Expert Tips to Pick the Best Condo Type Based On Your Lifestyle

Looking for the perfect condo type for your lifestyle needs?

There is a wide variety of condo units available in the busy Philippine real estate market today. With properties ranging between 30 square meters to a whopping 300 square meters, potential investors like you can be easily overwhelmed by the broad selection of sizes and types of units you can buy from the leading real estate developers in the country.

If you need help finding a home that’s a perfect fit for your desired lifestyle, then this is the right guide for you. Get a chance to learn all about key factors and considerations when choosing your ideal unit’s size, such as your personal preferences, work requirements, family size, and future plans.

Check out the practical questions, checklists, and ideas in this comprehensive collection of real estate tips from your expert partners at DMCI Home Leasing Services.

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Understanding the type of unit you need

To understand the type of unit you will want for your next real estate investment, you’ll need to assess your condo or apartment based on some key considerations. Take a look at some of the most important factors to think about when understanding your needs as a prospective homeowner.

Family size and composition

Your family’s size and composition are a huge factor in selecting your desired condo type. How many occupants will there be in your future home, and are they mostly adults or kids? Think of how these will affect your requirements for furniture, rooms, security, and the overall management of your space.

Couples and singles will likely worry less about this size requirement, as compared to families. But with the wide range of styles that units come in nowadays, larger-sized two-bedroom homes or penthouse units are a great choice for people who need more room alongside the privacy that a regular house offers.

Future growth plans

A condo home is a long-term investment, and if you have future plans for yourself you need to take your unit into account for those plans as well. Make sure to select a home with potential lifestyle changes in mind, such as getting married, starting a family, getting a pet, investing in a hobby, or other possible reasons to upsize or downsize your home.

Having flexibility in your choice of home is important when you have future growth plans. By choosing from a wide range of DMCI Homes properties, you can have excellent options at your disposal for all your planning needs.

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Work-from-home (WFH) requirements

If you’re a hybrid employee and want to enjoy a successful WFH lifestyle, then you need to go for a property that lets you have a dedicated workspace at home. Some examples of layouts that accommodate home offices include open-concept studio units, multipurpose kitchen and living room spaces, two-bedroom units with private areas, and more.

Of course, you can easily adjust the floor plan of any unit to accommodate a WFH condo space. Just make sure to balance form with function by securing essential furniture like ergonomic chairs, adjustable worktables, and organized storage for your equipment.

Personal preferences

To properly understand your homeownership needs, make sure to thoroughly assess your personal preferences and individual lifestyle factors. If you enjoy hosting guests, for example, then you may need to choose a condo or apartment with a larger living room or kitchen space. If you have personal hobbies such as gardening or painting, then you’ll definitely need places to store your equipment or display your works around your home.

Whatever you discover about yourself from this first round of assessments, make sure to take them into consideration as you look for your next living space. Other factors you’ll need to take into account are the more practical budget and accessibility constraints; check out the next section of this guide for tips to do just that.

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Considerations for choosing a condo’s size

Some of the more practical considerations you’ll need to make as you choose your next property include budget constraints, location, accessibility, and more - all of which will affect the size and type of your future unit. Learn more about these factors throughout this comprehensive section.

Budget constraints

Remember to balance affordability with your required home size as you go through your potential property options. If you can’t afford the condo type you need for your lifestyle, then you may need to maximize space to secure a home that falls within your budget.

Let’s say that a studio unit is what’s within reach for your current budget. You’ll need to learn how to make use of every square foot by investing in convertible furniture pieces, utilizing vertical spaces for storage, and using see-through dividers and mirrors to make the space look bigger than it is.

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Location and accessibility

The best locations to invest in real estate will depend on your preferences for accessibility and proximity. For example, if you want to live within walking distance from work, school, public transportation hubs, and other key destinations, you’ll probably want to invest in condo units that are situated near those areas.

However, location will also impact the condo types, sizes, and layouts available for your purchase. Residential areas will likely have larger, multi-bedroom unit types available because developers want to cater to families and bigger groups. Urban developments near central business districts will likely have more studio units available because they want to cater to young professionals who want to live near their place of work. So make sure to take advantage of these trends in order to find the best location for your needs.

Storage solutions

If you need a lot of storage for your belongings, then it might be best to evaluate potential properties based on their built-in storage options, or their potential for custom solutions. See if your prospective homes offer cabinets, closets, and other essential spaces. If they don’t, consider other smart storage ideas to ensure you have space for all your belongings.

As much as possible, remember to make the most out of your property so that you can enjoy the best lifestyle for your needs. If you want more ideas to maximize your living spaces, then continue on to the next portion of this guide for even more tips.

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Making the most of your condominium unit floor plan

You often have to make the most of the space available to you when it comes to choosing the best condominium unit floor plan for your needs. To maximize your given location, take a look at these next few tips.

Open-plan floor layout

An open-plan layout is a great way to optimize your living space without spending too much on expensively priced multi-bedroom properties or penthouse suites. This floor plan comes with its own pros and cons, but when you’re looking for ways to maximize your square footage an open-floor plan can be incredibly helpful for your lifestyle needs.

With an open-floor layout, you create the illusion of space with the lack of walls and the continuity of the room. You increase visibility across the area, making it easier to engage in activities within a comfortable distance. This modern design plan means there are fewer walls, and therefore fewer private spaces across your home. But the layout can still be very useful if you want to make your living areas look much bigger than they are.

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Multipurpose spaces at home

If you want to accommodate more functions per room within your home, then you should consider creating adaptable multipurpose zones instead. You can do this by bringing in multifunctional essentials, like furniture pieces, appliances, and other storage solutions.

Some great examples of multipurpose furniture include couches, ottomans, and coffee tables with hidden compartments, wall-mounted desks, sofabeds, and wheeled work surfaces. With these items, you can create multiple spaces at home that can double as a living room, work area, bedroom, and more.

Vertical space utilization

If you feel like you need to maximize your home even further, then remember to make creative use of your vertical spaces as well. This way, you can utilize surfaces like your walls, the backs of doors, and even your windows for convenient and space-saving storage solutions.

Use your wall spaces to set up floor-to-ceiling shelves or hanging overhead displays that elongate the look of a room and offer more storage. Consider hooking pots and pans onto the kitchen wall or inside your cabinet’s doors, and try hanging vacuums, mops, and brooms along your storage closet’s walls and door to keep them off the ground. With these simple hacks, you can make the most of your unit without having to purchase properties with more expensive square footage.

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Fun tools to help you choose your condo unit

Given all these factors and considerations to help you pick your ideal condo type, it’s time for you to choose a condominium in the Philippines for your next property purchase. To help you make this important decision, consider looking for the following tools to assist you throughout the process:

• Lifestyle quizzes - To thoroughly understand and assess your needs, try taking a lifestyle quiz to identify your dream home type and style. With the information you can get from such quizzes, you can base your homebuying decision on your habits and unique needs.
• Flowchart - A well-designed decision tree can also guide you through the considerations you need to make when choosing your next property. Think through factors like family size, budget, and plans as you go down the flowchart of options for your real estate investment.
• Sample scenarios - By studying real-life examples of how individuals or families choose the perfect home size for themselves, you can gain a better understanding of how to do the same for yourself and your loved ones. Read up on these sample scenarios to dispel common misconceptions and empower yourself to make the best decisions possible for your homeowning future.

Once you narrow down your selection of properties based on all the aforementioned factors and considerations, you can move on to the next big step of your decision-making process: touring your prospective home. Take a look at the next section of this guide for expert tips and assistance.

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Touring tips to see if the condo unit price is right

To make the best possible financial decisions for your future property investment, you need to tour and assess your options in person. Here are just a few checklists and questions to ask when you visit your potential properties in real life.

Questions to ask developers or agents

When you’re talking to your real estate agent or developer about the property, make sure to ask these questions as you tour to ensure you have all the facts and information needed for a sound home buying decision:

• Can I make big changes to the unit? Ask if you can make major renovations and changes to the unit once you buy it, such as repainting the walls, replacing light fixtures, and drilling into the property’s main structures.
• Are there plans to renovate the development or its nearby areas? If you want to avoid living near noisy construction sites and developments, make sure to ask your real estate agent or developer about these potential plans.
• How do you handle maintenance requests? Is there a 24-hour emergency line open for maintenance concerns? Ensure you have easy access to property management services in case you need help with future emergency repairs.
• How many years do tenants typically live at this development? This will give you an idea of the longevity and long-term usability of the property, which can affect your upcoming home buying decision.
• What are the homeowners association (HOA) rules and policies? Make sure your agents or developers walk you through  the property’s homeowner manual and connect you to the development’s HOA to avoid possible conflicts about the property in the future.

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What to look for in a showroom or tour

From the quality of construction to the availability of storage spaces, remember to utilize this checklist so that you know what to look for when touring and evaluating a prospective condo home:

• Structural integrity - Make sure there are no cracks or visible forms of damage on the walls, floors, and ceiling of the property.
• Suspicious odors and water damage - Watch out for strong odors, like smoke or pet urine from previous owners, and any signs of water damage or mold. These can lead to significant issues in the future and can be very difficult and costly to fix.
• Available utilities - Assess the quality of the unit’s roofing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and other utilities to see if they’re working properly.
• Storage space - Take a look at the available closets, cabinets, and other storage areas in the property to determine if there’s enough space for your belongings.

By asking these questions and going through these lists during an in-person tour you can ensure that all your crucial needs are met by your real estate agent. Continue ensuring a successful condo hunt for yourself and your loved ones by checking out the common homebuying mistakes to avoid in the next portion of this guide.

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Pitfalls to avoid for your condominium rent-to-own

You’re nearing the end of your property buying journey - all you have to do now is to avoid the following investment pitfalls for a smooth transition into your new condo ownership lifestyle:

• Overestimating or underestimating space needs - If you don't properly account for the amount of space you actually need for your home, you may end up with either cramped living conditions or a space that's too big and too expensive to manage.
• Ignoring storage requirements - Make sure to take note of your size and structural requirements for personal belongings as well. Remember to account for seasonal items or future acquisitions that might take up space in your condo, so that you have enough storage for everything.
• Focusing solely on square footage - Don't fall into the trap of using square footage as your only metric for purchasing property. You'll need to take efficiency and functionality into consideration as well, in order to ensure everything you own fits appropriately into your living spaces.
• Overlooking future lifestyle changes - Take future plans into consideration before you make any big property purchases. Don't leave possibilities such as hobbies, new pets, or a growing family off the table, as these future lifestyle changes will require additional space in the long run.
• Neglecting to account for WFH setups - If you're currently working a hybrid job or are open to such WFH setups for future jobs, you should always make sure that your condo type can accommodate such requirements for a dedicated and productive workspace.
• Relying solely on visuals or virtual tours - One big pitfall you'll want to avoid is neglecting to physically assess your prospective living spaces. If you rely on just visuals or virtual tours, you'll miss out on specific details on your condo turnover checklist like the exact size and feel of the space, along with possible flaws in the unit like cracked tiles, chipped wall paint, and other key factors.

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• Disregarding additional costs - Always assume that you’re going to conduct maintenance on your unit in the future. By disregarding the additional cost of such crucial repairs, you’ll forget to save up for them and will have to shell out more money than anticipated for your future home.
• Forgetting to evaluate shared amenities - These are some of the most exciting and attractive aspects of living in a condo, so don’t forget to evaluate the shared amenities you can access across your development. They can offset your need for larger personal spaces at home, letting you utilize your unit for more practical lifestyle needs.
• Choosing a size based on trends - Be as practical as possible for your property purchase; don’t just choose a type of unit based on whatever’s trending. Make use of all the tips in this guide to avoid this common pitfall for your future home.
• Ignoring the potential resale value - Don’t forget to consult with your real estate agent regarding the potential resale value of your unit. There may be a specific market demand for your condo type in the future, so remember to consider this factor when assessing your upcoming investment.

You’ve finally covered the essentials of the condo lifestyle and are ready to choose the right type of condo unit for your needs. Just remember to evaluate your needs as thoroughly as possible so that you’re equipped to select the best possible property for your future.

Don’t be afraid to use interactive tools and seek professional advice when needed, either. With the help of the real estate experts at DMCI Homes, you can be ready for your fully furnished or rent-to-own property today.

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