There Are Many Pros and Cons To Living in a Ground Floor Apartment in NYC
Should you consider renting a ground floor apartment in NYC? Finding an apartment in NYC is difficult enough without having to weigh the pros and cons of renting a ground floor apartment. However, especially if you are new to NYC, there are several things you will want to consider. Please note that we have many ground floor apartments on frele.com, as well as thousands of non ground floor apartments!
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First let’s look at the pros to renting a ground floor apartment.
NO STAIRS
Many affordable apartments in NYC are “walk ups”, which could have as many as five flights of stairs. In a ground floor apartment, you won’t have to climb those steps!
CHEAPER TO RENT
For the reasons described below in the “con” section, all else being equal apartments on the ground floor may be cheaper than apartments on higher floors. In fact, if you are new to NYC real estate, you should know that this could be why a ground floor apartment may seem cheaper than its peers.
YOU OFTEN HAVE OUTDOOR SPACE
Not always, but many times, a ground floor apartment in NYC may have a patio or a backyard. In NYC, this is a huge plus since so few apartments in NYC have outdoor space.
NO WAITING FOR THE ELEVATOR
Perhaps it is obvious, but you don’t have to wait for any elevator in a ground floor apartment. You may not understand the true appeal of this, unless you have lived in hi-rise buildings where you had to wait 5 to 15 minutes for an elevator sometimes. Ugh!
A DUPLEX OR INTERESTING LAYOUT
If you are looking for a more interesting apartment layout, then you may find it in a ground floor apartment. For example, often a ground floor apartment is a “duplex”, whereby the lower half is “below grade” or below the ground like in a basement.
YOU ARE ONE WITH THE PEOPLE
Notwithstanding “privacy” issues as discussed in the “con” section below, some people just love to be able to look out and be on the same eye level as what is happening all around them. Had I not worked with thousands of renters myself, I would not have believed that these people exist. But they really do!
Now, let’s look at the CONS to renting in a ground floor apartment.
A ground floor apartment is not for everybody. With the positives to living in them, there are unfortunately many negatives too which you should be aware of.
YOU LIVE WITH RHOENTS/BUGS
Bugs and rhodents tend me make more appearances in a ground floor apartment. Since bugs and rhodents live in the ground, you are sort of sharing a home with them. Okay, maybe not quite, but you get the drift.
YOU HEAR MORE NOISE
New York City is not a quiet city. If you live in a ground floor apartment, you will hear more of it. In a ground floor apartment you will hear more honking, more garbage trucks (at 5am), more people talking, more buses idling, more sirens, more traffic noise, etc. etc.
YOU FEEL MORE VIBRATIONS
As you may have guess, the streets in New York City are not exactly smooth. In a ground floor apartment, you can feel the vibrations from trucks and cars going over these bumps. If you live near a subway, you may even be lucky enough to have your apartment shake every 5 minutes.
YOU MAY FEEL DARKER
Light is something many NYC renters are always trying to get more of since they live in a city surrounded by tall buildings. When you live in a ground floor apartment, your opportunities for catching some of this light are much diminished.
YOU PAY FOR AN ELEVATOR
If you live in a ground floor apartment in an elevator building, you may feel you are paying for an “amenity” that you never use. Hopefully, the rental price will be enough of a discount to make you feel okay about this.
YOUR CHANCE OF GETTING A LEAK or FLOOD
Living at the two endpoints of a building (top or bottom) means your chance of getting a leak if you live in a penthouse or a ground floor apartment increases. However, a ground floor apartment has the additional risk of flooding if you live in a flood zone. Check those flood zone maps!
YOU ARE LESS PRIVATE
If you don’t like the idea of people potentially walking right by your window (if you live in the front) or seeing everyone on the building’s outdoor patio (if you live in the back) you may want to stay clear of a ground floor apartment. Of course, it depends on the unit, but you should think about the different situations where people may be walking by if privacy is important to you.
YOU MAY FEEL LESS SECURE
I don’t know the statistics on security issues comparing a ground floor apartment with apartment that are higher up. However, I do know that some people do feel less secure since they reason that an intruder can more easily get access to their home. Of course, ironically, most ground floor apartments have bars on the window probably making them even harder to break into. Sometimes, the perception is all that matters. You have to feel secure.
In sum, there are pros and cons to living in a ground floor apartment. Some people avoid them at all costs, and others specifically look for them!
For more NYC rental tips, please go to frele.com/learn.
This article was written by:
Phil Horigan, NYC Real Estate Veteran
Founder, Frēlē, the free and honest NYC rental marketplace
Producer, Phil’s NYC Rental Tips [YouTube Channel]
Blogger: flowfreely.com
Instagram: @philiphorigan
Phil has been a licensed NYC real estate agent since 2004 working for some of the top real estate brokerage firms in the industry. He founded Leasebreak.com in 2013, and Frēlē in 2017. Frēlē and Leasebreak are free and transparent rental marketplaces to search for or post apartments for rent in NYC
Go to frele.com to search for NYC apartments (free service).