Condo vs. Apartment: Which One Should You Choose for Living?

Are you going to buy/rent a new home? Have you considered what type of home you should look for?

Of course, moving to a new home is strongly dependent on your budget. However, today’s real estate industry has offered various options to you. For example, apartments and condos are two sought after options for many people, especially young couples.

If you want to know the main differences between an apartment and a condo, you’d better keep reading the following sentences.

 

What is a condo?

The word condominium is a Latin word and is made of the prefix con, together, and the word ‎dominium, ownership. So it can be translated to ‘co-ownership.’‎

Today, a condominium (also known as a condo) is a specific type of residence in a building that is owned by an individual person. In other words, in a condominium, the whole building is not owned by a single person, and every unit has a different owner. A condominium is then independently sellable and therefore regarded as a special item in the real estate industry.

It’s possible that the condo owner has spent several years in the unit. So after you buy/rent the condo, the unit might have the owner’s personal changes.

Also, the owner is the landlord in a condo, and therefore, they might be willing to allow some more items on your lease when you rent the condo.

The whole units have a clear structure and a certain list of facilities that can be shared. For example, pools, fitness centers, BBQ areas, and many other perks are subject to specific terms of agreement for common use.

 

Condo vs apartment: what’s the difference?

Now the question is what exactly the difference between a condo and an apartment is. Apartments are buildings containing several rental units and are usually owned by a single party like a professional company. Condos are also buildings with several units, but each unit is owned by a single person.

Apartments usually have similar designs, layouts, amenities, and decorations. On the other hand, condos have the owner’s personal items in terms of design and appliances.

Most condos have therefore modern appliances and high-end finishes, which are rare among apartments.

Another important factor is that apartments are usually managed by professional real estate companies. This means that if you rent one of them, you’ll receive 24h maintenance services. In a condominium, you don’t usually have such options.

In fact, if you need any help in maintenance, you have to think of the owner’s availability and willingness. Sometimes the maintenance costs should be paid by yourself, and it depends on your agreement with the owner. The thing is that even if they agree to pay the maintenance cost, you have to wait until they’re available.

Also, you can buy the condo, depending on the owner’s willingness. You will never have this option in apartments because all the units are owned and organized as an entire building or community.

Keep in mind that if the condo you’re renting is sold, you might be forced to look for another home because the new owner is probably willing to live there.

 

Are condos cheaper than apartments?

One of the most frequent questions about condos and apartments is that is a condo is cheaper than a similar apartment.

Many people think that a condo must be cheaper when you want to rent. The reason is apartments have some options like 24h maintenance service.

But the thing is that the cost of renting a condominium is usually equal to that of renting an apartment. Of course, there is one difference between condos and apartments as to the payments.

Condos are usually managed by an HOA (Homeowners’ Association), so there is a fee for HOA if you want to live in a condo. Also, the rent for a condo will include both the utilities and the fees for the common areas’ upkeep.

For an apartment, on the other hand, you don’t have to pay any fees for HOA, but utilities will not be included in the rent, and you have to take care of them yourself.

 

Condo assignment deals

Now that you know the main differences between condos and apartments, it’s good to know about condo assignment deals.

An assignment sale is typically a deal to purchase a condominium in the pre-construction stage. You’re actually buying the condo from the original purchaser who has bought it from the manufacturer in the first place, and it is usually done before final closing.

In such a sale, no one is allowed to take ownership of the building’s units. In these deals, the original purchaser is called the assignor, and the second one is the assignee.

This type of deal lets the buyers sell their unit before taking possession of it. So when the construction of a specific building is completed, the building is registered, the ownership can be easily transferred using such sales.

According to Condoly, one of the best companies in condo assignment deals in Canada, both the buyers and sellers can be greatly benefited from this kind of assignment sale.

For example, if you have bought a pre-constructed condo, and now your family has become larger by marriage or giving birth to a child, you can easily use condo assignment deals. This is what you can’t have in apartments, so condos’ advantages outweigh apartments’ in this regard.

That’s why there has been a surge in the number of related real estate hashtags on social media in recent years. In fact, many people are trying to find suitable condo assignment sales in their vicinity.

 

Conclusion

When it comes to renting a place, many people prefer living in a place managed by a professional firm. The reason is it is usually more organized in terms of maintenance, paying the rent, and fees. However, living in a condo has its benefits, especially when it comes to condo assignment sales. So you need to determine your objectives and then decide on condos vs apartments.