One-bedroom apartments in Batumi: the 1+1 plan, letting in summer and winter, resale

A one-bedroom apartment in Batumi almost always means the 1+1 format: a separate bedroom and a kitchen-living room. It is the most common size on the local market. People buy it for themselves and to let, and it is easier to sell later than an apartment of an unusual size. How a 1+1 differs from a studio for letting and resale is covered in our comparison of a studio and a one-bedroom apartment. This page is about choosing the 1+1 itself.

One-bedroom apartments in Batumi: what 1+1 means

Local listings count rooms by bedrooms, and the “+1” stands for the kitchen-living room. Some Russian-language sites call the same apartment a two-room flat because they count the living room as a room. The area of a 1+1 varies a lot: from compact apartments where the bedroom barely fits a bed to roomy ones with a large kitchen and two balconies.

So we look at the plan with dimensions, not the name. The width of the bedroom, whether it has a window, where the wardrobe goes, whether there is room by the kitchen for a dining table. Sometimes an apartment called a 1+1 is really a studio with a windowless partition, and a winter tenant will not take a bedroom like that.

What to look at on the plan

A good 1+1 works through its proportions. A bedroom with a window and space for a wardrobe, a kitchen-living room that fits a sofa, a table and a work spot, a bathroom with a window or at least a proper extractor. A balcony off the living room, not only off the bedroom: in summer people have breakfast there and dry beach towels.

The kitchen should stand along a wall of the living room, not in the passage to the bedroom: cooking in a passage is awkward, and an extractor with no outlet to the shaft does little. A wardrobe in the hallway takes pressure off the bedroom, and it is better to find a place for the washing machine in advance than to end up putting it in the kitchen.

We check which way the windows face. By the sea, west-facing windows bring the sunset and evening sun, and with them heat in the living room unless the air conditioner is a good one. Windows onto the courtyard are quieter and cheaper. For short-term letting the view sells the apartment; for a winter tenant quiet and dry walls matter more.

Guests in summer, a tenant in winter

One-bedroom apartments are often let on the “nightly in summer, monthly in winter” scheme. In summer a 1+1 fits a couple with a child or two couples if there is a sofa bed in the living room. In winter the apartment is taken by remote workers, couples and people moving to Batumi who want to live in the city for a while first.

For a winter tenant what matters is a separate bedroom, a desk, a washing machine and a warm apartment. If the apartment is by the sea and damp in winter, the tenant will leave within a month. How to choose between the two letting formats is covered on our page short-term or long-term letting.

A one-bedroom apartment for yourself

If the 1+1 is for living in or for your own visits, the priorities change. Quiet at night matters more than a view of the promenade, and a shop by the building more than a pool in the complex. People who work remotely need a corner for a desk outside the bedroom and stable internet in the building; that is worth asking the neighbours about.

For visits two or three times a year we look at how to close the apartment for the winter: shut off the water, leave a dehumidifier running, arrange for someone to keep an eye on it. Damp sets in quickly in an empty apartment by the sea, and wardrobes full of clothes suffer first. The less upholstered furniture and carpet in the apartment, the easier it is to look after between visits.

Who will buy it from you later

A 1+1 is convenient on the way out too. It is bought by investors to let, by couples to live in and by foreigners who need an apartment for their own visits. The audience is wider than for a studio or a large apartment, and the sale usually goes faster.

But competition on the market is strong too: every new building has dozens of similar 1+1s. The ones that stand out have a good plan, a view, light and a well-kept building. So when buying we also look at how your apartment will differ from the neighbours' when the time comes to sell it.

Renovation and furniture for a 1+1

If the apartment is a shell, there is a renovation ahead before you can let it. A 1+1 has one kitchen, one bathroom, a partition and two air conditioners; in labour it costs more than a studio, but less than its area would suggest. How we renovate such apartments is explained on our page about one-bedroom apartment renovation.

We choose furniture and appliances for a winter tenant so that they last years of letting: a sturdy sofa, a decent mattress, a desk, a washer-dryer, blackout curtains. Furnishing a 1+1 for long-term letting starts from 18 900 ₾; more on our page about furnishing for long-term letting.

How much one-bedroom apartment search costs

Property search for a fixed fee starts from 5 400 ₾, or we work as a buyer's agent for 2–3 % of the price. A technical inspection of the apartment before purchase starts from 480 ₾, a legal due diligence check from 960 ₾.

The final price is set after we review your brief and agree the scope of work. The registry fee and the notary's charges are paid at their own rates.