first time home buyer - condo vs home

[Katya4me]

Another thing to consider in condo/townhouse vs. SFH is utilities costs. If you don't currently pay these, you may want to look at quotes for where you are looking at buying. The utilities at our rental SFH are rather high (ie. 2-3 times) compared to the condo and townhouse I've lived at in the past, but after 3 winters, I know that I could handle buying a SFH, I just want a smaller one as we only utilize about 1/2 the house.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Interesting that a thread like this came up.

I've been debating over the same thing for a while. I don't mind the responsibilities of home ownership. But I do like the cozy atmosphere of the condos. I'm actually going to go look at a really nice condo today, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, 2 stories. We'll see how it goes.

 

[BlackCherry06]

That sounds much more like a townhouse. To me, a condo is nothing more than an apartment with concrete firewalls. As soon as you add stairs and an attached garage to the mix, you're dealing with a townhouse...isn't that correct? Only neighbors on each side...no neighbors behind, above or below?

 

[jred321]

i view anything that isn't a standalone house that you can own as a "condo" and then there are different styles like townhomes. i think it's just semantics though.

 

[1sty]

Tough choice.
I had a 1 car garage town house for 2.5 years and have now been in my house without a garage for 3 years.

For the amount of money I pay per month, I would greatly like to have my town house back.

Realisticly, a free standing house with some land of similar size and features to a town house is going to cost a lot more money.
So its often a really nice town house vs a house that needs some work.
That's my situation.

Mowing the lawn is pain but its not the only thing to think about. Here's what sucks at least in my opinion as I have about a half acre that is yard:
1. Planting and trying to maintain grass. This means furtalizering 3 times a year, watering twice a week for the right amount of time depending on conditions, and raking..raking..raking. GOD RAKING SUCKS. Pine trees also suck.
2. SNOW REMOVAL!!!!!!!!!! Buy a snow blower and deal with the damn city plows that LOVE to push a snow bank back into your drive way not 10 minutes after you are done clearing it.
3. Landscaping. Unless you like trees with needles on them and only trees with needles, you are gonna be doing a fair amount of weeding, watering, planting, and probably mulching.

Other things that suck about a house:
1. Pipes break..your problem
2. Roof leaks...your problem
3. deck rots off the house because original owner never stained or sealed it...your problem.
4. Siding looks like crap or is damaged...your problem.

It is nice to have a yard for the dogs and stuff but other then maintaining it, I am never out there so whats the point.

There are some benefits though.
1. not tossing money away into "condo fees" every month. For me these were over $200/month.
2. Not paying property taxes on a condo that has no property that is actually yours.
3. you can be as loud as you like. Both with stereo's and with the little lady. (boobs)
That was a HUGE problem for me in the condo....I am not talking about the stereo.
4. You can do whatever you want to the house. In a condo anything to the exterior of the building is simply not your decision and you get very few options on any such topic from the condo association.
5. Your neighbors might be douch bags and you are stuck with them unless you move.

 

[cyclonels2]

That sounds much more like a townhouse. To me, a condo is nothing more than an apartment with concrete firewalls. As soon as you add stairs and an attached garage to the mix, you're dealing with a townhouse...isn't that correct? Only neighbors on each side...no neighbors behind, above or below?

A condo (condominium) is actually not a type of structure, it is a form of ownership. Condominium ownership refers to partial ownership of both the building and land that the building is situated on. What you are talking about is a condominium apartment, which folks have incorrectly shortened to "condo".

A townhome is a type of structure. Ownership can either be condominium or fee simple. With fee simple, you actually own the plot of land directly under the townhome, rather than a percentage share of the entire lot that the building sits on. The property line would run down the party wall between the townhome units.

Hope that helps.

 

[sanblaster]

condos are one level, townhomes are two. At least that is what I was told when I was first looking at purchasing.

 

[jred321]

what about 3 levels? are they a combination? a conhome? or a towndo?

 

[sanblaster]

yes. yes they are.