In many areas, a condo may be priced a bit lower than the average purchase price of a house. As far as the location goes, buying a condo will give you more flexibility on where to live, because they are slightly cheaper than … You Can Save Money. If you have a good credit and a modest entry-level income, then you might be able to afford a condo. Readynest reviews all comments to ensure a respectful dialogue, so your comment may take a day to appear. This includes... © Copyright The owner of the condo pays only a small portion for building maintenance. But, if you’re trying to decide between a condo or a house, keep in mind that a single-family home is usually going to grow in value faster than a condo will. “I'd rather have a pile of cash to rely on for emergencies and other expenses, and just pay the negligible PMI each month.” After 5 years in his condo, Adam is close to cancelling his mortgage insurance. Will My Home Purchase be Delayed with the New Mortgage Disclosure Laws? They had incredible depth of knowledge of the local area and constructions. The short answer is: You buy a condo like you would any other home, so it's yours to own. Tools such as an affordability calculator can help you understand which condo price ranges are suited for you and your salary. If they do, then great! But as long as I’m living there too, I’m free to rent my extra room out to anyone.” However, if Adam decides to move and rent out his whole condo, he’ll only be able to do so if the condo association agrees. As rental rates continue to rise and interest rates increasing, now is a good time to buy your first home. If you have a good credit and a modest entry-level income, then you might be able to afford a condo. This factor drives down the costs of upkeep and maintenance even lower (even when factoring in homeowner fees with mortgage) as compared to renting a house. Tools such as an affordability calculator can help you understand which condo price ranges are suited for you and your salary. First, You Should Get Pre-Approved. Not all HOAs allow this, and it helps to check every detail before you commit to putting money down. “My decision to buy a condo has paid off for me,” Adam said. There are also other trade-offs to owning a condo. If you have a good credit and a modest entry-level income, then you might be able to afford a condo. Adam followed advice he received from friends and family not to stretch his liquidity to cover a 20% down payment. Tools such as an affordability calculator can help you understand which condo price ranges are suited for you and your salary. By dismissing the idea of condos, buyers limit their choices – and may be limiting their … You will have a broader scope of options with the same budget when looking for condos. A condo might be more limited in terms of space when comparing to a single family house, but monthly fees and utility bills will be smaller as well. You’re free to paint your kitchen electric pink, but you have less control over your outdoor space. Instead, he financed with private mortgage insurance (PMI). Here are 5 more reasons why investing in a condo is a great choice for your first home: 1. I did the math and realized by purchasing a condo I’d have about the same monthly expenses as renting while also building equity, giving me an investment that will grow as I live there. While this may not necessarily be a bad thing, one angle to look at location is to go for a developing area or one that has potential for appreciation. Tools such as an affordability calculator can help you understand which condo price ranges are suited for you and your salary. For Adam, the decision to purchase a condo instead of renting has worked out even better than he planned. How much do you know about buying a house? I didn’t have any grand plans to move to a new city in the next 5 years. “I bought a $100,000 condo with a 5% down payment – an amount that’s similar to a car down payment,” he said. As I have seen in my experience as an investor—and initially as a part-time investor in my early days—condos may be good investments, but they do behave and perform a little differently. Published on October 18, 2015. If you have a good credit and a modest entry-level income, then you might be able to afford a condo. House or buy right now means you can call home an affordability calculator can help you understand condo. To stretch his liquidity to cover a 20 % down payment and less money to come up with of... To putting money down as it doesn ’ t have any grand plans to move to a place! Wheels or come from a trailer park for some people, buying a condo a! And now I have this nice bonus compared to single-family houses, condos have risks money. 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