House or apartment?

[soap94]

Hi there I guess topic's name speaks for itself. Let me know what's your preference. I believe majority of us would prefer house due to obvious reasons but I want to hear cons and pros from you guys. Let's discuss it

[CWSmith]

Re: House or apartment?

I lived in 3 apartments before we got our first house. I remember hearing the neighbors playing bad music, having sex, fighting, etc. I couldn't wait to get out of those places!

[Mrleft88]

Re: House or apartment?

Rent or own?
If you rent, you're paying someone else's mortgage, and at the end of the day, you have nothing. If you own, you pay the mortgage, but you have built equity, and credit.
Plus you don't have to listen to your upstairs neighbor when he's prepping for his colonoscopy.

[Hugh MacD]

Re: House or apartment?

I'm in the "House" camp. The rent/own debate has two sides depending on the local laws. Our daughter is renting. While she's not building equity, she's also not dealing with insurance, maintenance and repairs as the real estate managers have to handle all of that (Australia). Here I'm firmly in the "buy" side. What's Poland like?

[elf]

Re: House or apartment?

If you can afford to not pay someone else's mortgage, by all means do so, as long as the timing and availability of decent properties work out. I don't think I'd opt to buy if I knew I was moving on within a year or so, however.

Owning a house is an adventure in the acquisition of useful and some hopefully not so damn useful life skills. However, if your goal in life is to play computer games or skateboard, you probably are better off not owning.

[wizbang 13]

Re: House or apartment?

I eat vegetarians .

[heimlaga]

Re: House or apartment?

A cheap small house on a large enough piece of land suits me best. Because it provides freedom and opportunities. However I can understand that some people prefere an apartment in town because that saves time which in turn also provides a sort of freedom and some sort of opportunities which we busy country dwellers don't have. An expensive high status house on an expensive yet tiny suburban plot with strict regulations for what you are allowed to do is in my books a very bad alternative having the disadvantages of both. The house takes time and makes you reliant on a car like a house in the country yet you are hemmed in by regulations and neighbours and harnessed by a large loan just like you are in a town flat. That sort of living is not for humans.

[WI-Tom]

Re: House or apartment?

I'm living in a tiny apartment in Poland, after 21 years in a house in a small town.

The apartment is good for urban life, very simple and convenient--particularly since we haven't yet made any long-term commitment to stay in Europe. The only reason the lack of space is an issue at all is that it would be very hard to invite friends to dinner. Even a friend. It's a tiny space. (That said, we managed to host a nephew for a couple of weeks on the couch in our living room).

On the other hand, it's much simpler to arrange a workshop or store a boat when you own a house. Urban living is much more communal. There are spaces to spend time outside, but they are all shared spaces. It's very different.

I do think that, long term, the idea of building equity and selling a house at a profit isn't going to be as reliable as it has been in the past, which might weigh in favor of an apartment.

Tom

[skuthorp]

Re: House or apartment?

I'm with Heimalga, but here in Aus. today buying any sort of house has gotten out of most young peoples reach. Much of this is the result of scarcity, but over a million houses in the country are empty. Some are holiday houses by by no means a majority. It's land, and house, banking, often by OS buyers as an investment/bolthole. And much of it bought by dodgy laundered money, or as a resut of tax breaks for 'investors', a lurk that both majors, and the voters have a hand in. As a result rental properties are also scarce and expensive.
I do not know how this will work out, but there will have to be a solution.

[MushCreek]

Re: House or apartment?

Other than very short-term, I've never lived in an apartment or rented. I like a house, on my own land, no matter how modest. I've carried that as far as I can, to the point that we live in a small house (by today's American standards) on 9 acres of rural land. I don't like living where if your neighbor farts, you can tell what they had for dinner.

[skuthorp]

Re: House or apartment?

Advice her is not to buy an apartment. especially a high rise one that's less the 20 years old. Shoddy design, building practices and workmanship, and the use of short term shell companies as the vehicle so there is no one to sue.

[Garret]

Re: House or apartment?

A house for privacy. Apartments are too noisy & restrictive for me plus you are dependent on the landlord fixing things in a timely manner. I also find that rural (not suburban) living promotes closer relationships with neighbors as we are all more interdependent because of fewer services.

As mentioned above, housing is in short supply & largely unaffordable for many starting out in the US. The days of finding a cheap piece of land & building your own are gone - due to land no longer being cheap & regulations on what & how you build. So, many are forced to live in places & ways they might not prefer.

Is the situation similar in Poland?

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Re: House or apartment?

Why is housing in short supply?

There's no magic in building houses - we humans have been doing that for at least seven thousand years - why a shortage, and why now?

ANd why is thie shortage tolerated?

[pkrone]

Re: House or apartment?

Definitely a house. That's on the end of a cul-de-sac. And backs up to water. And has empty lots on each side of it that I own. Yeah, kinda picky. But I like my space and empty lots make great neighbors.

[Garret]

Re: House or apartment?

Why is housing in short supply?

There's no magic in building houses - we humans have been doing that for at least seven thousand years - why a shortage, and why now?

And why is the shortage tolerated?

The shortage has been around for many years, but has become more acute - as problems left unsolved usually do.

It's a huge topic & more complex than it should be. Basically, affordable housing is not being built at the level needed - mostly because builders can make more money on higher end houses. Then there are zoning restrictions, land affordability, & since the pandemic, a shortage of carpenters, electricians, and plumbers + increased material costs. As a small example, around here, if you wanted a house built or even more, remodeling done, you'll wait a minimum of 6 months, but more like a year & when you do get it done it will cost significantly more than it would've pre-pandemic. Speaking locally, 10 years ago you could get a house built (not counting land, septic, & utilities) for roughly $100/square foot. Now it's over $200.