Apartment in a building under construction

So, you are ripe for the purchase of an apartment – morally and financially. One of the most popular ways today is to “build” a home for yourself, namely to buy an apartment in a building under construction.

This is convenient not only because there is no need to pay a large sum for housing at a time, but also because you are insured against buying a “pig in a poke”, you have the opportunity to follow the construction of your future home almost from scratch. And in some cases, and change the layout right at the construction stage, without dooming yourself to unnecessary trouble to demolish unnecessary walls and erect new ones that you personally need.

The most important thing is not to be mistaken in choosing a contractor company that will build your home. You should not rush to conclude a contract immediately after you are convinced that the price per square meter of living space, the area in which the house is being built and even the layout of the apartments offered in it suits you. Collect as much information as possible about the construction company.
The company’s assessment consists of two global, equally important factors: economic reliability and quality of construction. It depends on this whether you get exactly what you need within the agreed and agreed time frame and whether it will cost exactly the amount that was originally discussed.

Find out how many years the company has been in the market. Of course, everyone starts at some point, and the newly formed company may well turn out to be reliable and stable, but are you ready to test its potential in your wallet? To be on the safe side, it is best to target companies that have been in the market for five or more years.
Find out about the number of houses built and if the company met the deadline. For many construction firms, such information can be obtained from the Expert Council for Determination of Enterprise Reliability (ESON). But first of all, ask the company itself: the more information about yourself (including unofficial information) you are ready to give, the more confidence in the company.

Naturally, official documents, in particular the license for construction work, must be provided to you before you ask about them. “Be sure to check that there is a permit for the construction of a particular house of your choice from the Government of St. Petersburg, and also ask whether public hearings were held among the residents of the district and what were the results,” recommends Petr Olegovich Zakharov, head of the secretariat of the public reception office of the Expert Council for assessing the reliability of enterprises … Without receiving such information in time, you may face very unpleasant “surprises” in the future. It is very good if the company you have chosen has a fresh (obtained within the last three years) certificate from ESON, and the company itself is included in the List of stable and reliably operating enterprises.

By the way, in the public reception of the Expert Council, you can find out at what stage the work on this object is, whether there are any debts on this house (often a company that is actively building on some objects “freezes” others). Do not be too lazy to go to the construction site yourself and see how actively work is underway there at the moment
Another important aspect. As a rule, construction firms work with certain insurance companies and offer their services. In principle, it will most likely be convenient to use them, thanks to the already existing debugged interaction mechanism. But as a check, you can ask “third-party” insurance companies: will they undertake to insure the deal with this developer. If the answer is yes, then the company really has a good reputation in the market..

Despite the rather painstaking process of finding out the economic reliability of a construction company, it is still very predictable and, as we have seen, it is quite easy to decompose point by point. The situation with the quality of construction is much more complicated. Here, neither the period of work on the market, nor the number of projects under construction, nor the scope of the company’s advertising campaign give full guarantees. Moreover, not a single insurance company in Russia has yet undertaken to insure quality. However, some patterns still exist. Natalya Andreevna Fertikova, Head of the Quality Control and Technological Supervision Department of the Expert Council for assessing the reliability of construction enterprises, whose responsibilities include assessing the quality of projects under construction, says: “Of course, young companies often try very hard at their first facilities to establish themselves on the market But a lot depends on the qualifications and experience of the management staff – the chief engineer, section managers, foremen, and it is he who is often weak for young companies. such global things as roofing, ventilation, sealing joints, seams … “. At the same time, it is important that the company has experience in building housing in your region, taking into account climatic conditions.

Specialists of the Quality Control Department of ESON, leaving with the equity holders before signing the acceptance certificate for the apartment from the builders, regularly encounter a variety of construction defects and know the weak points of each company. In the prepared technical conclusions for the surveyed apartment, all identified defects and imperfections are listed with links to SNiPs, GOSTs, TSNs, which must be eliminated by builders at their own expense.
During the consultation at the reception desk of ESON, you can be told which company is better not to take apartments on the top floors, in which most often problems arise in corner apartments, etc. Ideally, it is also worth going to several houses built by this company and inquiring with the residents: was the object completed on time, was it put into operation on time (all communications are connected, etc.), what problems exist.

And now, finally, it comes to the contract, the draft of which should be handed over to you. Naturally, it must be submitted for verification to a lawyer who is not related to this company. But you can still track some points yourself, at the initial stage. Firstly, pay attention to whether the contract provides for any sanctions in case of non-compliance by the company with deadlines and other obligations, as well as under what conditions it is possible to terminate the contract, whether it spells out the mechanism and volumes of refund in this case. Of course, a competent lawyer will not skip these points, but if they are not in the contract from the very beginning, does this mean that the company has a desire to take advantage of your inexperience? Second, pay attention to who signs the draft contract on the part of the company, and if it is not the CEO, request a power of attorney to ensure that the signatory has the authority to sign.
Choosing a company, making inquiries and looking for additional information may seem like a very troublesome procedure. But you must admit that a lot is at stake. Happy construction!

Alexander Belenev, Chief Engineer of Stroymontazh Corporation:

The choice of an apartment, and most importantly a developer company, is a very responsible and serious step. First of all, it is necessary to consider proposals from large companies, whose experience and reliability have been confirmed by many years of work and commissioned facilities..
Now construction companies have become more open, so on the websites of city departments and in other media you can find detailed information about the company of interest, in particular, on the website of the Construction Committee, GATI, etc..
The consumer, first of all, is interested in the convenience of the location of the object, the quality of work, the price and what he will receive in the end – the comfort of living. And it’s natural.

After all, quality is not only the outer shell of the construction, but also the inner filling. These are communications, this is heat and energy supply of this building. The company should think about both the typical characteristics and the convenience of the residents – about the front doors, elevator halls, concierge rooms, windows and the quality of their installation, etc. The professionalism of architects has a great influence on the quality of construction, this helps to avoid violations and mistakes.