about how many emotions you still have to experience. They will be more important in the future. Would you then like to live in the apartment you are looking at?
• You want to emphasize your high status by living in the city center, but in a very small and uncomfortable apartment. You shouldn’t buy real estate just so someone will think well of you. Public opinion changes every day. You need to take into account, first of all, factors that can negatively affect your family, but it’s better not to react at all to the opinions of others and even relatives.
• You shouldn’t buy a cool home by giving away all your savings. Think about what you will live on after the deal. After all, unexpected expenses may be necessary. To feel comfortable and not worry, approach this issue by weighing the pros and cons.

The housing problem can become both a hustle and bustle for you, and one of the happy stages in life. It all depends on your mood and attitude towards the purchase. We wish you that the home you are about to buy will bring only happiness and prosperity to your family. Feel comfortable and cozy in it, but do not forget that the weather there will depend only on you!