Turnkey housing from a developer. Is it worth it?

The long-lost competitiveness is beginning to return to the real estate market. Rising interest rates, with persistently high prices, have significantly reduced the creditworthiness of potential buyers. As a result, fewer and fewer people can afford to buy their own flat. Responding to the economic situation, developers have begun to reach for various solutions to attract customers to their investment. One of them is the proposal to finish the apartment in a turnkey standard.

“Turnkey” finished, what does it mean?

A turnkey finished apartment on the primary market is a new dwelling, in which no renovation work is necessary before moving in. In such a place, when you receive the keys, you will most often find floors and tiles laid, plastered and painted walls, as well as internal doors fitted. In addition, we may already have a permanent kitchen furniture and sanitary fixtures installed. It all depends on what options the entrepreneur has on offer and which one we decide on. The proposed finishing standards are usually divided into basic, standard and premium. Of course, the higher the standard, the higher the price. The chosen standards can vary both in terms of the quality of materials used and the amount of work carried out.

Advantages

Buying a turnkey apartment from a developer brings many benefits. First of all, it is a time-saver. Despite appearances, independent arrangement, selection of equipment or watching over the renovation team consumes a lot of energy. In the turnkey option, the developer is responsible for all this.

Such a solution also helps to avoid the so-called “bad decisions”. Lack of knowledge of the specifics of renovation affects unfavourable choices. In addition, we dispose of the problem of choosing a professional finishing team. Often our inexperience is sensed by pseudo-professionals, which translates into a lower quality of services provided.

The main advantages of buying a turnkey apartment may include financial savings. Although we will pay more for the apartment at the beginning, in the end it can be very profitable. The developer, when buying finishing materials for all apartments in the building, or at least for most of them, can negotiate much more favourable prices. The same applies to services. What’s more, we won’t be surprised by unforeseen costs that we forgot to take into account. We get an estimate from the developer and know in advance the amount we will have to spend on finishing.

It is also a solution that allows you to move earlier than when buying a property in a developer standard. Personally, we can start the finishing works only after receiving the keys, i.e. after the building has been permitted for use. The developer’s team, on the other hand, has the opportunity to finish the premises, while the rest of the employees, for example, paint the facade.

Disadvantages

Purchasing an apartment in a turnkey finishing standard also has disadvantages – primarily, lack of impact on the final appearance of the apartment. Of course, some changes to the developer’s design are possible, but they are quite limited. We also have to take into account the fact that every individual adjustment is extra charged. In addition, a situation when the final finish of the apartment differs significantly from the visualization presented by the architects, is not rare.

There is also the problem of the quality of services rendered. Entrepreneurs counting costs often choose external finishing companies that offer the best rate. As usual, the price goes hand in hand with the quality. The errors most frequently pointed out include e.g. uneven plasters, poorly laid tiles or unevenly painted walls. It is not uncommon that individual elements are already damaged, e.g. scratched floor, dents or stains on the walls. It is true that we can appeal and ask for repair, but this involves additional waiting time for acceptance of premises.

Is it worth buying a turnkey apartment?

This is an individual decision and depends on many factors. It is a perfect solution for buyers living in another city, traveling on business or very busy people who cannot devote enough time to furnishing the apartment. Unfortunately, it will not be a good option for individualists, who want to arrange every corner according to their own needs.

However, it is an interesting proposition for people, who are looking for apartments for investment purposes. Such consumers care about an attractive finish, but they do not pay attention to original solutions. Often they do not want to spend time on renovations, but they want to rent the premises as soon as possible and profit from it.

Joanna Woźniak
Junior Specialist for Maintenance and Development of the AMRON System