You’ve decided to buy your own home. Your Realtor has asked you if you’d be interested in looking at condos. So, is a condo the right choice for you?
Can be a great choice
A condominium, or condo for short, can be a great choice for certain people. If you are single, newly married, or retired, a condo may be a good choice. The reasons are many. A condo is a form of home ownership in which the individual owns their unit, everything from the four walls and in, but not the outside parts or the ground the unit sits on. Those areas, known as common areas, are owned by all of the individual unit owners collectively. These are things like hallways, walkways, pools, and so on.
Association of owners
The maintenance of these areas is the responsibility of an association which includes every unit owner. That membership includes an obligation to pay monthly dues and any special assessment fees for larger maintenance issues, like a new roof or painting all the buildings. Typically, the association hires contractors to do the actual maintenance, so individual owners don’t have to do the grass cutting, pool cleaning and so on.
So, is it for you?
Maybe so. Condos can be more cost effective for people buying their first home or for people who are retiring and downsizing. Condos tend to cost less to purchase, so a mortgage payment is lower. You aren’t paying for what it costs to have a pool. You aren’t paying extra for a gym membership. With fewer maintenance requirements, that helps costs as well. There is no need to buy lawn equipment, no need for pool supplies, no need for whatever things usually purchased by homeowners to care for their homes. There is also the time savings. No lawns to mow, no gardens to weed, no pools to vacuum.
There are also the social benefits
Since you share common areas, socializing is easier to do. As with an apartment building, neighbors are in close proximity, for good and bad.
So is it for you? Go see one and find out.