Ditch The Apartment And Switch To Condo Living!

Advantages From Many Angles

While it’s possible to rent a condominium, most who pursue this residential avenue aim for ownership. This is the primary advantage of condo living. You can build equity without having to purchase a house. Also, that equity can expand if you buy right. That is to say, you can see the value of your condo increase, legitimately expanding your assets.

You’ll never see any benefits like that from an apartment. Unless you consider paying the rent each month and having it raised on you every year a benefit. Apartments are an equity black hole. They suck in your rent monthly and return nothing for that price. If you’re paying $800 to $2,500 a month for an apartment, and you live there for three years, you’ve thrown away $29k to $90k which could have been paying off your condo mortgage.

Even if you’ve got a small condo or a small property, putting the monthly payment into equity makes more sense. You can get at least some of it back. With an apartment, the most you can get back is your damages deposit, and that’s not going to be more than a few hundred or thousand dollars depending on the apartment.

So with that in mind, in this writing, we’re going to go over to a few more positive aspects of condo life as a means of helping you see why so many have gone this route over the rental of a home or apartment.

1. HOAs

A Home Owner’s Association, or HOA, institutes certain rules regarding a given community. In residential communities that don’t include condos, HOAs are a bit less positive. But with a condominium, you’re going to have a lot of difficulties ironed out beforehand.

Your HOA fees will include such things as insurance on the exterior of the building, water, sewer, trash, cable, amenities, yard maintenance and upkeep, plus more. They do come at a fee, but generally, HOAs maintain the value of a property, meaning your equity is insured over the long-term. There are definite pros and cons to belonging to an HOA. That said, sometimes HOAs aren’t always as advertised, so be sure to “keep them honest” by checking in on them.

For example, sometimes you purchase a property on a lake but that lake is used to irrigate a nearby golf course at intervals, so though when you looked at the property, the water was right at the edge of your property, yet, for half the year, it recedes a hundred feet. You would want to call up the HOA in that scenario. Ask other locals in the area to see what the HOA is like.

2. Actual Neighbors

Certainly, with apartment living, you have technical “neighbors” who live adjacent to you. But they’re going to be more transient than those in a condominium community. You may never get to know them—or even want to. With a condo, you’ll have neighbors with whom you can build a real relationship. They are investing in condo equity as you are.

3. Bigger, Better Living Spaces

Because people generally own condos, they will make updates, and more carefully maintain the premises. You’ll find some that are over 20 stories tall, exceptional views, and locations that are ideally located within a given community. You could purchase a bayfront condo at a fraction of the price of a bayfront home. This is because you are sharing the expense of the land with many people.

Also, you’ll find it’s a bit easier to move into a condo. Because there’s a greater level of economic impact, and a higher class of residents defining most condos, a lot of complimentary moving options exist. Now groups such as UMoveFree provide moving options for apartments or condos; but with a condo, you’ll have these and more solutions available.

The square footage that you have in a condo is typically designed so that not 1 inch of the property is unusable. The architectural design of the interiors can be a marvel when seeing how smart they use the space provided. A 1200 square-foot condo can feel larger than a 1500 square-foot home.

4. Rent-To-Own In The Same Price Range

Renting condos isn’t a big difference from renting an apartment; only you get a unit in a good community built for equity and designed to appreciate in value over time. Additionally, you typically get better units and neighbors, and you will have a mortgage with the condo instead of a straight rental, allowing that equity option that’s been mentioned so much here.

A Superior Option

There are a lot of things to consider when you’re either looking to move or build equity. Condos often become owned by those who lodge there. Rent-to-own situations are available but difficult to find. You’ll find better, bigger living spaces, better neighbors, HOAs, and more with your newly purchased condo.

If you haven’t looked into buying a condo as opposed to renting an apartment, there’s never a better time than now. In terms of preserving assets and equity, hands-down, condos are the better option.

Additional real estate resources

Karen Highland has put together a great article explaining housing affordability.  She shows why buying a home can be a much better choice than sinking money into rent month after month.

Michelle Gibson has written an article discussing the differences between renting vs. buying.  She discusses the costs, permanency, and the risks of both to help you out in which is better for you.

Frederick Franks tells how to get your first mortgage approved.  When you make the change from renting to buying a home or condo these tips discussed in Frederick's article will help you to lock in your financing.

Petra Noris talks about a lesser-used practice of buying a home in most real estate markets.  Learn all about rent to own pros and cons in Petra's very informative article.