The dilemma of the future owner: block of flats or residential complex
Apartments in individual blocks of flats are cheaper, but residential complexes offer more facilities. The offer of new homes is composed, in an overwhelming proportion, of two types of housing units: apartments in residential complexes and those in individual blocks.
“Most requests, about 80%, are registered among the representatives of the middle and middle class plus“, says Irina Petrescu, director of residential sales within the real estate company Esop. Even if there are not very big differences between the two types of homes, there are similarities only between price and size.
The differences do matter, though. Thus, in a residential complex, there are rules of coexistence. “Before buying an apartment in a condominium, it is good for future tenants to carefully study the conditions and rules imposed to find out if the proposed offer fits their lifestyle,” said Irina Petrescu. The rules regarding the changes in the apartments and the maintenance of peace are more carefully followed in these residential complexes.
In terms of advantages, the delimitation from the neighborhoods can be mentioned, but also the facilities offered, in many cases, by the developers. On the Romanian market, condominium projects provide facilities such as kindergarten, jogging track, fitness rooms, aerobics, jacuzzi, restaurant and minimarket, eco-friendly dry cleaning, car wash, security staff, and permanent security system, as well as swimming pool.
There are also disadvantages: the higher price generated by the facilities, but also the higher maintenance costs. Thus, if an apartment is in a residential complex intended for the middle class, the price is 1,200-1,600 euro/sqm, the cost of which includes VAT, a house in an individual block of flats can be 20% cheaper. And maintenance can be doubled in new neighborhoods. “We must also take into account any infrastructure problems, but also the possibility of extending the deadlines, generated by the scale of such a project,” said Irina Petrescu of ESOP.
The individual blocks are usually buildings with a lower height, built in the old neighborhoods or places where the investor has managed to find a piece of land. As they are often investments of some individuals, they have a lower selling price because VAT does not apply.
The sale price is lower because it does not invest in facilities. On the other hand, the developer cannot be checked, because in a few cases, the one who builds such a building has done such projects before. The only difference between such a block and an old block is the age of the building.
“There are projects that bring apartments to the market in traditional neighborhoods, where there is no land on which to build large residential complexes. Also, being only a block of flats, the works will be completed faster than in the case of large residential complexes “, says the real estate analyst Liviu Ureche.
Details about residential complexes and new individual blocks on www.cotidianul.ro
by Maria Neda 
