5 ms·

There's something about that style of construction that feels like "Amazon Basics", like what you get when you don't care about craftmanship or longevity and ju

There's something about that style of construction that feels like "Amazon Basics", like what you get when you don't care about craftmanship or longevity and just want the least expensive option. Those 5-story apartment buildings just have such a soulless cheap feeling to them, like they're made to have the illusion of being taller than they are. I really don't understand why they're so popular.

asdff 7y ago
They are cheap to build and you can ask for enormous rents, like whatever the top of the market might be you can ask for that, because chances are you are the only apartment in town with fresh smelling paint, new carpet, faux granite, and bundled internet. That's about the only perk of these places. Sometimes they have nice things like a pool, but with how cheap the buildings are, you are going to hear your neighbors above, to the sides, and below you all day. Toured a place like this and noped the fuck out when I heard some dog bark in another unit and it sounded like he was yapping from the bedroom.
SilasX 7y ago
Amen. I think I live in such a building (in Austin) now, and the cheapness of the construction shows. I have 15 foot ceilings and I can hear conversations of people above me ... through the side walls.
- pickle-wizard 7y ago
  After 10 years of living in an apartments and hearing all of my neighbors I got tired of it. So I bought a single family house. I have a small yard, only 1/8th acre, but it is enough of an air gap that I don't hear my neighbors.
  - klipt 7y ago
    Even condo buildings tend to have way better sound proofing than apartments.
  - brandall10 7y ago
    I live in a concrete/glass/steel luxury high-rise in downtown San Diego. My neighbors can have raging parties into the early morning and I can't hear a thing unless I wander into the hallway. The construction quality of multi-family homes in SV pretty poor.
    - panopticon 7y ago
      I've lived in apartment buildings in at least four cities (mostly in the midwest) where I could hear my neighbors doing normal things (i.e., not throwing ragers). It seems be a widespread problem not confined to SV.
      - hermitdev 7y ago
        My first post college apartment in the Chicago burbs was awful. Paper thin walls/floors/ceilings. My neighbor below me would file noise complainta against me for watching TV at a volume at which I could barely make out dialog. And, I heard every footstep of the unit above and TV of the neighbors above and below. I dont think anyone was intentionally being loud, was just shoddy construction. I moved out after my first lease expired.
      - pas 7y ago
        It's pretty much a thing that happened in the last decades, when building materials and standards became advanced enough that noise became a serious issue. Nowadays codes and trends - at least in parts of Europe - caught up, and soundproofing has became important through the process. (For architects/engineers, developers/builders and buyers/renters.)
      - brandall10 7y ago
        For sure, I’ve lived in places like that in SD during and after college. My point is that properties above entry level apartment grade are scarce in the valley despite the fact that rents can support it better than just about anywhere. It actually kept me from moving up there
        7y ago
- ryandrake 7y ago
  It’s like the McMansion craze of the late 90s / early 2000s: fancy looking boxes with no architectural chops, built as cheaply and flimsily as possible, faux-everything, windows and landscaping only in front, and random roof gables everywhere. Pure phony, surface-deep and designed to appeal to buyers who only care about looks. Basically the Instagram version of housing.
ijpoijpoihpiuoh 7y ago
Some people don't have the luxury of living in bespoke housing, and legitimately do want a roof over their head for the minimum price possible. Some others are not architecture aficionados, and would prefer to save, even if they could afford "nicer."
- fkdo 7y ago
  If building codes were increased to force these nicer buildings how much of an increase of rent tenets would see. My understanding is most of the price of housing in West coast cities comes from the value of land, the building permits, and the low supply. How much does construction cost really factor into rent?
lotsofpulp 7y ago
> like what you get when you don't care about craftmanship or longevity and just want the least expensive option. You answered your own question. The fund manager of an REIT or developer is looking to maximize ROI, and in the absence of higher quality alternatives, they can afford to build to the lowest specs possible that will still rent. Via 401k(s) and defined benefit pension fund investments, we all are responsible for maximizing for ROI.
TaylorAlexander 7y ago
It’s funny. In some places they build nice homes even for the poor. It’s possible. But we’d rather make the cheapest thing possible. The result is people feeling disconnected from the space around them. https://jacobinmag.com/2018/11/beautiful-public-housing-red-vienna-social-housing https://jacobinmag.com/2018/11/beautiful-public-housing-red-...
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

asdff 7y ago

They are cheap to build and you can ask for enormous rents, like whatever the top of the market might be you can ask for that, because chances are you are the only apartment in town with fresh smelling paint, new carpet, faux granite, and bundled internet. That's about the only perk of these places. Sometimes they have nice things like a pool, but with how cheap the buildings are, you are going to hear your neighbors above, to the sides, and below you all day. Toured a place like this and noped the fuck out when I heard some dog bark in another unit and it sounded like he was yapping from the bedroom.

SilasX 7y ago

Amen. I think I live in such a building (in Austin) now, and the cheapness of the construction shows. I have 15 foot ceilings and I can hear conversations of people above me ... through the side walls.

pickle-wizard 7y ago
After 10 years of living in an apartments and hearing all of my neighbors I got tired of it. So I bought a single family house. I have a small yard, only 1/8th acre, but it is enough of an air gap that I don't hear my neighbors.
- klipt 7y ago
  Even condo buildings tend to have way better sound proofing than apartments.
- brandall10 7y ago
  I live in a concrete/glass/steel luxury high-rise in downtown San Diego. My neighbors can have raging parties into the early morning and I can't hear a thing unless I wander into the hallway. The construction quality of multi-family homes in SV pretty poor.
  - panopticon 7y ago
    I've lived in apartment buildings in at least four cities (mostly in the midwest) where I could hear my neighbors doing normal things (i.e., not throwing ragers). It seems be a widespread problem not confined to SV.
    - hermitdev 7y ago
      My first post college apartment in the Chicago burbs was awful. Paper thin walls/floors/ceilings. My neighbor below me would file noise complainta against me for watching TV at a volume at which I could barely make out dialog. And, I heard every footstep of the unit above and TV of the neighbors above and below. I dont think anyone was intentionally being loud, was just shoddy construction. I moved out after my first lease expired.
    - pas 7y ago
      It's pretty much a thing that happened in the last decades, when building materials and standards became advanced enough that noise became a serious issue. Nowadays codes and trends - at least in parts of Europe - caught up, and soundproofing has became important through the process. (For architects/engineers, developers/builders and buyers/renters.)
    - brandall10 7y ago
      For sure, I’ve lived in places like that in SD during and after college. My point is that properties above entry level apartment grade are scarce in the valley despite the fact that rents can support it better than just about anywhere. It actually kept me from moving up there
      - 7y ago
ryandrake 7y ago
It’s like the McMansion craze of the late 90s / early 2000s: fancy looking boxes with no architectural chops, built as cheaply and flimsily as possible, faux-everything, windows and landscaping only in front, and random roof gables everywhere. Pure phony, surface-deep and designed to appeal to buyers who only care about looks. Basically the Instagram version of housing.

ijpoijpoihpiuoh 7y ago

Some people don't have the luxury of living in bespoke housing, and legitimately do want a roof over their head for the minimum price possible. Some others are not architecture aficionados, and would prefer to save, even if they could afford "nicer."

fkdo 7y ago
If building codes were increased to force these nicer buildings how much of an increase of rent tenets would see. My understanding is most of the price of housing in West coast cities comes from the value of land, the building permits, and the low supply. How much does construction cost really factor into rent?

lotsofpulp 7y ago

> like what you get when you don't care about craftmanship or longevity and just want the least expensive option. You answered your own question. The fund manager of an REIT or developer is looking to maximize ROI, and in the absence of higher quality alternatives, they can afford to build to the lowest specs possible that will still rent. Via 401k(s) and defined benefit pension fund investments, we all are responsible for maximizing for ROI.

TaylorAlexander 7y ago

It’s funny. In some places they build nice homes even for the poor. It’s possible. But we’d rather make the cheapest thing possible. The result is people feeling disconnected from the space around them. https://jacobinmag.com/2018/11/beautiful-public-housing-red-vienna-social-housing https://jacobinmag.com/2018/11/beautiful-public-housing-red-...

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]