Hi all,
I'm shopping around for an apartment and have found one of interest, but lo and behold, its windows are west-facing. However, the downside of intense summer sun is seemingly cancelled out as it is a ground floor apartment and there is a taller building to the west which would block the sun see diagram. It does have a courtyard which gets sun from the north – is this of much benefit? Any other drawbacks people with more experience can identify?
And cold.
East would be preferable to west because you get the morning sun to both wake you up and warm up the place in winter.
But I agree, you need something north facing. Try and find an apartment with more than one aspect.
Look at Nicolaus Copernicus here.
ground floor apartment
bugs and creatures and spiders
cigarettes butts , banana peels , from sky onto your courtyard / clothes
Mate, I was living on a 3rd floor and still had to deal with such issues- pests.
I lived on the 8th floor of a 16 floor apartment once and I had the same issues. Hardly ever put anything on the balcony because of it.
One time some dropped their TV remote onto the balcony. I don't even know how that happens. Young couple, no kids so that rules that out.
remember cockroach can fly
Noise from above, noise from the street, security, things getting dropped from above. Local gangs have already tagged a big ominous arrow next to the courtyard.
Pretty bad to be honest.
Whether you get afternoon sun depends on the distance between two buildings.
However you will only get it after 2pm.
I usually look at location, size and price but honestly if you felt wrong when you inpsected it I would just pass and move on.
Some people prefer ground level but usually ground level is the hardest to sell due to security issues.
Keep looking. I'm sure you will find something more appealing with better pros.
Looks good to me. The neighbouring building will block out the hot afternoon sun, plus being ground floor you don't have to worry about trudging up stairs with all your groceries. Plus your own courtyard! Go for it.
Found the vendor.
Touche
I had a west facing, 8th floor apartment in 2017 from April-Oct. I liked it.
Not too hot in the afternoons but the glare was nuts.
I didn't notice the cold in the morning but I was only home on weekends (left at 6.00am m-f) and turned the AC on to heat the place.
The three owners of the place spent summers there so it can't be too terrible. The place had venetian blinds to block the sun.
OP: sounds like if the west facing aspect is blocked, you are just going to have a cold apartment at all times, summer and winter. Is the north courtyard unimpeded by buildings and you get sun that way into the lounge? If so, that might be fine if the living areas are drenched in northern light.
I'm not an expert on apartment orientation but for FWIW, I have a north-facing apartment (10 degrees due north, to be exact) and it's flooded in light and warmth during the cold winter months and is not too hot in summer.
North is great - west is hot and bad - south is cold - east - good first thing of a morning but can get hot in summer if you don't shade.
I would avoid west facing, I would avoid ground floor flats.
Tint the windows…
Has it got any windows facing north? If not its going to be very dark in winter