Quality apartment construction?

Our Experts Answer:

It's true that it can be more difficult to determine the quality of construction in an apartment building versus a house. Here are some tips for you to keep in mind when making a decision on this. First, ask around. Other tenants, owners or property managers can tell you about what kinds of repairs are done on apartments in the building and how often they are done. You should also check out the maintenance and building-wide costs that owners pay for. Many new buildings start with lower maintenance costs that escalate over time. There may be alarm bells in respect to construction quality if you see new buildings where maintenance costs have risen particularly quickly. Another useful tip is to have a close look at the quality of furnishings and fixtures, because the level of care in selecting and installing these can be reflective of the quality of the building itself. A final point of caution should be made in respect to the leaky home issue that affected a large number of apartments built between 1994 and 2005. A lot has been written on this topic, definitely do your homework when considering any apartment that has been subject to these issues.