Combining Two Adjacent Flats to use as one – Pros & Cons

The hunt for your perfect home can be a complex one. Sometimes, the location might not work for you and sometimes the amenities might not be what you seek. Sometimes the price or sometimes the size of the house might not fit the bill. But what if you have found the perfect location and housing project to live in, but the size of the apartment doesn’t suit you? While most apartments are designed keeping a larger set of investors in mind- investors and home buyers who are looking for average sized home that would suffice for a small family. Some of us might want larger homes in the very same set up. Under such circumstances or sometimes, when a family is growing- so does their need for space. Both these instances lead to one wanting to combine two adjacent apartments to make one larger unit. It comes with its own set of pros and cons. Let us go through some of the pros and cons of merging two flats together.

Why compromise on the amenities you love just because the house size doesn’t suit you? You may have lived in a certain environment and accustomed to the amenities there, you do not have to give them up just because you have to move to a larger home. Or, you may like the amenities, safety, security and the landscape a certain project comes with. You do not have to forgo these facilities, instead you can combine adjacent flats to make your dream home nestled amongst amenities of your liking.

Some states have strict norms against the combination of two units. Some others have a lot of rules and regulations regarding the same. Getting permissions and approval of government authorities and the members of the housing unit can be an arduous process.

In some instances, getting two units summing up to a certain size can cost less than what one unit of the same size would have cost. If you already own an apartment and wish to expand it and are lucky enough to find the adjacent apartment for sale, then you can conveniently expand your existing home. It is less arduous than buying a larger home at one shot. It will be less taxing than looking for a new home with good legal clearance, putting up the existing one for sale, finding a locality that you might like, at a price of your liking etc.

Sometimes, buying two adjacent flats in order to combine them in the earlier stage comes with a provision that you can design your home around the standard structural grid of the building. While this is definitely a perk, as it gives you an opportunity to customise your home design, it can also lead to increased cost of hiring an Architect for the same. If you are altering an existing set of apartments, you may incur additional costs of hiring designers apart from spending on the alteration itself.

The peace of mind of continuing to live in the comfort of a neighbourhood that you and your family love is quite unmatched. Expanding your existing apartment by merging it with the adjacent one can be less emotionally draining than completely uprooting.

If not designed well, a lot of space can be wasted leading to dead and unused spaces. Another setback is that you will end up paying the maintenance and additional charges for both the homes.

If one has made a wise move and invested in a locality with a potential of high appreciation value then having two units in this same region will be an added benefit as time goes. But, if one fails to do so- both his investments will be at a place with no growth. This makes his investment a bad one.

Most often a growing family is the biggest reason of merging two flats into one. But as time goes, and families grow and branch out, you can always separate the two units. You can either rent out both, or use one and rent out the other. Likewise, if and when the need for privacy arises- you can always go back to the older layout of two units; making this idea a very flexible option to resort to as your needs changes.

A home is more than just a mere shelter- it is an investment. It is an asset that one leaves behind for their family. More often than not, many investors in the older age group invest in property that will eventually be inherited by their children. Two apartments come with their own legal documents, meters, etc., making it much less of a hassle when the inheritance leads to division of properties.

These are some of the key points that one has to keep in mind before opting to combine two adjacent apartments. Be it an investment as an asset or whether one is looking for a home for themselves – it is imperative to completely understand the disadvantages and advantages of the same before investing the savings of a lifetime in a home that is resultant of combining two units.