Ci sono alcuni appartamenti sorprendentemente economici (3 ore+k) per circa ~100.000. I prossimi lavori di ristrutturazione sono la ragione dei prezzi bassi? Possiamo ottenere numeri stimati dall’agente di vendita?
Surprisingly cheap apartments for sale in Espoo. What is the catch?
byu/clotext2023 inFinland
di clotext2023
21 Comments
Perhaps the least desirable residential area in Espoo with social problems, bad schools and a bad reputation for more than 40 years. Also, it’s just a bulk building from the 70s that needs constant renovation. Visit the area so you will understand.
There will never be cheap apartments below market value, if other apartments costs 200k and theres odd one that costs 100k€ its because theres some huge plumbing renovation coming that costs 100k€ to that unit.
It says the condition is tyydyttävä, which means 6/10 at best. Plus there is nine upcoming major repairs in the next three years.
Plumming works are soon to be done and can run to 500€ or more per m2.
In general: Finland is filled with cheap apartments from the 70’s. They are cheap because the plumbing has not been done for decades (maybe last time was in the 90’s), and the renovations alone can cost you a fortune.
No free dinners.
You can absolutley ask for estimated costs of upcomming renovations.
Also ask for energiatodistus, kuntotarkastus, and kunnossapitosuunnitelma.
Just take a walk around Suvela and you’ll realize why people don’t want to live there. It’s a not dangerious ghetto but still unpleasant area with unpleasant people living in it.
And yes, that building hasn’t had water and sewage renovations yet. Afther those are done you’ll either have to pay another 100-150k up front or pay additional monthly installments. The kitchen could use some renovating too. Maybe walls and floors as well, but it’s hard to judge those from just pictures.
Suvela. And age. That’s enough.
Probably the area. According to the ad, they’ve commissioned to have the sewer and water pipes checked in 2021 and again in 2028, which tells me in 2021 they were in good condition.
Eventually they will need to be done. But it’s not planned for the near future.
Probably the announced value is one, and the actual value (announced + debt) is shown later.
Sukitus it!
Don’t get fooled by the fancy interior decor, it’s all digitally made. When the price is low, the area is usually bad and the building/apartment is not in a very good condition.
The pricing is in-line with the average flat prices for that and similar areas. If you search for 3h+k in the metropolitan area you’ll find a lot of similar priced flats. In my opinion the price for this apartment is not cheap, but reasonable.
If you feel that the apartment is cheap and suits your needs then definetly buy it.
In general usually the reasons for being “cheap” are (and worth considering when buying):
1) The area is not very desirable
2) The building is old and waiting for the big repairs to come in
3) The finances of the housing is in shambles – there are a lot of apartments that have been taken over and there is a lot of debt.
4) The plot is not owned by the housing – ie. you pay rent for the plot and the rent could go up significantly. In this case no worries as the plot is owned.
5) There are some risks that affect the cost of living in the apartment (in yours the price of the electricity is included in the monthly costs, there is extra cost for the heating of the bathroom…). These can be small, but they add up in “extraordinary” situations
6) The neigbours are assholes
7) The planning in the areas surrounding the apartment building are changing to “worse”
8) The traffic options (no public transport/no parking spaces etc.) to/from the apartment are bad
9) The services around the apartment are insufficient (long way to shops, other services..)
10) The seller is in dire need of cash
In this case I think the reason mainly is 2) for the price not being 150-200k, but instead 100k. The timeframe for this upcoming additional cost for this is probably 3-7 years, which should be budgeted when buying these kind of apartments.
Rule of thumb of its from the 70s and is cheap it means they havent done the water piping yet. I would add 50-80k€ easily in this case and you have a realistic price.
Jorma.
First thing I noticed was the address. Suvela has a bad reputation, or at least had, when I lived in Espoo about 20 years ago. My dad lived in there after the divorce, and tbh, I didn’t really get what the problem was. I spent every other weekend there as a teenager, and never saw any issues, even though I was alone outside in the evenings a lot.
I’ve come to conclusion that this is a manifestation of Finnish racism. Neighborhoods with a lot of immigrants will have a bad reputation even if there’s no real problems in the neighborhood.
Suvela is also far. It’s a 40 minute train ride to Helsinki city center. Official Espoo city center is right next to this place, but the actual Espoo city center is somewhere close to Leppävaara and Tapiola.
It’s still cheap, and based on my experience, it’s not as bad place to live as the reputation suggests.
Suvela – the Bronx of Espoo
There are an increasing number of flats/rivitalo places coming up on sale with ridiculously ”good” prices but then you check and the monthly fees are just insane or there is so much remodel coming that you will basically need to double the price just to pay for it. Finland in general is full of places built in the 1960’s and 1970’s where the original owners are now dying or moving to care homes, and they have deferred maintenance BIG TIME. So sure, go ahead and buy the place…but if it’s half what you think the price should be, you better be prepared to pay a lot of money in upcoming repairs because there is never a free lunch.
Plumbing renovations and Suvela.
Yeah, building is from 1975, so LOTS of things are at end-of-life and needs renovation or exchanged to new etc etc. Basically all the innards of that building needs to be taken care of. Expensive stuff. Just ask for the inspection report and have a looksie at the 20 pages of things you will need to co-pay.
Also look at the price history for that building here: [https://asunnot.oikotie.fi/talo/kirstinsyrja-7-espoo/24173](https://asunnot.oikotie.fi/talo/kirstinsyrja-7-espoo/24173)
Last year one went for 79.900 same size.