OT: Buying a Condo

Share this page

spiderman

spiderman

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 25, 2003
Messages
4,107
Reaction score
131
Points
63
Location
Boston
I'm thinking about buying a Condo and was wondering if anyone had any experience in the matter. Many people I talked to seem to have a very negative opinion of Condo's.

Basically, the Mrs. and I have been renting off of relatives for the past few years, which is fine and all, but recently the Mrs. decided to make a career change and will be in school full time for the next 2 years. This basically puts our plans on buying a house on hold for a lot longer then I had originally anticipated.

Instead of continuing to pay rent I was thinking about buying a modest Condo that we can afford on my salary alone. Then we could sell it 3 years from now and buy a house once she's working again.

Does anyone have any advice?
 
MY business is Property Management and I manage about 7 condo properties. If you want to discuss the ins and outs, pm me with a number to call and I try and help you out.
 
Buying a condo is a nice way to build some equity if you can't afford to buy a home. I owned one for 2 years before my wife and I got married and I actually made some money off it when I sold it. I could have made a lot more had I held onto it for a couple more years.

One thing to be aware of are association fees. The association where I lived raised the fees considerably each year. It was one of the reasons I decided it was time to buy a house. You may want to check on the history of the associaton fees before you buy.
 
spiderman said:
I'm thinking about buying a Condo and was wondering if anyone had any experience in the matter. Many people I talked to seem to have a very negative opinion of Condo's.

Basically, the Mrs. and I have been renting off of relatives for the past few years, which is fine and all, but recently the Mrs. decided to make a career change and will be in school full time for the next 2 years. This basically puts our plans on buying a house on hold for a lot longer then I had originally anticipated.

Instead of continuing to pay rent I was thinking about buying a modest Condo that we can afford on my salary alone. Then we could sell it 3 years from now and buy a house once she's working again.

Does anyone have any advice?
Click to expand...
Generally speaking, it's better than renting, but not as good as buying a house. If there is anyway you can get into a cheap house, do that. Also with any real estate investment, it reallt comes down to if the area you buy into is likely to improve (after you buy, & not what is going on right now), then it will be a good investment. The trouble is that it's very difficult to predict the future.

The other tricky thing about condos, is the condo association (basically an additonal form of government). Look at the association rules, and of course know what the association fees are (additonal taxes).

In closing, if the area declines, Condo prices drop more than houses do. If the area improves, or even stays the same, it will likely be a good investment.
________
silversurfer reviews
 
spiderman said:
I'm thinking about buying a Condo and was wondering if anyone had any experience in the matter. Many people I talked to seem to have a very negative opinion of Condo's.

Basically, the Mrs. and I have been renting off of relatives for the past few years, which is fine and all, but recently the Mrs. decided to make a career change and will be in school full time for the next 2 years. This basically puts our plans on buying a house on hold for a lot longer then I had originally anticipated.

Instead of continuing to pay rent I was thinking about buying a modest Condo that we can afford on my salary alone. Then we could sell it 3 years from now and buy a house once she's working again.

Does anyone have any advice?
Click to expand...

Houses/land in PA is approximately 30% cheaper than MA .....of course the pay scale is about 40% lower as well.
 
Frankly, I would not be inclined to buy a condo at this time, as a general statement, not knowing the specifics of the investment. It's possible that there might be a good deal out there, but in general, real estate prices are very high right now, and rent is relatively cheap.

On the other hand, if you can buy a place (a house probably) that you really feel you could live in for 10 years, it's the right thing to do. In the long run, you probably won't regret it.

However, there are lots of people who lost money owning condos (and starter homes) in the past because they bought at the peak of the bubble (circa 1990 for example, but also earlier). I think we are at one of those peaks right now.
 
Re: Re: OT: Buying a Condo

PA_PATS_FAN54 said:
Houses/land in PA is approximately 30% cheaper than MA .....of course the pay scale is about 40% lower as well.
Click to expand...

Tell me about it. I used to own a house in North Carolina, my mortgage payment was about 1/2 of what I pay in rent around here.
 
Re: Re: OT: Buying a Condo

dchester said:
Generally speaking, it's better than renting, but not as good as buying a house. If there is anyway you can get into a cheap house, do that. Also with any real estate investment, it reallt comes down to if the area you buy into is likely to improve (after you buy, & not what is going on right now), then it will be a good investment. The trouble is that it's very difficult to predict the future.

The other tricky thing about condos, is the condo association (basically an additonal form of government). Look at the association rules, and of course know what the association fees are (additonal taxes).

In closing, if the area declines, Condo prices drop more than houses do. If the area improves, or even stays the same, it will likely be a good investment.
Click to expand...

Yes, my biggest fear is being able to sell the place a few years from now.

I would love to get into a cheap house, unfortunately they just don't seem to exist in the Boston area.
 
Re: Re: Re: OT: Buying a Condo

spiderman said:
Yes, my biggest fear is being able to sell the place a few years from now.

I would love to get into a cheap house, unfortunately they just don't seem to exist in the Boston area.
Click to expand...

Look into foreclosed properties. My husband and I bought one in 95' for 60,000. At that time, the bank wanted 75,000 for it. It's now worth 300,000. My mortgage payment is 486.00 a month.

Banks hold on to these properties, and would like to unload them. Just a thought.
 
Re: Re: Re: OT: Buying a Condo

spiderman said:
Yes, my biggest fear is being able to sell the place a few years from now.

I would love to get into a cheap house, unfortunately they just don't seem to exist in the Boston area.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know the feeling. That's why I live in Worcester and have a long commute.
________
Yamaha G-245S specifications
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top