How to pick an apartment?
Ground floor apartments mostly have obvious security problems but also are often above the cold car park. The cold floor makes the whole unit uncomfortable in Canberra’s cold climate.
Be careful how high you go also if you value sitting on the balcony. This is because of the wind factor which starts to get intense above level 8 even on low wind days.
Location of the block is a very personal choice but some non-obvious factors are whether some of the apartments within it are used by Government Housing. These apartments will incur a high rate of petty crime and interference with cars. Traffic noise needs to be assessed at different times of day and if close to drinking spots check for Fri/Sat night yahoo noise.
This factor is also linked closely to noise and health. Do not treat lightly.
Aspect is the biggest factor here with winter sun on the glass being a big positive. However, not many people realise that this is not so critical in apartments as in Canberra houses. This is because in an apartment you get your floor warmed by your neighbor below you. Some apartments can actually get too much sun on glass in summer, especially if not facing directly north.
Check out internal wall design for heat and noise insulation to neighbors. This has improved enormously over the last 20 years. The latest designs also incorporate energy efficient paint that insulates on external walls and substantial foam behind the plaster board internal wall. The other big factor here is the quality of the drapes and their installation. Check if they are double layer and that there are no air gaps at the top that allow air to circulate. Loft style apartments can be a nightmare to heat and cool as in winter the heat goes up to the bedroom while you are cooking and watching TV and then when you go to bed the bedroom is too hot to sleep efficiently. Some people even put the lounge upstairs and their bed downstairs to cope with this (Forum and Victoria Terrace).
The quality of the seals on the sliding doors onto the balcony has improved markedly since 2005. They shut out noise much more effectively. However, the downside of this is the lack of air renewal within the apartment. Some people at Metropolitan experienced condensation problems in their new apartments due to long hot showers and not opening a window! The builders often copped the blame unfairly!
The latest designs (Altitude 2013) are incorporating open able air vents above lounge windows to alleviate this and to allow refreshing of air when the apartment is closed up when are on holidays etc.
Till recently most investors and developers assumed that 2 bedroom apartments were the way to go even in high density locations. Over the last 10 years they have realised that there is more demand for 1 bedroom.A big balcony might seem nice but it is generally the least used space in apartments and can cost a lot on your Strata Management or Body Corporate fees. A few apartments waste space on a laundry room. In one such place we discarded the tub and put the washing machine in the bathroom and so ended up with a lot of useful extra space (Devonport).
Gyms, pools and spas sound attractive but only a small percentage of occupants get much value for what these cost to maintain. Many pools are very token affairs that are only great for kids and only for a few weeks in a year. Could be good to attract tenants but they probably won’t use them. If you are a keen tennis player then the tennis court could be great (and its upkeep is cheap compared to a pool)
Car parking is important. The option to be able to park at ground level rather than have to activate security and maneuver into a tight spot between concrete pillars is valued after people move in, even if it means leaving the car on the street overnight. Also, in the middle of cities there is substantial demand to rent day spaces from owners with an empty one or a spare one.
More and more complexes are becoming pet friendly and this can be a real positive.
Car parks are never fully secure. The easiest access to a complex is always to work in behind a car going into the car park.
Entrance doors are generally fine but often have locks with keys that can only be duplicated with permission and at expense. It is generally possible to replace the barrels in these locks with a more standard C4 barrel. If you are a loser of keys or require many keys get a handyman to extract the barrel and take it a locksmith.
Swipe cards are not so easily duplicated currently and so you will have to pay the management for extra copies of these.
Some people worry about intrusion from their balcony but I am not aware of cat burglary of this nature in Canberra. However, it is worth remembering if you lock yourself out and your next door neighbor is home because an agile person can often get from one balcony to an adjacent one.
