Apartment: meaning, renting, buying and advantages & disadvantages at a glance

Apartment – Just who wants to buy or rent an apartment, and therefore is looking for an apartment with several rooms and bathrooms, meets again and again the form of the floor apartment. But what is the difference between a flat on one floor and, for example, a flat with a gallery, an attic flat, a loft or a penthouse? And above all, is the apartment suitable for your needs? And what exactly is a flat on a floor anyway? You can find out everything you need to know about apartments here.

Apartment: Spacious living in a block of apartments

Apartment is understood as all the apartments, which extend above the ground floor and below the top floor over an entire floor. This creates a lot of living space. Mostly, the apartments are found in apartment buildings, because smaller buildings often offer it to expand an entire floor to an apartment.

Tip! You are looking for the perfect property and do not know yet whether it should be an apartment or a house? Whether to rent or rather buy? Then take a look at our extensive article XXL Real Estate Guide. Here you will find information about buying, selling, house, apartment and much more.

Are you looking for the right apartment? Here you’ll find definitions, meanings and lots of information on penthouses, granny flats, apartments & co.: Apartment types from A-Z

Size, room layout and comparison with other apartment types

Apartment floors do not necessarily guarantee absolute apartment luxury. However, with a real estate advertisement that promotes such a living environment, one can assume that the apartment includes several rooms and wet rooms.

What does the term apartment mean? Room layout and co.

The name says it all: the apartment covers the area of the entire floor of the house. So there is plenty of space for different rooms. Floor apartments are on average equipped with 3-5 rooms, plus kitchen and bathrooms. This means that there is often room for more people. Because flats are mostly used to describe apartments that simply fill an entire floor, this type of apartment can also occur in combination with other types.

To make sure you know what we’re talking about and where, we’ve taken the liberty of contrasting other popular types of apartment with the bunkhouse.

Source: Apartment (Lukinski.de)

Apartment vs. floor apartment: similarities and differences

Apartment hunting can be really confusing, especially if you’re not familiar with all the terminology. For example, what is the difference between an apartment and a flat?

By definition, this should actually be pretty easy to answer, because an apartment is always called an apartment if it doesn’t cover the entire floor, but is part of a split floor.

However, some landlords, especially on open apartment exchanges and portals, are not real estate professionals. For this reason, it may well happen that a floor apartment and an apartment are equated. If in doubt, it is best to contact the person renting.

However, you can assume that both of these types of apartments are not multi-storey. Depending on the size, both offer enough space for several people, but floor apartments are usually slightly larger than apartments.

Maisonette vs. apartment: similarities and differences

However, there are much greater differences when comparing a maisonette and an apartment on one floor. A maisonette always comprises two floors. These two floors can be created by a gallery or a second (half) floor, which connects the two floors with an open staircase.

Nevertheless, maisonettes and apartments have a few things in common. Both forms of living offer a lot of space, which on the one hand can of course be advantageous, especially for larger groups, and on the other hand they are characterised by open space, which can increase heating costs.

When it comes to deciding whether it’s better to go for a flat on one floor, or a maisonette, the question should probably be whether you want stairs in your flat.

Bunkhouses: Advantages & Disadvantages

In the previous section, we already mentioned a few minor advantages and disadvantages of this type of housing. But now let’s take another detailed look at the apartment. What could lead to problems? What surprises could await you and above all what can a flat on a floor cost? We will try to answer all these questions.

Pros: Plenty of living space and space

Apartment flats are super suitable for families and other larger living communities. Apart from that, there are a few extras that this type of apartment inherently brings with it, which can contribute to a lot of joy and well-being.

• Spacious
• Barrier-free

Disadvantages: Heating costs, noisy neighbours & co.

Sometimes you are so dazzled by an apartment that you forget everything and disregard the disadvantages. This should not happen to you in any case. In any case, expect that the following situations can occur. Especially floor apartments in apartment buildings are very busy, especially by the very smallest. Parents know: A child is never tired when it’s time to sleep, so you may be kept up at night longer than you’d sometimes like.

• Higher heating costs
• Noise from surrounding apartments

Families, pensioners, singles, flat-sharing communities: Who is a flat on one floor suitable for?

You’ve found a flat on one of the floors. It is well located, has access to a garden, the neighbors seem nice and all around the apartment actually looks great. The only question that remains is: Is the apartment suitable for your purposes? The following tips could help you make your decision.

Students: The perfect flat share

Well, whether your flat-sharing community will actually be perfect depends, of course, largely on your flatmates and how well you get on. Often, a process like looking for an apartment to start a flat share can already show how compatible you will actually be when living together. Therefore, it is important to clarify certain ideas and expectations in advance.

If this step is taken, then you will most likely find the best living solutions for your needs in apartments, because apartments are often equipped with several rooms, separate kitchen and bathroom. Of course, you will have to share the common areas, but looking specifically for apartments could lead to quick success.

Families: Enough space for children and rooms

Family associations that are looking for a place to live will certainly be comfortable with floor apartments. The apartment type is often housed in apartment buildings and so you are often surrounded with like-minded people. Children can find connections and the residential area is designed to meet the needs of families. This means that schools, kindergartens and places for leisure activities can be found in the immediate vicinity.

Pensioners: Barrier-free living

Also for older people (which we have summarized here under the term pensioners) it can be nice to be accommodated in floor apartments, as long as the way to the apartment is easy to climb.

Because the apartment itself is spacious and barrier-free, as there are usually no more stairs. In addition, you are often surrounded by young families, which can be really nice because this way you feel less alone if, for example, the children have left home or your partner has passed away.

Rent or buy your first apartment: This is what you should consider

Moving into your first apartment can be an exciting time. But it can also mean a lot of stress. Especially if the reason for the move are studies or work and you are looking for housing options cramped, it can happen that you fall in his desperation into one or the other trap. You can try to avoid this with a few tips and tricks, especially if you want to buy an apartment.

For example, it is advisable to get apartments through contacts. Just ask at your workplace or in your group of friends at university if someone still has a room to rent. There are also housing agencies that help people like you. If you have a certain budget, you can of course also work with an estate agent who will try to find a flat that meets your requirements.

Renting or buying? The first condominium?

Especially families often play with the idea of making the apartment their own. In itself, apartments offer themselves for this of course.

The argument that is often made regarding the decision is that the monthly payment rate for an apartment is about what you would pay as rent anyway and you end up being an apartment owner or occupant. While this is true, there are some additional things to consider.

First of all, the comparison is extremely simplified and should be critically scrutinized in any case, because many third-party variables play a role here.

In addition, the decision also depends extremely on your life stage. Are you ready to pay off an apartment for the next 15-25 years with about 2000 € each? Does your job allow for that, or do you maybe not want to settle down yet? At least assuming that you want to own the apartment as a place to live and not as an investment, all these questions are crucial. If you want to read more about it, you can find an article about buying real estate here with tips and videos from experts on topics such as the process, taxes or investment.