What to do, what to do... Condo vs. House

Well, DH and I just stumbled upon an amazing deal on a condo...

Here's our situation. DH and I got married, moved into an apartment in DH's Parents' house. We have our own seperate entrance. I never see my in laws. It's rent free and we save a ton of dough and live really nice.... The plan was to buy the house when in laws retire. We were all about the idea last year but now, we don't want to do it. We just rather move to a better neighborhood.

So, we started looking at houses like 6 months ago. I love certain areas but the prices are a little high in these neighborhoods. I am looking in St James, Smithtown, and possibly Stony Brook. We are picky and don't want to do a ton of work which again- very expensive. We found some nice houses, offered on them and it just never worked out...

So now we got an email from my cousin who lives in this beautiful development in a GREAT area. Condos sell for 450K and we are able to get it for MUCH less. Taxes are low, commons are low and as I said, it's in a wonderful neighborhood. Not to mention that the development is only 3 years old.

I am SO torn. I don't know what to do. I'd like to hear feedback from you guys. If you live in a Condo, tell me about it. If you used to live in one and now own a house for whatever reason, tell me about it. LOL, I need help here. I seriously am in a bind... Thanks in advance.

Re: What to do, what to do... Condo vs. House

What is the condo complex? That would help. I live in Three Village in a house, and we lived in a condo before this. I HATED condo living--we heard the neighbors ALL the time. People were nosy and inconsiderate. But I think it also matters what complex.

Message edited 1/7/2011 9:02:36 PM.

Re: What to do, what to do... Condo vs. House

Re: What to do, what to do... Condo vs. House

We lived in an apt for 5 yrs and just moved to a house. Our reasons were a little different, since our condo was just outside of Manhattan, so we were still "in" the city. Now we live in the burbs. We moved from a 2BR 1100 sq foot place, to a 4BR house on over half an acre of land. We have a small child and perhaps will have another one. We felt it was time we needed more space and wanted to plant roots.

I would ask-- how big is the apt and what your plans are for the future. How long could you realistically see yourself living there?

The other thing is-- is that now is the time to buy. So, if you ultimately want to be in a house, you are going to get the best deal now. BUT, you would also be buying the condo low-- so even if you want to move in 5 yrs, you will probably make enough money to cover a move.

Just depends what your plan is. When we bought our apt in 2005, we knew we'd be there no more than 5 years. We stayed for exactly that amount of time.

Re: What to do, what to do... Condo vs. House

I lived in a coop for 5.5 years and liked it. now I'm in a house and I'm having a hard time adjusting. in the coop there are always ppl around, maintenance takes care of everything, they had security, etc. I would prefer condo to a house , but we needed more space

Re: What to do, what to do... Condo vs. House

Re: What to do, what to do... Condo vs. House

We have a home and if we had it to do over again, we probably would've went condo. Sure, it's great that you don't have to get an association, etc involved ever, but give a think to everything that would be handled for you in a condo that you would have to do yourself in a house (ie, gardening, mowing, snow removal, etc.) Is it worth it to you?