Condo development vs Privat home

Chayalle

Wed, Feb 02 2011, 11:48 am

In terms of re-selling, depends on the location. Where I live (Lakewood), condos are very popular so I don't think that's so much of an issue.

I live in a condo and generally speaking I love it. I'm very socially active as are my DD's, and they love living in a neighborhood with lots of actions, friends, etc...all in the vicinity. I like going out on a warm Shabbos afternoon with my little one, there's always someone for me to shmooze with and for her to interact with. I also live in an end unit, which affords me a bit more privacy than the units further down. I'm close enough to the action yet far enough for when I want peace and quiet.

OTOH the quality of living is very much affected by the neighbors. For example, I grew up in a private house, and my parents liked to keep the property well. We always picked up any garbage, wrappers, etc....I have neighbors who grew up in barns. They sit out with their kids and leave everything behind with no compunctions. It definitely irks me to see the garbage, and they simply could care less.

Neighbors will help themselves to my riding toys and bikes, even if I bring them on to my porch, and I've had damage done with no one taking responsibility tons of times.

Parking is also an issue, even with reserved spots - not always respected, etc....

amother

Wed, Feb 02 2011, 4:46 pm

we live in a condo area (in a townhouse) and love it. just like someone else said there is a real feeling of community and we have become very close with many of our neighbors. ours is a unique area bec it is mixed frum and non frum, old and young so while there are many people close by, there is a little bit of space bec. not everyone is a young frum family with 8 kids. (also the older people are very particular about everyone keeping the place clean so we do it to keep the shalom). everyone respects the reserved parking. we pay an expensive condo fee and sometimes it feels excessive but they take care of all outside maintenance including snow removal to our front door, landscaping, roofing and siding (my bro just paid 10,000 to have his roof fixed. we didn't pay a penny). also the condo fee goes up every year (no one told us that ahead of time!).
so I guess it really depends on who else lives in the condos and what you are looking for.

chocolate moose

Thu, Feb 03 2011, 8:42 am

The real estate taxes will be different. The condo might have a 25 year abatement, you might want to look into that.

The cost of gas and heat might be different; either you will be spliting the cost amongst all unit owners or you willl have your own meter.

In a building, you will also have to cowtow to others' noise and garbage and deal with politics. Of course, it's not all bad - in a home, for example, if you lose power or water or whatever, you're on your own. Somene else will handle that in a building. As with the snow shoveling.

amother

Thu, Feb 03 2011, 11:32 am

If you are in NY please note that many new condos are classified as class 2 / luxury, which means very high real estate taxes.
Any new condo that is part of a building larger than a 3-family, or 20 x 60, is classified as class 2.
Most of these new condos come with 15 year tax abatements. But think about where you will be in 15 years. Marrying off your kids? Will you suddenly have a lot more money to pay the exorbitant real estate taxes? Is a condo worth it if the taxes are so high in 15 years time.

Pros of a house: It's yours. Don't have to deal with shared space. People jumping on your head. You have more storage space. Etc.
Cons: more expenses: old houses can have termites, water basement problems, old boilers that need replacing, etc.

Proc of a condo: new, less chance of extra expenses in the near future, no mold issues if you are an allergy sufferer

amother

Mon, Apr 11 2011, 11:21 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

an apt is smaller than a house.

uh- this is certainly not a rule, and not even a fair generalization! we moved from a more suburban area to a urban area (more that that might give me away to friends on this site) for professional reasons, and our house was ~2000sqft...our new apt (not including storage room space in the parking lot) is 2600. and moreover the layout is much smarter- they were able to squish TWO more bedrooms and a much larger kitchen into those 600 square feet!

to the OP re condo or private home
while moving from a private home to an apt is not *exactly* the same as moving to a condo, it is pretty similar and so here are the things I think you need to consider
1. I think size is a tremendous factor. If they are both in the same area/city you want to live in, I would generally go for the bigger one, over the other one.
2.. another poster brought up a good point about neighbors and garbage and stuff. living in a condo (or apt) is a big adjustment from where you have your own backyard and stuff. while in some ways it can be really nice (ex: no need to take the garbage out every week-just throw it down a chute and s/o takes it out to the garbage trucks, no mowing lawn or shoveling, etc), if you have messy or loud neighbors- it is much worse than having messy or loud neighbors on a private street- it is much closer to you and can make your life miserable. on that token, privacy is also an issue. you are in much closer proximity to your neighbors. that can be a blessing or an absolute nightmare. first of all, you have to like your neighbors. but also, each fam has to decide for themselves- how much privacy is important to you? do the condos each have private entrances?
3. another consideration (for us at least- but may not be impt to e/o) is outdoor space. we now live in a high rise apt bldg which might not be what you are looking at with condos- but it was impt when doing our real estate search, to find s/t that had at least one small balcony- it really makes a difference to your mental health (and your kids!) for them to have somewhere outdoors to call their own...where you can go feel the breeze...sit in a chair and just chill. IMHO.
4. also important to consider the building management. ask the neigbors. if there is a co-op board, or a condo board, or whatever they might call it, how easy is it to get things done? if a toilet is broken, who do you call, or are you on your own? if you are on a high floor, do they have s/o who will clean the windows once a year? are there any "amenities" afforded, such as a parking space for your car, private playground/yard space for the kids in the complex, or even other things like a gym (if you care about that)
good luck!