Why did you choose to own a condo over a home?

If you own both, which do you prefer?

Do you regret owning a condo?

I'm a housecel but I can give a couple reasons condo > house

Cheaper
Less maintenance
More amenities (if your building has them)

my condo was $120k cheaper than any of the decent houses in the area I wanted to live.

Bought it just to build equity. Less maintenance is nice cause I hate yardwork/mowing a lawn.

I'll bite.

Price - No chance in hell I can afford a home in downtown Toronto. For the price range, I'd have to move quite far out of the downtown core to buy something significantly more than what I have which will then add 45m-1hr commute to work.
Accessibility - I don't drive, so owning a condo next door to local train/bus is quite sweet. I should probably learn to drive though for my personal development even though everything is accessible to me within minutes.

- bought a condo , moving in Mid sept ( im 28)
- bought because great location and at a price i could afford ( cheaper than a house in any decent area)
- im in a medium canadian city paid 310k so probably around 240k usd 600 sq ft~

Knowing how to drive is a valuable skill set even if you don't intend to buy a car

Would only buy a condo as a last resort crew. Condo fees are one of the biggest ripoffs in history, and I've had multiple friends get screwed over by them. Plus you still have to pay property taxes (or they are included in your condo fees). Yes, it builds equity and all that but you're basically burning that money and taking a risk you won't be able to sell if they get jacked. All for the sake of having a crappy gym and a security guard.

Friends sell real estate in Toronto and I've seen condo fees of $1200 a month for an 800 square foot condo. That's 15k a year for basically the privilege of owning the place.

Had an ex-girlfriend whose building got into a lawsuit with the builder and the owners were responsible for the legal fees over something they had nothing to do with. Also, if you do your investigations properly you'll find that many buildings have reserve funds that are really low for what they might need.

Had only been out of school for a year and a half and didn't have a ton of savings.

Now when I go to sell it to buy a house I'll have a solid 150k+ downpayment.

Don't own a condo but I could see the appeal. My house is only on half an acre but even just keeping that in good shape is like a part-time job.

That said, I hate sharing walls.

But you do realize when you do maintenance on your house if you own you also pay right?

My condo fee is 160 monthly ...also due to the fact it is small.



1200 would be very extreme to see.

that's not all condos - I have a two floor end unit, more like a townhouse but I think to be considered a townhouse it has to have a garage.

I have HOA fees but that is for the exterior maintenance (includes siding and the roof) and landscaping

Pros:

- I was working out of town for the majority of the year, and only home 2-3 months combined. Zero maintenance was appealing to me.

- My mortgage was $780 a month, my previous rent was $550. For a couple hundred more, made sense.

- I paid $180K for my condo. It was 3 bed, 2.5 bath, and two car garage. Comparable house was $100K more. Sold condo 5 years later for $225K.

Cons:

- Condo fees went from $220 a month originally, but then up to $300 by the time I sold. Fees included exterior repairs / maintenance, lawn care, snow removal (Alaska, so it’s a MF’r), trash, water, and sewer.

- Only had one neighbor I didn’t really like. Quiet nerdy couple, but never helped with little neighborly things. Not bad at all really, but just had great luck with all other neighbors.

- Selling did take a little longer. Was on market for about a month, where as most houses in my area were odd the market in a week. Buyer ended up being another guy who worked mainly out of town, like myself.

Because a single-family home in my neighborhood costs like $1.5 million. Also, I don't need that much space anyway. 2 bed 2 bath is all I need.

Just wait till your condo gets old and all of a sudden there is a mandatory special assessment for all units to the tune of mid five figures each.

Around here you rarely see monthly assessments lower than $550/month.

Before you buy a condo it's crucial to ask about any upcoming special assessments(if old) and ask for the financial reports of the HOA reserves. Bylaws and whether you're allowed to rent out your unit are good to ask as well.

Some of you brahs have no idea what the difference between a townhome and a condo is. (Ded fkn Srs)

bump for more opinions.

Initially I didn't either. When you look at mine most people think townhome, but really it is just a legal distinction based on how it operates.

wow

Wowow

Condo can suck if you have noisy neighbors you share walls with.

I have a house. My mom owns a sick condo in Florida. What is cool about her condo...

1. It's made to withstand hurricanes, so all the walls and floors are thick af. You could easily have surround sound and not bother your neighbors.

2. The hoa is expensive but it's basically like living In a hotel. It's a very closed off building with lots gym/pool/BBQ/community areas. Very well maintained and everyone is super nice. Lots of retirees and what not.

3. 6th floor stunning views over Tampa Bay. The building is right on the beach. It's a vacation destination more or less.

What I don't like

1. Taking an elevator just to go home or run a quick errand, it's an extra 5 min travel just to the car.

2. Hoa can be a little prissy and is expensive.

3. No indoor or assigned parking. But to be fair this is the kinda place people drive golf carts around lol

4. No space. No good options for storing my kayaks and canoe and bikes and all of that stuff.

When i retire I'll go condo life, but til then I want space to do chit and no one to tell me how to do it or what I can or can't do

Yeah, condo on the beach or a house on some acreage somewhere. My brother bought an expensive house a few years ago and they are literally built 5-6 feet apart. Fuk that chit, if you're going to be that close to neighbors, might as well be on a balcony looking at the beach