Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying Condominium

If you're thinking of buying a home but don't want to deal with the hassle of maintaining a yard, paying for repairs, shoveling snow, and cutting the grass, you may want to consider buying a Condominium. A condominium is similar to an apartment except for one main difference, instead of paying rent, you own the property. The difference is purely legal, as in, you own the property, and share the common areas with others. Well technically you only own the air space within the boundaries in the property, and can modify the interior to your liking. But it's still the same as owning your own home, with the added benefits of less maintenance.

What's the advantages and disadvantages of owning a condominium?

Cheaper - Condos are usually cheaper then a comparable stand alone single family property. If you wanted a 2,000 square foot home, you would most likely pay 20-30% less if you bought a condo. Disadvantage? Well, your neighbors are usually really close, like as in, a walls thickness away. Depending on how well built the condo is, this may or may not effect you. Some condos you may hear your neighbors, others are built sound proof, and having close neighbors won't effect your noise level at all.

Less Maintenance - The best advantage of owning a condo is having a almost maintenance free property. Most condos are maintained on the outside, which means no more shoveling snow, mowing the lawns, and repairing things like siding or shingles. Disadvantage? There is usually a Homeowners Association fee (HOA) that you are required to pay. Most HOA fees are reasonable, and are there to keep your property managers paid to keep the maintenance activities well maintained. These fees can be anywhere from $50 to a couple hundred dollars a month. It all depends on what has to be maintained.

Common Areas - Most condominiums come with the added benefit of swimming pools, tennis courts, a small park, kids playground, workout centers, or many other amenities. The cost to maintain these amenities yourself could be enormous, but they are usually included in your HOA fees. Disadvantage? I can't think of many, other then the HOA fee, who doesn't like a pool? This is probably one of the major benefits of living in a condominium, the cost of owning one of these amenities in a stand alone environment can be costly to say the least.

Safer - There are a lot of Condos complexes that have gated communities, or other security measures to keep you safe. In larger cities, you may have to push a button to be let into the complex, this is a great way to be safe. You also have a lot more neighbors that are closer, and will be more adept to watching the premise, which is good if you are going on vacation.

Disadvantages There are disadvantages to owning a condo, one of which is the proximity of your neighbors. Most condos are built with a common wall, which means you will be sharing at least one wall with a neighbor, if not more, and this could prove to a be a noisy environment. Another disadvantage would be parking, most condos come with limited parking as you have to share the space with your neighbors. You may also not be able to park close to roads, or on roads, which increases the limits involved with parking.

There are many advantages and disadvantage to owning owning a condominium, and only you can decide if buying a condo is right for you. After reading this article, you should have a better understanding of both sides, and I hope you can make a more informed decision as to what is going to work for you.

Lisa Udy is a real estate agent with The Lisa Udy Team. If you live in Northern Utah, you can find Logan Utah condos for sale