To rent or to buy is often the question. There are perks to both, certainly, and the good news is that many people find that buying a condominium is the happy medium in the great buy vs. rent debate.
People of all ages are enjoying condominium life these days and long gone is the stigma of condo ownership being for an older generation. Though, certainly, many find that buying a condo is a nice way of downsizing from a house into smaller dwellings. People from all walks of life and of all ages are seeing the perks of ownership.
Condominiums are essentially apartments or townhouses, only the occupant owns their unit rather than renting. And while the unit owner owns what is inside his or her walls, the community property extends to the playground, pools, hallways, and elevators.
Condo owners all belong to a Homeowners Association (HOA) in which they pay dues. These dues are for the upkeep of the community areas, maintenance, and go to paying the HOA insurance (all community areas are insured with the condo owner being responsible for their personal property being insured). One must consider if it is worth the mortgage payment on top of the maintenance fees and insurance payments.
Also, read the fine print of the HOA handbook. “The HOA fees you pay will probably not cover all maintenance costs for the condominium. In an apartment situation, your landlord is responsible for charging a rent that will cover the costs of providing maintenance services for apartment residents. In a condominium, the extent to which maintenance services are provided can vary between different HOA’s.”
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Another aspect of condo ownership is that remodeling must be approved by the HOA before hand. This can seem restricting to some people, but for those who find the idea of remodeling as appealing as going to a dentist who doesn’t believe in Novocain, this is the perfect arrangement. Also, privacy isn’t the same as when one lives in a house. For starters, the condo owner shares their walls with their neighbors in the exact same way that apartment renters share walls with their neighbors. And you can bet that if you can hear your neighbors, they can hear you.
For some people condominium ownership is the perfect combination of apartment living and home ownership. For some people the cost isn’t worth it. But as with all things it comes down to the pro’s, con’s and personal preference. A little research into the appreciation values, the neighborhoods, HOA rules and regulations, the HOA dues, and the quality of condos in your city will help you to determine if condo ownership is right for you.
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People from all walks of life and of all ages are seeing the perks of ownership.