Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

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Grt2bOutdoors
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:28 pm If you're single and like to travel, as I do, living in a high rise building is much easier than living in a single family home. When I go on a trip, the concierge at the front desk receives any packages and holds them until I return. My car is inside a secured garage. I don't have to worry about break-ins, frozen water pipes, hot water heater failures, or any of the other stuff that worries house-owners when they travel.
You must have missed the news about that high rise in South Florida that fell down.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by UpperNwGuy »

Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:09 pm
UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:28 pm If you're single and like to travel, as I do, living in a high rise building is much easier than living in a single family home. When I go on a trip, the concierge at the front desk receives any packages and holds them until I return. My car is inside a secured garage. I don't have to worry about break-ins, frozen water pipes, hot water heater failures, or any of the other stuff that worries house-owners when they travel.
You must have missed the news about that high rise in South Florida that fell down.
I would never live in an oceanfront condo.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by muffins14 »

Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:09 pm
UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:28 pm If you're single and like to travel, as I do, living in a high rise building is much easier than living in a single family home. When I go on a trip, the concierge at the front desk receives any packages and holds them until I return. My car is inside a secured garage. I don't have to worry about break-ins, frozen water pipes, hot water heater failures, or any of the other stuff that worries house-owners when they travel.
You must have missed the news about that high rise in South Florida that fell down.
This is obviously a unique situation. Most structures, homes or condos, do not typically catastrophically fail
Last edited by muffins14 on Tue Oct 12, 2021 8:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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millervt
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by millervt »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:28 pm
Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:09 pm
UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:28 pm If you're single and like to travel, as I do, living in a high rise building is much easier than living in a single family home. When I go on a trip, the concierge at the front desk receives any packages and holds them until I return. My car is inside a secured garage. I don't have to worry about break-ins, frozen water pipes, hot water heater failures, or any of the other stuff that worries house-owners when they travel.
You must have missed the news about that high rise in South Florida that fell down.
I would never live in an oceanfront condo.

I do, but its not a high rise building, just to be precise. There are plenty of 3 - 4 story stick built condo buildings on the ocean. But concrete/rebar high rise, that's an uglier question.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by topper1296 »

adamthesmythe wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 10:28 am Condos are most common in larger, prosperous cities with dynamic job markets. Experiment says they make sense for a lot of people.

Whether good for OP depends on the economic and housing geography where he works. Condos often offer better commutes, more local businesses, and less or no maintenance. SFHs offer more space, claimed "freedom", and maybe, just maybe, better appreciation.

A 1BR may not be the best choice. 2BR costs more but has more long-term usefulness, especially if a relationship is in the future. Even if eventually there will be a move it provides a considerable buffer in time.

And then there is the in-between option of townhouses.
This is the route I took and, overall, I've been very happy making this my "starter home". I bought a brand new townhouse when I was single, but now my long time girlfriend lives with me and we are talking about buying a house next spring (and marriage as well). I'd recommend NOT buying a house while you're single.

On a related note, my townhouse is paid for and I'm trying to decide if I want to rent it out or sell it when I buy a house, but that is a separate discussion for another time.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by alex_686 »

millervt wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 7:57 am
UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:28 pm
Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:09 pm You must have missed the news about that high rise in South Florida that fell down.
I would never live in an oceanfront condo.

I do, but its not a high rise building, just to be precise. There are plenty of 3 - 4 story stick built condo buildings on the ocean. But concrete/rebar high rise, that's an uglier question.
First, this may not be the fairest comparison. Surfside was a more complex and expensive building than your average condo.

In my experience condos tend to be better taken care of than SFH. Generally speaking you have a professional management company that stays on top of the issues.

The critical word in the above sentence is "tends". The Surfside board had neglected serious and expensive maintenance issues for 10 years. As they delayed these expensive maintenance issues they become even more expensive. IIRC the estimated special assessment to fix the issues was 100k per unit. I can understand why people would be resistant to such a high special assessment. I have been on the other side, on the board arguing with owners to pass a critical special assessment.

In the ultimate analysis the board failed.

OP: I own a condo, I like condos, they can work well. However a key component is how well the board functions. Most work well. Some are run by Little Napoleons. Others don't work at all. It can be hard to tell from the outside.

2 key points.

Review all of the documents before committing. In particular you should look at the Reserve Plan (future capital spending on things like roofs) and the Reserve Fund (money set aside for those future projects). This should give you a idea on how proactive the board is.

Be active. Maybe be on the board - the duties tend to be light. At the least attend a few meetings. Boards work better the more people actively engage.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

muffins14 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 7:08 am
Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:09 pm
UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:28 pm If you're single and like to travel, as I do, living in a high rise building is much easier than living in a single family home. When I go on a trip, the concierge at the front desk receives any packages and holds them until I return. My car is inside a secured garage. I don't have to worry about break-ins, frozen water pipes, hot water heater failures, or any of the other stuff that worries house-owners when they travel.
You must have missed the news about that high rise in South Florida that fell down.
This is obviously a unique situation. Most structures, homes or condos, do not typically catastrophically fail
Just the same, a home inspector will look at a great many things. A condo inspector just looks at the actual condo itself and only makes general statements on the appearance of the building. If you are going to buy a condo, you want to see an accounting of the actual maintenance of the building.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by alex_686 »

Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 9:17 am Just the same, a home inspector will look at a great many things. A condo inspector just looks at the actual condo itself and only makes general statements on the appearance of the building. If you are going to buy a condo, you want to see an accounting of the actual maintenance of the building.
A.K.A. a Reserve Study. It should be done by a qualified independent engineer. It should be less than 3 years old.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by SQRT »

Getting back to the original question. Of course it can. Seems self evident to me given the obvious differences.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Valuethinker »

alex_686 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 9:22 am
Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 9:17 am Just the same, a home inspector will look at a great many things. A condo inspector just looks at the actual condo itself and only makes general statements on the appearance of the building. If you are going to buy a condo, you want to see an accounting of the actual maintenance of the building.
A.K.A. a Reserve Study. It should be done by a qualified independent engineer. It should be less than 3 years old.
My guess is that this will be the law in Florida, at least, going forward? Perhaps in other jurisdictions?

Things like Building Safety tend to proceed disaster by disaster. Same with suspension bridges. Each disaster forces a rethink of the existing codes and practices.

(Vaguely recall reading that it was the law in Miami, but for various reasons the rectification work was not done in the time period specified).
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Valuethinker »

Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:07 pm
ychuck46 wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:23 pm
Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Sun Oct 10, 2021 11:17 pm If you buy a condo you will be subject to association by-laws and charter on what you can and can not do on your own property. You will be subject to constant maintenance charges and depending on how well run the association is, you might find yourself subject to special assessments. Finally, you may find yourself captive to multiple "egos" who sit on the board of the association - that's always fun, especially if you don't get along with them or vice versa. Renting might make more sense, but you'd have to do the math.
You can find yourself in the same situation in a single family home if your development has an HOA.
While you can buy a house that is not in a HOA, good luck finding a condo development without one!
Ironic?

I think by law a condo has to have a Condominium Association (and am I the only one who immediately (mis)thinks "Jerry Pournelle" (sf writer)?)?
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Valuethinker »

muffins14 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 7:08 am
Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:09 pm
UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:28 pm If you're single and like to travel, as I do, living in a high rise building is much easier than living in a single family home. When I go on a trip, the concierge at the front desk receives any packages and holds them until I return. My car is inside a secured garage. I don't have to worry about break-ins, frozen water pipes, hot water heater failures, or any of the other stuff that worries house-owners when they travel.
You must have missed the news about that high rise in South Florida that fell down.
This is obviously a unique situation. Most structures, homes or condos, do not typically catastrophically fail
Jeff Goodell, the Rolling Stone environmental writer, wrote an interesting and perceptive book about seas and America and the world.

He spent quite a lot of time in Miami, so returned there after the disaster to talk to his contacts. Wrote a piece about it (but I don't recall which media outlet).

Apparently the early 70s, after the creation of the Condo in law, there was a big wave of construction in Miami. Mob involvement, inevitable in those days. A lot of poorly built structures.

Those structures are now reaching an age where they need serious remedial work. Sea air and rebar (steel bars inside reinforced concrete) do not get along well. Goodell quotes one expert as saying that using stainless steel rebar would cost perhaps 1% of total project cost, but it isn't done because it has no impact on the profitability of the units v, say, a nicer kitchen.

So hopefully this disaster will force a lot of condo boards and structural inspectors to act to force necessary repairs.

But there is a bow wave of such issues coming, or here. Miami is also built on water porous limestone or sandstone, so the sea is bubbling up beneath buildings as well (not sure that was a factor in this case).
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by willthrill81 »

Certainly. All else being equal, a condo should be expected to have a significantly lower price per sq. ft. than a single-family home. But this means having neighbors who are very close to you and who, collectively, can tell you what you can and cannot do with your property. The latter point is true of any HOA, but condo HOAs are notorious for being among the most controlling out there. For instance, many have bought condos to rent them either part- or full-time, but then the HOA has changed the rules to disallow rentals. This can quickly cause the owner's income stream from the property to cease and simultaneously decrease the market value of the property.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Another Man's Game »

I’d suggest renting a couple more years. I’ve done condos and SFH over the years and learned many lessons the hard way.

It’s likely that you will outgrow that condo quickly and lose money reselling. Condo appreciation is more volatile than SFH. There is always a finite risk of a special assessment, no matter what you are told going in. A condo in a newer building is probably a little less risky in this regard. Depending on the market and the building’s rules, you might keep the condo and rent it after you move, but the returns on this “investment” will be thin

With respect to renting— with inflation, there will be a time lag between inflation impact on the unit owner and rent increases. The property owner bears the risks, not you. Renting is almost always the right move money-wise— we have loved our SFH but have no illusions about what it has really cost us over the years. We have been happy to pay it in return for the benefits of home ownership.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Maverick3320 »

macheta wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:14 am I decided to move into a condo in 2008. Decided to buy with my girlfriend at the time. Turned out to be a very good financial and emotional decision. My only concern would be to make sure you're buying for the long term.
Buying any type of housing unit in 2008 has turned out to be a good decision today.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Maverick3320 »

One data point:

I bought a condo in a MCOL city in 2010 for 153,000. I sold it in 2019 for 212,000.

When I moved in the monthly association fee was $150 a month. By the time I sold it was up to $240/month, not to mention several "one off" extra HOA charges to cover unexpected maintenance, accidents, etc. As far as I know, they could have jacked it to $1000/month and I would have had no recourse other than to try and sell a condo with a $1000/month condo fee.

Read the fine print and just understand that the association can have a lot of power and there may not be anything you can do about it. The HOA fees eat heavily into any potential ROI.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by cbs2002 »

Alf 101 wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:28 am It is said a home is the greatest investment most people make. That said, there is a strong argument for not looking at it as an investment at all. You have to live somewhere, and you pay for what you get.
This is probably the best advice in this thread. Assume your real rate of return on a residence will be nothing (or a loss), and you will think more clearly about what you really want/need. This also eliminates worrying about whether SFHs or condos appreciate at a higher rate for the long term in the specific location you choose - very difficult to predict. And it argues in favor of minimizing the % net worth in a home, so your portfolio can work for you in actual investments.

I live in a place where condos range from not much cheaper than a small, non-updated SFH with similar square footage, up to quite a bit more than the same SFH. New/luxury SFHs are of course more expensive than similarly sized condos. People buy condos because they are generally more luxurious than most SFH stock and because they'd rather write a check than worry about maintenance. Both are perfectly valid reasons. Currently, I'd rather have a non-updated SFH because it fits what I value for my lifestyle right now, but it has nothing to do with long-term ROI. In 15-20 years I'll probably want a condo again.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by lazynovice »

Maverick3320 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 11:38 am One data point:

I bought a condo in a MCOL city in 2010 for 153,000. I sold it in 2019 for 212,000.

When I moved in the monthly association fee was $150 a month. By the time I sold it was up to $240/month, not to mention several "one off" extra HOA charges to cover unexpected maintenance, accidents, etc. As far as I know, they could have jacked it to $1000/month and I would have had no recourse other than to try and sell a condo with a $1000/month condo fee.

Read the fine print and just understand that the association can have a lot of power and there may not be anything you can do about it. The HOA fees eat heavily into any potential ROI.
Did your HOA not have elections of board members? That would have been your recourse.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by BreadandButter »

I bought a house at 29 when single, and it worked out very well. Spouse and I later sold each of our houses after we met and married. No complicated issues there, just lots of home equity to spend on our new house together. For you though, I would not buy a 3M house. You can afford the family house when you want it. If no smaller houses are available, a 2br condo would be perfect for your situation. Somewhere pleasant to live long term if that turns out to be what happens.
Last edited by BreadandButter on Tue Oct 12, 2021 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by willthrill81 »

lazynovice wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:08 pm
Maverick3320 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 11:38 am One data point:

I bought a condo in a MCOL city in 2010 for 153,000. I sold it in 2019 for 212,000.

When I moved in the monthly association fee was $150 a month. By the time I sold it was up to $240/month, not to mention several "one off" extra HOA charges to cover unexpected maintenance, accidents, etc. As far as I know, they could have jacked it to $1000/month and I would have had no recourse other than to try and sell a condo with a $1000/month condo fee.

Read the fine print and just understand that the association can have a lot of power and there may not be anything you can do about it. The HOA fees eat heavily into any potential ROI.
Did your HOA not have elections of board members? That would have been your recourse.
HOAs with elections of board members can still engage in abusive behaviors. Individuals in the HOA have no recourse beyond a single vote.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by lazynovice »

willthrill81 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:23 pm
lazynovice wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:08 pm
Maverick3320 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 11:38 am One data point:

I bought a condo in a MCOL city in 2010 for 153,000. I sold it in 2019 for 212,000.

When I moved in the monthly association fee was $150 a month. By the time I sold it was up to $240/month, not to mention several "one off" extra HOA charges to cover unexpected maintenance, accidents, etc. As far as I know, they could have jacked it to $1000/month and I would have had no recourse other than to try and sell a condo with a $1000/month condo fee.

Read the fine print and just understand that the association can have a lot of power and there may not be anything you can do about it. The HOA fees eat heavily into any potential ROI.
Did your HOA not have elections of board members? That would have been your recourse.
HOAs with elections of board members can still engage in abusive behaviors. Individuals in the HOA have no recourse beyond a single vote.
Raising the fees from $150 a month to $1,000 a month would result in more than one vote against the current board in the real world.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Dottie57 »

alex_686 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 9:22 am
Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 9:17 am Just the same, a home inspector will look at a great many things. A condo inspector just looks at the actual condo itself and only makes general statements on the appearance of the building. If you are going to buy a condo, you want to see an accounting of the actual maintenance of the building.
A.K.A. a Reserve Study. It should be done by a qualified independent engineer. It should be less than 3 years old.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by willthrill81 »

lazynovice wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:31 pm
willthrill81 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:23 pm
lazynovice wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:08 pm
Maverick3320 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 11:38 am One data point:

I bought a condo in a MCOL city in 2010 for 153,000. I sold it in 2019 for 212,000.

When I moved in the monthly association fee was $150 a month. By the time I sold it was up to $240/month, not to mention several "one off" extra HOA charges to cover unexpected maintenance, accidents, etc. As far as I know, they could have jacked it to $1000/month and I would have had no recourse other than to try and sell a condo with a $1000/month condo fee.

Read the fine print and just understand that the association can have a lot of power and there may not be anything you can do about it. The HOA fees eat heavily into any potential ROI.
Did your HOA not have elections of board members? That would have been your recourse.
HOAs with elections of board members can still engage in abusive behaviors. Individuals in the HOA have no recourse beyond a single vote.
Raising the fees from $150 a month to $1,000 a month would result in more than one vote against the current board in the real world.
I would certainly hope so, but there have been other abusive behaviors performed by elected HOA boards that unfortunately stuck for any number of reasons.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by Maverick3320 »

lazynovice wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:31 pm
willthrill81 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:23 pm
lazynovice wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:08 pm
Maverick3320 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 11:38 am One data point:

I bought a condo in a MCOL city in 2010 for 153,000. I sold it in 2019 for 212,000.

When I moved in the monthly association fee was $150 a month. By the time I sold it was up to $240/month, not to mention several "one off" extra HOA charges to cover unexpected maintenance, accidents, etc. As far as I know, they could have jacked it to $1000/month and I would have had no recourse other than to try and sell a condo with a $1000/month condo fee.

Read the fine print and just understand that the association can have a lot of power and there may not be anything you can do about it. The HOA fees eat heavily into any potential ROI.
Did your HOA not have elections of board members? That would have been your recourse.
HOAs with elections of board members can still engage in abusive behaviors. Individuals in the HOA have no recourse beyond a single vote.
Raising the fees from $150 a month to $1,000 a month would result in more than one vote against the current board in the real world.
If it's as easy as you say to prevent HOA abuse, why does it happen so frequently?
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by nigel_ht »

cbs2002 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 11:41 am
Alf 101 wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:28 am It is said a home is the greatest investment most people make. That said, there is a strong argument for not looking at it as an investment at all. You have to live somewhere, and you pay for what you get.
This is probably the best advice in this thread. Assume your real rate of return on a residence will be nothing (or a loss), and you will think more clearly about what you really want/need. This also eliminates worrying about whether SFHs or condos appreciate at a higher rate for the long term in the specific location you choose - very difficult to predict. And it argues in favor of minimizing the % net worth in a home, so your portfolio can work for you in actual investments.
He's in SF. Almost none of the comments thus far have taken that into account. It's different that most real estate markets. It's the second most expensive area to rent so all the folks recommending rent need to take that into account.

All that said...this chart kind of tells you, from an investment perspective, where condos sit:

Image

vs houses

Image

I didn't verify the charts but there are more here:

https://www.bayareamarketreports.com/tr ... rends-news

Take with a moderate amount of salt but I'd rather get that SFH I found on Zillow than a nicer condo. There must be something going on to only be $1.3M but it likely has more legs than the surrounding condo offerings.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by willthrill81 »

nigel_ht wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:47 pm He's in SF. Almost none of the comments thus far have taken that into account. It's different that most real estate markets. It's the second most expensive area to rent so all the folks recommending rent need to take that into account.
Virtually all housing options in the Bay area are very expensive, but renting is far less costly than owning there. That's what drives many, if not most, of the recommendations to rent there.

Many of those who advocate buying there and in other VHCOL areas are doing so under the assumption that real estate prices will continue to climb at a far faster rate than inflation. That's an assumption that may not hold over one's time there, and it certainly cannot hold forever.
Last edited by willthrill81 on Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by cbs2002 »

nigel_ht wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:47 pm
He's in SF. Almost none of the comments thus far have taken that into account. It's different that most real estate markets. It's the second most expensive area to rent so all the folks recommending rent need to take that into account.

All that said...this chart kind of tells you, from an investment perspective, where condos sit:

Image

vs houses

Image

I didn't verify the charts but there are more here:

https://www.bayareamarketreports.com/tr ... rends-news

Take with a moderate amount of salt but I'd rather get that SFH I found on Zillow than a nicer condo. There must be something going on to only be $1.3M but it likely has more legs than the surrounding condo offerings.
thx - def important to localize the data as much as reasonably possible. I'm glad I'm not in the position of having to decide whether to take on extreme leverage or tie up a lot of cash to buy a property in SF. Still, at some point someone gets left holding the bag, like all the people who bought condos in 2018 who have experienced no real appreciation. That could happen to SFHs too, or maybe it won't. Again, glad that's not a game I'm playing.
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by lazynovice »

Maverick3320 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:44 pm
lazynovice wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:31 pm
willthrill81 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:23 pm
lazynovice wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 12:08 pm
Maverick3320 wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 11:38 am One data point:

I bought a condo in a MCOL city in 2010 for 153,000. I sold it in 2019 for 212,000.

When I moved in the monthly association fee was $150 a month. By the time I sold it was up to $240/month, not to mention several "one off" extra HOA charges to cover unexpected maintenance, accidents, etc. As far as I know, they could have jacked it to $1000/month and I would have had no recourse other than to try and sell a condo with a $1000/month condo fee.

Read the fine print and just understand that the association can have a lot of power and there may not be anything you can do about it. The HOA fees eat heavily into any potential ROI.
Did your HOA not have elections of board members? That would have been your recourse.
HOAs with elections of board members can still engage in abusive behaviors. Individuals in the HOA have no recourse beyond a single vote.
Raising the fees from $150 a month to $1,000 a month would result in more than one vote against the current board in the real world.
If it's as easy as you say to prevent HOA abuse, why does it happen so frequently?
What data do you have that abuse happens frequently? Almost every state has laws in place that protect owners.

The reason abuse happens is indifferent owners who won’t serve on the board or even bother to vote for the board so the same people get elected over and over. It isn’t like there are buildings full of hostages wondering how to replace their boards. Most people like the rules and are happy for others to be the bad guy.

If you don’t like the board, you run to be on it. If you think a rule is unfair, you talk to all your neighbors and you get them to vote to change it.
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JMacDonald
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by JMacDonald »

I live in a condo. I would buy a house in your situation. If you can afford the house, you can deal with all the issues that come with a house.
Best Wishes, | Joe
BreadandButter
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by BreadandButter »

A single person in a large house may not be a comfortable lifestyle for many. A smaller space may be better for those people. Many single people buy smaller houses or condos. It can always be sold or rented out later as a spouse or kids come along.
michaellarimore
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by michaellarimore »

Location - Location - Location First and Foremost-
If you have a good location, you can sell easily and a better neighborhood is a better life.

Get what you need, perhaps slightly more- But don't make yourself "House Poor", it is no fun.
If you need a house get a house, need a condo get a condo. Do your research before buying either, mistakes are expensive.
Nothing wrong with renting if you don't know where you want to settle down either. If your needs change, move. You are unlikely to live your entire life in your first home regardless of what you buy.

The real-estate market has been hot lately and many forget- Homes are to live in, Stocks and bonds are to invest in.
stoptothink
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Re: Does a condo ever make more sense than a house?

Post by stoptothink »

michaellarimore wrote: Sun Oct 17, 2021 3:02 pm Location - Location - Location First and Foremost-
If you have a good location, you can sell easily and a better neighborhood is a better life.

Get what you need, perhaps slightly more- But don't make yourself "House Poor", it is no fun.
If you need a house get a house, need a condo get a condo. Do your research before buying either, mistakes are expensive.
Nothing wrong with renting if you don't know where you want to settle down either. If your needs change, move. You are unlikely to live your entire life in your first home regardless of what you buy.

The real-estate market has been hot lately and many forget- Homes are to live in, Stocks and bonds are to invest in.
We bought a townhome (in a townhome/condo community) instead of a SFH because there aren't any SFH homes that were in our desired area. Come hell or high water, I was going to walk to work. Not only is our home ~.3 miles from my office, but is also <3 miles from my wife's former office (she regularly biked when it wasn't snowing) and within walking (or at least easy biking) distance of almost everything we normally do (grocery, library, multiple parks, kids' MMA gym, etc.). We can easily afford a SFH, we purchased it 6yrs ago for 1.4x HHI and our income has since doubled.

We'll likely upgrade to a SFH home in the next 5yrs - I now WFH and wife is hybrid so it isn't as big of a deal - but the conveniently located townhome was absolutely the best choice for us when we bought and still think it is today.
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