Condominiums can be great choices for first time home buyers, urbanites, or those with a smaller budget. But what exactly is entailed in owning a condo?
The word “condominium” actually refers to a type of property ownership rather than to a particular style of home, though most people understand it to be the particular style. Condominium housing are multi-storey residential buildings that contain multiple units, and can range in size from a dozen homes to over a hundred. They can be high rise buildings or walk ups with only three or four floors. Most of your walls are shared, and therefore maintenance of the building and common spaces is done collectively.
Condos can be attractive to first time home buyers because they are generally less expensive than single detached homes in the same neighbourhood. However, because maintenance is joint and supported by monthly condo fees that can range in price, it’s important to compare condo fees as well as prices before determining what will fit into your budget. Be prepared to pay monthly condominium fees on top of your mortgage payments. These condo fees contribute to the corporation’s reserve fund and go toward covering the collective costs of property maintenance, repairs, replacement and insurance.
When you buy a condo, you’re investing in something you own but also eliminating a lot of the maintenance usually associated with owning your own home, like yard work and snow removal. Condominiums can also offer extras you wouldn’t get in similarly priced single detached homes, like security systems, recreational facilities or meeting spaces.
Before you decide to buy a condo, look at some of their limitations. If a large yard is important to you, for example, a condominium is probably not a good choice.
Take some time to research condo ownership versus house ownership from this Fort McMurray real estate agent’s blog. If you’re relocating to Fort McMurray, you can search for Fort McMurray homes.
