Penthouse apartments are a rip-off, in my view

The penthouse is sold as luxury, but its price does not always reflect what it offers: it takes on the roof's problems and, in a fire, has the worst escape route. The label inflates what is sometimes just the top floor.

The top floor of a building is sold with a label that justifies the premium: "luxury penthouse". Behind that word lies a less segarro reality. The penthouse is the finishing touch of the building and carries the roof's problems: piping, gutters, leaks and drips. Whoever buys at the top is not just buying views; they are also buying responsibility for the roof.

## The penthouse premium and the materials used at the top

The "luxury" label serves to justify extra costs that do not always match the materials. The penthouse is the last floor, the end of the build, and it does not therefore receive better finishes than the rest. Some argue that the lower floors, built first, get better materials and finishes, as opposed to the idea that all the floors go up more or less at the same time. It is a widespread suspicion among buyers, not a verifiable fact floor by floor.

The price of a penthouse incorporates the view and the height as if they were a guaranteed bonus. The view, however, depends on what is around. From a penthouse you see the roofs of neighbouring buildings, not the full skyline the brochure suggests. A lower floor, by contrast, has a more direct perspective of the facades and the street.

## Fire and insurance: the worst escape route is at the top

In a fire, the top floor is the most exposed. If the fire breaks out in the upper half of the building, the penthouse has the worst escape options. That position raises the risk and, with it, the insurance premium. The higher premium is not a whim of the insurer: it reflects a more difficult evacuation.

Middle floors do not fare well either. From the second floor up, they are the building's sandwich: they suffer the problems of those above and those below. Only when the problem comes from the neighbouring building do all floors share the damage.

## The house in the suburbs: two floors and fewer neighbours

Compared with a high-rise flat, the suburban house offers two floors for a single family, with no nuisance other than the neighbour across the street. Problems tend to be easier and cheaper to fix, with greater availability of materials and resources, and without battling the homeowners' association. It is the alternative many buyers choose when the penthouse seems overrated to them.

The case of **Ayuso** is cited as an example of how the penthouse premium can work against you: a penthouse bought at a high price that now cannot find a buyer. The anecdote illustrates the risk of paying for the luxury label without the market sustaining it afterwards.

Before signing, it is worth checking the state of the roof, the insurance premium and the emergency exits. These are details the brochure does not highlight.