| Posted By |
Message |
MrsFishstick
LIF Adult
Member since 5/10 935 total posts
Name:
|
House or Condo
With the market the way it is, I want to jump in and buy something instead of renting. We want to keep our mortgage to about what we are spending in rent, maybe a little more so we are on a strict budget. Would it be more prudent to buy a fixer upper and fix it up....
OR
Buy a condo that is already great and sell it once (if) the market goes up so we have equity to put into a better house??
TIA
|
Posted 7/7/10 9:20 AM  |
| |
|
nov04libride
big brother <3
Member since 5/05 14672 total posts
Name:
Me
|
Re: House or Condo
I think it really depends on your budget. A condo will be cheaper generally, especially if you get a 1 or 2 bedroom. Do you have the cash to put into a fixer upper? If you have a small DP plus $30-50,000 to fix it up (what we've spent on our excellent condition home  ), then go for the house.
To me, the big question for you is how do you plan on paying to fix up the house if your nestegg goes into your down payment?
Message edited 7/7/2010 10:01:01 AM.
|
| Posted 7/7/10 9:56 AM |
| |
|
JldDolphin
Member since 1/07 6929 total posts
Name:
Jen
|
Re: House or Condo
you can look at it this way, if you buy a fixer upper, you can spend the next 5 ish years fixing it up. The housing market is low now, so buying something now is a good idea. If/when the market goes back up then your home will be worth more. But you need to have downpayment, plus to fixer up money for the house. There will be things you want to do right away depending on how much of a fixer upper you buy. We have sunk in a lot of money since we bought our home 3 years ago, but for us it was worth it because it's not a starter home for us. You really have to weigh all your options. But buying a 2 bedroom condo isn't not a bad idea either. You can easily live there for 5-7 years probably and then sell and buy a house. GL with your decision.
|
| Posted 7/7/10 10:08 AM |
| |
|
HeatherRose
Life is Good :)
Member since 11/07 6605 total posts
Name:
|
Re: House or Condo
I would go with the fixer upper IF its bigger in size then a condo.
If the market doesn't change before you want to get out of a condo (maybe you start having babies and can't stay due to size) you might be stuck in the house.
When we bought we always asked ourselves, if we had to stay forever, could we? If the answer was no, we didn't consider the place. Times have changed so much, and no one really knows when the market is going to turn around. I wouldn't plan on leaving before at minimum 5 years
|
| Posted 7/7/10 10:12 AM |
| |
|
alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
|
Re: House or Condo
We bought a fixer upper because DH is not a fan of condos. He doesn't want to be that close to the neighbors.
I think its a personal decision. We completely gutted our house. We probably only spent 30K total but we did all the work ourselves. And we did it all since Jan 1 of this year. So it can be done and without tons of cash but you have to be willing to live in a mess and do most of the work yourself.
|
| Posted 7/7/10 11:32 AM |
| |
|
Pray4Baby2010
<3 Cutest Giants Fan
Member since 10/09 5796 total posts
Name:
MB
|
Re: House or Condo
we bought a condo instead of a house because of all the extra costs associated with a home that we dont have- our taxes are $2,000 a year- divided into our maintenance payments ($615/month)
we would not have had the income to pay LI taxes, fix the boiler, roof or any major expense after we purchased if god forbid anything went wrong- also home heating oil at my grandmothers was running almost $1,000 a month at that time- and we didnt want to worry about that either
|
| Posted 7/7/10 11:41 AM |
| |
|
|
|
Re: House or Condo
I would consider the pros/cons of a condo before making that decision...lots of rules and common charges...
I agree w/PP who said, "Could we live here forever?"....someone told me that years ago when it came to looking for a house and it really stuck.
|
| Posted 7/7/10 3:50 PM |
| |
|
JandJ1224
Member since 6/06 5911 total posts
Name:
Jannette
|
Re: House or Condo
I think that you might find when you add common charges and taxes to your payment condos might not be that much cheaper. I would go for the fixer upper if it was on a large property and you had money to fix things of importance to you right away
|
| Posted 7/7/10 3:59 PM |
| |
|
MaZz
* Lovin my baby girl!!! *
Member since 2/09 6243 total posts
Name:
Gina
|
Re: House or Condo
Its really a personal decision so Im not going to add my vote... We bought a condo this past Dec bc we didnt want to bother doing any outside work (aside from my gardening I do)... We are also not handy so fixing a place up ourselves would have cost us lots of time and movey hiring others to do the work... Im happy with my decision so far to go with an updated condo 
|
| Posted 7/7/10 4:01 PM |
| |
|
MrsFishstick
LIF Adult
Member since 5/10 935 total posts
Name:
|
Re: House or Condo
Posted by MaZz
Its really a personal decision so Im not going to add my vote... We bought a condo this past Dec bc we didnt want to bother doing any outside work (aside from my gardening I do)... We are also not handy so fixing a place up ourselves would have cost us lots of time and movey hiring others to do the work... Im happy with my decision so far to go with an updated condo
This is us, not handy...we have a dog so ideally I'd like a place that has a little area for him to sit in the sun and hang out.
|
| Posted 7/7/10 4:03 PM |
| |
|
HeatherRose
Life is Good :)
Member since 11/07 6605 total posts
Name:
|
Re: House or Condo
Posted by Pray4Baby2010
we bought a condo instead of a house because of all the extra costs associated with a home that we dont have- our taxes are $2,000 a year- divided into our maintenance payments ($615/month)
we would not have had the income to pay LI taxes, fix the boiler, roof or any major expense after we purchased if god forbid anything went wrong- also home heating oil at my grandmothers was running almost $1,000 a month at that time- and we didnt want to worry about that either
see this was a huge factor in why we didn't buy a condo. At least where we were looking the taxes were the same as the house we bought (10k a year for a 2 bedroom 2 bath 1000 sq ft unit vs 4 bed 3 bath 2700 sqft home with my own private yard, large driveway etc) and I didn't like that at the end of they year you could be hit with a HUGE bill for repairs that were made that maybe you wouldn't have chosen to do if you lived in a home. they way the condos worked where we were looking was if they replaced the roofs on all unit, or the parking lots, or the ac units etc, at the end of the year you got a bill (seperate from your monthly maintence and taxes) and there was no cap to what that bill could be. At least if I wanted to wait on something like a new driveway I could. I could also neg. the best price that I could afford. And I had the option to wait on things that weren't a necessaity that year. with the condo I wouldn't have that option, for me that was a deal breaker
Message edited 7/7/2010 4:07:13 PM.
|
| Posted 7/7/10 4:06 PM |
| |
|
MaZz
* Lovin my baby girl!!! *
Member since 2/09 6243 total posts
Name:
Gina
|
Re: House or Condo
Posted by TLa818
Posted by MaZz
Its really a personal decision so Im not going to add my vote... We bought a condo this past Dec bc we didnt want to bother doing any outside work (aside from my gardening I do)... We are also not handy so fixing a place up ourselves would have cost us lots of time and movey hiring others to do the work... Im happy with my decision so far to go with an updated condo
This is us, not handy...we have a dog so ideally I'd like a place that has a little area for him to sit in the sun and hang out.
My condo has a patio in the front... big enough for table and chairs, bbq, even DH's motorcycle  ... Honestly, if we were to have kids, I'd prob want a backyard then
|
| Posted 7/7/10 4:09 PM |
| |
|
MaZz
* Lovin my baby girl!!! *
Member since 2/09 6243 total posts
Name:
Gina
|
Re: House or Condo
Posted by HeatherRose
see this was a huge factor in why we didn't buy a condo. At least where we were looking the taxes were the same as the house we bought (10k a year for a 2 bedroom 2 bath 1000 sq ft unit vs 4 bed 3 bath 2700 sqft home with my own private yard, large driveway etc)
Whoa... Thats an insane amt of taxes for a condo... where were you looking?!?!  We only pay 3200 thank god!... and we have a 3 bd, 1.5 bath, 1300 sq ft
|
| Posted 7/7/10 4:12 PM |
| |
|
Pray4Baby2010
<3 Cutest Giants Fan
Member since 10/09 5796 total posts
Name:
MB
|
Re: House or Condo
Posted by HeatherRose
Posted by Pray4Baby2010
we bought a condo instead of a house because of all the extra costs associated with a home that we dont have- our taxes are $2,000 a year- divided into our maintenance payments ($615/month)
we would not have had the income to pay LI taxes, fix the boiler, roof or any major expense after we purchased if god forbid anything went wrong- also home heating oil at my grandmothers was running almost $1,000 a month at that time- and we didnt want to worry about that either
see this was a huge factor in why we didn't buy a condo. At least where we were looking the taxes were the same as the house we bought (10k a year for a 2 bedroom 2 bath 1000 sq ft unit vs 4 bed 3 bath 2700 sqft home with my own private yard, large driveway etc) and I didn't like that at the end of they year you could be hit with a HUGE bill for repairs that were made that maybe you wouldn't have chosen to do if you lived in a home. they way the condos worked where we were looking was if they replaced the roofs on all unit, or the parking lots, or the ac units etc, at the end of the year you got a bill (seperate from your monthly maintence and taxes) and there was no cap to what that bill could be. At least if I wanted to wait on something like a new driveway I could. I could also neg. the best price that I could afford. And I had the option to wait on things that weren't a necessaity that year. with the condo I wouldn't have that option, for me that was a deal breaker
honestly depends on the management & board
when you buy a condo- you have to make sure to buy one that has good financials- and I would say ours has the best in Queens- our coop maintenance in two years has gone down $25 not up like all the surrounding complexes and they have continued to make improvements- they own investment condos that they rent- so there is a lot of $$
there are definitely pro's and cons but condos can be a great starter home
|
| Posted 7/7/10 4:19 PM |
| |
|
ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
|
Re: House or Condo
Not a fan of Condos. And equity is not a guarantee... unless of course you are talking about negative equity.
I would not buy anything if you intend on moving in less than five years. So Condo probably out. Buy the house.
|
| Posted 7/7/10 4:23 PM |
| |
|
RocPin
Life's Beachy <3
Member since 2/08 6765 total posts
Name:
Heather
|
Re: House or Condo
A fixer upper. I wouldn't even give it a second thought. IMO, It would be a better investment in the long run
|
| Posted 7/7/10 9:57 PM |
| |
|
