Which Apartment to purchase? There flat in Midrand or Centurion?

[Sly21C]

I'm in the process of purchasing my very first apartment, a 1 bedroom flat. I'll be buying the apartment off plan.

I have a choice to make between 2 flats, from 2 different residential complexes and 2 different areas but they are both from the same Property Developer. The 1 bedroom apartments are exactly the same, the sizes of their rooms are the same (judging from the website) and their finishes are largely the same, except for a few differences. The first apartment is in Midrand, not far from New Road. The other apartment is in Centurion, not far from the Mall@Reds. The Midrand 1 bedroom flat is going for R550k & and the Centurion 1 bedroom flat goes for R510k. There's a R40k difference, not sure why. Maybe it's because of the area, maybe Centurion has more crime than Midrand. And there's a Police Station less than 1km away from the Midrand apartment.

I've viewed the Midrand (showroom) flat and it is beautiful, I love it. The Centurion apartment will be the same, but I'm gonna view it tomorrow. So I'm not sure which to purchase, but I'm learning towards the Midrand apartment even though it's the most expensive of the two. The reason is I don't being stuck in a lot of traffic in Midrand, compared to the Rooihuiskraal North area, I've been stuck in traffic a lot and it's not paradise.

I must mention that both complexes have only one 1 bedroom flat available, the other units are sold out, including the 2 & 3 bedroom flats.

I can afford the monthly bond, that's not an issue.

So what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Batista]

Centurion.Dont stay in Midrand and no offence to anyone here but when i stayed there i hated it.The traffic sucks because there is only complex after complex with 2 cars for each household thereby creating a huge traffic problem in and out of Midrand.

 

[TJ99]

You want to pay HALF A MILLION RAND for a 1 bedroom flat?


In Midrand?

:wtf:

They need to pay you to live there. It's basically a town built out of warehouses and traffic jams.

 

[Noob-Noob]

Centurion.Dont stay in Midrand and no offence to anyone here but when i stayed there i hated it.The traffic sucks because there is only complex after complex with 2 cars for each household thereby creating a huge traffic problem in and out of Midrand.

+1
F Midrand. (i work here), yesterday some of my friends sat in traffic until 8PM due to that cement truck, i honestly cannot stand this place, Centurion on the other hand is awesome.

If i had to choice between JHB and Midrand, now that will be an entirely different story

 

[Del Piero 10]

You want to pay HALF A MILLION RAND for a 1 bedroom flat?


In Midrand?

:wtf:

They need to pay you to live there. It's basically a town built out of warehouses and traffic jams.

This. Lol.

I hate having to go to Midrand to see suppliers or customers. Complete energy draining exercise.

 

[qdada]

I do not know about you but my criteria is the following

1. Distance to the closest Telkom Exchange.
2. Travel time to work (take note, not distance but travel time)
3. Which municipality you will be working with and who is more efficient.

 

[Jakes147]

Where do you work?

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Maybe reconsider buying a 1 bedroom place. It's really small, and you might regret shackling yourself to it in the long run.

And Midrand.

 

[Sly21C]

+1
F Midrand. (i work here), yesterday some of my friends sat in traffic until 8PM due to that cement truck, i honestly cannot stand this place, Centurion on the other hand is awesome.

If i had to choice between JHB and Midrand, now that will be an entirely different story

I'm currently renting a flat in Centurion, so I agree that it is awesome, especially where I live which is not far from the Gautrain station/Centurion Mall. It's just that I'm not fond of the Rooihuiskraal area, there are also too many complexes there and traffic. Midrand is not my favorite area but the area near San Ridge Square is not bad at all.

Where do you work?

I work in Lyttelton, but travel time and distance from work is no big issue for me.

Maybe reconsider buying a 1 bedroom place. It's really small, and you might regret shackling yourself to it in the long run.

And Midrand.

I'm planning to live there for between 3 to 5 years, rent it out and purchase a 2 or 3 bedroom house, whatever I can afford.

 

[OrbitalDawn]

I'm planning to live there for between 3 to 5 years, rent it out and purchase a 2 or 3 bedroom house, whatever I can afford.

Not a bad plan.

Aren't there nicer ones available in Centurion? What developer is it?

 

[Ancalagon]

What is the size of the flats in square metres? Are they ground floor, middle floor or top floor units? Would you have a balcony? How big are the bathrooms, and what do the bathrooms have?

I live in a 1 bedroom flat which I bought last year. My budget was a little higher than yours, but I'll share some of my thoughts about 1 bedroom flats. Everyone is different, but these are the things that mattered to me.

First, traffic is pretty important to me. If neither flat makes a difference to you commute wise, then choose whichever one you prefer, whichever one has the nicer view, or which is in the nicer area, where things like shops and access to highways are concerned.

In terms of size, I actually think the bathroom and kitchen are the two most important rooms in a 1 bedroom flat. My bedroom is pretty small, but that doesn't bother me. My bathroom is a decent size, with a full shower and separate bath. I once dated a girl who lived in a 1 bedroom flat with a tiny bathroom that could only have a bath in it. I hated it! A more spacious bathroom is a big improvement for a 1 bedroom flat if you ask me.

I know everyone is different, but I'm much happier living on the top floor. I can look up and see the sky, not buildings, which for some reason is important to me, more important than having a garden. I personally don't think I would cope well with a middle floor flat, but then everyone is different. Claustrophobic is not the word I'd use, but something close maybe. They feel too closed in for me, because you can never look up really. I'd take a ground floor flat over a middle floor flat, but then everyone would I think. Except maybe for budgetary reasons.

Also, regarding budget, get something cheaper than you can afford. Some people say stretch yourself, I say the opposite. Don't stretch yourself on property - rather get something that you can easily afford and pay off quickly.

 

[die_koos]

I don't know what your commute situation is, but it's a complete $#%$-up to get from Rooihuiskraal to Lyttleton in the mornings, few people realize this but going from West to East in Centurion you have to cross old Joburg (R101) and the highway. This causes major bottlenecks because you only have 2 roads that can do this unless you are prepared to take a bit of a detour.

 

[Sly21C]

Not a bad plan.

Aren't there nicer ones available in Centurion? What developer is it?

Let me not reveal the name of the developer, just in case someone snaps up both flats after reading.

What is the size of the flats in square metres? Are they ground floor, middle floor or top floor units? Would you have a balcony? How big are the bathrooms, and what do the bathrooms have?

I live in a 1 bedroom flat which I bought last year. My budget was a little higher than yours, but I'll share some of my thoughts about 1 bedroom flats. Everyone is different, but these are the things that mattered to me.

First, traffic is pretty important to me. If neither flat makes a difference to you commute wise, then choose whichever one you prefer, whichever one has the nicer view, or which is in the nicer area, where things like shops and access to highways are concerned.

In terms of size, I actually think the bathroom and kitchen are the two most important rooms in a 1 bedroom flat. My bedroom is pretty small, but that doesn't bother me. My bathroom is a decent size, with a full shower and separate bath. I once dated a girl who lived in a 1 bedroom flat with a tiny bathroom that could only have a bath in it. I hated it! A more spacious bathroom is a big improvement for a 1 bedroom flat if you ask me.

I know everyone is different, but I'm much happier living on the top floor. I can look up and see the sky, not buildings, which for some reason is important to me, more important than having a garden. I personally don't think I would cope well with a middle floor flat, but then everyone is different. Claustrophobic is not the word I'd use, but something close maybe. They feel too closed in for me, because you can never look up really. I'd take a ground floor flat over a middle floor flat, but then everyone would I think. Except maybe for budgetary reasons.

Also, regarding budget, get something cheaper than you can afford. Some people say stretch yourself, I say the opposite. Don't stretch yourself on property - rather get something that you can easily afford and pay off quickly.

Thank you very much for your comprehensive description of your experience.

The bedroom is not big, not too small either. It felt good when I was there at the show room. What I absolutely love about the bathroom is it has both a shower and a bath. Most units I viewed previously only either had a shower or bath. The kitchen looks good too, love it. There's no balcony however, so for me it's a let down but not a deal breaker.

This is going to sound weird but I actually prefer not to live at the top floor, but rather the first floor if the complexes are 2 storeys high. The reason is because the roof might leaf if construction wasn't done properly, and I will foot the bill if i\the roof does leaf a decade or so years from now. The other reason is the timber roof trusses are coated with, sometimes, cancer causing chemicals so that they don't rot. So living on the top floor might result in you being exposed to those chemicals if the ceiling is not sealed properly. The available flat in Midrand is on the top floor, so I just might take it anyway.

I agree with you 100% regarding stretching your budget to thin so as to reside at a certain place. I'll be able to have about 15% of my gross salary left over still even after I move in and start paying installments.

I don't know what your commute situation is, but it's a complete $#%$-up to get from Rooihuiskraal to Lyttleton in the mornings, few people realize this but going from West to East in Centurion you have to cross old Joburg (R101) and the highway. This causes major bottlenecks because you only have 2 roads that can do this unless you are prepared to take a bit of a detour.

Exactly, the traffic jam from the Rooihuiskraal area to Lyttelton is worse than from Midrand to Lyttelton, in my view experience.

 

[Nicodeamus]

Careful for dolomite in centurion. Most real estate agents will swear to their death that there isn't. The mall@reds in centurion is close to the R101, N1 and N14 (it sort of comes together on that side) so depending on where you work that might be the only advantage, otherwise I would go to midrand and get myself a bicycle.

 

[Dolby]

Where are your family and friends?
How why doesn't the commute to and from work matter?

For me that that would be a killer! Job wise I moved from Midrand to Kyalami and took my daily commute from 2.30hrs per day to under 1.30hrs - and I save R700.00 on fuel. Feels like I won the lotto

 

[Hamster]

Careful for dolomite in centurion. Most real estate agents will swear to their death that there isn't. The mall@reds in centurion is close to the R101, N1 and N14 (it sort of comes together on that side) so depending on where you work that might be the only advantage, otherwise I would go to midrand and get myself a bicycle.

This. When in Centurion be careful of sink holes.

Where are your family and friends?
How why doesn't the commute to and from work matter?

For me that that would be a killer! Job wise I moved from Midrand to Kyalami and took my daily commute from 2.30hrs per day to under 1.30hrs - and I save R700.00 on fuel. Feels like I won the lotto

A very small lotto

 

[diabolus]

Yea, i cant comment too much on residential areas in midrand, but the rooihuiskraal to lyttelton route in centurion is a clusterf$&@. I sometimes travel from lyttelton to say the big pnp / mr price (and that is before old jhb rd). There is only 2 SINGLE lane roads going there (lenchen and verwoerd) , and i always, always get stuck on them if i travel towards rooihuiskraal in the afternoon or towards lyttelton in peak hours. The alternative is old jhb / samrand via highway , the highway is fine, getting onto it via old jhb or out of rooihuiskraal is the bigger problem. The r101 (old jhb) is also one of the more frustrating roads to be on in the centurion area, i hate it with a passion....again it is constantly turning into single lanes with major bottlenecks all the time.

The entire section from centurion mall to old jhb towards mall at reds sometimes looks worse than fourways (witkoppen/rivonia/wiliam nicol) to me...purely becuase of the poor access roads.

I myself luckily live in lyttelton, and i can only suggest you consider area with better access routes, such as lyttelton. I can hop onto the n14,n1 and r21 within 5 minutes , and then there is the gautrain station.....i wouldnt consider the gautrain viable living in rooihuiskraal tbh...

 

[krycor]

I stay around mall@reds side.. Basically you either leave for work before 0600 (heading over the n14) down rooihuiskraal road to samrand or you leave after 0730. Between that time there is major congestion as there is only ONE lane going to old Jhb or Samrand and the idiots will swing hard into any gap they can causing massive delays .. Even doing so within the intersection!

In general though it's a quiet nice-ish area, not as expensive as northern sandton costing about the same as midrand with less worries about security if you stay in a security estate. But yah traffic is sh*t and unless you prepared to start work at 0600 and can leave work at 1545 or only after 1800 then traffic will frustrate you. (18min to new road, peak hr will be 40-60min)

Btw Centurion or this part of it seems to be more family like people so yah, there's that too. Personally I'd never consider Midrand due to higher crime levels and just the unsafe nature of it I get during the day.. Let's not even talk evening.yah I'm not a fan of midrand and yes I know the Africa mall is coming woohaaa and all the nonsense realtors will tell you that it's the place to be.. But logic dictates that an old and semi industrial areas between tembisa and diepsloot is not gonna be good. The whole it's gonna be improved/fixed claim has been thrown around for over a decade FYI.

Lately been looking at Paulshoff(18-30 min drive/12km) as a place to buy as apartments there are a bit older and appear spacier(new places tend to be matchbox/sardine tins), perhaps less crowded than fourways and less busier than sunninghill which when I stayed there felt like the place people moved into for a bit when they knew they were moving on within 12-18 months.

 

[Noseworthy]

I see Oscars property is available

 

[Dolby]

I think it was sold?