Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

What is the difference between a flat, an apartment, and a house?

 What is the difference between a flat, an apartment, and a house?

Words like house, flat, and apartment are often used interchangeably, in a manner of speaking, to refer to spaces of personal dwelling where people return to in order to refresh and rejuvenate after a day spent working and travelling.

While the actual unit one occupies depends on several factors, the most important being budget and geography, the terms themselves hold specific meanings when one is in the market for a home.

What is a flat?

Falling more on the affordable side, flats are common structures in bustling cities where home buyers/renters are looking for living spaces that offer standard features that cover basic needs. Usually occupying a single level, accommodations here can share several amenities like washrooms and laundry areas. ‘Flat’ is also more commonly used in countries speaking UK English.

What is an apartment?

Apartments can occupy a broad range of residences, affordable to both middle-income home buyers and renters to high-rise luxury apartments exclusive to high-net-worth individuals where amenities expand to private gyms, pools, luxury decks and more. They are individual units in multi storey set-ups. The word ‘apartment’ is more commonly used in the USA.

What is an independent house?

They refer to standalone housing units. It consists of a ground floor or one or more upper storeys. Typically, the most luxurious out of the three, an independent house comes with a bigger price tag where the biggest advantage is developing the architecture to suit your tastes and needs. Also called as villas, these luxury residences are found behind gated communities.

One of the biggest advantages that comes with living in a multi-unit dwelling like a flat or an apartment is the ability to share the maintenance cost of amenities like elevators, parking space, and security with the other residents of the apartment building. They can also provide a sense of community with apartment neighbors, as well as amenities like sports areas and gardens bringing residents together.

Taking out an insurance or a loan is easier for people seeking to live in flats and apartments as any damage to building property is covered by the society as a whole whereas individual home owners have to pay monthly premiums to safeguard their property. There are also pre-approved loans for flats and apartments whereas a stricter process is attached to seeking loans for individual properties.

Similarly, a flat or an apartment is relatively easier to sell as compared to houses as the selling price attached to it is often too high to be affordable to the general public. Ensuring security can also put a stain on one’s finances when it comes to independent house owners whereas for people living in residences, paying for security is a part of the monthly maintenance costs.

One is more likely to find independent houses as places of residence in semi-urban to rural areas whereas apartments and flats are relatively more common in cities.

To know more about luxurious residences in the heart of the city with state-of-the-art amenities, visit: https://shapoorjirealestate.com/

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

5 Reasons to Live on Thika Road and Surrounding Areas in Nairobi

 Looking for the best place to settle with your family in Nairobi city?


Here are 5 reasons you should consider living on Thika Road:


1. Accessibility- From Thika Road, you can reach the Nairobi Central Business District using the Thika Superhighway within 20-30 minutes or alternatively link to Juja, Thika and other countries such as Murangá, Kirinyaga and Nyeri. Going to Mombasa or flying out? Thika Road boasts of such convenience, you can easily get to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Mombasa Road via the Eastern By-pass.


2. Affordability- Ruiru, near Thika Road, is not an expensive place to live in and you can live within your budget. With rents ranging from Ksh 25,000 to Ksh 30,000 for a 2-bedroom apartment, and Ksh 35,000 to Ksh 45,000 for a 3-bedroom unit, it is pocket-friendly for a middle-income family. If you wish to buy a house, a 4-bedroom house will cost between Ksh 15 and Ksh 20 Mn, depending on the size, the location and its finishing.


3. Amenities are within reach- Ruiru boasts of a wide range of schools including universities such as Kenyatta University, Zetech, and NIBS in close proximity. For leisure and weekend getaways, you can visit the Rainbow Hotel, Kamakis restaurants located along the Eastern By-pass, and BTL Christian Conference Centre in Membley Area. The Ruiru town has several banks to take care of your financial needs and supermarkets to access basic house necessities.


4. Utilities- Residents in the area are served by water from the Ruiru- Juja Water & Sewerage Company as well as CDF-funded community borehole water projects. To address the influx of the population, the county government of Kiambu has commenced plans for a sewerage system to cater for sewage disposal. The area is well secured with the presence of various police posts and the main police station in Ruiru town. In newer estates, residents have employed the gated community concept with boundary walls and a single-manned gate to control entrance.

5. Serene Environment- Previously a coffee farm, Ruiru has a tranquil environment ideal for a home. It also has a rural feel allowing you to keep animals, grow vegetables, or even have a fish pond, something you would not easily do in urban centers in Nairobi.



Mi Vida at Garden City apartment near Garden City Mall on Thika Road is the ideal place to live peacefully. Book New 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments in Nairobi at Garden City (off exit 7 Thika Super Highway) from KES 6.9m.