Why I Bought A Condo

Earlier, Flexo posted on why he will most likely never buy a condo.  There are certainly plenty of downsides to living in a condo, but in many cases those downsides are also upsides, depending on your preferences.  For instance, Flexo considers condo living to be too much like apartment living, which is true.  The thing is, I actually love apartment living.  I don’t have to go far to see my neighbors and I enjoy taking advantage of the common areas and socializing with my peers.  Of course, many subdivisions have pools, but the people who tend to live in those homes are married couples with small children or perhaps the elderly.  Single 20-somethings such as myself rarely own homes in nice suburban subdivisions, but they do often own condos.  A big upside of condo living for me is that I’m surrounded by others at the same point of their life as I am, which means instant friends.  Many other disadvantages of condo living can also be advantages, depending on how you look at it.

Association Fees

Association fees suck, but at least you more or less know what they are.  Sure, they can theoretically be increased at any time but rarely are because homeowners can vote.  These fees cover everything from landscaping, building repair, pool maintenance, and building insurance.  One perk is that as a condo owner, I don’t have to purchase homeowners insurance since the building is covered by the association’s insurance.  I do, of course, insure the contents of my condo against theft and liability, but this is much cheaper than regular homeowners insurance.  I pay less than $120 for an entire year of coverage.  Furthermore, single-family home owners end up paying all the expenses I do, they just have to do it irregular lump sums as problems arise.  I get a nice, easy monthly payment, which makes planning a breeze.  In my experience, the fees are pretty much a wash.

Association Rules

Association rules are also a pain but again, many neighborhoods have them, not just condo complexes.  Associations for single-family homes may be more or less common depending on where you live, but around here, it’s difficult to buy a home near the city without being subject to some sort of association and don’t forget the entire point of an association to begin with is to maintain property values.  Somebody in your neighborhood lowering the value of your property by parking rusty automobiles in the yard and refusing to trim the hedges?  You generally have no recourse without an association.  In certain circumstances, it’s nice having somebody look after your best interests.

Why I Bought One

The single biggest reason I bought a condo is lifestyle and location.  While there are plenty of single-family homes around town, not a single one of them is even close to being in my price range.  I would have to move to the suburbs to find a house I could afford, and that is something I have no desire to do.  My commute is less than 15 minutes even on a bad day and I can walk or take the bus to almost anything I could ever want to go.  But even if I do choose to drive, which I usually do, I’m never more than a few miles from my destination.  Having to be reliant on a car to get anywhere is the worst torture I can possibly imagine.  I feel this gives me a quality-of-life I simply couldn’t reasonably expect to reproduce in a single-family home.  It’s the best compromise between wanting to live in an expensive urban area while still being able to build equity for me.