Should I buy a Condo or a House?

For the reasons you cited, I bought a house instead of getting a condo.

>>1752786
You Rich ? Buy a House

You not Rich ? Buy a Condo

>>1752786
with a house you've potentially got HOA's making decisions about your property. You've definitely got local government doing the same.

I'm not in favor of condos, but it's not like a house is all yours either.

>>1752786
Condos have the benefit of not having to worry about property maintence. They also might have amenities like doormen, rooftop decks, pools, resident events, and the such. Condos are good for people who want to to not have to deal with property maintence, lawn mowing, landscaping, etc. Those condo association fees are intended to be what you would pay if you owned your own house.

And of course, they are popular I'm large cities where stand-alone houses are much less common/more expensive. Or if you want to live in a high rise, but not rent.

Before you buy a condo, always have a lawyer look over the condo association rules, regulations and make sure their finances are in good shape. Of course, you should do the same if you buy a house in a subdivision and belong to a homeowner's association. Inflated egos can really make for nasty politics in condo/homeowner associations

>>1752800
How active are HOA's and can one ever be imposed on me after I have bought my house?

I was always aware that condo boards were a thing, but I assumed you just paid a small maintenance fee to keep the lights on, keep property clear of snow etc, and that there would just be some very general, basic rules so that no one in the building will be unreasonably bothered. Instead I find out that condo fees can be almost as much as rent and that condo boards are known for making heavy-handed and arbitrary decisions AFTER people have taken out mortgages and moved in. If that is how it works I don't see how owning a condo is any better than renting.

>>1752786
condos are more volatile

Miami beach fancy condos did horrible in 2007,2008 but have been some of the top performers in 2014 and 2013

I also assumed that condo fees would include the property tax. Apparently not. Dafuq?

>>1752816
>How active are HOA's
it varies from doing nothing to governing every aspect of your life that can be seen from outside your home. They're notorious for doing fucked up things and charging you for them.
>and can one ever be imposed on me after I have bought my house?
no.

>>1752786
keep in mind the constant cost of owning a house such as property tax/hydro(electricity)/gas heating/water
plus all the maintenence stuff.

im honestly in your position right now as well, and im right on the edge

>>1752813
>Before you buy a condo, always have a lawyer look over the condo association rules, regulations and make sure their finances are in good shape. Of course, you should do the same if you buy a house in a subdivision and belong to a homeowner's association. Inflated egos can really make for nasty politics in condo/homeowner associations

Yeah, I'd also like to see a history of condo board decisions and the overall behavior of the organization. I'm not completely against the idea of a condo association as long as I know upfront what I am getting into, I just don't want any major surprises down the road.

And what about townhouse tracts that are operated as condos? They are common in my city, and have significantly lower condo fees than in buildings. To own a house for such a small amount of money seems too good to be true so I'm guessing there is a catch.

>>1752816
>How active are HOA's and can one ever be imposed on me after I have bought my house?
They can tell you they don't like that tree you just planted in your backyard. Or they don't approve of the bricks you used to lay a nice path to your front door. Or that they don't like the color you painted your shutters. Or that you can't park a car in your driveway, it has to be in the garage. Or that they don't like your Easter decorations. Or that you have too many guests over too frequently.

>>1752839
That's not necessarily true. You may have covenants that don't kick in until a specified point that may force an HOA on you.

>>1752882
I would consider that a pre-existing HOA

>>1752876
are HOA's mainly a thing in the US, ive never heard of it up here in CAN

real estate really varies by area, board like this you have people with different taxes, rental costs and property price growth rates, no one solution, for here it's...

a house isn't an investment, it's a luxury product, I wouldn't even buy a house with a home owners association
rent, or condo fees+property taxes+mortgage+real estate transaction cost are living expenses

for most people it's a forced savings plan by bundling it with cost of living, than having financial discipline

better off renting until you can own something detached, put savings in a index fund and be patient

>Do you guys have any horror stories

there's been a few here
>people buy condo units before it's finished
>final product is real bad, leaks and drafts
>nobody wants to buy unsold units
>condo goes into receivership as the corporate owners decided it's better to take a loss
it can end up getting straightened out in 5-10 years, but downpayment and mortgage might be stuck for then

>guy buys condo from someone who lives in the building
>did a bad inspection
>bats were nesting behind walls
>wants to sue previous owner for not disclosing
>needs to prove the bats have been a problem for a while
>has to hire expert to inspect
>previous owner uses condo board power to prevent expert from inspecting

someone who subleted was told by her landlord
>old retiree in building
>nothing better to do
>notes every rule infringement
>uses veto power to strike down any motion forwarded by someone who has done even one wrong
heard a lot about that, got to check minutes of any board

there's also shit how condos don't last forever, you have a 50 year lease really, usually part of the agreement for some reconstruction at a later period and a civil forfeiture

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>>1752786

Buy a house if you can afford it. I used to own a condo and the Home Owner's Association Board was HELL. I owned the place for five years, and during that time my fees doubled. Also, a lot of things felt into disrepair. When our gates would break; they would take a long time to fix them. Until one they they simply said fuck it, and never repaired them. The gates remained open 24/7. Then the pool got emptied out, because they didn't have the funds to maintain it after having installed new roofs.

In the end it turned out that the company taking care of the HOA was stealing part of the funds. And they got away with it, because the company was owned by the mayor's family. Also, HOA meetings can be frustrating. A lot of talk, debating, and bitching about the same crap over and over again, but no one really knows shit or has the initiative to do anything. Pretty much /pol but in real life.

Also, people can and they will get all over your shit. For example, I had a tiny ass "frond yard" and got a few warnings for not cutting my grass and bushes. And I would tell them; fuckers take care of the damn gates and pool first, and don't worry about my fucking 4" x 4" foot jungle. HOA only covered the outside of my condo (roof and common areas). I would also get warnings for not bringing my trash cans inside my patio before dawn on trash days. Both the wife and I had school and worked; so I couldn't bother with that shit. Lucky for us our super nice Asian neighbor self-volunteered to bring them inside every Tuesday.

Oh, and that nice lady almost had a heart attack once. The Board's Lawyer threatened her with foreclosure after falling behind two months on her association fees. Her husband had passed away.

I ended up selling the place after college. AND whenever I see HOA attached to a property I RUN!

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>>1753288

Fuck a house. I just bought a DT condo.

You want a boring life in your linely 3 bes room house? Ya cool. I want to have the playboy lifestyle in my life. Can you imgaine the social networking and that goes on inside the dormatory dor the wealth?

Condos have significant qualitative value if you want to be on the next level

>>1753305

Fuck a house. I just bought a DT condo.

You really want a boring life in your a d be lonely 3 bed room house in the burbs? Ya cool. I want to have the playboy lifestyle in my life. Can you imgaine the social networking and that goes on inside the dormatory for the wealthy?

Condos have significant qualitative value if you want to be on the next level

>>1752786
i live in a condo, our HOA consists of 4 70 yo jew accountants. place runs like a watch. i give them 400 bucks a month, no bills, no water, elect, gas, everythings taken care of

it's not for everyone but i have no wifey or kids or desire to mow a lawn so why not. it's a nice neighborhood so i could sell it for at least what i bought it without too much trouble

>>1753327
Condo fees here, in apartment buildings at least, are from 400-800 a month, and they never include property tax which is another 100+ a month. That's not much less than renting. Not having to pay my own bills or mow the lawn doesn't mean much to me (I actually enjoy doing yard work). I guess a condo might be beneficial when it comes to big-ticket maintenance projects like a new roof or a re-wiring, but for me I'm not sure it makes any financial sense, as I live in a smaller city where houses are relatively affordable.

I'm starting to think that a condo is a terrible idea. It would cost more than renting but without the benefits of ownership, as I would have to deal with condo board. If I'm not going to buy a house it seems better to rent and deal with a landlord, because we sign a contract and know exactly where we stand, whereas there seems to be a lot more bullshit with a condo board.

>>1752876
what if i give a shit about them
>america the land of the free ri right ?

It literally just depends on your local area's market.

I just bought a 1br condo because I'm a single dude who don't want to mow no grass, and including the HOA fee (which also includes water, sewer, trash, and snow removal), property tax, and insurance (which is significantly cheaper for condos than homes, btw), I pay about $300-400 less per month than I would on the mortgage for a similarly sized ranch home, with a more convenient location closer to town. It was a no brainer. Whatever you do, though, don't rent, unless it's a stopgap measure while you're in between residences. At least with a mortgage you get to keep some of your cost of living payments as equity, but when you rent it's all gone forever.

>>1753309
Hi friendo
Please post on /biz/ more often
What other issues are on your mind? I await your threads.

>>1752786
Id rather get a condo in a semi touristy area and rent it out some times. Condo associations usually take care of all gardening and trash stuff as well as keeping the roadways up to date and there are usually perks like pools and stuff.

>>1752786
Do you want to live in a cappieblock?

>>1752786
You realize that in most neighborhoods worth buying property, other people can still make decisions about your property on your behalf (ie. what the street-facing part looks like, what you can do with it, etc...)

>>1752800
you can buy a house where there's no HOA

>>1752786
Buy a camper van. Retire young.

>>1755599
I've never heard of an HOA in Canada, and obviously I wouldn't buy in such a neighborhood anyway, considering that my main reason for not wanting a condo is that I don't want to deal with such an organization. If you are talking about municipal government bylaws, around here they are pretty sensible and not heavy-handed at all. For example, having to haul a permit on major electrical work is not an undue hardship, it makes sense. I'm no fan of city hall but I'm less concerned about them than some condo board Jews who have nothing better to do than mess with me.

I guess it comes down to dollars and cents. I would rather own a house, but I don't know if it makes financial sense as a single man. I can easily find a 3 bedroom house valued the same as a 2 bedroom condo, I'll just have to look at other expenses and crunch the numbers to see what makes sense long term.

>>1752786
Condo owner here. The HOA is a plague on your existance. They can fine you if your neighbors complain enough, so make sure and read the gay rulebook they give you and find out when you can make noise, what you can do with remodels, ad all that shit.
Here's an example: whe I bought my unit in the early 2000s,, smoking was allowed. then sometime arounnd 2013 they decided this building was a "smoke free" property.Now, since I moved in when it wasn't "smoke free" , my right to smoke in my unit was grandfathered in, but people who bought their places after ca't smoke IN A PLACE THEY FUCkin own without risking a fine.
Also condos tend to be full of nosy old cat ladies, so be prepared to get snitched out a lot if you break da rurus.

>>1756370
>Also condos tend to be full of nosy old cat ladies, so be prepared to get snitched out a lot if you break da rurus.

The fuck is this, grade school? What kind of things can a reasonably well-behaved man expect to be "snitched out" on? The worst I would probably do is smoke cigarettes and ganja on my deck.

>>1756370
>grandfathered in

This is an important one. How typical is it to grandfather in these rules? Obviously before buying a condo I would read the rule book and either agree or disagree, but I am concerned about rules being changed after I have bought. For example, I know of a guy who bought a condo with the understanding that he could have a barbecue and smoke cigarettes on his deck. A year later the condo board decided to ban both of these things. Dude was obviously not grandfathered in because he said fuck this and moved.

>>1752786
From what i read.

Your rent after u buy the condo takes care of the bullshit like paperwork and painting the outside and doing hallway carpets etc...

From what i know. Own 2 houses. Take your time and buy right. Dont buy a shithole.

>be me
>own 2 shitholes in town
>bout to pay them off and refinance to build small 1 bedroom ina woods. Rent 1 and use the other 1 for storage until se can get a storage building put up.

>mfw my wife wont let me board this shithole up and have a 20,000 storage shed...

Has 2 grarages and used to be a duplez tho. Fucking yuge.

Oh well

Guess i will burn all my shit and spend money buying new shit that i threw away.

Makes sense...

>>1752800
Hoa's. We don't even have code here. My neighnor bought a house and boarded a camper into it. Hell, my father in law butted a trailer house and a camper to a house.

0 fucks given.

Oh, but my car breaks down and i dont tag it for 2 months i get a ticket.

Time to move

>>1752813
Mfw hoa for trumps house regulates flags to 30 feet and he builds 50.

After bullshit he takes it down.

Builds 20 foot hill and plants 39 foot fuck u flag.

This is how to play politics.


Also, people said u cant be president.


WE IN THE WHITEHOUSE NOW!

>>1752816
Condo yes.

Typically hoa-s only voted in or like the builder i worked for. Just poped up new houses with them in it. Keeping up with the joneses is all ot fucking is. That and keeps your fruitcake neighbor from rainbow painting his house our plumbing a camper in the front yard. Shit like that

>>1754768
>land of the free
>paying taxes on shit i supposedly own.
Nope, uncle same owns all land.
>live off gdid and collect rain water, milk my own cows, raise own meat etc.
Ahhhh nononono.
>have coi pond.
NAVIGAL BODY OF WATER B&!

Land of the free died in the 40's when taxes came to the free land.

No gold to back up fiat currency.

Federal reserve and tax.

Contribution vs benefit.

Well, i guess i will die now...

>>1755838
This. But then save for a dually and a 5th wheel. Fuck anything but.

>>1756370
If someone tells you wtf you can and cant do in a place u own. You dont own it.

Hence my shit house. The city says what i can and cant do. Like a lax homeowners association.

Uncle sam says i have to pay tax on something i already own and paid tax on.

Its all a scam

>>1757263
U sound like a mess

>>1756782
Fucking serious... faggot old man moved down below me. Said he could hear us make noise. Wanted to "trade apartments" lol FUCK YOU. So he records all the monkees jumping around in the mall parking lot and says it is us. Almost get kicked out. Legit. I worked and slept. Wife worked and half the time stayed accrossed the street at her best friend's. Fuck, i did too a lot. We would come home 2 days after being gone with a noise complaint from that night. Fucking fuck sharing walls. I hid an hd cam in a flat screen and gave it to that old man "as an appoligy" we got to laugh and talk so much shit after we had wifi to record all their lies and plotting. Took it to the manager. 3 days notice to pack thier shit. Laughed and laughed!!!! Asked that guy if he had any bugs in that tv. Looked pissed. And confused. I said i put a camera in it and he lost his shit. Old man was old. Side stepped him and laughed. Repeatedly... he fell and tried to tell the manager i hit him. Bitch threatened to call the cops on him. As he went to get in i laughed and pointed at my u-haul. Done had my shit packed too. Suck my dick everyone. That manager such a cunt. I almost got kicked out for litterally nothing. I threw a brick through that bulldykes window after giving her a hug goodbye and watching her and her gf head to the movies. Busted all the glass and lights with a bat. Ripped the passenger door off the top hinge. And chuck 5 gallons of acid to melt all carpets and seats and most plastics. Suck my mutherfucking dick.

Fuck with me.

I managed to dick grandfather time and a ferocious bulldyke without harming them physically as much as i would love to. This aint me. I normally punch a mutherfucker.

>>1757309
Kinda. Poor life choices. Hurt at work and no insurance or workmans comp or anyone i could or wanted to sue. Laid up for a few years. Super beyond dicked with debt and shit. Get jobs, get learned on adulting. Slowly unfucking myself.

Got a job making almost as much as all my welder friends. But i also am home every night and work less hours.


Am a complete fuckup.

Turning it around every day anon. I hope.