When you are looking out to own a home, you have few options available before you. These include owning a traditional detached home, a medium-density townhouse or a condominium ownership. Each of these housing types has certain advantages as well as disadvantages. Here we concentrate on condominiums.
Advantages of purchasing condos
There are some definite advantages of purchasing a condo:
1. Higher protection
There is common main gate for entry. The main gate is manned by security guards. Here, in the event of any emergency, you can get the help of close by neighbors.
2. More amenities
Sometimes condos offer some important and interesting amenities which would not have been possible in case of single-family homes. These amenities may include laundry services, gym, swimming pool, lawn-tennis court etc.
3. Less maintenance hazards
If you have purchased a condo, then you will not be responsible for exterior repairing and maintenance activities. You can’t enjoy this type of advantage in a single-family home. Here, you don’t have to mow the lawn, don’t have to repair the roof or don’t have to paint the outer wall. You can use the swimming pool but the responsibility to clean the pool does not lie upon you. But, in case of a separate house, all these responsibilities will be yours.
4. Price is lower
The price per square foot of a condominium is usually less than the price per square foot of a detached house. So your monthly mortgage payment for a condo will be less than a similar-sized traditional single-family home.
5. Locational advantage
If you want to stay in an urban area and in an area of actions, then a condominium is a much better choice than a detached single-family home. In most of the cases, detached single-family homes are located in the suburban areas.
Disadvantages of purchasing condos
There are certain disadvantages of purchasing a condo too.
1. More restrictions
Condo association may impose certain restrictions on your action. There could be certain restrictions on activity levels, noise, pet ownership etc. Restrictions can also be imposed on renovations and decorating changes in the house. Even there could be restrictions on the choice of Internet and cable providers.
2. Have to pay fees to the condo association
If you own a condo, you will be responsible for paying regular fees to the condominium association. The regular fees that you make are different for the monthly mortgage payments that you make to the mortgage lender to pay off the home loan that you have taken out to purchase the condo.
3. Privacy is less
You can’t enjoy that much level of privacy in a condo that you can enjoy in a single-family dwelling. You may not be comfortable with community living and may dislike the noise generated by living in close proximity with others.
4. Less liberty
Here you don’t have the liberty to restructure, renovate your house. But, in case of a single-family home, you can mould/restructure the house as per your wish.
If you are planning to purchase a condo, keep these things in mind.