Quote:
Originally Posted by Tapioca
There's always uncertainty with new units. You can't see and touch the unit. You don't know how solid the building is. You don't know how the strata is going to run things.
With a 5-year old unit, you'll have a better sense o how solid the building is and how well it's managed. Plus, you can actually touch and see what you're buying. And the majority of apartments built 5 years ago offer more square footage for your dollar.
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From my own experience, I'd say that when comparing between new units (pre-sale to 1+ y.o.) to old units in the 5 - 10 y.o. range, the buyer is really just weighting between different issues that need attention, and considering different risks.
The new buildings will have the potential issues that you mentioned, plus building / finishing defects where the developer will come back and fix under warranty. The fixes are "free" in the monetary sense, but will still require time and trouble to arrange.
Older buildings will have things starting to wear out when they are within that 5 - 10 y.o. range. At my apartment, we've had the HAVC die within the first 5 years. Then it was the water tanks some time between year 5 to 8, which required strata to completely replace the entire system with something sturdier. And then it was the water pipes, some of which were covered under warranty. But now the building is older and out of the warranty period, and the original pipes are now leaking at one place after another -- I swear the plumbing and restoration companies that service our building absolutely love us for the continual business.
So for the most part when it comes to apartment buying, new vs up to 15 y.o. don't seem all that different to me. You are really just weighting a collection of factors, and choosing the most attractive / bearable compromise ...