Apartments provide a hassle-free life

JAKARTA (JP): In searching for maximum security and convenience, more people now choose to live in apartments and willingly sustain their strict rules, exorbitant prices and leasing fees.

Sekar and Agus, a newlywed couple, sacrificed most of their savings to make their dream of having a nice home right in the heart of the city come true by buying a two-room apartment in the Kuningan area early this year.

"Now, we no longer have to wake up in the early hours and rush to the office before other people jam-pack the street. With the apartment already furnished, a sports hall within walking distance and security guards standing by around the clock, our life couldn't be better," Agus said.

Dania, a tenant of Setiabudi apartment, said she fell in love with living in an apartment since she experienced renting one while studying overseas. One of the many reasons for cherishing life in an apartment is the simple and labor-less maintenance, she said.

"The size of an apartment is perfectly manageable. And thanks to the simplistic, yet luxurious architecture and interior design, I can clean and arrange the room without having to hire a servant," she said.

She said the only drawback of living in an apartment were the massive costs. On top of the huge sum of money she paid for the leasing fee, Dania is charged with some maintenance-related fees, which can amount to over Rp 2 million a month.

The type of people who choose to live in an apartment are usually people aged less than 40 or 50 years old. The older generation say they could not imagine living with atomized neighbors in a high-rise cubicle, where they don't have a private backyard to grow favorite plants or walk their dogs.

Harjono, a 52-year-old businessman, said he would never live in an apartment. "I couldn't stand living in a place where one would barely have neighbors to talk to. It must be a very sad, lonely life up there," he said.

He, however, plans to buy his soon-to-be-married daughter an apartment near Sudirman or the Semanggi area for "safety and reasons of comfort".

For most Indonesians, an apartment is not yet considered a common choice for housing, both because of its relatively new presence and also their expensive price.

Some first-time apartment dwellers found their life gets sometimes more complicated because they need to bow down to the strict rules applied by the management or learn how to get used to the mostly automated apartment facilities.

A sitcom aired in 1999 by RCTI titled Satu Atap Seribu Wajah (One Roof, A Thousand Faces) portrayed, although exaggeratedly, the confusion experienced by first-time apartment tenants, while trying to adapt to the modern facilities and different way of doing things in an apartment.

One family was amazed to see the kitchen and bathroom were just as bright and clean as their bedrooms, while others were agitated by the tight security rules, confused by the fully automatic washing machine and mistakenly thinking the lift was a huge iron cupboard!

The lead character, played by television actor and dangdut singer Jaja Miharja, hated the apartment, calling it "nothing but a tall, crowded pigeonhole nonsense".

Many occupants find it hard to obey the strict rules applied by apartment management because they have long been accustomed to less enforced regulations and permissive neighbors.

"In an apartment, you can't just do whatever, whenever you please," said Mien Uno, guru of etiquette and mannerisms, who is also the marketing vice president of the exclusive Dharmawangsa apartments.

"Your territory is limited only as far as the walls surrounding you. Beyond that is either the territory of the people next door or the building management's," she added.

Don't assume that you are not challenging other tenants' rights and territory just because you are not physically intruding on them. Excessive sound, dust or smells that come out from your room are enough to make the people next door file a complaint against you to the management or worse, the district court.

Supermodel Cindy Crawford was recently sued by her neighbor in an expensive Manhattan apartment for causing too much noise.

The neighbor got upset after the renovation project in Crawford's unit went on for quite a long time and produced massive amounts of noise.

To help you achieve a convenient, problem-free life in an apartment, Mien Uno provides you with some basic dos and don'ts on apartment dwelling:

* Always read through the contract and regulations and check the condition of every single item in the apartment unit before moving in. Write a report on any minor scratches, cracks or damage found in the room and its facilities to avoid unwanted accusations made by the management against you in the future. * Never hang your clothes by the window or on the balcony. Some tenants still practice the conventional way of drying clothes in the sun. That's against apartment regulations. Use the washing and drying machines in your compartment or in the laundry room. Strings of colorful clothes waving about on your balcony is not a picturesque view and will only degrade the apartment's image. * Inform the management if you plan to invite guests for a meeting or, especially, a party. The management needs to register your guests for security reasons and explain to your neighbors about any possible noise emanating from your unit during the event. * Report to the management when you have guests, including parents or siblings, who will sleep over for a night or longer. * If the people next door hold a party from hell or drive you nuts with their deafening stereo or television, don't go blasting on their door. You don't want to end up in a shameful, nerve- racking argument with them over such a matter, do you? Report your complaint to the duty manager and ask them to duly fix the problem for you. * You must report to the management or owner any plan to change the apartment's interior, including the color of paint and wallpaper. Most apartments, just like hotels, rule out the massive use of celluloid tape or nails on the wall fearing it may damage the paint or wallpaper. Even if you do own the unit, you still need to let the management know. That's to save you from being sued for damaging or changing the structure of the property without permission. The management also needs to know your plan so that they can inform your neighbors about being temporarily disturbed by the dirt, noise and workers who will come and go during the project. * You may let friends or relatives enter your apartment while you're gone as long as you leave the keys with the reception and inform the names of your guests beforehand. On arrival, your guests will be required to leave their identity cards at the reception before picking up the keys. * Forget about having pets in an apartment. It's the rule applied by every apartment, even the exclusive ones in Manhattan where rich tenants must put their pets in a costly shelter. Pets are lovely, but to find them messing your lovely room with stinky waste or hear them barking or meowing all night long is the last thing that you and the entire building want to encounter.(Chris Tumelap)