The question of how to choose an apartment can seem too complicated – especially if you first touched on the topic of real estate. Where is it better to live - in a panel, monolithic or brick house? Which floor is more comfortable, what are the features of the layout and how does the finish differ from the whitebox?

We wrote a detailed guide, where and how to buy a home that you can not distort your soul to call "a nice house".

From the article you will learn:
1. Where to buy an apartment - in a new building or in a secondary

2. Which technology of building houses is better

3. On which floor to buy an apartment

4. What layout of the apartment to choose

5. Which apartments are cheaper

6. Apartments with and without finishing – features

7. How to check the apartment before buying
Where to buy an apartment - in a new building or on a secondary
An apartment can be bought on the primary market in a new building, or on the secondary market - from the owner. The difference is noticeable in terms of money, quality of housing and comfort level, and most importantly - approaches to the choice of real estate.

Apartments in new buildings
The concept of "new building" unites houses in which you can buy real estate from the developer or his agent. The purchase of such housing is regulated by the provisions of 214-FZ "On participation in shared construction ...".

Choosing and buying an apartment in a new building, you become an equity holder - an investor in the construction of a house. In return, you acquire the right to receive a specific property after the completion of the construction of the house.

Apartments in new buildings are focused on those who do not claim to be quickly settled and are ready to wait 2-3 years before the delivery of the complex. But you can find housing from the developer in ready-made houses.

The purchase of an apartment in a new building is usually made through an equity participation agreement (DDU). If the house is already ready, a contract of sale (DCP) is concluded with the developer.

The closer the deadline for the delivery of a new building, the higher the cost per square meter. On average, at the stage of the pit, the apartment will cost 20-30% cheaper than when issuing keys. It is most profitable to buy real estate at the start of sales.

Apartments on the secondary market
The secondary housing market (or simply "secondary") consists of apartments that already have an owner and are registered in Rosreestr. The choice of apartments in the secondary market is about three times greater than new buildings, because it includes not only new, but also old houses.

The cost of "secondary" is slightly lower, but most often these are old Soviet and post-Soviet houses - they poorly meet modern standards.

The standard form of transaction in the secondary market is DCP. On the secondary you can also find apartments in new buildings - already finished or in houses under construction under an assignment agreement.

Which construction technology is better
The level of comfort from living in an apartment strongly depends on the characteristics of the house. Here's the main thing you need to pay attention to:

energy efficiency;
level of heat and sound insulation;
service life.
In Russia, they build mainly monolithic and panel houses, less often - brick.

Panel housing construction
The technology appeared in the 30s of the last century and involves the use of panels - ready-made reinforced concrete blocks that are produced in advance at the plant, and then literally "assembled" from them at home in the manner of a designer.

The panels include the famous Khrushchev and Brezhnevka, in the post-Soviet period the most popular panel series were the P-44 and its various modifications, KOPE, PZM. In the 2000s, new industrial houses PIK, DOMMOS, DomRik and DomNad appeared - apartments in them are considered the most comfortable.

Panel houses are built according to a standard project, and therefore very quickly - a high-rise takes no more than 1.5-2 years. But because of their design, panel houses have height restrictions - no more than 25 floors. In addition, only the newest industrial series allow redevelopment, in earlier all internal walls are load-bearing. It is also believed that due to block overlaps in the panels, there is increased audibility and heat loss. Such houses serve on average 70-100 years, depending on the series.

Monolithic housing construction
Monolithic technology is considered more relevant today. In such houses, the bearing function is performed not by the walls, but by a solid reinforced concrete frame, which is "embedded" in a monolithic foundation. The technology is fundamentally different from the panel and provides high durability of buildings - over 100 years.

Monolithic houses are built on an individual project, which expands the choice of apartment layouts. Seamless walls with insulation provide high energy efficiency, but the sound insulation in such buildings is not ideal, since the inter-apartment walls in them consist of large building blocks.

Brick house building
As for brick buildings, apartments in them are represented mainly in the secondary market. Modern developers practically do not use the technology because of the high cost. In addition, brick is not suitable for the construction of high-rises.

If you purposefully want to choose an apartment in a brick house, most likely you will need to turn to the offer of the secondary market - now developers rarely use this technology. Nevertheless, such houses turn out to be the most durable and serve up to 200 years. Brick perfectly retains heat, so the apartment will be comfortable even in the strongest frosts. So most of the walls in brick houses are load-bearing, so it will be difficult to carry out redevelopment.

On which floor to buy an apartment
Modern residential buildings often reach 35-40 floors and above. If you think that the difference in the floor is insignificant, we will debunk these beliefs – the noise level in the apartment, its illumination and market value depend on it.

Features of the choice of apartment depending on the floor:

Lower floors (1–5). The apartments on them are the noisiest and most viewed, so they cost an average of 5% cheaper. Among the obvious advantages of the lower floors is almost complete independence from elevators.
Middle floors (5–11). They are most in demand because of the views, and also because at such an altitude street noise is practically not audible. Apartments on the upper floors are lighter than on the lower ones, from the windows a wider view opens.
Upper floors (from 11 and above). Their fairly average popularity is explained by the increased dependence on elevators and the risks associated with fire safety. At the same time, the apartments of the upper floors offer the widest view of the surroundings, and external sounds are reduced to zero.
The location of the apartment relative to the land to some extent depends on the ecology. For example, the largest proportion of harmful substances in the atmosphere accumulates at the level from the first to the sixth floor. If you choose a higher apartment, the air will be cleaner - unless, of course, large factories "smoke" nearby.

What layout of the apartment to choose
If before that you did not think about which apartment is better to choose in terms of planning, now is the time. So it will be easier for you to narrow down the circle of search and at the same time form a clearer idea of the future housing. Now the market can offer many layouts - from compact studios for students to spacious family apartments and panoramic penthouses with terraces and a "second light". It remains only to decide which one will suit you.

Consider the main types of apartment layouts.

Linear layout
The most common type of apartment. The rooms in them are adjacent and are located one after another along a common long corridor.

The main advantage of a linear layout is the ability to combine or divide rooms at your discretion. Over time, during the repair, it is possible to redistribute the living space, the main thing is that this is allowed by the possibility of redevelopment.

Swing layout
Some of the windows in such apartments overlook the opposite side of the house, which gives an advantage in terms of visibility. For example, you can choose housing with views of both the courtyard and the street.

Another plus of the swing layout is privacy. As a rule, the rooms are located at opposite ends of the apartment, so tenants with different schedules can go to bed at different times, turn on the TV and listen to music with minimal audibility.

Corner layout
This type of apartment is loved for the fact that they are as bright as possible. In one of the rooms there are necessarily several windows with an overview of the two sides of the world, sometimes there may even be corner glazing.

But the corner layout has a drawback. Since the apartment has two external walls, it is more difficult to warm it up. In the cold season, housing can be too cool.

What other layouts are there?
By format:

traditional;
Europlanning.
In traditional layouts, the kitchen is separate, and in European it is combined with a living room. Sometimes such a kitchen-living room can reach 17-20 sq. m.

On the organization of space:

closed;
open (free);
partially closed.
We are all well acquainted with closed layouts - these are the most ordinary apartments with one or more separate rooms. With an open (free) layout, interior walls, on the contrary, are absent. And, finally, in partially closed layouts there are both separate and combined rooms - this is the so-called euro format.

There are also rare and exclusive layouts. For example, some apartments have a window in the bathroom, their own terrace or increased ceiling height.

Which apartments are cheaper
There is no definite answer to the question of how to choose an apartment by location - it all depends on your personal preferences and requests. But to make it easier for you to navigate, let's figure out together where it will be comfortable to live, and where it is definitely not worth buying.

The following location of the apartment is considered unsuccessful:

near elevators and stairs;
on the first and last floors;
corner;
with windows facing close to neighboring houses.
Apartments on the lower floors are considered the noisiest and are clearly visible from the street, but the tallest housing under the roof can cause inconvenience - the roof in the summer is very hot, and in the rainy season there is a risk of leaks. Have you decided to choose a corner apartment? It is possible that in winter it will be cool. If the windows of your house look at the facade of the nearest house at point-blank range, it is likely that not enough light will enter the rooms.

Apartments with and without finishing – features
While you are deciding which apartment to choose, think about repairs in advance. Depending on whether you prefer housing with or without decoration, the purchase budget will directly depend, as well as the amount of work that will appear after the purchase. Do not forget that now on the market there are many options for apartments with various repair options, and each gives its advantages.

Types of finishing of apartments:

without finishing;
draft;
pre-finish;
clean;
finished."
The most popular is housing without finishing. It looks like an ordinary "concrete box" with installed windows and a front door. It is impossible to live in such an apartment until complete repairs, but it will cost less - both in the primary and secondary markets.

If you do not want to mess with "dirty" repairs, you can choose an apartment with a rough finish. Work has already been carried out there to level the surfaces, communications have been partially equipped, and water supply meters have been installed.

Pre-finish apartments are fully prepared for finishing. They are equipped with a bathroom, electricity with lighting, sockets and switches. A kind of pre-finish finish is the whitebox format, where even interior doors are installed and wallpaper is glued for painting.

Hurry up to move into the apartment and do not want to do repairs at all? Then a fine finish or a turnkey option will be the perfect option for you. In new buildings, it is often possible to choose between several styles of renovation. Choosing an apartment on the secondary, you will have to trust the taste of the previous owners.

Designer finishing is carried out in special bureaus for an individually compiled project. It takes into account the features of the layout, the wishes of the owner, the budget and many other conditions. No noise, no dust - you just have to choose which version of the apartment will suit you, the rest will be done by experienced specialists.

How to check the apartment before buying
Regardless of whether you decide to buy real estate from the developer or "by hand", before choosing an apartment and making a deal, be sure to conduct a comprehensive check. But it's easier said than done — many buyers just don't know where to start.

The process of checking an apartment can be divided into two stages:

examination of documents;
direct inspection (if possible).
It is better to entrust the quality and legality of the sale of housing to specialists - lawyers, realtors, builders. You can check the apartment yourself, if you are sure of your qualifications.

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