Home is where the heart is. This is a famous song from the all famous Elvis Presley the legendary king of rock and roll which carries a deep meaning to all. When you think of home, a home should be a place you seek refuge and comfort in, a place where you look forward to going back to at the end of a tiring day. With such a mindset, one would think to have a home which is chosen based on one’s preferences and needs. With that, where and how an individual chooses whether it is a landed house or a condominium all depends on how they weigh the pros and cons between these two options.
Just to give an overview of what a landed house is, this cement structure is built on a piece of land which is either a standalone ( bungalow) or combined in a stretch ( terrace or semi-D ). Usually landed houses will come with parking spaces, garden areas and for some even a garage.
A condominium is a building structure with many levels built on top of a specified plot of land. Parking spaces are built together and allocated to respective owners. Shared facilities are built within this same area.
Nowadays there are many schools of thoughts of what should be the right choice whether to purchase a landed house or a condominium. Some prefer a landed house and some prefer a condominium. I would say there is no right or wrong as it all depends on personal preferences. Let’s get down to discussing the pros and cons of landed house versus condominium.
Advantages of a Landed House vs Condominium
Space
In terms of spacing wise, having a landed house is definitely a winner for this matter. With a landed house you are provided with a garden area, parking space and a garage for some areas. If the landed house is a double story one, by default you earn yet another level of space. These are areas whereby a condominium will never have. A disclaimer here is that comparing a basic double story terrace landed house versus a basic condominium unit .
With a allocated garden area, you as the owner has the right to maintain the garden area as a garden space itself or even to convert the garden area to another alternative space use for whatever you deem feasible ie. cooking area, additional parking space, play area for the children, laundry corner, etc.
Your cars are also allowed to park at the outer space after the gate around your house which means that you do not have to fret or worry over how or where to park. Normally a standard double story terrace house for example would usually be able to fit two to three sedan cars in and out.
Taking note of having a double story house for example which also enables the owners to be able to have more space in terms of number of rooms and toilets too. This type of spacing is definitely more ideal for families where each of the family members is able to have their own space or room, and their own privacy too.
Flexibility
Although there are some general rules for landed houses in terms of how far you can build or extend your house, there are not so many rules when it comes to renovation as compared to a condominium. Within the interior of the house, it’s pretty much up to the freedom of the house owner and how you want to redesign the spacing and add any further features to upgrade the house. In terms of the frequency of how you want to renovate is also up to the house owner. For some older housing areas, there is also flexibility on how you would want to design the exterior of your house whether you would want to add an additional solar panel, roof color, coat of paint for the house etc.
Convenience
Living in a landed house also means it’s convenient in terms of say for example you have forgotten to take your items from the car you can just adjourn to the door, open it and proceed to your car which is just a short distance away . Another situation is whereby you have done lots of shopping for items or groceries for the day and then when you reach your home, it is quite a relief to know that you will just need to park your car inside your house compound and carry these items also over a short distance to reach the inside of the house.
Safety and Security
For newer townships of landed houses, they have developed a better and more secure system of security. Most landed houses are gated and guarded, they call it which provides the house owners and residents staying over there a sense of security. There is a system whereby visitors will need to register at the security guard house at the entrance before even entering the housing areas. With such improvements going on, this is also one of the reasons that landed houses are still a popular option amongst the young families these days.
Another situation where not many would have thought of is that in case of an emergency, being in a landed house is definitely safer as you are able to escape or run away easier if compared to living inside a condominium with many levels up or down. For example, if the house is on fire, the residents living inside a landed house are able to escape through the windows or doors whichever feasible and they are able to run to safety within a short time. However, if you were to stay in the condominium, the lifts would be shut down for safety and you would need to make way down the many stairs and levels to actually exit the condominium.
Monthly Costs
Being in a landed house you do not need to pay monthly maintenance costs in contrast to those staying in condominiums. You may need only to pay for a minimal security monthly fee for the security system provided. Therefore, staying in a landed house may not necessarily be more expensive than living in a condominium.
Noise
If you are a light sleeper then noise can be a hindrance to you when choosing the place you are residing. Usually, for a well developed landed house the township will usually be chosen based on the location and many other factors for example how close it is from the nearest highway etc. Most of the time staying in the landed house will not be exposed too much to loud noises of vehicles passing by.
However, if you are staying in a condominium, the common noise pollution that you will be exposed to are that of loud neighbors and also for those located near the main highways, there will be noises coming from the cars or lorries traveling along these roads. Condominium’s soundproofing is usually not as good as compared to the landed houses so the residents will need to be aware of such a fact.
Disadvantages of a Landed House vs Condominium
Security
Looking at another perspective, yes indeed the newer township or development for landed houses come with security however, no matter how tight the security is, it is still easier or more vulnerable for thieves to break into the landed areas to steal or conduct burglary. I have personally heard from residents in a high end community where security and barbed wires are being installed to make it more difficult for any thieves or burglars to break in, however, at the end there are still thieves who managed to make way into that area and broke into some houses, stealing precious items, jewelries and cash.
Living in a condominium may prove to be safer in that sense as there is only limited entrance or exits and to be able to access any units via the lifts, you can only do so with the approved access tags or cards provided. There are many layers of security you will need to go through in order to enter the units. In addition, there are usually many units of CCTV installed at most corners of the condominiums so there will definitely be records of people entering and exiting. If ever there is anyone committing crime or burglary, there may be a higher probability of them getting captured in those CCTV recordings.
Pest control
Pest can be a real disturbance to anyone especially if you are not quite fond of pests like cockroaches, mouse. Staying in a landed house, the probability of encountering these pests are pretty common and very much expected too. However, it may not be a very pleasant experience and will be uncomfortable too.
Although staying in a condominium will not be able to avoid these pests too, however, the probability is lower as long as the unit is kept clean and rubbish is always disposed of in a timely manner. Some residents living in condominiums do feedback that there are lesser mosquitoes as they are staying at a higher level as compared to landed houses.
Flooding
Due to global warming, there are many changes that are happening globally with the ice melting at the north poles, earlier or changes in the duration of the four seasons. With that, the recent weather changes also causes flooding to occur more frequently in certain areas.
Taking an example, there were severe floods that occurred in Malaysia in recent years rendering many citizens helpless during the occurrence of the floods. Many that have never experienced flooding in their landed houses were taken aback by such sudden happenings that resulted in many losses in terms of their household items for example refrigerators, televisions (most affected are electronic items) , wooden furniture etc.
Then and again, for those residents staying in a condominium they would not really need to worry about recent flooding as their homes are at a higher level. They will only need to worry about whether they have sufficient stock of food and household necessities.
Convenience
Living in a landed house, most of the time whenever you need to purchase some groceries or any other items required, you will need to either walk a distance , cycle or maybe even drive out. Although for most people who have already been living more than a few decades literally on land, they will not feel that it is an issue on an overall basis.
Thinking of this from another perspective, there is an ongoing trend whereby there is a so-called mixed development project for those staying in a condominium. This is having the top level as the residence units and the below levels as shoplots, supermarkets , nursery, kindergarten and for some with bigger locations they may even fit schools. With this kind of development , this is like a one stop center where residents can obtain access to all necessities with a stone’s throw away.
Facilities
It is an ongoing trend whereby people nowadays will opt to go for gym, exercises and activities to maintain good health as there is more awareness on keeping one’s health in check. Living in a normal basic landed housing development, residents will need to survey and travel to gyms or parks to carry out their exercises for better health.
However, if you are living in a condominium, there will already be facilities such as a gym, swimming pool and maybe even a steam sauna facility. This is so much more convenient as you are entitled to and are able to utilize the facilities provided.
In addition, a moderately well managed condominium will also be equipped with a good multipurpose hall where this can be utilized for many different purposes.
Bottom Line
In a nutshell, whatever it is there are always pros and cons of living in a landed house versus a condominium. At the end, it all boils down to personal preferences and also which type suits the individual themselves, their families. Having said that, I personally feel both landed houses or condominiums in the end serve a sole purpose which is to ensure the families staying in them feel great comfort and able to relax and rewind after the end of a hectic day.
