Single female buyers - is a house or apartment safer?

pwurple

Perfectly reasonable question. My first purchase as a single woman was an apartment on the 4th floor.

I've lived in both...

I have to say, in Ireland, there are a few things to look out for with apartment living compared to London or the US.

Waste. Bloody wheelie bins are the biggest pain in the backside, and a fire-hazard to boot when kept in corridors. I got on the residents committee sharpish after I moved in, and had the lot of them swapped out for communal large bins at the back of the building. Check that setup when moving in.

Transport. If you have a car, parking it. If not, bus routes, storage for bicycles needs to be checked.

Maintenance. Unit owners are notorious for not paying their maintenance fees. This puts huge pressure on a building. Lift goes out of service, cleaners for corridors dropped, security gates not maintained, place not painted. Make sure you get the accounts of the management company (of which you will become a member) and check for arrears red flags.

mille100piedi

As a single woman I would never buy a house, too much cleaning! I live comfortable in smaller place also because I don't own so much stuff. Also I wanted to live near Dublin city centre in a nice and safe area and in place like that you have to be very wealthy to buy a house. There are also other important things a part for a safe place for me that are very important. The place where I live has to be sunny, facing south and there shouldn't be neighbours that can see inside my windows. With a family I wouldn't mind moving in a house with a garden where I can grown my own food.

Snoopy1

Too much cleaning in a house , that's is absolute BS.
I've a 3 bedroom house and it takes me 40 minutes once a week to clean the house from top to bottom. How is that too much?

At least with my house I can't hear my neighbours traipsing up and down the stairs.

mille100piedi

it depends in what you mean when you say clean, everybody has different standard of cleaning. Also I have muscle dystrophy and there is no doubt that for me it is easier to keep clean a smaller place than a bigger one. If I had a house I would need to call a cleaner to help me regularly . I don't live in an apartment but in a duplex and I have my own front door so neighbours are not walking near my door. I know people that live in houses and hear a lot of noise from neighbours. Also houses have stairs and when we get old or develop a disability as in my case is a problem. If I would live in a house would be a cottage with a big garden around all the four walls. But again, I don't want at the moment living far away from the city centre.

Ursus Horribilis

if you're not a messy person and clean up after yourself, 40 minutes will go a long way. Some very strange attitudes on this thread, I have to say.

mille100piedi

once in a while I guess the house will have to be deep cleaned. if you clean after yourself you still have to clean things like the windows

Ursus Horribilis

Yes. No big deal.

MissShihTzu

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Too much cleaning in a house , that's is absolute BS.
I've a 3 bedroom house and it takes me 40 minutes once a week to clean the house from top to bottom. How is that too much?

At least with my house I can't hear my neighbours traipsing up and down the stairs.

Wow!! Tell me your secret. It takes me 2 hours to clean mine top to bottom. Since my op, I have to do it half and half. Bottom one week, top the next. Bathroom and kitchen are the only constants.

mille100piedi

maybe for you it is not a big deal, but I prefer to use my time and energy to do something else. Why I should clean 8 windows when I can clean only 4?why I should clean three bedroom when I am single and I sleep just in one? I own a house in Poland with a big garden all around. I don't share any wall with neighbours. I don't think houses that share walls with neighbours are so much different from apartments, you can still hear your neighbour and see them in their property, so I don't see why I should spend more money buying a house when I wouldn't have the privacy I want.

Snoopy1

MissShihTzu wrote: »

Wow!! Tell me your secret. It takes me 2 hours to clean mine top to bottom. Since my op, I have to do it half and half. Bottom one week, top the next. Bathroom and kitchen are the only constants.

Easy.
Sheets off, spray bathroom, do all the mirrors , clean kitchen, dust front room, clean bathroom, dust upstairs, finally hoover and mop.
All about routine.

Ursus Horribilis

I'd rather clean 8 windows than 4 because it means I don't have to live in an apartment I don't need to clean the spare room but it's there for family/friends to stay. I've an office where I can set up a computer and other equipment without messing up the rest of the house. And I've no neighbours tramping right past my front door/windows.

Snoopy1

mille100piedi wrote: »

maybe for you it is not a big deal, but I prefer to use my time and energy to do something else. Why I should clean 8 windows when I can clean only 4?why I should clean three bedroom when I am single and I sleep just in one? I own a house in Poland with a big garden all around. I don't share any wall with neighbours. I don't think houses that share walls with neighbours are so much different from apartments, you can still hear your neighbour and see them in their property, so I don't see why I should spend more money buying a house when I wouldn't have the privacy I want.

Very naive.
I've a 3 bedroom terrace, can't hear my neighbours as walls are solid, not over looked in back, am always out in my pyjamas hanging out the washing

Anyway its up to the op to decide.

mille100piedi

MissShihTzu wrote: »

Wow!! Tell me your secret. It takes me 2 hours to clean mine top to bottom. Since my op, I have to do it half and half. Bottom one week, top the next. Bathroom and kitchen are the only constants.

I don't know if you know flylady but it helped me a lot, of course with a house you have always a lot of cleaning but flylady might give you some good advise

mille100piedi

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Very naive.
I've a 3 bedroom terrace, can't hear my neighbours as walls are solid, not over looked in back, am always out in my pyjamas hanging out the washing

Anyway its up to the op to decide.

very naïve thinking that if you live in a house you will not hear the neighbours, if the wall is not soundproofed you can hear all the noises it doesn't matter if you are in a house or in an apartment. Good for you that your house has been built with good standard but don't think that anyone that live in a house are not hearing the neighbours. If you live in an apartment soundproofed you can play the drums and nobody would hear you.
I sunbathe naked in my balcony and nobody see me

Ursus Horribilis

Each to their own. OP, buy what you want and what you're happy to live in.