Buying A Home
germangirl6988
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Condo Vs House?
My husband and I have read some of the info online but I'm wondering about the IRL experience some people have had with condo vs house. I hear owning a condo is a bit cheaper than a house? We plan on staying in the condo a year after I graduate college. (Seven years to go) TIA.
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Re: Condo Vs House?
I think it varies greatly - we rent a condo direct from the owner right now and see the bills that come. I think maintenance and liability are the big things to consider. Condos carry a monthly maintenance fee that covers a certain level of service. When I lived in NYC there were condos with fees in the thousands per month (though the mid hundreds was more standard). They usually cover common area maintenance and any services the building provides. If there are extra amenities like a dog park, pool, gym, etc. the fees can be higher. The fees are not tax deductible.
If a major problem comes up (like roof repairs, elevator replacement, etc) residents are assessed an additional portion of that cost.
Outside of maintenance, condos and co-ops can be targets for lawsuits. If a neighbor or visitor trips in the parking lot and breaks their leg, they can sue and all residents are on the hook for a certain portion.
That's not to say that a house is any less expensive, just be aware of what you'd be getting into. A real estate agent could tell you the monthly fees, what's included and also if there is any pending or past legal action against the condo association.
oh wow I didn't know about the sue part. thanks for the info!!!
This is just my personal experience with living in condos and will of course vary by structure and city. With condos, you really own or rent "just the 4 walls" and you have neighbors that are extremely close. Your privacy diminishes greatly and you can hear so many things.. anything from conversations (this happens where we live, but are about to move), loud, annoying dogs barking and depending on what part of the country you live, pest control. We have been vigilant about pest control coming in (sometimes twice a month) and never left food out, but because our neighbors below didn't get service, it caused an issue for us (same on the other side, until they got service). Also, the HOA fees can actually be a lot higher.. for instance, where we currently rent, it's $180 p/month! That includes only water/trash...and well, whatever upgrades/maintenance they want to put away for. We do not have covered parking or garages. Our realtor said they are the hardest to sell between (single family homes, townhomes and condos).
The upside is - no lawn maintenance, smaller area to care for, great if you do not want or need a lot of space.
I would not say cheaper, just different. HOA fees are almost always higher for a condo, but you get more services. I have a colleage who has a townhouse/condo in one of those neighborhoods that has huge homes all the way down to condos in various sections. She pays 3 times the HOA fee as the single family homes. The big difference is the exterior maint. and lawn service. All other ammenities are the same.
With a condo, you sometimes don't have as much say on the exterior of your unit. There was recently a post on the D/R board about someone who had a condo and, to her dismay, her previously taupe (I think) building was painted green. Majority ruled--but she was understandably frustrated because in her mind, it no longer looked as appealing.
For us, a condo was never a consideration. I lived in enough apartments out of college to know that I never wanted to share a wall with anyone ever again (a pesky 2 am barking dog sealed that deal). I have a dear friend who adores her condo--she is single and wants nothing to do with exterior maint.
So, it really depends on what you want out of your next home.
My Valentine Bookends (2~13~13, 2~15~09)
I think the costs are just different. Condos can be more affordable depending on the area you live in. In our area our townhome (runs like a condo) gave us more space for the money, as we got a 2100 sqft townhome for less money than the 1500 sqft SFHs were going for. Also, almost every neighborhood in my town has an HOA with associated fees. SFH neighborhoods HOA fees were around $300 a month where ours are $400 a month. Yes, our association fees are higher, but they include insurance (building, hurricane, and liability) that the SFH HOA did not have and we'd of picked up separately. The area that SFH win out is that they do retain their value better. The SFHs in our neighborhood have only lost about 5% a year in value where our townhome has lost 10% a year.
We own a condo and are in real estate he!! right now. There was a construction defect and there has been a large special assessment charged and many homeowners cannot afford it. Monthly HOA payments are larger than our mortgage. No banks will finance for resale or refinance. Many units are going into foreclosure. We will never buy a condo again and will likely never recover fully from this "investment." We stand to lose a lot of money.
Granted, our case is extreme, but we have had several friends in other complexes have problems and are unhappy as well. I am not sure who could benefit from condo ownership, but most people I know do not. It could also be the economy, as condos seem to have taken a worse hit than houses in our area.
I would never recommend anyone buy a condo after what we are going through. I know there are several other posters on MM that have issues with their condos as well.
As someone who has a family of four, currently all living in a 1 bedroom condo i say:
DON'T DO IT!!!!
There are so many reasons. Its pretty much accepted fact that condos are not a good investment. I only wish I had listened to everyone who told me that.
Our condo is in a great location in a hot real estate market and its still worth 200K less than I bought it for. In the meantime the HOA fees have gone up over to $500/mo. Not to mention the fact that there have been lawsuits, short sales, incredibly inconsiderate neighbors, I could go on. It sucks!
Either buy a house or rent, that is my advice to anyone.
I would not consider buying a condo. I don't even like SFH that has HOA. I want to do whatever I want for my home, such as exterior paint color, front yard, back yard...w/o asking for permission from HOA
I also like having big property so I can have a garden and my kids can run around
I think this is the most important distinction to make. For example, people usually look for SFHs in suburbs, whereas most people own condos in large cities. Therefore, your resale value if you purchase a condo outside of a large city is not going to be as good as when it was purchased (necessarily-other factors could come into play, though).
Don't forget, though, how many costs are associated with a SFH. It's great if you want to go that route, but for example, our good friends bought a SFM and were surprised the next year by blood damage that ruined their basement and yard. The furnace gave out the year after that. They pay more in heating and utility bills, and have to drive further because they live deep within a subdivision. There are certainly most costs associated with maintaining SFH's than condos. Again, though, condos in non-condo markets are probably not the smartest investment.
I currently have a townhouse in a small (10 unit) complex. I love it.
It has the best of both worlds. I got a 2,000 sq foot, 3 bedroom plus den, 3.5 bath townouse, in one of the most desirable neighbourhoods for what my friends paid for their SFH out in the 'burbs. I have a 7 minute commute to downtown on a bad day versus my friends 60-70 minute commute.
I also have a decent sized private backyard, but don't have to deal with any lawn maintenance. I have a double car attached garage, but my driveway is sholved by 6:30 am on days when it snows. I love that I have the privacy of a SFH, but none of the maintenance that goes along with it.
I was lucky and all shared wall in my unit are sound proofed, so don't hear my neighbours at all.
My codo fees are $200/month versus my friends' $550/month community fees.
Because of my inner city location, my property value hasn't decrease much. I really looked around to make sure I purchased in a neighbourhood with easy resale. In contrast, several of my friends who purchased new homes out in the burb are having difficulty selling, b/c there are brand new homes for the same price as theirs a few street over.
Given that my friends and I all spent approximately the same amount on our homes, it came down to what mattered to each of us. I wanted a short commute, a home in an already established neighourhood, walking distance to grocery stores, bars/restaurants, and a short cab ride from my entertainment (season tix to 2 theatre companies, and season tix to the local NHL team). Since I travel 4 days a week for work, I didn't want to be dealing with lawn/snow care when I was home. To get all of that, I needed to go the condo/towhouse route.
In contrasts, my friends valued brand new homes, larger yards, more square footage, a bit more priavacy and more of a community feel.
I love my townhouse, but not b/c it's a townhouse but b/c it meets all my others needs. I'd go the condo/townhouse route again in a heartbeat. It's worked out really well for me.