5 Things you should look for when buying an apartment – Be mindful of these aspects before making your big investment

This is the most important aspect of buying a place for you to live. The location shouldn't pose any difficulty when it comes to getting to your workplace on time or getting your children to their school in the morning – take into account the traffic in the area and the availability of transport options. Is it easy for you to run down to the road to catch the bus or find a taxi should your own vehicle run haywire? These emergencies take place, and the location of your apartment should be accommodating enough for them. The apartment should be within close proximity to the grocer's store, the hospital, and so forth. The location plays a major role when it comes investing in a place where you want to live, and that's probably why apartments in Colombo Sri Lanka seem to be in demand.

Many people who want to buy apartments want the maintenance of the property off their hands. It is not just mowing the lawn or fixing leaks that you need taken care of. Parking, storage facilities, vending services and laundry services; all these things need to be well-maintained and taken care of. This is precisely why you need to choose your property developer carefully – with the likes of John Keells Properties, choosing one is not a difficult task.

You are going to live there after all, and you don't need anything disturbing your day. An apartment complex is where you live in close quarters with other families. You need to find out if your neighbour likes to throw midnight parties which wouldn't make for a good night's sleep. Go to the building during the day and spend a bit of your time there to find out if you can make do with the surrounding apartment dwellers.

This is the other important aspect that needs to be taken into account. How far is the parking lot? Do you have a designated slot just for yourself? Is there enough space for visitors' parking? If you are going to invest a considerable amount of your money in something, all your needs should be met. Street parking won't do, and there should be sufficient parking space for your requirements.

Having to trudge down several flights of stairs to throw away your garbage is not what you want. It could soon become a tedious chore and ruin your day altogether. There should be a garbage chute where you can push down all your garbage, but it shouldn't diffuse any bad smell either. Therefore, you need to inquire about garbage disposal arrangements and make sure that they are satisfactory.