Many people find apartments on the ground floor inconvenient: the basement is cold and damp, there is no balcony. Others, on the contrary, cannot imagine how to live somewhere higher: it’s easy to get to the first floor even with a stroller and a child in your hands, you can open a store there. The battle between supporters and opponents can continue endlessly, but we will stay on the sidelines and try to objectively reveal to you all the pros and cons of the apartment on the first floor.
Why are apartments on the ground floor cheaper?
If you look at any real estate website or app, you will notice that apartments on the ground floor are cheaper. Why?
The fact is that in Soviet times, houses were built quickly, the goal was to urgently provide the population with living space. Therefore, sometimes they did not think about creating normal living conditions for residents when the house had already been commissioned. As a result, residents of the top floors faced either a leaking or a hot roof, while those living on the lower floors faced cold and dampness from the basement.
Today, these problems are easy to solve: in old houses, you can use modern materials for repairs that will protect against temperature changes and excessive humidity. In new buildings, in principle, such a problem does not arise: the first floors are no different from all the others in terms of comfort.
And yet the old stereotypes are still alive, so the liquidity of an apartment on the first floor is slightly lower than the liquidity of real estate on the second - penultimate floor.
For those who value time and fire safety
The positive aspects associated with living on the ground floor include minimal time spent getting home or going out. A minute or two saved on waiting for the elevator every time (at least twice a day) adds up to hours of personal time saved over the course of a year. Actually, speaking about the ability to quickly leave your home, you can mention situations where this is vitally necessary, for example, during a fire you can escape by simply jumping out of the window (especially if the front door is jammed).
This possibility sharply approaches zero with each floor up, since jumping from the upper floors leads to consequences no less sad for the human body than the effects of temperatures and carbon monoxide.
Advantages of an apartment on the ground floor
First, let's figure out what advantages of an apartment on the ground floor should be taken into account when purchasing:
- Easy lift for people with limited mobility, young mothers with strollers and a baby in their arms, and the elderly. And it’s much easier for an ordinary person to climb one flight of stairs than to trudge up to the 3rd-5th floor. Cyclists, owners of scooters and other fashionable equipment will also appreciate the short path to the apartment.
- No elevator needed. You are not dependent on the operation (or non-operation) of the elevator and will never get stuck in it. And your utility costs will be slightly lower, because you don’t have to pay for maintenance and repairs of the elevator on the first floor.
- Possibility to make your own entrance. You don’t have to use the entrance at all: make your own entrance directly from the street. This way you will have less contact with your neighbors, and you can also install a ramp if there is a disabled person in the family.
- Small area. If you have always dreamed of a blooming garden, rejoice: own land is one of the advantages of an apartment on the ground floor. You can plant anything there, even fruit trees or shrubs. True, you will have to make sure that your neighbors do not eat your harvest.
- Good water pressure and warmth in the apartment. Most houses are designed in such a way that communications go from bottom to top. That is, the water first comes to you, and then goes up. Accordingly, you will not have weak pressure. The radiators also begin to fill from the first floor, so there are no air pockets in the radiators, and there will always be heat.
- You can stomp and make noise. If there is a small child (or even several) in the family, it is difficult to explain to him why he cannot run and jump in the apartment. Living on the first floor, you will not conflict with your neighbors about this.
- More affordable price. Real estate is expensive now, but apartments on the ground floor are cheaper, so you can save money on this or take housing in a slightly more prestigious area than planned.
- Less costs for movers. When something oversized is delivered to you, they charge you for each floor - the higher you live, the more you pay. Residents of the first floors benefit here.
No neighbors downstairs
The absence of neighbors below is also an absolute advantage, which can be considered in two aspects at once: firstly, no one makes noise, and secondly, no one will come to complain if there is a leak in the apartment. You won’t have to deal with (and most importantly, pay for) your neighbors’ consequences such as damaged repairs (which can be quite expensive), damaged furniture, and other things. The water will simply go into the basement, from where it will go into the stormwater system or other infrastructure communications provided for when designing the building.
Why is the first floor bad when buying an apartment?
Now let's talk about the problems of apartments on the first floor. According to reviews from residents of the first floors, they suffer from:
- Noise. If only echoes of what is happening on the street reach the upper floors, then on the first floors you can hear the noise of the road, the screams of children in the yard, music from cars in the parking lot, etc.
- Dust. Similarly: the wind easily carries dust and dirt from the street onto the first floors, especially if there is a construction site or a busy highway nearby. In addition, on the ground floor there is always more dust and dirt than on the upper floors.
- Robbers. It is easy to get into the apartment on the first floor through the window. The problem is solved by installing grilles, but not everyone likes the way they look. In addition, sometimes thieves do not even disdain someone else’s laundry hanging on a line low above the ground.
- Insects. Cockroaches, midges, and basement fleas are a common problem on the first floors. In general, everything can be solved by installing nets on windows, ventilation, as well as periodic use of chemicals. But still, sometimes insects and larger animals - lizards, or even neighbor cats - will penetrate through open windows
- Smells. Exhaust fumes, smoking neighbors, “odors” from garbage cans - all these are problems for apartments on the ground floor. It’s difficult to deal with this, all that remains is to use the air conditioner, close the windows on time and use air fresheners.
- Lack of light. Less light will enter your apartment, especially if the house is located in an area with dense buildings. In addition, bushes and trees can create additional shade.
- Other people's views. You can’t do without thick curtains or blinds on the ground floor: you will always have the feeling that passers-by are looking into your windows. However, high first floors do not have this problem - choose them if this point confuses you.
- Modest view from the window. This is not a very important point, especially for people who spend almost all their time at work. But, if you like to drink coffee and watch the sunset, the first floor is definitely not your option.
Minuses
In addition to the advantages, living quarters on the ground floor have significant disadvantages.
Dampness and cold floor
An apartment located close to the ground and basement may be too wet in the summer, which can lead to mold growth. In winter, this location threatens cold floors, so people with reduced immunity and lung diseases should not live on the lower floor.
However, in many new buildings these problems have already been solved - apartments on the first floors are located higher than usual, and communications in the basement are more modern and are repaired much faster. In other cases, high humidity can be eliminated - major repairs and floor insulation will be required.
If your drain is clogged, there is a risk of sewage flooding. Sometimes proximity to the basement threatens to be invaded by rats and cockroaches - this is especially true for houses with garbage chutes.
Threat of robbery
Most often, criminals target apartments where it is easiest to get into. The lower floor is ideal for this. To protect themselves from robbers, residents have to take a range of measures:
- Installing strong doors and windows that will take longer to open.
- Installation of grilles (unsafe option in case of fire) or roller shutters.
- Using armored films on glass makes them more difficult to break.
- Installation of alarm and video surveillance.
- Simulating presence in an apartment using a smartphone and smart sockets that turn on electrical appliances.
Lack of privacy
If the apartment is located in a passageway, a crowded place deprives its owner of privacy. On the lower floors you can better hear children walking on the playground, noisy neighbors during their gatherings under the window, and the sounds of passing cars.
The disadvantages are leveled out if the area is quiet and uncrowded, but this depends only on the coincidence of circumstances. If the apartment is located next to the entrance door, the sounds of the intercom will increase, and the proximity to the parking lot threatens with the smell of gasoline. The situation can be partially corrected by installing high-quality double-glazed windows and the correct entrance door, as well as installing sound insulation on the walls.
You can protect yourself from the glances of curious passers-by with tulle curtains, mirrored or matte films on windows, and even special electrochromic glass, which at the right time becomes transparent or darkened.
Little light
If the windows of an apartment located on the ground floor are adjacent to dense bushes and trees, the living space does not receive enough natural light. In this case, you should send an application to the management company, which will resolve the issue with the city administration.
If the arriving specialist confirms that the light entering the room is not according to the standards, some of the branches will be cut off and the apartment will become lighter. Otherwise, high-quality artificial lighting should be provided.
Apartments and prices
In the residential complex “Bright World “Life...”” (and this is, after all, the Moskovsky district, comfort class and fine finishing) there is a one-room apartment with a total area of 39.40 sq. m. m costs 3.90 million rubles. Eurodvushka - from 4.37 million. And a classic two-room apartment with two bathrooms and a corridor, where a couple of bicycles along the walls will not interfere with the movement of the apartment's inhabitants - from 5.10 million rubles. Eurotreshka - from 5.70 million, classic - from 6.47 million. In general, there are options, although they are the last ones. The prices are high, but this is understandable, because in September the new residents will receive the keys to their apartments.
The prices indicated are valid on the date of preparation of the material
Types of repairs
When inspecting the front door, it is immediately determined what repairs are needed: cosmetic , major or improved.
Planned cosmetic repairs are done on average once every 3-5 years, which depends on the timing specified in the charter documents of the HOA.
Cosmetic repair work includes:
- restore plaster;
- seal holes and cracks;
- whitewash the walls;
- paint railings and panels;
- glass window frames;
- replace broken and cracked glass;
- paint frames;
- renew the paint of elevator slopes;
- change mailboxes and combination locks;
- doors are trimmed and painted (if necessary, they are replaced).
Every 25 years a major overhaul is carried out, which includes:
- waterproofing replacement;
- insulation of joints between panels;
- replacement of communications;
- troubleshooting elevator problems;
- updating lighting (wiring, light sources);
- repair of the technical floor, ventilation, facade, basement;
- building insulation;
- internal cosmetic measures at the entrance.
Due to various circumstances, the list of works may be shortened or supplemented. Residents can also initiate unscheduled repair actions - if restoration of part of the house or entrance is required.
Materials and tools
Renovating the first floor of an apartment building involves the use of durable paints and durable materials. To protect the corners, special corners are used; the floor covering must be wear-resistant.
Minimum set of tools:
- Bulgarian;
- perforator;
- rollers and brushes;
- painting knife;
- spatulas;
- building level;
- roulette;
- crowbar (sledgehammer, chisel, hammer);
- drill;
- screwdriver;
- abrasive mesh;
- masking tape.
Materials that may be required:
- primer;
- paint (whitewash) removal solution;
- lime;
- putty;
- plaster;
- paint for walls and ceilings;
- glass wallpaper (as an option);
- tiles (linoleum, laminate);
- adhesive solution;
- electrical cable;
- polyethylene film;
- corners, profiles;
- crosses for tiles;
- sandpaper (skin);
- polyurethane foam.
In addition, you will need respirators, garbage bags, protective gloves and other equipment.
The purchase of tools and materials can be undertaken by the builders, or by residents, which will help save costs.
Housing protection: a combination of negative factors
If in the first part of this article the proximity of housing to the surface of the planet was considered as a benefit, then from the point of view of protecting the apartment from intruders, we have to consider this aspect as negative. Of course, today, installing metal bars on the windows of the first floors is a “must-have”, otherwise there is simply no protection, and the question of intruders entering it, unfortunately, remains only a matter of time.
Probability of hacking
In addition, the proximity of the apartment to the front door makes the property more attractive for intruders to enter through the door by breaking it. On the one hand, the almost constant traffic of residents of the entrance, which is a nuisance from the point of view of the formation of acoustic discomfort, in this case is an advantage, since this circumstance significantly increases the risks of a burglar. However, if the owners are absent for a long time and the attackers are properly skilled in handling the locks, there is a possibility of hacking at a time when there are practically no people.
Moreover, the intercom in this case helps the villains, eliminating the need to attract an additional participant, since it itself gives a sound signal when the front door is opened from the outside.
Commerce is nearby
It would seem that the first floor is better suited for commercial premises. But if there is a separate building inside the block, a nine-story part of which is allocated for parking, and a four-story part for shopping and entertainment infrastructure, then why?
The basement - theoretically the source of all sorts of troubles - is used by the residents of the house for storage.
A few words about landscaping separately. At Seven Suns we have a children's playground from the Danish company Kompan. And for those who are older, there is a workout area with many exercise machines (also equipped with instructions). In addition, you can play basketball, you can transform this space for football, and in winter turn it into an ice arena.
And in the yard there is also a “summer kitchen” - a huge gazebo where you can spend your leisure time nicely using the grill and barbecue.
Thus, the idea that the fans of the first floor are elderly people and other groups of people with limited mobility, as well as families with small children, is gradually melting away.
But there are other bonuses too. For example, delivery of furniture or large cargo will cost less. There are also additional possibilities for redevelopment, in particular, the transfer of wet areas.
And finally, the price. It’s a paradox: in Europe such apartments are more expensive, but here, on the contrary, they are five to ten percent cheaper. The stereotypes of Soviet times are taking their toll.
