Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

My hubs and I bought a condo almost 3 years ago. While we do love our condo, we would like to buy a house next year for more space.

We pay almost $400 a month in common charges which takes care of snow removal and landscaping, pool which we don't use, among other small things.

How much more of a burden/responsibility is it to own a house vs. a condo (if any)?

TIA!

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

It is a pain in the arse to own a house-constant yard work, maintenance etc.

However, we feel the trade off of having a yard and our own four walls is worth it, but I could definitely see why people go the condo/town house route.

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

With what you're paying monthly for HOAs/common charges you could absolutely hire a landscaper for less to take care of the mowing/yardwork, especially since most of that only takes place May-October. And as far as snow removal we bought a snow blower... a one time expense and it makes snow removal much easier (for DH )

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

See my I am Livid post. We are looking to purchase a house. While I love that the association takes care a lot of stuff for us there are some down sides. As a first time home owner, I do feel that it 100% is the way to go. It gives you a lot of great things in return. Now that we have lived here for almost 6 years though we are ready for fee simple ownership. With that said, you can still have a house with a garage and live in an association. It is not just a condo....

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

We currently own a condo and for us, we can never imagine ourselves ever wanting a single fam home. We like our free time on the weekends and after work! We are both on the lazy side so we know nothing would get done and we'd prob bicker all the time if we had to do outside work. If anything, we can see ourselves moving into a bigger condo with more amenities. I'm so glad we never went the house route. We have plenty of grassy areas right outside our condo for our future kids to enjoy. Plus a playground and a pool that we don't have to maintain. I love maintainence free living!

Ps: I think we both live in woodgate right? My "dream" condo is the colony in Holbrook. We have fam that lives in there and it seems like it could def be our forever home. Just couldnt afford athe time we bought or else we'd be there instead

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

we currently own a condo, purchased in 6/08. we really thought we would have been here longer BUT with a baby, we outgrew it so quickly - DS is one!

we are in contract on a house now, looking to close around 7/1.

we are working numbers out now but dont expect to spend more than what our HOA is now.

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

my dh hates how content i am in our townhouse.

I love it. But my HOA fees are only 120 a month...400 is a lot. I am oos.

we just had a big storm month, i am not responsible for any of it. siding has been replaced, so have roof shingles.

I am living in a neighborhood where I would not be able to afford the homes. Great schools, great location.

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

Message edited 5/14/2011 3:28:19 PM.

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

I lived in a condo and now live in a house. I definitely prefer the house over the condo. More privacy, not as many noisy and nosy neighbors, and more space !

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

Personally I am not a condo person. I think it really comes down to that it in this market because the prices are still high.

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

I've lived in both. There are definately many perks to owning your own single family home - like the outdoor space, the privacy, the ability to do whatever you want to the place and the property around it. However on the flip side to that, a house is A LOT more work. Snow removal can be a real PITA, yard work almost every weekend in the summer and leaf removal in the fall. Anythign on the outside that needs repair is your cost and responsibility - that includes gutters, roof, paint or siding, windows, the deck, landscaping, pool (if you have one), etc. You never know if something will go wrong or need fixing each year. For example, we had a sudden drainage issue one year due to the rain...so our backyard was suddenly a swamp (it had never been in the years past) so we spent thousands of dollars to have a french drain put in. If we had been in a condo or townhouse, that would not have been our responsibility.

I guess the best thing would be for you to decide if the benefits of a home outweigh the negatives of repairs, maintenence, and costs associated with owning a single family house. If your DH is anything like my BF...he loves the extra property, doesnt mind doing yard work, and can repair most things on his own...so owning a house to him is more appealing than for some others.

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

I go back & forth on this too. I live in a co-op, and it is nice not to have to worry about snow removal, lawn care, etc, but on the other hand, things don't always get taken care of the way we would want them to be taken care of.

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

If I were able to find an affordable nice townhouse style condo big enough for us with low HOA fees around the NYC Metro area (a dream I know) I would jump on it. DH is not super handy and we both work FT so I think paying a small fee to make sure your lawn is mowed, snow plowed, etc is totally worth it. I know most condos are smaller than homes but if/when we ever decide to buy a house I wouldn't be looking for a big house with a lot of land.
Too much maintenance for me. I don't like to think about being a slave to maintenance and unless we are able to afford to hire people to take care of those things I could see it causing more arguments between DH and I than happiness. Also for me a bigger house with more land also means more $$$.

I live in a Coop right now and love the fact that anything major that needs to be fixed is done by the maintenance.

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

Hi Sandy...I would trade my house for a 3-bedroom condo/townhouse in a hot second. Mine was great when we bought it 7 years ago. All we did was paint and move in. Now we're going broke on stupid repairs and renovations (like a $10,000 landscape package that we can't maintain because we both suck at it). But, alas, my dream of condo ownership will have to wait because my house is worth so much less than I freaking owe right now so selling is out!!!

Good luck!

Re: Your thoughts on condo vs. a house?

When DH and I first moved out of the city, we only looked at condos (we live in NJ). It wasn't a price factor, it was a factor of us not wanting to have to take care of any of the maintenance ourselves. We live in a gated community and have a have a pool in our complex.
Our house is 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bath, living room, family room, formal dining room, 2 car garage, full finished basement and is 3500 square feet. Also, each of the bedrooms has a walk-in closet (the master has 2 walk-ins and a reach in closet). Not smaller than a house