Buying a top floor
Some buyers are looking for a top floor. Two main reasons: avoid noise pollution or look for a bright apartment with an unobstructed view.
The constraints of the top floors
In old buildings (built before 1940)
Generally the top floor houses the service rooms. Very often, when you see the mention “top floor” in a real estate ad for an old building, it is actually the level below the service rooms. Unless they were combined into an apartment. In this case the apartment is very often attic and the windows are not full height.
The downside of service rooms
Attention: if you decide to acquire a property located below service rooms, we strongly invite you to check the condition of the service floor. Also find out about the sanitary facilities: have they been created according to the rules of the art and have all the authorizations from the condominium been duly granted.
Check the minutes of the General Assemblies if there is no problem of recurrent water damage. In fact, originally these service rooms generally did not have water features. They have sometimes been created without authorization and not always in a sustainable way.
In new buildings (from the 1950s)
In recent buildings, service rooms (when they exist) are often located on the 1st floor. If you visit a recent apartment whose ad indicated “top floor”, you will not have the unpleasant surprise at the time of the visit to notice that you have neighbors living above your head.
What should you pay attention to in this case?
In the condition of the roof. Indeed, it is just above the apartment. You would be the first to suffer the consequences of poor sealing. Carefully read the minutes of the General Assemblies in search of works or problems related to the roof of the building.
We can only recommend and advise Parlez-moi de Paris for your real estate searches. We contacted them in September 2024 and our interlocutor, Olivier, was able to understand our request and refine our search criteria. He has shown patience and commitment to our project and thanks to him we have an apartment that we would not have had access to without his network and his knowledge. Thanks to Olivier and to the Parlez-moi de Paris team.
After having had a very disappointing experience with an apartment hunter for a year, given that we live abroad, in February I contacted “Parlez-moi de Paris” and from the first meeting with Susan we were reassured and comforted! And already in June, we signed the bill of sale! She immediately identified our priorities and needs, she has a gift for listening and feeling the other person. Very responsive, always available, calm and very professional, she accompanied us in all the procedures with the notary and even showed us the neighborhood that we did not know at all! A very nice experience!
I had the opportunity to collaborate with Suzan on two common issues and everything went well. She was very involved, available and efficient from start to finish, resulting in a smooth and timely transaction. It is a real pleasure to work with such a serious professional, whom I highly recommend!
