5 Pros and Cons of Owning a Condo You Need to Know Before Buying

Does owning a condo sound like a much better idea to you than buying a house? You are not alone!

In recent years, one study after another has shown that there are tens of millions of people who prefer to live in condos versus houses. This suggests that you could very well be making the right move by picking a condo over a home when it’s time for you to buy somewhere to live.

That being said, you should still consider the pros and cons of owning a condo prior to actually purchasing one. You’ll be able to make a better decision overall when you’ve educated yourself on the good and bad things that will come along with buying a condo and living in it.

If you’re interested in learning about the pros and cons of owning a condo, we’ve listed them for you below. Check out five pros and five cons that you need to know before buying a condo.

The Pros of Owning a Condo

As some reports have recently pointed out, condo living is something that has caught on in America in a big way over the last decade or so. And there are many different reasons for this.

We’re going to talk about both the pros and cons of owning a condo. But we’re going to kick things off by discussing the pros since they’ll help to explain why the condo craze has been sweeping across the country. Here are the pros of owning a condo.

1. Buying a Condo Is Often More Affordable Than Buying a House

Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, both home prices and condo prices have surged. People are paying top dollar for homes and condos at the moment, and it appears as though that trend could continue well into the future.

But if you’ve spent any time shopping for a home over the last couple of years, you’ve no doubt noticed that buying a condo is just about always more affordable than buying a house. You’ll be able to get your hands on a condo for a lot less than a single-family home in most cases.

This is arguably the biggest benefit of owning a home rather than buying a house. Your monthly fees will be cut down to size when you purchase a condo instead of a home.

2. It’s Cheaper to Buy Condo Insurance Than Home Insurance

Your monthly fees are going to be a lot lower when you own a condo rather than a house, and this is largely going to be because of the fact that your mortgage will be much lower. But your mortgage won’t be the only thing that you’ll save money on when you purchase a condo and move into it.

You’re also going to discover that buying condo insurance will be cheaper than home insurance in most instances. You might only have to pay a fraction of what home insurance would cost you for condo insurance.

View more on this topic to get additional information on condo master insurance and what it could cost you.

3. Condo Owners Have Less Maintenance to Do Than Homeowners

When you own a home, there will be so much maintenance that will come with it. You’ll have to cut the grass, clean the gutters, and power wash the sidewalks all by yourself.

These maintenance steps are going to cut into your time all throughout the year. They’re also going to force you to pay higher maintenance costs for a house than a condo.

If you’re sick and tired of trying to maintain a home, you’ll love what owning a condo can do for you. It’ll free up so much of your time and put a little bit of extra money into your pockets every month.

4. Those Living in Condos Get Access to Lots of Great Amenities

One of the most underrated benefits of owning a condo is that it’ll give you access to all kinds of great amenities that you’re not going to get when you buy a house. For example, those who live in condo complexes will often be able to use:

• A community pool
• A fitness center
• A spa
• A tennis court
• A rooftop terrace
• And more!

Some condo complexes have more amenities than others. But generally speaking, you’re going to be able to enjoy at least a few of the amenities that we just mentioned.

5. Condo Complexes Provide People With a Strong Sense of Community

If you’re someone who really enjoys socializing with other people on a regular basis, you aren’t going to be able to get enough of owning a condo and living in the middle of a strong community of people.

Condo complexes are social places by nature. There are always people outside walking around and communicating with one another while they’re doing it.

This might not be an ideal setup if you’re an introverted person who doesn’t like to socialize much. But if you’re outgoing in the slightest, you’ll appreciate the fact that you’re always going to be surrounded by other people who want to say hello and chat with you.

The Cons of Owning a Condo

After hearing about all the pros of owning a condo, you might be ready to start shopping for one so that you can sign on the dotted line and move in ASAP. But there are always two sides to a story, so we can’t let you go without hearing about some of the cons of condo living.

Overall, you’re going to love living in a condo. But there will be a few things that might drive you a little crazy when you own a condo. Here they are.

1. Owning a Condo Almost Always Comes With HOA Fees

When you move into a condo, you’re usually going to have to join a homeowners association, which is better known as an HOA. An HOA is an organization that is in charge of making all of the rules in a condo complex and enforcing them.

They’re also in charge of collecting HOA fees every month that are used for:

• Maintaining the common areas within a condo complex
• Covering the maintenance costs associated with landscaping, snow removal, trash pickup, etc.
• Making sure there are enough reserve funds to pay for emergency expenses

There are some condo complexes that have very low HOA fees. You might not mind paying these monthly fees at all.

But there are also some condo complexes that have ridiculously high HOA fees. You might regret owning a condo after paying these fees month after month and feeling like you’re not getting much in return for them.

2. Condo Owners Have a Very Limited Amount of Private Outdoor Space

Are you the kind of person who enjoys spending a lot of your time outdoors?

Well, owning a condo is probably going to give you a little bit of private outdoor space that you can hang out in. But we should emphasize the words “little bit” in that sentence because you aren’t going to get much private outdoor space at all.

As a result, you’re going to have a tough time kicking back and relaxing when you feel like all your neighbors are able to look right outside and see you. It might deter you from wanting to spend as much time outside as you would like.

You can, of course, stretch out by hanging out in other areas of your condo complex outside. But you won’t ever feel like you have your own outdoor space to chill out in.

3. People Tend to Live On Top of Each Other (Sometimes Literally!) in Condo Complexes

When you first buy a condo, you might love that there are always people around you. But there will inevitably come a time when you’ll start to get tired of seeing people everywhere that you go.

This might put you in a position where you want to spend more of your time inside. But even then, you’ll hear your neighbors next door when they turn their TV up too loud. You’ll also hear your upstairs neighbors when they walk around and stomp their feet on the ground.

This might start to make you feel claustrophobic before long, even if you’re usually someone who loves being around other people. You’re going to wish that you could get away from all the commotion at times and escape to your very own house with no one around to bother you.

4. There Aren’t Always a Lot of Available Parking Spaces for Condo Owners

If you look at the parking lots that sit outside of condos, they might make it seem as though there is more than enough parking to go around for condo owners. But when you count up the spots that are available and you count up how many condos are in a building, you’ll quickly find out that there aren’t as many open spots as you might think.

Most condo owners are only going to be able to use a couple of parking spaces at a time. This means that if you’re sharing a condo with a few other adults, there might not be enough parking spots for all of you to have cars.

This could also technically be an issue if you buy a house that happens to be in the middle of a busy city. You might not have plenty of places to park all of your family’s cars.

But more often than not, those who live in homes are going to have more places to park than those who live in condos. This could be problematic for you if you need at least a few parking spots and live in a condo.

5. Certain Types of Pets Aren’t Allowed to Live in Condos

Many states have laws on the books that prevent HOAs from banning people from having pets altogether. These laws say that condo owners must have the ability to welcome at least one pet into their condos.

But we should point out that not all states have these kinds of laws. And because of this, there are HOAs in some states that have told condo owners that they cannot get pets.

There are also HOAs that have allowed pets but put certain restrictions on what types of pets people can have in condo complexes. For instance, there are some dog breeds that aren’t welcome to live in some condo complexes.

If you love animals and don’t want to put a restriction on how many pets you can have or which types of pets you can have, owning a condo might not be for you. You aren’t going to appreciate having your HOA tell you whether or not you’re allowed to have a pet that you love living in your condo with you.

Understand the Pros and Cons of Owning a Condo Prior to Purchasing One

There are some people who fall in love with the pros of owning a condo and don’t consider the cons before purchasing one. There are other people who hear about the cons of owning a condo and decide not to listen to the pros of buying one.

You shouldn’t make either of these mistakes when you’re weighing your options and trying to decide if a condo is right for you. You should instead think about all of the pros and cons of owning a condo that we just listed so that you can make a smart decision in the end.

Ultimately, it’ll be up to you to figure out if the pros of owning a condo outweigh the cons. But you won’t be able to do this until you spend some time thinking about both the pros and cons of owning a condo and sorting them out in your head.

Read more informative articles that break down the great condo vs. house debate by poking around on the rest of our blog.