How to choose an apartment to buy in 2021? New building or resale?

In this article, we’ll look at how to choose the right apartment to buy in 2021 ; we’ll figure out which apartment is better to choose—in a new building or on the secondary market. What to pay attention to - renovation, floor, area, seller, etc.

Changing an apartment will not be as easy as buying , so you should take this process seriously.

BUT, in order to have a more complete picture of buying an apartment with a mortgage, first of all I recommend reading the following notes:

What documents are needed when buying an apartment with a mortgage?
Procedure for purchasing an apartment with a mortgage
Weigh everything. Is it worth taking out a mortgage?

The following two articles will also be useful: tricks and tricks of realtors and scams when selling apartments, ways to protect yourself when buying.

In which area is it best to buy an apartment?

You need to start your choice not with the apartment itself, but with the area where you would like to live. You need to weigh the pros and cons.

As a rule, in remote areas of the city prices can be significantly lower. BUT , pay attention to the following important points that accompany the decision to buy further and save:

Wasting time traveling to and from work instead of doing something truly useful.
The need to wake up earlier, and most likely significantly earlier, and as a result, the next point.
Fatigue, which will only accumulate, which in one way or another affects your health.
Travel expenses, if converted into money, can eat up all the benefits from a cheaper purchase in a few years.

Let's do the math.

Let’s say you have to live in the purchased apartment for more than 5 years.
Points 1 and 4: the journey to work takes 1 hour, back another hour. Those. We spend 2 hours of time per day, this comes out to about 40 hours per month (20 working days * 2 days on the road). Just think about this figure - 40 hours a month!!!!!! - this is a whole working week that goes to virtually nothing. And this is not the limit. In a year it will be about 18 days!!! If you convert all this time into money, then how many years will it take you to pay off the overpayment for an apartment in the center?
For example , you are paid 300 rubles/hour, then in a month you will lose about 12,000 rubles + the journey to work also takes money. For a year (we take 11 months, because minus 1 month of vacation) we get 132,000 rubles in lost profits !!!
Or in 5 years, about 650,000 rubles!!! And this does not take into account the growth of your income and the interest that you could receive on this amount.
And this has not yet been addressed by the other two points.
Consider points 2 and 3: the consequences will accumulate and affect you, your health, and mood. Which may later result in trips to doctors, which is a waste of time and money.
Nowadays, “pleasure is not cheap.”

Anything to think about?

Potential neighbors

It is very important to ask the seller about the neighbors in advance. This factor is not particularly important in new buildings, since owners there can change quite often, and few people know each other. Among other things, often people who have money for apartments in new buildings are quite adequate. However, this is not necessary.

But if you buy an apartment on the secondary real estate market, then the neighbors may cause quite expected problems: they drink, often have parties, floods, and so on. You need to know this at least in order to try to bargain.

It is also important to interview the neighbors themselves, if possible. They can tell you what the seller may not be talking about.

Example: The electricity in the house is often cut off, and the elevator only works one day a month. The seller may remain silent about this, even if the visit to the property falls on a day when there is no light and/or the elevator is not working. You can always make an excuse by saying that this is a temporary phenomenon and, in general, he sees this for the first time during his entire stay in the apartment. But the neighbors most likely will not hide such information.

Choosing housing is a very important procedure, on which further comfortable living largely depends. At a free consultation, experienced lawyers will tell you what else you need to pay attention to. In addition, they can accompany the entire purchase and sale transaction, thereby reducing the likelihood of problems to a minimum.

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Author of the article

Natalya Fomicheva

Website expert lawyer. 10 years of experience. Inheritance matters. Family disputes. Housing and land law.

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What should be near the house where you will live?

I think this point is all clear and there is no point in describing it in detail.

Within walking distance from the apartment (or 15 minutes drive) there should be:

the shops
public transport
kindergarten and school
hospital

The more things are nearby, the better.

Update: The comments suggested something about parking. Indeed, now almost every family has its own car, or even two, and the issue of having a place to leave the car becomes acute. In many cities there are almost wars for parking spaces.

New neighborhoods are often built without taking into account the further needs of residents. Just to pass, and then suffer yourself.

And even if you don’t have your own car now, what will you do in the future?

This is also worth worrying about in advance.

By the way , buying a garage or parking space loses its meaning, considering that renting it will often cost an order of magnitude cheaper.

Calculating the result

From 15 to 45 points

Most likely, this apartment is not suitable for you. Too many criteria do not meet your ideas and requirements, despite the fact that you also saw the advantages. Don’t be upset - it’s better to make sure of this at the stage when you are just considering options and have not yet had time to invest money in an unsuccessful apartment and get involved in the purchase process.

From 46 to 105 points

The higher the final score, the more suitable the apartment is for you and your household. If it tends to the lower limit, this means that the apartment requires large investments: time, effort and money. If you feel that this apartment is “yours” and your family can be happy in it, then feel free to get down to business. But keep in mind that you will have to work hard before you eliminate all the shortcomings and bring your new home to a harmonious state.

From 106 to 150 points

The apartment suits you best, you can consider buying it. Don't forget to make a list of the shortcomings that you noticed and discuss them in more detail with your family. Plan your next steps, take into account the involvement of specialists, the purchase of materials, equipment, furniture, and other expenses. This will help you sweep away everything unnecessary and formulate a final action plan and budget. Don't forget to include unexpected expenses. And take action!

In which house is it better to buy an apartment, brick or panel?

We’ve decided on the area, now let’s move on to choosing an apartment, but we need a good apartment.

Perhaps there won’t be much of a difference inside, but on the outside, panel houses lose their appearance much earlier, and their service life is shorter.

For clarity, see the photo below.

Brick or monolithic houses 10-15 years old look much better than 3-year-old panels.

In the future, if you want to sell an apartment, it will be easier to do this in a brick house.

In addition , a common problem with panel houses is freezing of the seams, and, accordingly, the walls of the apartments. Audibility also leaves much to be desired, but if the area is large, then you can spend money and soundproof the rooms where you relax. The comfort of your stay in such houses will directly depend on the quality of work of the management company.

It’s worth buying an apartment in an old panel house only if you have very little money. Repairs to it will never pay off, and it is unlikely to be sold at a higher price.

Brick houses also have disadvantages - they shrink in the first couple of years. Think for yourself how critical this is for your repair. If the house has already stood for a couple of years, then you don’t have to worry about this.

Monolithic houses are the quietest when all the renovations are done, but while they are doing it you will hear the hammer drill even after several floors. Again, the service life is much longer compared to sockets.

As for communications , in various Khrushchev buildings everything has already rotted, and if it has not yet been replaced, then there is a possibility that it will change under your watch. And the layouts of such apartments are not the best. An exception can be considered old, almost pre-revolutionary, brick houses (featuring high ceilings, spacious rooms), but they are usually located in the central area of the city and are expensive.

What to choose: new building or resale?

Each option also has its pros and cons. Depending on who is buying the apartment, it will depend on what else to pay attention to. A young family will have its own priorities, pensioners will have theirs, and singles will have theirs.

Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages common to all.

Pros and cons of new buildings

Pros:

New communications and repairs will not be needed soon.
Even if in 10 years you decide to change your apartment, it will be easier to do so; the price is unlikely to fall (although it may).
If the apartment has a rough finish, then it is cheaper to do the renovation from scratch than to redo the old one.

Minuses:

For the next 5 years, be prepared for constant noise due to renovations.
There is a high probability of floods from above.
Confusion with the Criminal Code.
If the house is in a new microdistrict, then the infrastructure will be poorly developed for the next couple of years.

Pros and cons of secondary

Pros:

It is clear what condition the house is in and whether it is worth buying an apartment here.
The renovations were completed a long time ago, and the noise will be much less frequent than in a new building.
The infrastructure is developed.

Minuses:

Repairs will cost more, in houses older than 20 years everything needs to be redone, in newer houses you need to look, but the main thing is that the bathroom is done.
Apartments in old buildings begin to lose value faster over time.
Decide to sell - the repairs will not pay off.

It will also be useful to know how much it costs to renovate an apartment.

How to check the developer?

The risks when buying a home in a new building are about as high as the desire to own your own property.
If the house has not yet been rented out, then the risks of being left without money and without an apartment are enormous. However, by being alert and understanding what needs to be checked, you can protect yourself 99%. How to check the integrity of the developer? What do you need to know? Where to look? First things first.

Look at the history of the company , study how many houses it has already commissioned, whether it violated deadlines, whether there were any serious conflicts - all this is quite simple to do. The more years a company has been on the market, the better. On local city forums and even on news sites, conflict situations and some problems with the developer will be mentioned.
Study the developer's charter . It must be on the site.
Look at the registration certificate , and on the tax service website you can check the registration date.
Another mandatory document for verification is a tax registration certificate . You can order a tax extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities on the website.
A building permit is a document without which the developer does not have the right to begin construction. The document is issued after verification by the relevant authorities.
Ownership of a land plot must be verified. The document must be publicly available, preferably on the website.
Project documentation is also desirable for study. It is compiled by the developer himself, indicates the deadlines, describes the house, and also reports all the risks. Project documentation must be on the website.
Find out which insurance company the developer is insured with . Naturally, it must be a reliable organization. Also find out which bank the company cooperates with.
Will the developer be declared bankrupt in the near future? The requirement to be declared bankrupt can be found in the cases of the arbitration court.
How did the developer resolve conflicts with buyers before, if such conflicts existed? There is a database of decisions of courts of general jurisdiction . By the name of the developer's company, you can see what buyers complained about and how the disputes were resolved.
Too low a price per square meter is a reason to think about it.
an independent lawyer to check the reputation of the developer and all the documentation for the new house if you have additional finances and do not want to delve into the issue yourself.

On what floor should I buy an apartment?

Let's figure out which floor is best to buy an apartment on. Maybe it’s in vain that everyone is sweeping away the first and last floors.

Disadvantages of an apartment on the ground floor:

damp and cold, especially when the heating is turned off; if the house is poorly maintained, there will be many problems
We need additional security measures against thieves
noise on site
through the windows you can clearly see both passers-by on the street and residents in the apartment (I rented an apartment on the first floor at one time, it annoyed me)
if there are dubious personalities, all sorts of preachers, etc. up to the last floors. they just don’t get there, then they may be frequent guests on the ground floor

Pros of an apartment on the first floor:

no problems with moving or repairs - no need to go far and high
no need to worry about your neighbors downstairs, flooding them, or the like.

Disadvantages of an apartment on the top floor:

if the house is poorly maintained, then various roof leaks are possible
rise high, especially if the elevator breaks down (what it will be like to climb to the 17th floor, for example)
any repair or purchase of furniture will result in a severe ordeal or large expenses for getting up to the apartment
A common problem in high-rise buildings is low water pressure or cold water

Pros of an apartment on the top floor:

there is no noise from the neighbors above, and I’ll tell you this is a very important plus (what to do if the neighbors are noisy)
upper floors are usually warmer
good view from the window + no one looks at you from the street
your neighbors will not flood you, which is more likely than a flood due to roof leaks (read what to do if you or your neighbors flooded in the following notes: part 1, part 2 - personal experience)

As you can see from the above comparison, an apartment on different floors can both make life easier and more difficult.

The best option can be considered from the 3rd to 5th floors.

Which apartment layout is better to choose?

In fact, there are now a lot of options to choose from, and the main criterion will be the buyer’s taste.

A couple of thoughts about what is convenient and what is not:

If one of the rooms is a walk-through room , this is convenient while there are no children in the family; as they appear and grow older, they will have to remodel or change the apartment.
The windows of the apartment face opposite sides of the house - this can be convenient; in the morning the sun is on one side, and in the evening on the other. The apartment will be brighter.
The number of rooms is an individual matter, for some it is better to have 3 with smaller rooms than a two-room apartment with more spacious ones, but remember that every person needs to be alone from time to time, and in an apartment where a large family lives there may simply not be room .
Polygonal rooms - on the one hand, everyone is accustomed to standard rooms and a pentagonal room may not seem comfortable, on the other hand, this is an opportunity to get creative when arranging it.
The northern side , and for the most part the eastern side - the apartment will be dark all year round, and this means additional costs for lighting, and just discomfort. Although the eastern side is even less tolerable during the day.
South and west sides - if your climate is hot, you can’t live without air conditioning. These are additional costs. In the summer it will be like in a greenhouse. If you have a small child , then think in advance what is better: air conditioning for the south side or a heater and lights on for the north side.
A separate bathroom is convenient (you don’t have to wait while someone is washing or someone is in the toilet), and a combined one is spacious (if it’s large).
Kitchen-studio - if it’s a single apartment and a family lives in it, then it’s not convenient; if this is a 2-room apartment, then consider that you have a one-room apartment with a large kitchen (there is no particular point in this), but a 3-room apartment with a studio kitchen, then it is much more convenient when the kitchen is combined with the living room, because Most of the time is spent in it, but at the same time there is more free space.

Housing cost

The second important factor is the price of the apartment. It is logical that a person will be guided by the amount that he can accumulate or that the bank will agree to issue. From this point of view, housing on the secondary market looks more attractive simply due to the fact that it is usually cheaper. As a result, you can get an apartment of approximately the same size as in a new building, but about 20-30% cheaper.

But this is far from the only factor that affects the price. Everything is taken into account here, from the area to the layout, the number of rooms, the age and condition of the house, the area where it is located, transport links, and so on.

It is difficult to give specific advice, since the price in many cases becomes the decisive factor. We can only recommend filtering all offers by cost in advance so as not to be distracted by more expensive or cheaper options.

It is better to leave cheap apartments in your search, since sometimes housing is sold very urgently and it is due to this that a quite good apartment will cost less than it could in another situation.

What to look for when viewing an apartment?

A very important point when you do NOT need to rush is to inspect the apartment. It is best to take photographs so that you can compare with other options, and this way you will eliminate the emotional factor and manipulation of both sellers and realtors.

So, what should you pay attention to when inspecting an apartment?

Who is selling the apartment

If this is a married couple with a child, then you should find out whether the child is registered in the apartment. If registered, this may complicate the paperwork process, because parents will need to obtain certificates from the guardianship authorities.
If this is a relative of the owner of the apartment and is selling by proxy, then you should carefully consider the documents. To be on the safe side, get title insurance.

Follow the link for a detailed article on what title insurance is when buying an apartment.

Condition of the apartment

Inspect the plumbing , heating pipes, radiators - this is one of the most expensive stages of repair.
Inspect the walls under the windows and in the corners of the rooms for traces of mold or freezing - this may lead to additional costs in the future.
If the apartment was or is being rented out , then you will have to at least change the locks, or even the entire door - this is another additional expense.
Check the electrical wiring , if you don’t understand it, it’s better to invite someone to help.
Look at the presence of meters for water and electricity - the absence indicates that over time their installation will become your headache; if the meters are installed, then look at the verification date.
If there is a balcony , then at least visually check its reliability. In many old houses it is dangerous to go out onto the balconies. Or another option, if the balcony is not glazed, then there is noise and dust in the apartment.
Balcony glazing can be different ; if it is sliding windows, then such a balcony cannot be insulated; replacement will be quite expensive. All other things being equal, give preference to warm glazing. There is no way to alter a balcony with façade glazing. Read which windows to choose.
Find out what remains in the apartment. Large wardrobes, furniture, household appliances - all this costs money, and then you will have to buy it yourself. If there are several options for apartments, then it is better to take a fully equipped one, as you can save a lot of money. An example of how we managed to save 70,000 rubles when ordering a kitchen.

All this is a reason for bargaining.

Who are your future neighbors?

Bottles or syringes lying near the entrance already say a lot, but the absence of them is not a guarantee that they will not cause you trouble. Sometimes seemingly decent people can behave much worse.
If drunks and homeless people live in the neighboring entrances, then this is also a reason to think about it. The solution to any problems in the house will be transferred to you, including financially.
If some of the apartments in the building are transferred for resettlement (from villages, old houses, etc.), then be prepared for the fact that you will have a mess, drinking and nothing will be done about it.

As you can see, there are a lot of nuances that need to be taken into account when choosing an apartment, but this may not always work out. But neighbors are probably one of those points that you should pay special attention to.

Read this link to find out how to deal with noisy neighbors.

What management company

Is the entrance clean?
Is there a cleaning schedule for the premises?
look at the bills for housing and communal services and compare with yours, preferably for each service
what has been done in the house for current repairs
The management company or homeowners association is engaged in home maintenance, find out contacts and location

The quality of work determines whether you will be comfortable living in the chosen place or not.