Are you thinking of buying that nice condominium? Think about it first. It's much different versus owning a house and you have to be aware of its special characteristics. Before you jump into the condo market with both feet, you should make sure that the condominium lifestyle is right for you.
The benefits and drawbacks of condo living need to be weighed against your own criteria. Is security more important to you than distance from your neighbors? Do you like the community living lifestyle? Review the following pluses and minuses of condo living before you make that purchasing decision.
Advantages:
Location
There is often a high concentration of condominiums in downtown locations where land is at a premium. If you like this lifestyle where you are in the center of the city as soon as you walk out of your door, then getting a condo is an excellent choice.
Safety
With neighbors around your condo complex, it is always nice to be able to just pick up and go on those long vacations without worrying too much. Also, condominium buildings often have security features, be they buzzers or a guard service. This is particularly helpful if this is your second home, and you are only there for part of the year.
Low Maintenance
No more backaches from mowing the lawn or shoveling snow! In a condo, you do not need to worry anymore about plumbing problems or leaky roofs, the fixes are done for you. There may be some cases, if it’s your fault, where you will have to pay.
Cost
Condos come in a wide price range, and the lower priced units are usually very affordable if you are a first time buyer, hence, a good choice compared to higher priced single family homes.
Amenities
A lot of developments will provide you with a range of amenities for common areas. These may include swimming pools, tennis courts, workout gyms and other features that might not even be affordable if you had to get it on your own.
Disadvantages:
You Own Zilch
If it's a condo, you don't really own the land it is sitting on, you just own a 'share'. Realistically, you just own the space between the walls of your unit, and the rest of the common areas you share the ownership with the other tenants.
Community Living
Since the walls are shared, you will tend to hear your neighbors more often, and in the common areas you will probably see them a lot too. In addition, since you will be all part of a homeowner's association, you will need to get involved in making day to day decisions on the usage of common areas.
Fees
Monthly condo fees go toward maintenance and repair of the common areas. There are occasionally additional assessment fees to handle larger repair jobs. Remember that these fees can pay for amenities that you don't use anyway , such as the swimming pool.
Resale Value
Condos tend to be more affected by market trends as compared to single-family residences. If the market takes a downturn, condos are usually the first to suffer and the last to recover.
Yet More Rules
Condos are governed by a set of rules called Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, aka CC&Rs. Take note that these rules may cover pets, noise levels, renovations and sometimes even what color of curtains you can put on your windows.
Condominium Association
Because the condo association is made up of homeowners rather than property-management professionals, the association may be weak and inefficient. Note that if you want to make changes to your unit or if you want to rent it out, these are the folks you will need to get approvals from.
Just remember that condo ownership is totally different from owning a house, and you need to make sure that the condo lifestyle is for you.
Author Resource:-
Monty is a retired teacher living in the middle of the Las Vegas desert. In an effort to relieve his boredom, he has gotten into promoting a random collection of sites such as this one for the Mirage Hotel Las Vegas and even condos overseas i.e. condo manila.
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