Condo Vs. Buying House

Brad: Your condo association fees go toward insurance, building and pool maintenance, landscaping, security, etc. These are things you would have to consider in a house, too!

Brad:

Send me a Private Message with your questions.

F.I.

Out thoughts were the same. Then we checked out the insurance. Who will take care of the up keep when you are not there? What about security on a place that is vacant for months at a time? How do your find someone to trust your place to every six months? Not impossible, but probably hard.

We bought a condo, although we hate the condo fees. maybe someday if we spend more time there we will change our mind, we will get a house.

Run the numbers of single family home vs a condo. Insurance is very expensive. Figure 3% of the value of the home and that is with high storm and earthquake deductibles.

You need to do yard work and pool maintenance year round and with the humidity, salt, termites and high UV exposure nothing lasts very long. If you get five years from an exterior paint job you are lucky.

All this is included in your condo fees.

Don't buy a house just because you think it will be cheaper because it probably won't. With a condo your expenses are more predictable.

Jim

No doubt, a HUGE portion of the COA fees go toward hazard insurance that includes hurricane coverage. Search the threads and you will find discussions about the costs.

I have seen some associations become self-insured for the hurricane coverage. Check carefully that enough assets are there in case of catastrophe. Also your financing options with such may be more limited.

Also, find out that is included in what may appear to be high COA fees. It may include some temporary special assessments.

We bought a condo there last summer and are planning on moving there later this year. We're going to end up buying a house since we have two dogs (and a cat) that I refuse to leave behind! We will miss the view from our condo but we'll probably just rent it out long term or something and we get our house!

Amanda
charlotte, NC

We own ed several condos on stx. With a mortgage it's hard to make it pay by renting, without a mortgage you have that cushion. Fees were the killers, and we decided we'd rather decide how we wanted to spend our money every week,instead of a board deciding how to spend our money. We're alot more frugal than some of them were. We love our houses but it takes years to establish a network to deal with issues if you are not a full time resident; it says something about my life in stx that they know me well in the hardware store!

We bought a condo and pay those outrageous fees - we justify it by enjoying the pool, beach, view, etc. In our complex most condos are rented for at least part of the year by the owners. If you go with a rental agency, they keep a high percentage (I believe it is 38% currently), and you are still responsible for the electric bill (everything else-phone, cable, water, are included in our condo fees). It is truly sickening how renters waste the electricity when they are renting. Frequently we see air conditioners running 24/7 with the windows open!! Outside lights are left on 24/7, etc. We currently have a unit below us that is still running the airconditioning. I always think of the poor owner back in the states paying his mortgage, condo fees, and sky-high electric bill.

When you look at condo fees, ask the HOA manager to break down what the monthly fee pays for. Most HOA fees include not only the very high hurricane insurance premium, but also Cable TV with HBO or other premium channels, terminix service, exterior building maintenance, security patrol, pool/hot tub/BBQ area & maintenance, and other assorted services. Some of the complexes also include your water fees at no additional cost beyond the monthly standard fee. Other condos charge anywhere from 3 cents to 7 cents PER GALLON of water usage... so keep that in mind when you make your selection.

For those who rent out their condos some of the time, typically the owner pays the power, phone and water bills for short-term tenants. Long-term tenants pay these utilities for themselves in addition to their monthly lease payment.

When you live in a condo yourself, it may seem painful to pay the high cost of condo fees. If you choose a house, you will still have the hurricane insurance, cable tv and other maintenance costs. You might not have a swimming pool to enjoy. You can choose to call Terminix or not and you can delay repairs if you choose... although allowing your property to deteriorate is not wise in this climate/environment. For security, you can rely on yourself and your neighbors and take extra care in selecting your neighborhood. You will need to do your own landscaping or pay someone to do it for you. If you are gone half the year, you will have a mess to deal with when you return if you don't arrange for someone to keep up with things while you are away.

All these things and more are what lead some people to opting to go the condo route, especially when living in the islands part-time.

Benefits to living in a house include: the ability to have whatever pets you choose; no noisy neighbors directly through the walls, floor and ceiling; your own private parking spaces; you can have your own garden if you choose; you can paint it whatever color you like; you can select the cable tv package of your choice rather than go with what the HOA chooses; you can put a wireless DSL dish/panel on your house; etc.

One choice is right for some people and the other is better for others. Evaluate the lifestyle you wish to live in the islands and it often is obvious which housing choice will work best for your needs.