General Property with Pool

If you look at the condo unit buyers, you will be surprised to find out that most of the people prefer to buy at the ground floor or the top floor. The middle floors, which are referred as “patty”, are not desirable to many people. Here is a simple explanation.

 

Buying a Ground Floor Condo Unit: Pros and Cons

Pros of Staying on Ground Floor

  • No need for the lift: One of the main advantages of buying a ground floor condo unit is there is no need for a lift. You can move in and out of your flat just in seconds. When you don’t have to use a lift, it is convenient not only for you but also for your visitors. During the holidays, when you are having a gathering in your apartment, there will be a long waiting at the lifts. Since you don’t have to use a lift, you will be relieved from this problem.
  • Usually, each block consists of two lifts. Since you are dwelling on the ground floor, you will be able to save time by not having a necessity to use a lift. During the maintenance, especially in old condos, lift is shut down, this is a great hindrance for people living upstairs. However, as a ground floor dweller, this does not create a problem for you.
  • The ground floor has more space. In the ground floor, there is a Private Enclosed Space in some condos. This extra space in the ground floor will give you more room. In order to make up for drawbacks, most of the condos have bigger ground floor units.
  • When you are living in the ground floor, you can also have your potted plants and other decoration items on ledges. There is enough space for this. However, on the floors above, there is not only a limitation on the space but having potted plants can create problems, especially when the pots and vase drops down.
  • Cleaning exterior is easy: If you are a cleanliness fetish and you don’t want to see spots and marks on the exterior surface, cleaning becomes easier on the ground floor. On the ground floor cleaning windows, an air compressor, even walls is easy. Imagine you are living on the 20th floor and you have to clean outer surface, how difficult and risky it becomes. Safer for families with toddlers and young children.
  • If you have kids living in the ground floor, is safer than living on say 25th floor. If your condo does not have safety grilles, and your child is hyper active, imagine how difficult is to live in the higher floors.

 

Cons of Staying on Ground Floor

  • Vermin attacks: On the ground floor unit, vermin attack is very common. Cockroaches, ants, mosquitoes, rats, lizards, and all kinds of vermin you can imagine are likely to enter your ground floor apartment. This is one the major problems when you are living in the ground floor. Vermin are common on the ground floor because there are garbage cans, litters and even potholes near your unit. Infestation could begin from your home on the ground floor because the blocks garbage is collected in the ground floor.
  • If you are living in the ground floor, you need to work in tandem with the condo’s management team for anti-pest measures. Since mosquitoes breed in the ground level, you also need to take efforts for controlling mosquitoes. As a ground floor dweller, it is always you who has to start controlling mosquito lest one of members gets dengue.
  • Ground floor is noisy: Even if you don’t create noise, on the ground floor you will be living with noise. There are passersby; they will walk along your door towards the lift all the while making noise. There is a playground or a poor near your unit, these places are always crowded and the crowd will always make noise.
  • Screaming voices will always enter into your ears, and it is very difficult to live with noise, if you are peace loving individual. On the upper floors, the outside noise is not a problem, the upper floors also witness less footsteps and noise.
  • Ground floor receives less sunshine: Usually, sunlight in the ground floor is blocked by higher floors. This low light scenario will create problem when you are drying your laundry. Some new developments have sorted out this problem, however, this is still a major problem in older condos.

 

Buying a Top Floor Condo Unit: Pros and Cons

Pros of Staying on Top Floor

  • Wonderful surround view: One of the major advantages of having top floor unit is you have a better view of the surrounding. On the higher floors, you get best views of the surrounding and more light. That’s why people pay more to buy top floor units, or pent house.
  • Developments like Costa Del Sol and Bayshore have best selling proposition because of their sea side location. If you are living on the ground floor, you cannot view the bay area from your window.
  • Peaceful living: On the top floor, you not only hear less footsteps and noisy commotion from the passerby, you will also be far away from the honking on the street and trains on the MRT stations. If you have to wake up to the screeching tires, in the middle of the night, that is a great problem. However, on the top floor, you are relieved from obnoxious sound, you live peacefully.
  • There might be people who dislike silent living. For people who are accustomed to talking to the neighbours with their doors open, living on the silent top floors can be a bad experience.
  • More air, more light: For the people living on the top floors, their living space will always be breezier and airier. The floors on the higher levels do not get blocked from fresh air and good light. There will never problem if you want to dry your laundry.
  • Private living: On the top floor, you get privacy. There is no need to keep your blinds and curtains drawn to avoid people who want to spy on you. However, on the ground floor, people are always loitering around and you need to keep curtains and blinds for all those peeking Toms.
  • No problem with litter falling from higher floors: If disgusting people are living upstairs in your block and you live in the ground floor, it is very likely that they will throw litter. There could be constant rainfall of bits of food, cigarette butts, wrappers etc. The litters may drop on the patios and window ledge. Sometimes your ground floor unit may stand on the heap of litter.

 

Cons of Staying on Top Floor

  • The wait for the lift: One of the advantages for people living on the ground floor is they don’t have to wait for the life. This comes as a disadvantage for those living on the top floor or on the higher levels. The wait for the lift could mean getting late for office, important meeting, or missed your uber driver.
  • If you are buying units on the top floor of the old condos, always make sure that the lift is in good condition. People living in the People’s Park Complex once reported that they had to wait for many hours to get down or go upstairs because of incessant lift breakdowns.
  • Not that you read about pros and cons of living on the ground floor and top floor, you might be wondering which condo unit will be better for you. Between top and ground floor, which is better depends on your reason for buying the condo unit.
  • If you are an investor, check the price history and rental history and buy the condo for its commercial value. If you want to buy a condo unit so that you can live there, your decision should be based on your family needs. For home owners with children and old parents, ground floor is better.

 

If you like development with view, you might like to consider Seaside Residences, The Line @ Tanjong Rhu, Meyerise and also Gramercy Park. Being located in Singapore District 15 at east coast, development on the seafront like seaside Residences, meyerise and The Line at Tanjong Rhu will provide residents with a nice seaview and privacy especially units on 10th floor and above all the way to the penthouse. Units on the lower floor will have nice landscaping view.

Gramercy Park on the other hand, being located at Grange Road has a nice Greenery view over Tanglin and Botanic Gardens. As Tanglin is the home of few embassies and Good Class Bungalows, any units at Gramercy Park over 8th storey will have a nice view over the Tanglin Enclave.