Buying a house from a developer, i.e.
from the primary market is really an investment in the future, since by design this type of property serves buyers for many years, and often also their children.
The offer of apartments on the market is very wide, especially in recent years.
However, in order to choose your new place, it is worth taking the time to analyze and refer to your own needs.
In our case, we will focus on the Mazovia province, where the number of urban centers is significant, and the function and nature of the city of Warsaw causes many people to choose to live outside the capital and commute to work.
This is an understandable trend, as real estate prices outside the city limits are much more affordable, and life is more peaceful and often more comfortable.
What to look for when buying a house from a developer?
Location
In a wide radius from Warsaw, several important centers have clarified.
Some play the role of bedrooms for the capital, while others are actually independent centers for the regions.
Importantly, they themselves are also developing intensively, offering residents good infrastructure, places for cultural development or a rich offer for children.
Certainly, counties north and east of Warsaw are worth considering among interesting destinations.
The completed S8 expressway and A2 highway will allow comfortable access to nearby key cities.
The Mazovian Railway is also steadily improving, whether on the Warsaw-Minsk Mazowiecki-Siedlce route or the Warsaw-Tłuszcz-Ostrołęka route.
In addition, the prices of apartments and houses remain significantly lower, although it should be noted that new developments in close proximity to Warsaw are priced more and more expensively.
For the districts of Minsk and Ostroleka, this means a significant increase in attractiveness, just as it once did for the districts west of the capital, where the A2 highway in the direction of Poznań triggered a real development boom.
Here the story may turn out similarly.
But the location of a target property should also be considered through the prism of attractiveness for family and leisure.
It turns out, then, that a well-located place is at a premium.
Living in a place where there is no shortage of forests, hiking and biking trails, playgrounds, sports and recreational infrastructure or parks makes our contact with nature closer, and there are many options for attractive leisure activities.
Ostroleka – an interesting location to live in
In our opinion, Ostroleka is one of the most interesting places that meets the above conditions.
The city is an independent center and is located approx.
100 km from Warsaw.
What is worth noting, it is surrounded on 3 sides by spacious forests, with the Narew forests at the forefront.
Besides, the river itself – the Narew – is increasingly adding to the advantages of living in the city – the city beach has been rebuilt, the waterfront is being rehabilitated, and more road crossings are planned to improve communication.
When considering, therefore, the choice of a new place to settle down, it is worth doing a brief analysis of what our location offers.
Such assets as Ostroleka, for example, will make us choose a place that is friendly, forward-looking and convenient.
We will also be able to count on an increase in the value of our property over time, which is also worth taking into account in advance.
On the other hand, important – also for the environment – infrastructure, energy and military investments are being carried out in the city and its surroundings.
Ostrołęka Block C is being built, and there is also talk of a small nuclear power plant or a military base.
The amount of investment in the city has definitely increased in recent years, which makes real estate here highly desirable.
Location
Location and location are two different concepts.
While we have thoroughly discussed the former, location should be understood as the immediate surroundings of our plot.
After all, what good is it if we choose a great location when the location of our new house is right next to a railroad track, a high-voltage power line or some noisy place like a shopping mall or a hospital.
Care should be taken here to be able to enjoy the comforts and infrastructure, but not to expose ourselves to nuisances like noise (railroads, busy roads, playgrounds), odor (landfills, sewage treatment plants), air pollution (old-style buildings, factories, bakeries) or simply heavy traffic in very close proximity.
On the other hand, living in a lonely remote area, without utilities or a paved access road, and quite a distance from a store, health center or school also has its big downside.
In our opinion, it is best to strike a balance here and choose a location between these two extremes. Surrounded by trees providing shade on hot days close to a forest full of biking and hiking trails, on a little-used asphalt road, at most a few minutes from the center, a transportation hub and recreational facilities – this is how, in a nutshell, we could define the basic criteria for choosing the ideal location for our new home.
House or apartment
This topic spends the sleep of many couples, marriages or families.
Here we will not undertake to assess which choice is better, as this is a strongly individual issue.
In our opinion, it is more difficult to find a house from the primary market that will meet the high expectations of buyers.
Certainly multifamily construction, more widely promoted and nevertheless more popular among developers, provides many interesting investments.
This does not mean, however, that good houses from the primary market do not exist.
On the contrary – a successful purchase of a house will undoubtedly give much more satisfaction than living in the best block of apartments.
In addition to location and location, however, it is worth screening a potential purchase in terms of:
- The attractiveness of the body of the building.
- Availability of utilities: electricity, water, sewerage, gas.
- Type of heating, where gas or heat pump will be preferred.
- Thickness and quality of walls and insulation.
- Quality of door and window joinery.
- Garage availability.
- Functionality of the project.
Functionality
On this last point we should stop.
For many years, large multi-generational houses were built in Poland, which then stood half empty.
Nowadays it is common, though increasingly rare, for young people to decide to build a large house.
Then these large “mansions” cause a lot of maintenance problems, which takes a lot of free time and, unfortunately, money.
Of course, the space we should have at our disposal should give us absolute comfort.
So it is worth paying attention to the segment of houses that provide optimal functionality for living.
For 4 people we define it as:
- Spacious living room
- Comfortable kitchen
- Three bedrooms, preferably separated in the night part of the building.
- Two bathrooms (or toilet and bathroom)
- Utility storage/ pantry
- Garage
Meeting the above conditions guarantees us optimal functionality for a typical family.
Of course, according to individual requirements, this list can expand, but we are currently observing a trend in which buyers focus on the optimal choice between convenience and cost.
After all, it is known that more square meters of house will make a rather painful imprint on our wallet.
So the question is whether enlarging each bedroom by a few meters is worth spending tens of thousands of zlotys when buying and hundreds more per year when operating, when they will perform exactly the same functions.
Meeting with the developer
Always meet with the developer before concluding a contract.
It may be easier to ask some of your questions in person – seeing the plans or documentation of the development.
Look for developers who speak transparently about their projects, have full knowledge of them and can explain why a particular solution was used. In addition, be sure to check out the company to which you are going to entrust your hard-earned budget and check carefully:
- Information prospectus and the standard of finish of a particular development.
- Does the developer already have a building permit?
- Does it already own the land on which the investment will be built?
- Based on which rules the reservation is made, i.e. whether the developer charges a deposit or a reservation fee – the latter should light a red light for you.
- Does it have an escrow account and at which bank?
- Does it conduct its investment intention based on the Development Act (according to current regulations, it already has such an obligation)?
- Is the company a registered VAT payer in the country?
Purchase at Optima Home
As a developer, we support a transparent and fair process of property purchase.
We operate in a safe manner, based on the Development Act, following its provisions.
We believe that the decision to buy an apartment or house is one of the most serious decisions in life.
In view of this, as professionals we support and give a sense of security and transparency in the transaction.
The houses we build give a lot of satisfaction to buyers, are well thought out for many years of use, and are a great choice.
They respond to needs, give convenience and are characterized by the best price to quality.
This balance is appreciated by our customers, who, with each investment, emphasize that their choice turned out to be reasonable, accurate and… optimal. Take a look at our offer or send us an inquiry using the contact form.
