House vrs. Condo? (1 Viewer)

[Glenn Overholt]

Outside of the obvious, (like landscaping/noise) what should I look out for? I have a house now but maintaining it is becoming a major pain.

Has anybody tried to do something in their condo and then found out that they couldn't? Something that doing it in/to a house would be a no-brainer?

Glenn

 

[ben hunt]

I've got a house but know a few people withy condo's...I'd make sure to take a look at the Do's and Don'ts that the condo association has. My friend got a ticket for putting his trash out the night before trashday one time. Not all condo associations are this strict but there are a lot that don't like you painting your shutters different, having certain kinds of blinds etc. etc.

Just make sure you know the rules before you commit.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

That's pretty tight. If he was sick on trash day, could he have called them to pick it up for him?

Also, I think he should call the public health dept. If you had some really 'nasty' trash it could pose a problem, no?

Glenn

 

[Evan S]

Here's an obvious one...do you like to play your home theater at loud volumes or with a quality subwoofer? That could exclude a condo right there, as you will have neighbors within close proximity. It's the ONLY reason why I am not considering a condo at this time and am only looking to purchase a home.

 

[Henry Carmona]

There are some good points to owning a condo.
My biggest complaint is living on the bottom floor (3 story unit), although the heating and cooling bills are probably lower than living on the top floor, youve got to put up with heavy footed neighbors :frowning:
Im fortunate that my upstairs neighbor slithers around as i never hear him. My previous neighbors had a crazy kid that would NEVER walk and would run from room to room to room, thank God theyre gone.
When i first moved in i learned i couldnt watch my movies very loud, ad my neighbors were quick to complain (to me at least).
We can do whatever we want on the interiro, but not the exteriror, the good part is that everything external lies under the Assoc's umbrella and they get to repair anything i bring to their attention
Aint gotta cut no grass either
I will be happy when i rent this baby out and get a real home tho

 

[Todd Hochard]

I will be happy when i rent this baby out and get a real home tho

...The final assessment after the "good points."
What don't you like about the maintenance of a house? You could get a lawn service, etc. If it's just "getting old," you could buy a newer home. If you're around Portland, I know there are plenty of them.
Todd

 

[Brian Johnson]

I currently rent an apartment. I now can't wait till my lease is up so I can at least find a small house to rent.

When i first moved in i learned i couldnt watch my movies very loud, ad my neighbors were quick to complain (to me at least).

Amen to that......I had a lady from the NEXT building come over said she could "feel" my music. (my initial thought was "Cool!") But thought I better watch my volumes.
I don't see myself buying anytime soon, I like the renting aspect of "it breaks, its their problem".
But now that I've done both, I am going back to the house.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

My house is officially a condo but each unit is a separate building. It's a bunch of smallish houses built around a central courtyard with a pool in the middle. My unit is 2 bdrm, 2 bath with living room and family room, approx 1400sq ft.

I have a smallish back yard that is my responsibility to keep up, otherwise the exterior is the condo assn's responsibility. The construction is woodframe with extra thick stucco exterior. I have never had a complaint about noise from my ht at reference volume. I once put a bass heavy scene on A/B loop and went outside to see if it would disturb anyone--couldn't hear it from more than 5 ft away from my family room exterior wall.

I have no problem with the ass'n over my DirecTV dish, as it's not visible from the front of my unit--one must actually enter my backyard to see it.

In my city, a typical 1400 sq ft home in my area sells for $125k or so, payments in the 1k per month range. My house payment is $430 plus $130 ass'n fee and I'm within 5 years of the end of my 15 year mortgage.

For my situation (I live alone with 1 dog and 1 cat and hate yardwork) this setup is perfect. I would never, however buy a place that shared walls with another unit.

 

[Evan S]

Steve, you are my idol. You are living in what I would consider right now to be the ultimate living arrangement. Every condo complex around me right now doesn't have stand alone units (at least not any I can see). Perhaps knowing they are out there will allow me to intensify my search. Kudos to you!

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Evan, I have thought a lot about the home theater, and am wondering if anyone has ever done a 'db' check to see how loud would be ok, but this does depend on the condo construction too. I know a lot of apartments have been converted to condos, and the 'original condos' are supposed to have better insulation for noise.

As for the heat/cooling, it works two ways. If you are at a higher floor, you pay less on heating because the tennats below you have to crank theirs up because heat rises. This also works against you if you are in an area that gets hot, because your A/C bills will go up.

I don't think that any condos can forbid a sat dish anymore, as long as you have private areas to mount it to.

Steve, you did get a great place. Thanks for the ideas.

Glenn

 

[DonRoeber]

I'm in a townhome, and have been for about a year and a half now. It's like a condo, but unlike a condo, we own the ground, and are responsible for the upkeep of the lawn, as well as the siding and roof. My house is a end-unit of a "block" (for lack of a better term) of about 8 houses. The way it's laid out, I have two neighbors that have walls connecting to mine. I've never ever had a single problem with any of them (can't hear them at all!), and they've never said anything to be about volume or anything. When I was up in the attic, I saw that we've got some pretty thick firewalls between our homes, so I'm sure that helps a lot. Although I don't see anyone else with them, I'm pretty sure that I'm allowed to add a satelite dish if I wanted DirectTV or something. Of course, adding an additon is just out of the question.

My fiancee and I bought this house because it was in a good location, and the right price. Since it's only two bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms, we're not planning on having kids here. We've maintained all along that we'll be moving when she graduates with her PhD (about 2 more years) and finds a job that she likes (my work is pretty flexible). At that poing we'll be looking for a "real" home, in which we can comfortably raise a faimly.