Real Estate Guide

Buying Your Home - Questions and Answers
'Condominiums and Townhomes'

• How do I choose between condos and single-family homes?
• Where do I get information on condo and association laws?
• Is the purchase of a condominium a good investment?
• Are one-bedroom condominiums a good investment?
• How do I figure out the homeowners association?
• Where do I get information on condo association laws?
• Can condos ban smoking?
• Can a condo association ban nudity?
• Do condos have to be made accessible to the disabled?
• How are fees and assessments figured in a homeowners association?

Are one-bedroom condominiums a good investment?

See ►  -  Are one bedroom condos a good investment? (Investing in Real Estate - Condos, Apartments & Single-Family Homes)

 

Where do I get information on condos?

See ►  Real Estate Guide: Whom To Contact (Resources) - Where do I get information on Condos.

Can condos ban smoking?

See ►  Owning A Home: Associations - Can condos ban smoking?

Can a condo association ban nudity?

See ►  Owning A Home: Associations - Can condos ban nudity?

How do I figure out the homeowners association?

See ►  -  Owning A Home - (Condos and Homeowner Associations)

Is the purchase of a condominium a good investment?

When you buy a house you usually buy the land the house sits on as well. Over time, the house will depreciate unless you put more money into it. However, the land, of which there is only a finite amount, will almost always appreciate if the location is at all in demand. Truth is, this is hardly a new real estate maxim. "Land appreciates - structures depreciate." But when we always sell both land and structure hand in hand, it's most often the structure that gets the disproportionate share of the credit for price appreciation.

When you buy a condominium, however, you only buy the dwelling - 'up to the paint on the walls,' - not the whole structure itself, and not the land. So, if the question is, "Are condos riskier in terms of investment than houses?" The answer is a qualified yes, because not only do you not own the land the condo sits on, you have very little control over all those things that affect it, like condo association fees, extended litigation, and bad neighbors. For these reasons, prices in a development can go south quickly.

But, if the question is, "Are Condo's a bad investment?" , the answer has to be much more qualified, and begs the question as to why folks want to buy a condo in the first place:

• condo owners don't have to worry about snow removal.
• condo owners don't have to worry about mowing the grass or weeding the garden.
• condo owners don't have to worry about maintenance beyond the walls of their own place.

These and numerous other life style advantages fuel the fire for condos. It seems that everywhere there's a new condominium development being dug. However, the resale market for condos in most areas, including Northeast Ohio and the Mahoning Valley, is still far smaller than for houses. Condos, therefore, are generally more difficult to sell the second time around. But as the 'baby boomers' reach an age where the 'advantage appreciation' of the condo life style out weighs the condo’s lackluster 'price appreciation', we will very likely see older condos in greater demand, and these will see far greater price appreciation than they've enjoyed in the past.

We don't want to end this discussion without mentioning that all of the special tax considerations available to homeowners are also available to condo dwellers if they itemize their tax return. Most accountants will tell you that this fact alone will most often make up for uninspired performance in appreciation, and can make owning a condo less expensive than renting.

Here's the bottom line as far as investing in a condo. As with any real estate purchase, study the neighborhood or development before you buy. It's important to gage how effective the particular association is, and to learn about development issues that will put downward pressure on resale value (the most dangerous of these difficulties are disputes and lawsuits with the developer). Weigh the advantages of condo living against the disadvantages of low to moderate appreciation and slower resale. Above all, remember that any investment that brings contentment and peace of mind, may, in fact, be priceless.

See ►  Investing in Real Estate - Condos, Apartments & Single-Family Homes

How do you choose between condos and single-family homes?

See ►  Investing In Real Estate: Condominiums - How do you choose between condos and single-family homes?

Do condos have to be made accessible to the disabled?

See ►  Real estate Guide: Home Ownership (Condominiums) - Do condos have to be made accessible to the disabled?

How are fees and assessments figured in a homeowners association?

See ►  Real estate Guide: Home Ownership (Condominiums) - Fees and Assessments?

Where do I get information on condo association laws?

See ►  Real Estate Guide: Whom To Contact (Resources) - Where do I get information on Condominium Association Laws?