Better To Buy A Condo Or A Home

Q: Do you think it’s better to buy a condo or a home? Zach, Pompton Lakes, NJ

A: There are advantages and disadvantages to owning condominiums and single family homes. There is a huge variety among both single family homes and condos depending on location and other factors. Nonetheless, condos tend to be more affordable than homes and often have lower maintenance costs than homes. Condos may often include shared amenities like pools, gyms, and community spaces that would be much more expensive to put into a home. However, condos also tend to have smaller living spaces than homes and condos generally have less privacy than homes. Condo owners are usually responsible only for the interior of their unit, while the condo association typically handles exterior maintenance and common area upkeep–this can be a blessing or a curse depending on how well the condo association is run and how well they are funded. Condo owners typically must pay monthly condo fees to cover the maintenance of common areas, amenities, and sometimes utilities but single family homes in some developments also require owners to pay monthly HOA (home owner association) fees. If other condo unit owners stop paying their monthly dues, special assessments may be charged to the other owners to cover costs associated with maintaining the condo complex–when you buy a condo unit, you are effectively in partnership with the other condo owners. Homeowners typically have more freedom to renovate, remodel, and personalize their property to their liking than condo owners, although that can vary from place to place. Houses, especially those on larger lots, often appreciate in value more than condos appreciate over time, although houses also typically have higher property taxes and insurance costs than condos. Thanks for your question, Zach.

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