Talk me out of a condo.

[george graves]

I'm looking at some places up in the PNW. I was thinking about a condo. But I'm on the fence.

- Who's owned a condo?(you, not your parents)
- How was your experience?

Thanks!

[JBird]

Move to Portlanddd!!

[Zues]

as an architecture student i disagree with the choice of a condo. Unless its a crazy steel. Nothing beats having your own piece of property even if property taxes arent grandfathered in.

[e30rida]

I'd say save your money for a house with a nice garage!!!!

[JBird]

This is a good house/condo/apartment search website... http://hotpads.com/

[Dj Buttchug]

condos ususally dont allow wrenching of e30s... or any car for that matter

[TwoJ's]

George, my parents are selling their town home in Bellevue. My mom is a State Farm agent in Seattle and wants to move closer to work. It's very nice, 3 BR, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage, has nice hardwood floors and granite counters and shit. It's somewhere between 1600 and 1800 sq. ft. It's up for $655k, but I could hook up a r3v discount. It is about a mile from downtown Bellevue, and will surely get you laid multiple times a night.

[Sepp]

yep, no wrenching...
I cannot even change my oil!!

[e30e]

Spent 6 years in a condo, loved having block construction so my neighbors only heard the bass of music but hated the HOA and no wrench on the car aspect. Nothing wrong to me having a 1000 square feet and a bathroom or two get THE live in on. If it sets you up to get a place of your own, do it.

[Huff]

You really have to watch for weak/ strong condo associations these days.. If you buy into a place and it goes belly up, the tenants can get shafted (I've heard of tenants being slapped with $5k repair bills on elevators). In fact, things are so crazy here in GA, it is hard getting FHA loans without a TON of hassle. I've got a friend going though it now.

[kid325e]

I've always thought houses were better than condos. That's just my .02 cents.

[mrmckie]

condo fees are variable, nosey/annoying neighbors who like to listen through the walls, no garage in most cases, restrictions on what kind of upgrades can be made to the unit, parking, yard space, for some it's not the ideal place to live when starting a family.

i say if your a bachelor/bachelorette they are great, i see them as glorified appartments though. But, the space that you get for the money can't be beat and there's less to worry about in terms of utility payments and property maintainence. you can also rent it out for more than the mortgage & condo fee, thats if they aren't sky high

I'm in the same boat as you trying to decide between the two, but i'm leaning more toward a house. I'm from NY so i'm used to highrise condo living but now that i'm in the sticks i would definity prefer a house.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Never been a fan of buying airspace. Not owning the walls of your home, nor any ground manes me uneasy.

[der affe]

George, my parents are selling their town home in Bellevue. My mom is a State Farm agent in Seattle and wants to move closer to work. It's very nice, 3 BR, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage, has nice hardwood floors and granite counters and shit. It's somewhere between 1600 and 1800 sq. ft. It's up for $655k, but I could hook up a r3v discount. It is about a mile from downtown Bellevue, and will surely get you laid multiple times a night.

655K????
sounds like a big condo, but JESUS!
my 2000 sq/ft 4 bed room house with a pool fully remodeled in Scottsdale was only 290K and that was in the middle of the realestate bubble.

did you mean 65.5K or 65K?

[Rsully70sev]

Save your money, you'll be happy you did. There are ton's of homes in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington that could be suitable. My advice is Craigslist for an idea of whats out there, and when you get serious talk to a realtor.