Moving into an apartment instead of a house can provide significant lifestyle and financial advantages including little to no maintenance, amenities, community environment, flexibility in lifestyle, lower utilities, and less major capital expenses.
Years ago, in one of our rental offices, back when apartment rentals were not as common, we had a little cartoon that explained all the advantages of apartment living. It said something like “we cut the grass, we plow the snow. You enjoy living.” Or something like this.
This cartoon is no longer up in our model, but the idea is still the same. Apartments provide a multitude of advantages:
Easy Living
When deciding whether to live in a house with a picket fence or an apartment, you are also selecting between two lifestyles: do-it-yourself or have-it-done-for you.
1. No Weeding, Planting or Mowing
Do you have the time and inclination to mow a lawn and plant and weed the flower beds? If you are time-constrained and lack green fingers, you may prefer to have someone else take care of the landscaping and gardening. At many apartments, you’ll find lush landscaping, manicured lawns and colorful flowers that span the seasons. All you have to do is enjoy it.
2. Worry-Free Maintenance
Reputable landlords pride themselves on resolving maintenance issues rapidly. They likely have a handyman who handles many problems. Plus, they usually have relationships with responsive contractors who can take care of specialized needs. If you have a clogged sink or anything else is amiss, help is just a phone call away. In fact, the best apartment complexes offer a 24/7 hotline.
If you own a home and don’t want to do your own maintenance jobs or don’t have the skills to do them, you’ll have to hire contractors. If you do, you’ll discover it’s hard to sort the wheat from the chaff and find someone who is reliable, offers fair pricing, does quality work and is available when you need them. Do you really want to deal with the frustrations of home repairs and unreliable contractors?
3. When the Weather Outside Is Frightful, Being Inside Is Just Delightful
A mix of snow and freezing rain is pelting against your windows at night. You have to be up and in the office early for an important meeting. If you live in an apartment, you don’t have to worry about digging out a snowy driveway. You can stay all toasty warm inside snuggled up with your hot chocolate and a good book as your landlord makes sure the parking lots, pathways around the complex and access roads are plowed.
If you’re living in a house, however, you’ll have to bundle up in your down jacket, hat, scarf, and gloves to shovel sidewalks and plow your driveway. Which one sounds better to you?
A Community Lifestyle
When you live in a close-knit community, you share the friendships that blossom when living close to your neighbors. Also, you’ll enjoy amenities you might not be able to afford in a stand-alone home.
4. Pool Fun and Relaxation
Far more apartment complexes than houses come with pools where you can relax and the kids can play. And to soothe the soul, there’s nothing like floating in the water or sitting beside it, hearing the gentle sounds of the water and basking in the sunlight. Plus, it’s a perfect place to meet with friends.
Even if a house has a pool, it’s not all fun in the sun. Your pool comes wrapped in worries and responsibilities you may want to avoid, such as upkeep, cleaning and adding chemicals. Also, you shoulder the safety risks of children accidentally falling in and the associated liability.
5. Parking Possibilities
Many homes have limited space for parking your vehicles. On the other hand, apartments often have large parking lots with room to park an extra car if necessary.
6. 24/7 Surveillance
Unlike most single-family homes, the best apartment communities come with 24/7 video-surround surveillance coverage. Plus, it’s always good to have neighbors nearby who might catch any out-of-the-ordinary occurrences.
7. A Community Feel
When you live in an apartment, you’re near your neighbors. It’s easier to develop relationships than for those who live in houses separated by yards and fences. If you have children, they’ll likely meet playmates quickly and won’t have to go far for playdates. And you, too, can easily socialize with your neighbors or call on them when you need help in an emergency.
Convenient Location and Mobility
If you want to be in the right place at the right time, renting an apartment may be easier than buying a house.
8. A Well-Planned Location
Apartment developers assess the best geographic locations based on how close they are to schools, public transportation, grocery stores, churches, and parks. Many single-family houses are a little further afield.
9. Easy Mobility
When you’re renting, after posting a refundable security deposit, you can move into your new apartment quickly, and you can move on as soon as your rental agreement expires. That’s important if you need flexibility for your career or other life changes.
10. Financial Advantages
When you rent an apartment, you pay the rent. That’s it!
When you buy a home, you have to come up with the down payment, appraisal fees, inspection, and closing costs. Then you have the ongoing cost of the mortgage, insurance and more. When you sell, you may need to use a realtor who will likely charge 5 to 6 percent of your home’s selling price. Also, you may have substantial costs to get your home in good shape to pass the scrutiny of showings and inspections.
There are many benefits to apartment living, including the carefree lifestyle, living in a community where you can share friendships and amenities, being close to stores and public transport, and the ability to move in and out in a short timeframe while incurring fewer costs.
If you are looking to live at one of our Fidelity Management communities, give us a call today. All of the advantages can be found at our communities. If not, check out this article on tips to find a good apartment building.
