A Dummy’s Guide to Condominium Ownership

Did you know that more than 5 million American households live in condominiums or co-ops?

If you’re considering homeownership, buying your slice of the American dream in the form of a condo may be ideal for you. However, being the proud owner of a condo isn’t as straightforward as owning a single-family home.

Read on for a quick but thorough overview of condominium ownership to see if it’s the right kind of home for you.

 

Why Choose a Condo?

There’s one basic explanation for why you might want to live in a condo: If you want to own property without giving up all the benefits of apartment-style living, you might be a perfect candidate for cooperative or condominium ownership.

Condos are living units inside of a shared building or complex. They can be as small as the average apartment or as large as a small house, so you don’t have to compromise on size.

Condos offer you the privacy and permanence of owning a home within a community that shares common spaces. For instance, you might share a pool, a data center, a playground, or a lawn with your neighbors. Another neat accommodation of owning a condo is that you don’t have to do your own yard maintenance or snow removal; the cost of those services comes with the unit you own.

 

Condos for Families

Condo living can be ideal for young, growing families as long as you buy a unit in a suitable community. For instance, if you find condos that house other young families and offer amenities for kids this might be the right community for your family.

That said, most condos don’t offer as much yard space or as much privacy as traditional one-family homes. You might have little room for family cookouts, or you may face restrictions about what you can keep on your part of the lawn, such as no separate play equipment for kids.

 

Condos As An Investment

In this set of tips for condominium owners, we can’t skip the possibility of an excellent investment opportunity. Perhaps condo living isn’t right for you and your family in particular, but you can still buy a condo for investment purposes.

If you want to be a landlord but you don’t want the hassle of owning an entire building, buying a condo unit is a great way to get your feet wet in real estate ownership. You can rent your unit to a single household instead of being in charge of several units at once.

The price of a single condo unit is comparable to the price of a traditional detached house. However, you can save money on maintenance services, and you can offer your prospective tenants an apartment with enticing on-site amenities such as a pool. Those additional perks may be a good reason to charge more rent than you otherwise would.

 

How to Prepare for Condominium Ownership

One complex part of owning a condo is getting involved in percentage ownership. When you close on a condo, you agree to own a percentage of the land and the building in which your unit is housed.

This type of fractional ownership comes with its own set of rules. You’ll be a member of a condo owners’ association, and you’ll be expected to pay owners’ association fees based on the percentage of your condo ownership. Those fees are paid in addition to your mortgage, whose terms and stipulations are different from that of owning an entire home outright.

 

Need More Tips?

Are you still considering condominium ownership?

If you’re itching to buy that first home or you’re looking to downsize, a condo might be your ideal new home.

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