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what are the advantages of buying a condo vs renting?
invite response
2010 Dec 13, 3:11pm 2,828 views 9 comments
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#1 has proven to be untrue for me. My friend recently purchased a condo in downtown San Jose. It has not even been 6 months and the HOA has already increased by $100/month; creeping up little by little each month. I would not consider an HOA of $413 rising to $530 dollars "semi-fixed." It looks like it'll be rising again soon.
Not just that but HOAs can be a terrible thorn in your side - my aunt nearly ended up in litigation with her HOA because a busybody neighbor wanted her to park her cars in her garage rather than in her driveway. And I hear stories like this all the time - I'm renting a condo right now and some old b###h complained that we had put a flower planter over a utility access plate. Yes, she complained that the flowers were out of spec and that we should be forced to have the uncovered metal plate in the front yard!
Yeah Jimmy, that actually is one of the reason I hate about living in multi unit building. You're not alone.
#1 seems to be untrue. HOA is going up all the time. Utilities except trash removal and sewer are usually not included. And you're still responsible for anything broken inside the unit etc. It's not much predictable than other type of homes.
$4 also seems to be untrue. I saw couple people kicked out of condo by HOA. Once you did something wrong or couldn't make what HOA asked, you're no more stable than apartment renters. You just don't have to sign an agreement every year or so. That, I don't think is huge advantage.
Condo is just a glorified version of apartment.
sfbubblebuyer
2010 Dec 14, 1:38am
Never EVER buy a condo unless you're retired, paying all cash, and think you'll be mobile another 5 years minimum.
Not all condo can be rented out. Sometimes, there're some crap rule that ristricts you doing it, so you should check that first if you're thinking about renting it.
Cvoc13
2010 Dec 14, 1:50pm
I can think of NONE.... Seems to me that any benifits would be easily be beaten by Renting.
hmm. not one positive reason to buy a condo...
i remember a few years back quite a few people telling me about their great condo purchase/investment. i guess that's only true when there's price appreciation.
main reasons for condo ownership seem to be financial.
1. semi-fixed housing cost. although probably higher than rent in the bay area and HOA can increase, variable cost of maintenance not covered by HOA.
2. builds equity. but this is not an advantage if you already save and invest.
3. potential appreciation. best guess is it'll be fairly low or even negative in the next 10 years.
4. no rental lease which provides more stability
only 4) seems like a real advantage for my situation.
a condo seems just like living in an apartment but instead of paying rent, you're paying a mortgage.
also, in today's market, i don't subscribe to the theory it's a way to climb the property ladder: buy a condo, small SFH, mid-size home, mcmansion.
what am i missing?
#housing