We'd like to make a decision later this year about possible homeownership. Right now we are renting the world's smallest cottage and really enjoying our time here. It's around 400 square feet and seems to work for our current situation. We'd both prefer to put our rent money towards owning something though, but we keep going back and forth on what to own, a house or a condo?
To be frankly honest, we are pretty lazy people and there are many things about a condo lifestyle that we think we'd enjoy. We are also still uncertain about having children, so the smaller size of a condo may fit us perfectly. It's challenging to find a nice single family home that is under 1,000 square feet in our area. Everything is much larger and way more than we think we'd need. We're defnitely thinking that less is more when it comes to homeownership.
To be frankly honest, we are pretty lazy people and there are many things about a condo lifestyle that we think we'd enjoy. We are also still uncertain about having children, so the smaller size of a condo may fit us perfectly. It's challenging to find a nice single family home that is under 1,000 square feet in our area. Everything is much larger and way more than we think we'd need. We're defnitely thinking that less is more when it comes to homeownership.
What I'm wondering is what people who own condos really think. So, I'm posing the following questions below. Please feel free to add more advice if you have it. I don't know many people who live in condos, so I'm curious to get some honest advice. I appreciate your input.
Questions? : Do you currently own a condo or have you in the past? What are your thoughts on condo ownership? Does is work for your lifestyle? What are the positives and negatives of it in your opinion? Are there additional things that we should take into consideration when making this decision? Would you recommend it to someone else or do you wish you bought a house instead?
On the other hand, if you didn't purchase a condo and went with a house instead, what was your reasoning and are you happy with your decision?
We lived in a condo for six months in Las Vegas while we were looking for a place to buy. We wanted a small place so thought a condo would be a good idea but I am really glad we ended up with a house. In a condo, the neighbors were noisy and also condos dont tend to hold their value as well as a house. We ended up buying a house which was bigger than we wanted but it has been great for guests and it has already appreciated a bit in value and best of all--no noisy neighbors. As far as maintenance, we now have a very low maintenance yard (hubby would have preferred the no maintenance landscaping of a condo). Over all we are happier with a house than we would have been with a condo.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input. Yeah, I think the neighbor thing would get to me over time. We are leaning towards a house, but time will tell. Thanks again!
DeleteI'm in Houston and have a townhome - not exactly the same set-up but some similaritie. pros- lots less yard work(I'd have none if I had a deck put in), feel safer with neighbors close by, large space for less price, community pool, water/trash included in monthly fee. cons - exterior maintenance has lots of exclusions that are major IMO(foundation is my responsibility?!), everything requires a vote and people argue a lot at meetings, neighbors too close sometimes, resale value not there, no back yard for dogs, since everything is lumped together(water and trash) can't cut back anywhere and mine goes up if others use too much, a lot of homes are being used as rental property :-( probably due to the price, interior maintenance is my responsibility -blech!
ReplyDeleteSusanna
Thanks Susanna. There do seem to be both positives and negatives as you pointed out. I am finding that the monthly fees don't cover nearly as much as we would like them too. That's a bit disappointing.
Deleteright now I'm planning on staying in mine - in fact I'm about to get estimates for a deck and re-doing one of the bathrooms and replacing the other 2 toilets..depends on how much the guy will charge on what all I get done. I like the proximity to the highways - not so much the neighborhood but the closet neighborhood is hanging in there with strict HOA rules and a great police dept - unfortunately my home falls on the other side of the county line but they still patrol the entire complex. I have a lot of space for the $.
ReplyDeleteSusanna