Condo vs. House

For many people, the decision to live in a house or a condo is more difficult than some people anticipate.

One of the most overlooked aspects of living in a condo is that you have to pay a monthly condo fee. Condo fees typically include heat, water, building maintenance, building insurance, and reserve fund. It is important to find out exactly what the condos fees include. Note: condo fees typically only rise and are virtually never lowered.

One of the benefits of paying the condo fees is that a condo is significantly easier to maintain than a house. With a condo, you don’t have to worry about your basement flooding, your roof leaking, sewer backing up or other such expenses you may have to incur during the ownership of your house. Many people also don’t take into account the smaller things you need to purchase to maintain the home such as a lawnmower, rakes, hoses, ladders, etc. One must also factor in the time and effort it takes to perform the maintenance the house requires.

So what does it all boil down to?

Lifestyle. Plain and simple. If you want to worry about maintaining your property, or having someone watch your home while you are away on vacation, then maybe condominium living is right for you. If you have three big dogs that need a large yard to do their business in, maybe you are more suited for a house. If you are constantly on the go and don’t have the time to brush your teeth let alone mow the lawn, a condo may be your better option. When thinking about what kind of lifestyle you want to live, consider the following:

-          Your time available for home maintenance.

-          Do you love having guests over for BBQs and parties?

-          Do you own pets or want to own pets?

-          How often/long are you home in any given day?