The apartment lifestyle differs from the house lifestyle. You wouldn’t call one superior to the other—only different experiences.
Many prefer to live in homes over apartments. However, more US households have taken to renting than at any other point in the last 50 years, according to an analysis from the Pew Research Center. Understanding the differences between the two can help you to choose which one appeals the most to you.
Maintenance: Apartments vs Houses
Apartments have an advantage in that you know the cost of rent each month. Houses, on the other hand, can throw unexpected expenses in your path. The most common maintenance costs for a house include:
- Roofing
- Lawn care
- Tree trimming
- Pest control
- Foundation repair
Homeownership demands responsibilities that will require more money to pay for it. You will need to keep a to-do list to keep up with the demands of the home. For example, you may need to hire a roofer in Charlottesville VA because of the roof leaks. You don’t have to worry about that with apartment living since the landlord handles it, but you also don’t get to handle it in the way that you would want to either.
Apartment dwellers must sacrifice control over everything, and they find themselves at the mercy of a landlord who will hopefully fix the problems quickly. Unfortunately, many take their time in resolving the issue since they don’t deal with the problem firsthand.
Apartments vs Houses: Which Costs Less?
Fierce debates exist on whether mortgages from a home will cost less than living in an apartment. The mortgage itself may cost less, but other fees can eat into your cashflows. For example, HOA fees, homeowner’s insurance, property tax and a sizeable downpayment on a home will all enter the picture with homeownership. Apartments don’t require the same investment. However, when you lay money down on a home mortgage, the costs return to you in home equity. Over time, you will own more and more shares of the home, which builds an asset for you that you can sell.
With an apartment, you will never own it unless they have an agreement, such as rent-to-own, but these agreements always cost more over the long term than putting a downpayment on a home. The house wins in this case as less costly because of how you build equity and can later sell it. You don’t see a return on investment with an apartment. It all goes to the landlord.
Greater Safety—Who Wins?
The apartment lifestyle offers more safety than a home because you live in a multi-unit building where people will notice suspicious activity since you have more eyes in the area. Many apartment complexes include extra safety features, such as:
- Controlled access
- Extra fire protection
- Security cameras
- Gated communities
Improved safety features make this a good choice for the elderly, families with children and those who live alone. Burglars target homes more often. It doesn’t mean that they won’t break into an apartment, but it happens less frequently. Thieves do have an advantage at apartments in that they can blend in easier as a tenant than they could in going after a home.
Houses: Less Noisy
Anyone who has ever lived in an apartment understands how their neighbors sit on the other side of the wall. Get the wrong neighbor next to you and your apartment lifestyle quickly becomes a nightmare. Houses have the potential to have bad neighbors, too, but homeowners rarely suffer to the same level as apartment dwellers because of the distance between homes. You don’t share a wall with your neighbor.
While some people prefer the freedom of homeownership, others have taken a liking to the apartment lifestyle. Apartment living can be thought of as a simpler lifestyle, and you can choose to live in a location that you prefer since moving tends to be easier for those in apartments. Check out these apartments for rent in vista ca You don’t need to sell a home before moving to the next place, which can be a great source of stress for people planning a move.
AUTHOR NAME : ALISON LURIE