Would you rather... (a condo vs. single-family home question)

Think through all the pros and cons of condo living and see if it's right for you. If it is, and you really like the neighborhood, keep your eye out for a 3BR condo there. :idea:

There are actually 3 bedroom units in the developments we are looking at! One of them sold last year and it was my husband's favorite house ever. Someone had lovingly updated it with custom *everything* - fire-engine red sinks, appliances, and cabinet knobs in the kitchen...red and white checkerboard tile with a navy blue border throughout the entire first floor...and a staircase where each step was carpeted in a different Crayola color i.e. ruby red, emerald green, deep purple, etc. We call it the bold choices house. At almost 2000 square feet, though, they come with HOA fees of close to $600/month.
 
I weary of Condos , my sister had a great one and I really liked it, but its still bying an apartment where the payments never end

Depends. I bought one where the HOA dues were $75/month. Over the years it's gone up but only $200/month. There's no pool or rec room. It's a small TH complex and basically all the funds go to gardening, common area lights, insurance, pest control, and the occasional spending on maintenance. The biggest expenditure we've ever had was repaving. And even then the big problem was where the garbage trucks stopped. If we had curbside garbage pickup (although that would mean walking) all we would need is small patching and a seal coat every 10 years.
 
Especially if they have a maintenance department!

Depends. I'm in a small unit that's "self-managing". As in so small no management company was willing to manage on our behalf.

Still - it's amazing how good an investment Silicon Valley real estate has been.
 


There are actually 3 bedroom units in the developments we are looking at! One of them sold last year and it was my husband's favorite house ever. Someone had lovingly updated it with custom *everything* - fire-engine red sinks, appliances, and cabinet knobs in the kitchen...red and white checkerboard tile with a navy blue border throughout the entire first floor...and a staircase where each step was carpeted in a different Crayola color i.e. ruby red, emerald green, deep purple, etc. We call it the bold choices house. At almost 2000 square feet, though, they come with HOA fees of close to $600/month.

Find out everything that is included in that. It scared me too, but once I saw what it covered, it seemed very reasonable. Other than our interior insurance the only thing we pay for is electric. They cover water, cable, internet, phone, bug control, all exterior insurance, amenities (and we have lots), gated 24/7 manned security, landscaping, on premises management ....... all that adds up when you are paying for it on your house.
 
Condo for 3 reasons. One is that the HOA likely will take care of outside maintenance/lawn care. Two is it sounds like you have no kids yet. If no kids or just 1 baby then you can do a smaller home/yard for quite a while. Three is that better schools will help with reselling (we lived in same town as SIL...about 2-3 miles away). We both had houses listed at same time. Her house was newer and nicer and a little bigger. But our homes were districted to different high schools and our HS was a good desired one, hers was not (she sent her kids to private school). Anyway, she had her house listed for a touch more than ours. Our house sold day 2 on the market for almost list price. Hers sat for several months and they had to lower price quite a bit. So always go for better school system, if not for your own kids use, then for resale purposes.

Currently in a townhome (for 1.5 years now) with an HOA. I love that they maintain everything. They cut grass, get up leaves, mulch, power wash, clean gutters, fertilize and even fully painted the outside this summer.

Also wanted to add that our HOA dues have not climbed up and are reasonably low at $250/month. Includes use of the community pool.
I posted this, above, late last night and wanted to say more but had to get to sleep.

So, we (age 45) lived in houses most of our marriage. In 2014, DH got a job in another state. So he bought a 2BR condo there for cheap. It was a 1980's community and not in the best shape. But it worked for him for 3 years while I stayed back in our house with 3 kids who were finishing HS. It had a low low low HOA, like $150. That covered outside stuff but no utilities or pool. And they didn't keep up the outside as well as our current townhouse (mentioned above). Like the roofs were old, walkways falling apart and wood trim needed painting. But they kept up the landscaping nicely. It was a single story in a building of 3 units and we were an end. So shared one wall with other unit. The inside was original 1980 and needed updating too. But we set it up cheaply for DH to crash there a few days a week. ANd then resold after 3 years, when all 3 kids had graduated HS. And because it was so cheap, it sold in 3 days to young newlyweds. The condo was located in a great area (south Durham) where we had access to everything we could ever need. The only negative was each condo had 2 parking spots but not labeled or numbered or anything. You just could use 2. Our building had 6 spots right in front and folks from the building across from us had several renters in 1 unit so they had 3-4 cars and would use our spots all the time. The unit on the other end of our building was slightly nutty lady who went berserk about them using our spots (even if we didn't need the spots). And she started a bit of a battle with them and was texting us like crazy (texting my 20 year old son actually). So parking was an issues sometimes and the fact that you may have some crazy folks living super close to you. The guys parking in our spots were also...I will say rough. So I had a little fear there. DS moved in after HS and went to college down there so he was there alone several days a week.

Then our last kiddos graduated and we sold our big main house and the condo...both in just 2-3 days of listing. The plan was to move to a permanent residence down there (NC) once all kids were done HS. So we had been looking and deciding on an area (around Raleigh Durham) and on a house type. I suggested we stay in the condo and renovate it and stay a couple years (while paying college tuition) but DH wanted a bit more space (condo was 2 BR 900 SF). But I loved that area. LOVED it. There was so much within a few miles. Anyway, DH wanted a less busy area. And we found this small townhome neighborhood out in the country near Chapel Hill. We had been watching units go for sale and then get bought in a day or 2. Most were 3BR. They all had garages. Late one night I did a search on Zillow and there was a new end unit with 4 bedrooms and recently updated listed. I sent DH the next day to look at it and we put an offer in right then. We were also the 2nd offer but had the best offer so we got it. It's a 4BR/2.5 bath 2000 SF with garage and screen porch and 1st floor master. Has bamboo floors and granite counters and gas fireplace and vaulted living room ceilings. It has only 1 unit next to it (so we are a building with just 2 units...all the others have several units). It's only 9 years old and is Victorian theme on outside. We have front porch and upper porch above that which is off of a bedroom. Very cute.

Like I mentioned, we only pay $250 in dues (no utilities covered but get pool access). It was about $225 the first year and then went up to $250 for this year and we were just told it's not going up for next year. Most neighbors are elderly and lovely. But the biggest negative is privacy. The neighbors always know what's going on. When I walk out my front door there are about 15 units facing me so we can't do anything without 'eyes' being on us. There is a small grass area right in front of our unit that is a dog walking area so there are always folks with dogs out there. Just not much privacy. We have a dog we have to walk now (don't have a fenced yard...could but then we'd have to take care of grass inside fence). Our dog is not other dog friendly so he goes nutso whenever we walk him with other dogs around. That embarrasses me. He's old so once he goes, I won't get another so as to have to walk around with all the neighbors (I can hide inside easier). I have one lovely older couple near me (he's on the board) and he messages me about stuff frequently...like I saw such and such....why are there boxes in your driveway...do you know this is happening. He is really nice and I can text him in a pinch (like I am out of town and just got notice a package arrived). So I don't mind but it just highlights that there is zero privacy.

Next negative is parking. We all can only park in our driveways and garages. Some units have 2 car garages (and thus wider driveways too). We have single car. We also have no storage room so we use our tiny garage for storage. We then have to park in tandem in driveway which means lots of car shuffling. The lack of storage is a bummer too. And our location is also a bummer as we have to drive to get to stuff. Only have 1 crappy grocery store and a couple local restaurants (aren't bad but sometimes we want a chain type place or just something different).

Other thing that has me worried is the shared wall. We only have the 1 other unit attached to us. And when we moved in they were also moving in as renters. They had one baby at the time and now have 2 (one just turned 1 and other is turning 3). We now can hear the 2 littles running all around their house. It's not bad because it's while we are awake (never past 10pm). But they are only staying until this summer. Then who will we get? Could be louder teenagers or barking dogs. Could be someone who plays an instrument (DS moved into his own apartment and was above a flute player). If I can hear the pitter patter of 4 little feet now...what may I hear with louder people????

One other minor thing...the HOA switched landscapers this summer and they are not as good as the summer before. The grass got weedy and ugly. They blew leaves but left big piles all around the shrubs and in gardens. They let the gardens get weedy. We just had a snow (had one last winter too). And they didn't come plow until Wednesday (woke to snow on Sunday morning) and there was already a clear path. Last winter we were plowed more promptly. BUT...I don't have to do it AND our dues didn't go up so.......
 
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The goal is to put up a Christmas tree in a home we own next year, but besides that wish there's no particular rush :) We'll have at least a small downpayment together by the end of March and will keep adding to it throughout the year. I've been watching this particular neighborhood a while and feel like it's the best combo of location and value. A condo similar to the one I described above pops up every month or two - more in the spring. Affordable single-family homes in good shape in the same area are harder to come by, which is why this particular house is piquing my interest. I'm sure another one will come along eventually if we decide to go that route. I'm just an impatient person.

Unfortunately housing in my medium-COL city has shot up in price in the last few years as high-earning people relocate from very HCOL areas. Good for homeowners, I guess, but bad for anyone making a normal-sized income trying to get into the market for the first time. Most people with our income looking to buy move out to the suburbs but we really don't want to commute that far. Also, the suburbs aren't as affordable as they used to be! Recently the market has been showing signs of leveling off some (longer days on market, price drops, etc.) so I'm holding out hope we won't get priced out.
Our housing market here is crazy as well. The whole metro was having inventory issues (meaning there weren't enough houses available for the number of people needing them). It's still considered an affordable housing area but no doubt prices are higher.

Most people in my area live in the suburbs and in our area there's not too many condos in the suburbs and the condos in the Downtown area are way too expensive for average people to afford them. There are townhouses though the new thing is really to make the townhouses look nice so that equals higher costs. Probably more common here in that respect where you're sharing a wall is a duplex (twin homes if you want to be fancy lol). Now those can be pricey depending on where you are living at. Some areas have 4-plexes as well.

Looks like you're leaning towards the condo. There's totally pros and cons to both for sure. I would agree with others to check out what the dues get you. I know people talk about HOA's for homes being terrors but sometimes that happens with condos too OR you're dealt with a huge increase to repair something on the exterior or the roof so yeah pros and cons to both lol. Location and value are important though just know that those unexpected expenditures that happen on single family homes can also happen for condos.

Since you have a bit of time you're able to keep the options open at this point. I know about being impatient lol. We had our house built and we signed the contract at the end of January with our new home being ready in the first few days of September. We lived in a rental house really close so it was so easy to pop by and check out the progress of the house and every time I just kept thinking..I want my house to be ready :laughing:

Best of luck to you though!
 


Single family! We bought a "semi- detached" duplex (it shares a single wall, but everything else is completely separate). When we bought it the other side was owned by a retired couple and their adult daughter who planned to stay until they died. It didn't work out that way and they sold for way under market value to a young couple. They're very nice people, but they had two children a year apart, who are now toddlers and spend the entire day running and jumping. I can't get away from the noise and the floor shaking. Also, when we bought our house, we were in one of the best school districts. Within 5 years multiple housing developments were built in the area causing major overcrowding and under-funding. The schools are no longer great and taxes have sky rocketed. I hope you find something where you walk in the front door and feel joy.
 
My daughter has been house/condo shopping for a year now. The HOA fees here are crazy, $300 to $400 a month (one condo was $600) all for $200,000 condos so that put condos out of her reach. She also saw the HOA mess her brother and sister-in-law had renting a condo. Properly parked cars being towed and the HOA saying "oh sorry, but you are still on the hook for the $400 tow bill", random closures of the public ares, etc. A carefully inspected house with a home warranty is going to be a better choice for her.
As for schools, she doesn't have kids, and more importantly we have open enrollment so where you live has little impact on school your child gets in.
 
This is such a personal decision, based on your style, what the house/condo looks like, etc...

At this point in my life, I also have no desire to share a wall with a neighbor. However, it would so much depend on what the house and condo are actually like. In my experience, most 3 bed 1.5 bath single family homes that size are older. I do not care for older houses and wouldn't want to live in one. I don't like their look, their layout or the general feel, especially a house that small. My personal taste is for houses built recently, even if they're "cookie cutter"....I'm much more a function over form kind of person when it comes to housing. So if the condo were fairly new, even though I don't want to share a wall, I'd take it over an old and smaller single family home. DW and I have owned 5 houses, and rented 2 others...none were older than 10 years old at the time we lived in them. If they were both new, and all else is equal, I'd probably go single family.

I really agree with what a few others have said. Which one will feel more like "home" to you? Which suits your tastes?
 
We used to have a townhome, pre kids, and then moved out when our first was 1 month old - didn't want the shared walls with a newborn.

We have done SFH since 2004 and I REALLLLLLY want to get back into a condo/townhouse. I am tired of the upkeep - inside is enough with 3 males and cats, but then to have to keep the outside painted, cleaned, mowed (we have a huge yard), weeded, gardened, shoveled, etc. I hate it. I want that time to hang with my kids and husband. I hate that my weekends are spent doing that stuff.

I would take shared walls and someone else handling all the outside stuff in a heartbeat again.
 
Sounds to me like you really want to live in your own place but chose condo because they were in your budget. Not knowing the exact particulars, I guess it comes down to whether you want a pool and to put up with the association and fees or want your own place and to put up with yard work and maintenance.
 
This is such a personal decision, based on your style,.....

I agree, none of us can tell you which type of home to buy, but we can offer advice about what to consider. We have lived in both condos and single family homes over the years.

As others have noted, while the condo covers the exterior maintenance, landscaping etc., you can also pay to have a lawn service maintain your yard for a single family home. So that alone is not the only factor to consider. How quiet/well built are the attached condo units? Walk around the inside several of them to get a sense of how sound-proof they are and if the noise will be an issue. End units will only have one adjoining wall, while other units with have two. You also have no control over who lives next door and/or when they might move and be replaced by someone else. HOA's can also be found in some single family neighborhoods, and while they obviously deal with different issues, they are still a cost to consider.

You pay for the condo maintenance/landscaping in your HOA fee, so it isn't 'free' but covered in a separate charge. The age of the condo should also be considered as big ticket items like roofing, heating/AC, windows are things that wear out and need replacement overtime. Some HOA's are good at budgeting for expected future big ticket items, while other are not.

How long to plan to live there? Do you or husband have the type of job where you may have to relocate for the company? You home choice may be different if you only plan to live there for 5 years vs. 35 years.
 
Single family! We bought a "semi- detached" duplex (it shares a single wall, but everything else is completely separate). When we bought it the other side was owned by a retired couple and their adult daughter who planned to stay until they died. It didn't work out that way and they sold for way under market value to a young couple. They're very nice people, but they had two children a year apart, who are now toddlers and spend the entire day running and jumping. I can't get away from the noise and the floor shaking.
This is us now too. But it typically quiets down by 9pm...though the sat and sun mornings can be early for me (6-7am running around) especially if DH and I went out for drinks the night before. During the day, I am okay with it (and they go to daycare 4 days a week so all is quiet then). But you can hear more than you'd like. They commented they could hear my DH snoring and one night I could hear their visitors snoring (their guest bedroom is on the other side of our master headboard). We could hear crying babies when they were younger but that was when we were in garage or up in office...so it was not very often we'd hear it. I worry about who the next occupants will be and would much rather this family stay. I hope the owner (who rents) won't allow dogs because we are a very high dog owner neighborhood and I can hear many barking inside their homes when I am outside. So I can't imagine what it sounds like next door to those.
 
Not sure of your situation but locally the magic word is Gentrified, as in the older less desirable neighborhoods are becoming more desirable and are upgrading with new young buyers. I think you would do better financially with the detached. I have even heard Harlem is becoming gentrified
 
The only kind of condo I would live in are the kind that are separated with a garage between the units. That way the only shared wall I would have is the garage wall. I have no desire to share walls more than that and would go with a house if there was no other option.
 
You couldn't pay me enough money to purchase and live in a Condo/Townhouse.

You couldn't pay me enough money to purchase and live in any place that had an HOA.

I could settle for a neighborhood type setting, but wouldn't be able to enjoy it very much.

I hate people. I need to be in the country. I need to be able to wave to my neighbors naked and they wave back having no clue I'm waving to them naked.

I need to be able to fire up the grill or smoker without the smoke wafting straight into the neighbor's open windows. I need to be able to have a fire in my own back yard if I want (open fire cooking is the main way I cooked.) I need to be able to enjoy my own yard without the neighbor 8 feet away doing what he is doing to enjoy his yard.
 
Where I live a SFH is much more likely to retain value and go up in value than any condo/townhouse, so I would take that into consideration if this is going to be a starter home that you may want to sell in a few years. You will also likely be more limited in selling a 2bdr than a 3bdr.

Most of it is just personal preference, but I will say to go over any and all HOA documents with a fine tooth comb, you really need to know what you are getting into. We have lived in two HOA communities, so I have no issue with them, but when we were looking at properties we had to walk away from a few options once we got the HOA paperwork as we did not like the terms or how the boards were running the HOAs once we did some deep diving into the community specifics.

Our first home was a lovely townhouse, since then we have purchased two single family homes, I could likely live in a condo/townhouse again but my husband couldn't, he much prefers the single family home living situation.
 

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