How to Spot a Bad Condo Floor Plan Before It's Too Late

I don’t know what you mean by an ‘inside corner’.

They are going out of style because of the constant hunger for space, but a feature I see vanishing is the entryway. Entryways are not "wasted space" as many people working in the sector try to say: entryways are a place to store shoes and coats (and get out of them when you come home). They are also a neutral ground where you can answer your bell without allowing a stranger to look into your house.

The mistake we made with our first condo was not paying attention to the orientation of the next door units. The master bedroom shared a wall with the neighbor's living room and as a result with their television.

My particular pet peeve is the one bed one bath where they use an ensuite as a selling point. If the only entrance to your only bathroom is through the bedroom that is awkward for any guests. At least have another door.

Excellent video. I have a Master's Degree in architecture and have been designing houses for decades. Your analysis is spot on. I would add one more thing. If you are looking to buy something, get your hands on a printed plan, like in this video. Determine the scale of the plan and then cut out pieces of paper in the shapes of your furniture. Actually place the paper bits on the plans and move them around to see if you can make good arrangements. When I prepare plans for clients I always show furniture on the plans. It's not intended to be an "interior design" but simply a way of clarifying that there are indeed good options for arranging furniture. Think about circulation, how you move through the space, how much space you need to move around. Is there enough space behind the dining chair to back it up away from the table so you can actually stand up? Do you have to climb over the bed to get to the bath? Furniture plans help bring all these issues to light.

I’m surprised by what realtors get away with in terms of listing rooms as bedrooms when there are no window.

Thank you for pointing out the lack of a fire escape, so many people never think about that...

Always go for a corner unit. You want the most natural light you can get. Interior units just don’t have enough natural light.

I notice that the layouts he's most enthusuastic about also have the highest square footage. Any designer can design a good layout when they have lots of space to work with (although some mess-up anyway), but it takes a talented one to make a small space livable. When I started doing architecture in school (I'll be licensed) sometime in the near future) I'd start by designing a grand kitchen or living room, and discover that I'd taken up most of the square footage I was allowed to use lol. It's a good lesson and hurts to have to keep trimming back so that you have space for such optional rooms as a bathroom.

The difference in culture is amazing to me. In France we clearly have a living area and a sleeping area, we typically don't like to be far from the kids: they might need help and in case of a fire, an intruder of something you want to be near them and closer to the danger. We typically put the kids room far away from the entry. Plus it's easier to manage heating: the bedrooms don't need to be heated as much in the day and at night it's time to lower the heating of the living area. Also, you don't do soundproofing between the bedroom? It doesn't cost that much. Thanks for the video, i found it really interesting!

A HUGE point you missed: Examine at the layouts for the adjoining condos as well. What are their rooms next to your bedroom walls. Then the wall construction and soundproofing. Next: ventilation over the cooking stove.

One thing to note is that in the layout with with bedrooms on opposite sides of the unit, chances are you are sharing a bedroom wall anyway, just with a stranger. so there's that.

I worked in two South East Asian countries (architectural firms and real estate developers). One thing I noticed since I moved to Canada is that Universal design (for accessibility) is not implemented for all condos. I was shocked. I mean, I do understand that it may vary from province to province. In Singapore (where I worked for more than a decade), we design an apartment or condo, keeping in mind that it will be a home for someone who will grow old and appreciate the accessibility considerations in the long run. Or at least, a family member experiences an accident and will need to use a crutch or wheelchair for a time. And the units are designed to accommodate (at the very least), a bedroom and toilet that will allow freedom of movement for a person of needs. Another thing to add: These hardcopy brochures never show where the structural columns are (if you are buying a condo). Sometimes structural columns will "eat up" a portion of your space, and what you get at the final handover is "different" from what you are promised. Some South East Asian countries are very strict about clearly showing where your structural supports are to show exactly how much space you are getting - otherwise, real estate developers will be sued for false advertising.

All the newer built condos and apartments I've seen have ridiculously small bedrooms. Even the so called master bedrooms are tiny. How could they even fit a Queen sized bed let alone a King? Refurbished apartments in older buildings are a good option.

If there's one thing I learned from this video, it's that Steve makes a whole lot of noise when the kids are asleep 🤣

Honestly one of the best pieces of content you've put out and having walked through most of these types of floorplans while buying some time ago it really hit home as to why we went "yeah didn't like that place" so much. Can't say enough good things about living in one of the "mythical real 3-beds" like you mention at the end - like having a townhouse without the stairs!

@SteveKarrasch in 1994, we didn't have internet to help us with reasoning. With no experience nor advice we bought a condo built in 1968, green mint kitchen, rug in the bathroom and underground parking with Asbestos corner to corner covered with spray by the association because removal cost was budgeted as 1/2 mill. Lots of structural issues despite being a rich area in West Hartford CT (look up Barclay Court). Big mistake we sold after 24 years. We now own in retirement a great REAL house in the upstate NY suburbs with a fenced wooded backyard full of life. Lesson learned: NEVER buy a condo on a whim unless you get and listen to advice.

Another detail to avoid is a bedroom sharing a wall with the laundry, so hard to sleep through laundry noise especially spin cycle or metal clanging in dryer

Over my life, I've bought 3 pre-sale condos, but I am also in the design field and I know what I'm looking at when I see a 2D plan. While I've helped friends select a presale plan for a condo, townhouse, etc., I've always advise buyers to look at all of the plans available and consider how the worst of the plans might affect their future resales because those bad plans will be their comps when it's time to sell. In effect, I help people to look for the best plans in buildings with few bad plans. Ideally, you'd want to buy in a building where all of the plans are fairly decent and there's some consistency of good experience.

My biggest complaint with condo living is how ridiculously big the kitchen islands are compared to the size of the living room and kitchen combined area.