Ground floors have a bad reputation – lack of light and privacy and vulnerability to break-ins being the main complaints. Certain advantages can make the difference, provided you pay less for the purchase.
Buying real estate continues to make individuals dream. But when it comes time to become an owner, great vigilance is required to assess the qualities of your future residence.
The higher the acquisition budget available to you, the more likely you are to find accommodation that combines all the criteria of your choice. If it’s not enough, you may have to compromise by giving up some things that are less essential to you.
You can thus be tempted by a well located on the ground floor or on the ground floor. So go or not? It all depends on the configuration of the premises, the environment, the specifics of the accommodation and the price, but these accommodations often suffer from a lack of light and sunshine. To this, sometimes add the lack of privacy with regard to the neighborhood or the street.
Beware of noise
In this context, carefully brief the configuration of the premises to identify whether the windows overlook a passageway, find out where the garbage cans are stored, and check that they are not placed near the courtyard that you are claims private use.
It is also a good idea to ensure that no noise-generating craft or commercial activity is carried out in the premises adjoining the ground floor or basement.
If the apartment you are looking for is located near a parking access, make sure that the comings and goings of vehicles will not be too inconvenient and the opening mechanism too noisy. Don’t forget the noise of the comings and goings of residents and visitors to the building, the sound of the hall door…
Another weak point is the vulnerability to break-ins. It’s a reality, the ground floors are the most visited by burglars because they are more easily accessible through the window. They are classified by insurers in the category of easily accessible accommodation. The premium for your home insurance will therefore be higher than for similar accommodation but located on a higher floor.
A discount on the price
Among the positive points, there are ground floor or garden level whose windows open onto a private open courtyard, or even onto a garden. A quality outdoor space can make all the difference and win over the buyer. Even if the share of candidates for real estate acquisition who flatly refuse to visit the property located on the ground floor, is high.
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In this context, the ground floors can suffer a discount on their sale price of between 20% and 30% relative to floors.
Check the status carefully
It is also a good idea to check the legal status of the garden or courtyard on the title deed and on the co-ownership regulations. Within a condominium, the gardens and courtyards are generally common areas with an exclusive right of use for the benefit of the owner of the ground floor and/or the garden level. He has the use of this exterior space but he does not own it. The classification of the garden or the courtyard as a private part is more interesting: this means that they belong to the owner of the accommodation.
In any case, you won’t be able to use your outdoor space as you see fit: the garden and the courtyard are part of the aesthetics of the building, which must not turn into a vacant lot or a virgin forest.
Similarly, the co-ownership regulations may provide that if the garden is not maintained, the co-ownership will call on a gardener at the expense of the co-owner having private use or ownership of this outdoor space.
Real estate purchase: house or apartment, the match of advantages and disadvantages