Condos
Are condos easier to sell or independent houses? If we add townhouses to the mix, what is the order of selling ease, condos, townhouses,houses? If area matters then let's say Redmond or Bellevue, or the bay area
In general houses are easier to sell but location matters more. A condo in a great location will be easier to sell than a house in a bad location. I'd buy a condo in a good school district that was walking distance to my work over a house in a bad school district that was a long commute, and that's often a real choice: the really desired areas are often very built up so that houses are unavailable or unaffordable in those places. Don't buy a condo in the middle of nowhere with a long commute...
SFH >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> townhome/condos
So if I get a condo and a house, same price, condo spot on downtown, and house in the quite suburbs, I should go for the condo?
Depends. Which is in the better school district? And how far into the suburbs? If it's the same quality school and the commute is less than 20 minutes buy the house. If the school is worse in that suburb and the commute is over 45min buy the condo. But really.. buy the one that makes your happier, you will be living there!
Thanks for the advice. Yes I might be living there, but they say unless you plan to keep it for more than 7 years it might be a bad investment. So am trying to figure out the resale value and rentability. I have no experience in this, so all advice is highly appreciated.
location location
Condo has Hoa and can never be preferred over sfh considering they are in same location
The HOA sometimes comes lesser than the money spent on maintenance of the house. Roof maintenance,gutter cleaning,lawns, backyard, deck, windows, chimney
Some truth to that, but same price and location a SFH will hold its value better. But you will never get same price and location, the SFH in the same location will be much more expensive, so...
Here’s my take. Upside: * Easier to rent (typically smaller) * The shared cost of the amenities make them viable. Out here, people love pools. All my condos have pools. None of my SFH do. Downside: * HOA: This is simply a cost sharing vehicle . Not nearly as the weird cautionary tales some people here have.. Do your homework. I’ve owned condos for 22 years. No negative experience yet * Slower appreciation (this matters less if you’re not in CA/WA where all appreciation is slower anyways). * Harder to sell (But you didn’t get into rentals to sell, no?) Others: Location matters. Downtown condo crushes surburbian SFH. My expertise: 8+ condos and 10+ SFH over 22 years.
Great inputs.. what do you mean in CA/WA all appreciation is slower?
Most people here are CA/WA. I’m not. Appreciation on RE is slower out here. 2-5% a year. So our calc for appreciation differs from our coastal cousins.
I did some research in redfin, same zip code, in 10 years, a SFH price almost doubled but a condo rose by 25 percent. Of course the real math isn't as simple there are other factors like was the condo and the sfh the same age, or same zip code doesn't mean next to each other, location varies etc but it does reflect something....depending on the City the conditions vary. In a city like NYC or LA everyone buys apartments, where as in a city like Redmond, most people prefer SFH. Condos are not seen as for families, once you have a kid in the way, you want your own home, which might not be the case in NYC.
Everything will go fast if you under value it
$20 is still $20