Is a top-floor condo worth buying?
Deciding between a top-floor condo, a mid-floor condo, or a higher floor can be difficult without delving into the details. Many people likely choose the top floor, believing that if they're going to buy a condo, they want a high floor with a great view. But are top-floors really as good as they seem? It's important to understand the pros and cons to help with the decision.
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What are the advantages of a top-floor condo?
1. A great view included with the purchase
Living on a top-floor condo can be a dream for many, especially those who enjoy city views. High-rise condos are often a better choice than low-rise condos.
Especially on high floors, from the 20th floor upwards, the chances of surrounding buildings obstructing the view are very low. This offers the opportunity to enjoy stunning panoramic views of the city or river, both during the day and at night, without any obstructions.
2. Close to amenities
If the top floor isn't on the same floor as the amenities, living there offers more privacy.
However, nowadays, condos developed by reputable developers often design amenities closer to the condo floor. 1. Shared common areas such as swimming pools, fitness centers, and gardens are located on the top floors, a key selling point. While exercising or relaxing, you can enjoy city views. However, if residential units are on the same floor, noise pollution can become a problem if not managed properly.
2. Quietness
Lower floors in condos may experience noise pollution, such as traffic noise. This is especially true if the condo is located near a main road, in a busy area with shops, restaurants, pubs, bars, or even loud music restaurants nearby, causing constant disturbance.
Higher floors, however, are generally quieter and less affected by these problems.
3. Good ventilation
Top floors or high-rise condominiums have unobstructed views, allowing for excellent airflow. When windows or balcony doors are opened, a full breeze flows into the unit, resulting in better ventilation and a cooler interior compared to lower floors.
4. Fewer mosquitoes
Problems with mosquitoes, ants, rats, cockroaches, etc., are significantly reduced, allowing for peace of mind when opening balconies or windows. However, this isn't a 100% guarantee; it also depends on cleanliness and maintenance. Otherwise, cockroaches and rats might come to visit.
As for tiny insects like mosquitoes, they can only fly up to about 5th-7th floors. Their light weight means they wouldn't be able to withstand high winds.
6. Good rental yield, good resale price
Real estate is an attractive investment. To rent it out quickly, in addition to a good location and reasonable rental price, the top floor location is a selling point that owners use to promote their units. For example, beautiful views, river views, garden views, etc.
These factors can attract tenants, making it easier to rent out and yielding good returns. Similarly, if reselling in the future, top-floor condos have a clear target market, allowing for targeted marketing and increasing the chances of a quick sale and a good price.
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What are the disadvantages of top-floor condos?
1. Lack of privacy
If it's a top-floor condo on the same floor as the amenities, in addition to paying a higher price for the convenience of closer access to amenities and common areas than other floors, you might also get the added bonus of crowds and noise from residents on other floors using the amenities on the top floor.
2. Heat problems
Top-floor condos... This refers to the top floor of each building, just before the rooftop. If you do your research, you might find that it's recommended to avoid this floor if possible. Besides the sunlight coming through the walls, the room will also receive condensation from the ceiling at midday and in the afternoon. Choosing a top-floor condo therefore means accepting significantly more heat than other floors.
3. Water Leakage Problems
Choosing a top-floor condo increases the chance of encountering water leaks from the rooftop, such as leaks during rain, or from the swimming pool or garden, because the area above the room acts like a roof.
However, this doesn't mean that every top-floor unit or every condo will experience this problem. It simply means that choosing a top-floor condo has a higher probability of encountering these issues compared to other floors.
4. Safety Issues: Fire and Earthquakes
Before buying a top-floor condo, you might wonder about its safety in the event of a fire or earthquake. You can be somewhat reassured by this. In the case of fire, there are two laws governing fire escape staircases:
1) Ministerial Regulation No. 55 (2000) issued under the Building Control Act B.E. 2522 (1979), Part 4, concerning fire escape staircases.
2) Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Building Control Regulations B.E. 2544 (2001).
Before buying a top-floor condo, you should check the building plan, see if there are fire escape staircases, if they are sufficient, and how close or far your unit is from them. Also, be aware of the 10 steps to survive a fire in a high-rise building.
In the case of earthquakes, you need to examine the construction standards to ensure structural integrity and stability. Thailand has had laws regulating earthquake-resistant building designs since 1997, and these have been updated twice as follows:
1) The 1997 Ministerial Regulation stipulated that buildings taller than 15 meters (approximately 5 stories or more) in 10 earthquake-prone provinces, due to their proximity to fault lines, must have earthquake-resistant structures. These provinces are: Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Tak, Nan, Phayao, Phrae, Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Lamphun, and Kanchanaburi.
2) The 2007 Ministerial Regulation expanded the area of application to include Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, namely Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, and Samut Sakhon. Although these added provinces are not near fault lines, the soil structures in these areas are relatively soft, making them susceptible to earthquake tremors.
3) The Ministerial Regulation specifies the load-bearing capacity, resistance, and durability of buildings. And the ground supporting buildings to withstand earthquake vibrations, in 2021, the risk zones were re-evaluated into 3 levels:
– Area 1: Areas that require monitoring because there is a possibility that buildings may be affected in terms of structural integrity and stability when subjected to earthquake vibrations. These include Krabi, Chumphon, Trang, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Bueng Kan, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phitsanulok, Phetchaburi, Loei, Songkhla, Satun, Surat Thani, and Nong Khai.
– Area 2: Areas where there is a possibility that buildings may be affected in terms of structural integrity and stability to a moderate degree when subjected to earthquake vibrations. These include Bangkok, Kamphaeng Phet, Chai Nat, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Sawan, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Phang Nga, Phuket, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Songkhram, Samut Sakhon, Suphan Buri, and Uthai Thani.
– Area 3 Areas or regions where buildings are likely to be highly affected in terms of structural integrity and stability by earthquakes include Kanchanaburi, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Tak, Nan, Phayao, Phrae, Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Lamphun, Sukhothai, and Uttaradit.
5. Unstable phone signal
Another common problem for people living on the top floors of condos is unstable phone signal, which can be frustrating. This is because phone signals are transmitted from tall towers in a cone-shaped waveform from above to the ground, not horizontally across the entire tower. Therefore, units on higher floors or on opposite sides of the tower may not receive a sufficient signal.
6. High price
Top-floor condos are often priced higher than lower floors because they offer better views and more privacy. However, the higher price isn't necessarily a disadvantage. If you plan to rent out or resell in the future, the top floor can be a selling point that fetches a better price.
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Thank you for the valuable information from DD-Property.
