If you’re considering moving into a rented property, then the size might be among the most important factors to bear in mind when making your decision. Larger properties offer their advantages, but so do smaller ones. Let’s take a look at the latter category in greater detail.
Types of smaller property
If you’re looking for something more compact, then you might have a broad range of options to consider.
A single home is a house with a kitchen, a bathroom, an entrance and a point of egress at the rear. You might also find two-family homes, which cram distinct living spaces into the same building, typically with kitchen facilities on every floor. You might also find the same arrangement where the living spaces are split vertically rather than horizontally. These are called duplexes.
Finally, we might consider traditional apartment buildings, which might put many smaller self-contained units onto a single floor of a larger building. These tend to be the smallest and most intensive kinds of property.
The benefits
Let’s assess a few of the upsides of a smaller property.
Cheaper
Most obviously, smaller properties tend to be more affordable. You can fit more of them into the same area. What’s more, they’re less expensive to run, with a smaller space requiring less energy to heat. You can put a portion of the savings towards renter’s insurance, and protect your contents in the long-run.
Low-maintenance
A smaller property has less space to get messy, and as such it’s much easier to stay on top of your cleaning and tidying duties. If you live in a mansion, you might need to hire a full-time housekeeping staff to keep it in good order. If you live in a bedsit, then you can do the necessary housework in just a few hours a month.
Environmentalism
Smaller properties have a smaller carbon footprint. If you’d like to scale back your impact on the planet, this is a great way to do it.
Downsides
There are a few negatives worth mentioning, too.
Less space
If you have a smaller property, then you’ll have less room to do the things you like. That means no separate home office or games room.
More double-duty
If you want to keep a balance between your working life and your home life, then you might find it difficult in a smaller space where you’re forced to work from a laptop on your living-room sofa. Given that hybrid working will be with us for the forseeable future, this is something that many of us will want to bear in mind.
Less convenience
If you’re renting a property on the very top of a taller building, then you might face the added hassle that comes with getting into an elevator every day. Worse, you might be confronted with three or more flights of stairs. On the other hand, carrying the shopping up might save you the cost of gym membership!
No Comments