Right now I am leaning torwards a condo because I feel you can get a larger newer living space and less outside upkeep. On the other hand you have a house with actual land and may be the better investment.

Thoughts

 

I think buying a Condo is a good idea because when you're ready to buy a house for yourself, a Condo is much easier to rent as rental income. Not as many renters want to rent a whole single family house.

 

the downside to a condo is the condo fees...they can go up like crazy, but it is still a lot less maintenance than a house, and like tmk said renting it out later is always a plus

It also very much depends on where you are... check the local appreciation rates on houses v condos... you may be much better off doing a house if it is going to appreciate more rapidly than your condo expenses, or vice versa

 

personally, I would go condo...well, how much sq ft are we talking about here?? #BR #BA etc.....

Condos are better to start out with but it depends on your lifestyle...do you want kids and a dog?? Do you LIKE to mow the lawn?? Do you like to be able to pick up and leave easily??? Do you need a garage (dont know of a lot of condos that come with attached ones but they do exist). Just ask yourself some questions like this and you should be able to figure it out on your own. But I say condo.

 

I was looking at nice 3 BR condos in my town last week. 3BR and a two car garage=$669,000

 

Those condo fees can get out of hand real fast if the people collecting/managing them do a bad job.
And there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it when they go up every year, besides move.

You can have the neighborhood kid’s cut grass and shovel snow at your house if you don’t want to.

 

if you plan on having kids, dont worry about maintenaince on the house.. you can put those little buggers to work

 

We had the same decision, but the prices of houses are crazy, so we bought and moved into a brand-new townhouse and are very happy. It's new, so the maintenance fees are low, and the value has gone through the roof.... even outpaced houses in the area (example, models that sold for $305k are now selling for $454k only 7-8 months later).

The advantage of a townhouse.... it's a house, but is classified as a condo with the city/town, so taxes are lower then if we had the same size house. The only thing that sucks is you don't have your own land... but honestly, it's not a problem for us. We don't have kids or animals, so our little yard is find for BBQs, etc. We'll probably look to move within 3 years and at that point we'll get a house.... but to start, this was a great move for us and turned out to be a killer investment... so if you're just starting out I'd go with a condo or townhouse!

 

depends on how you want to live.

 

 

I bought a condo right out of school and it was great. Didn't have to by a lawn mower, didn't have to water the lawn, worry about shoveling the snow...

But we're building a house now, because that is what our lives now dictate. However, we are having a BITCH of a time selling our condo. Keep in mind that condos do not sell as well as single family homes.


If I had to do it all over again, I would have sucked it up, bought a small single family home. Yeah, I would have had more work to do, but when it came time to sell, it'd would have been much easier to dump it.

 

maybe where you live... i have been trying to buy a condo in northern virginia for over 3 months... everytime they come on the market they go for like 10-30K over asking price... i keep getting into bidding wars... it ALL depends on the area... thus check the appreciation there...

 

as a signle guy, i'd get a condo... and live in that for a few years

 

FYI not all townhomes are classified as condo's. Check that if you are buying. Townhome is a nice inbetween. Little lawn, little more room. no one above or below you is a great thing.

 

I personally can't stand to live that close to someone (as in a condo or appartment). You can smell what they are eating, both before and after. I'll take a house anyday. I can't even hardly see my nieghbors, can even enjoy the pool and hot tub without people seeing(if you know what I mean). I'll take the upkeep anyday. I like my privacy.

 

Condo single
House family

 

It all depneds on how you plan to live and what the market is like.

As for the condo fees - each year the board of the association will make and review the budget for the upcoming year. The reason the fees go up is b/c the costs incurred by teh association go up. Post 9/11 insurance tends to be one of (or the) biggest expenses faced by most condos (usually followed depending on the property) by the landscape fees. I think that if you do the math in any given market, the fees for the condo are not much worse than what it will cost to pay for those same expenses in a house - however, there are a few other items which you would not run into expense-wise in a house, unless the house is located in a deed restricted community with an association. One important item to note is that many states require the condo to put aside money as reserves for certain future repairs. You will be constributing to this as a part of your monthly/quarterely dues. These are real costs which will be insurred, but obviously in the purchase of a single family home you are not putting aside every month money for home repairs - you just make them as they come due. Let me know if you have any further questions on the legal side of your debate.

 

just buy an RV, if you get sick of your neighbors you can move, its a lot cheaper than a house, and you won't need any more mods

so it will depreciate like hell...but who wants to make money

 

I disagree. I guess it depends on the quality of the building you live in, but in our townhouse complex it's like we dont' have neighbors. I don't hear them ever. My neighbor was having her basement finished and once in a while you'd hear a thud or two... but that was it. We didn't hear them cutting the studs, nothing.. it was silent. My other neighbor has a HUGE home theatre thing going on... never heard it once. We have had BBQs out back, never bothered anyone... no one ever bothered us. Like I said, it depends where you live, but the layout and design of the units in our complex are top notch... so much so that when people come over they immediately forget we have neighbors....

95gt - you're right.. it probably varies by town... in our town it works out that way, so it's better for us.

 

Unless you are buying new construction, don't expect it to appreciate a great deal. Not sure what the housing market is in Dayton.

My townhouse has appreciated 60% since I moved in 5 years ago, but that boom is over.

 

this is why i want a condo around here so bad

"The average assessed value for a residential condominium as of January 1, 2003, is $177,079, increasing 31% from last year. "

link

 

The average indicated time trend was 1.5% per month for residential property and 2.0% per
month for condominiums

Arlington county

 

Been there & done it...Condo=owning 2 walls, house=owning all 4. I would never own another townhome/condo. Unless you live near church mice or have a high tolerance for noise, don't bother.

Also witha condo/townhome, check out where your vehicles will be parked & see if they will be in harms way. See if you have sufficient parking if family stops by...etc.

If maintenance is a worry, buy a house with a smaller yard.

 

I am in the process of buying a replacement house and here is my hypothetical research...

Condo $150,000. DP 20% is $30,000. Rate of 6% for 30 years and payments will be $720. HOA dues are typically about $150/month. Total comes to $870.

House $200,000 DP 20% is $40,000. Rate of 6% for 30 years and payment will be $960. No HOA.

Fair enough that taxes may be slightly more for a house and condo HOA have some built in insurance.

But with a house, most likely, you will get more living area and superior garage amenity. Re-sale is better. HOA is not a write off.

Buy a house and forget the condo.

IMHO.

 

townhouse for me by next year. i'm making good money and credit is almost perfect. i'm single and never home because of work, so i dont need a house to maintain. its gonna be in PA tho even tho i spend 75% of my time in Jersey... shit is just cheaper and nicer in PA... probably couldn't afford anything nice in Jersey. if i get my own place, its gonna be nice... not some dump

 

A condo is an excellent choice in a highly desired area. Don't get a condo in the mist of urban spawl cause there will always be a newer condo being built a mile away.

 

Sorry to disagree. I am "single" now and I am looking for a house. Condo sucks for me as I cannot live in such dense quarters now and I also have my motorcycles (doubt they'd like me firing up my HOG).

Condo = 1 carport or 1 car garage (if you are lucky).

House = 2 car garage...

Bite the bullet and get the house. Better investment overall.

 

depends on where you live.

 

I'd go with a townhouse! Its the best of both worlds. And I wanna get a dog some day, so a townhouse is a better option for what I want.

 

If single-family homes are ridiculous (they are $600K and up around here for a 1800 sq-ft place!!)... a townhouse is a good bet. Some advice;

Research into how much the Home Owner's Association has in the bank and what their past fee increases (and frequency) have been

What is offered as part of the community - Earthquake insurance, water, cable, trash etc.?

Townhomes appreciate significantly as well - around here, they have gone up > 100K in 2yrs.

Three things to know about real-estate:

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!