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Someone recently told me that if I'm looking for a quieter experience renting to look for condo owners who are renting out their unit. They claimed something about condos having to meet a different construction standard and are better for not hearing your neighbors etc. due to the better build?
Does anyone know if this is true? If so is it a national, state, or local standard? Or is it not required but simply done because people are buying instead of renting and they want the units to be more desirable?
It's not something you can generalize by any stretch. Just as some apartments are well built and some are not, same for condos. The only way you can begin to determine if any rental you look at (SFH, duplex, townhouse, apartment, condo) meets your requirements where quiet is concerned is to go and see the place a few times at different times of the day. This forum wouldn't be anywhere near as filled with renter noise complaints if a little more time were taken before jumping to sign a lease. Good luck with your search!
The worst rental experience I ever had was a condo unit. There were 5 units total in the building, 3 upper and 2 lower. I was on one of the upper units. The walls and floors were so flimsy, every noise from below as amplified throughout my unit, and the kids would run around and throw and bang stuff against the walls. I almost got into a fight with the idiot below because of this noise, HOA didn't do jack, and I just left. And the outside neighborhood was relatively quiet day and night.
Checking out a unit at different days and time of day/night is a good idea, but only part of the equation.
The biggest factor is what it will be like to live inside the unit. Will your neighbors be noisy and inconsiderate? You just can't tell all the time and just have to take a chance.
Good neighbors can override bad building construction.
The apartment unit I live in currently, the walls don't really do a good job of blocking out a lot of excessive noise. But for the most part neighbors are considerate. At night the entire complex is dead quiet as are my neighbor's units that surround me. I took a chance and so far it's been good.
Someone recently told me that if I'm looking for a quieter experience renting to look for condo owners who are renting out their unit. They claimed something about condos having to meet a different construction standard and are better for not hearing your neighbors etc. due to the better build?
Does anyone know if this is true? If so is it a national, state, or local standard? Or is it not required but simply done because people are buying instead of renting and they want the units to be more desirable?
I currently rent a condo, and it's extremely quiet. It's been a really nice renting experience and I haven't had any problems.
Checking out a unit at different days and time of day/night is a good idea, but only part of the equation.
The biggest factor is what it will be like to live inside the unit. Will your neighbors be noisy and inconsiderate? You just can't tell all the time and just have to take a chance.
Good neighbors can override bad building construction.
^^This plus it is virtually impossible to check out an apt after 10pm and before 7am (during sleeping hours) when the worst noise problems may be going on. And most viewing/showing hours are when other tenants in the building are normally at work, if applicable.
^^This plus it is virtually impossible to check out an apt after 10pm and before 7am (during sleeping hours) when the worst noise problems may be going on. And most viewing/showing hours are when other tenants in the building are normally at work, if applicable.
I've had no problem being shown places outside of normal business hours and those sorts of restrictive viewing hours are more likely to be encountered with a corporate-run complex than with a smaller complex or a private landlord. Even if a late-night viewing isn't possible, a drive/walk around the building can provide a good indication of what can generally be expected. There of course is no magic plan to ensure perfection and I was simply suggesting steps that can be taken to lessen the chances of ending up in an unsuitable place.
But the question was about whether or not condos are better built than apartments and that's already been addressed as a generalization which can't be made.
I've had no problem being shown places outside of normal business hours and those sorts of restrictive viewing hours are more likely to be encountered with a corporate-run complex than with a smaller complex or a private landlord. Even if a late-night viewing isn't possible, a drive/walk around the building can provide a good indication of what can generally be expected. There of course is no magic plan to ensure perfection and I was simply suggesting steps that can be taken to lessen the chances of ending up in an unsuitable place.
But the question was about whether or not condos are better built than apartments and that's already been addressed as a generalization which can't be made.
I can read. I know what the question was, where it went and then I gave my input.
Just because you have had no problem getting showings outside of business hours does not mean that is the norm. I am well aware that 'sometimes' you might be able to get a showing after business hours. Either way, most tenants are on their best behavior as soon as they know the LL is around. The key point that I was making is that it is virtually impossible to get a showing after 10pm and before 7am when those are considered the prime 'quiet enjoyment' hours (sleeping hours) that most LLs/police/leases will enforce noise problems. And you can rarely tell how loud or disruptive noise actually is coming through ceilings, floors and walls, or is going to be, by walking around or outside a building.
No one is saying that you are not able to tell 'sometimes' during a showing if things are loud or whether noise carries or not or that walking around outside a building 'might' help or that you 'might' be able to get a showing outside of business hours.
The dividing line is cost not apartment vs condo. Many condos were originally built as apartments.
Top of the line condos tend to be quieter than cheap condos because the construction and insulation are better. So if you can afford to rent one of the condos that cost over a million dollars brand new, it will be quieter than an apartment building built specifically to home Section 8.
The dividing line is cost not apartment vs condo. Many condos were originally built as apartments.
Top of the line condos tend to be quieter than cheap condos because the construction and insulation are better. So if you can afford to rent one of the condos that cost over a million dollars brand new, it will be quieter than an apartment building built specifically to home Section 8.
It's not just the difference between top of the line condos and lower priced ones, it's whether it was purposefully constructed as a higher end condo or if it's an apartment conversion. They can take an apartment building, slap on a bunch of granite and other nice finishes and market it as a high end condo. However, that doesn't mean that when it was constructed, they put in the same care and attention to detail in terms of sound proofing.
I live in a duplex with a party wall that is over a foot wide. I saw a side view of it with all the many layers of sound proofing and insulation. I've lived here for 6 months and have never once heard my neighbors through the wall inside the house. Occasionally, in the back of the house I can hear their garage door go up or down, but that's through the windows, not the walls.
Most condos are not constructed for this level of quiet, and even fewer apartment buildings are. And apartment style condos have the issue of the front door opening onto a shared hallway, which is impossible to soundproof.
But there are definitely differences between individual condo buildings, and all you can do is to do as much due diligence as you can. Not just viewing it at different times but try to go by in the evenings when people get home from work and strike up conversations. Explain you are thinking about renting there and ask what their experience has been. People are more likely to go to that extent if they are buying a condo, but there's no reason you can't do it for a rental too.
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