Condos - pros and cons
#16
Re: Condos - pros and cons
Very true...in my FIL's condo they are on a kick about having unrelated people living in the same unit. This is near a university and many of the TH units are being rented out to students and the overall tone of the development is slipping.
#17
Re: Condos - pros and cons
The laws regulating Condominium developments vary from Province to Province.
But a Condominium is not a style of property, it is a legal entity, normally a Corporation and is created by law to define shared ownership of Real Property.
Helen is 100% correct with her advice on buying a condo.
Many people think that their lawyers are going to read through the condo documents for them, well think again, if you are paying the average $300 to $500 to buy a condo they wont even open the envelope. They will go through them for you if you ask but expect to pay extra for this at their normal hourly rate.
You should read through ALL the condo docs, a good specialist Realtor should help you here.
But a Condominium is not a style of property, it is a legal entity, normally a Corporation and is created by law to define shared ownership of Real Property.
Helen is 100% correct with her advice on buying a condo.
Many people think that their lawyers are going to read through the condo documents for them, well think again, if you are paying the average $300 to $500 to buy a condo they wont even open the envelope. They will go through them for you if you ask but expect to pay extra for this at their normal hourly rate.
You should read through ALL the condo docs, a good specialist Realtor should help you here.
#18
Re: Condos - pros and cons
Very true about the legal entity bit....however, unfortunately, most people associate 'condo' with high end multi unit housing, usually as an apartment with concierge and other amenities. In Ontario it can be vacant land, or townhouses or even SFR's.....
#19
Re: Condos - pros and cons
Originally Posted by Mikelesley
The more everyone says about condo's the less I am swayed to the idea - I think the thought of being faced with an extra large bill for work to be carried out over and above the normal monthly fees is really too scary for me. I am one of these people who needs to know how much is going out/coming in etc down to the last penny - (probabally because of my accounting background!!!) I think we will have to mull this over some more and like everyone suggested speak to the right agents when we come over.
Thanks once again to everyone who helped.
Lesley
Thanks once again to everyone who helped.
Lesley
A few months ago we needed a massive amount of work done on our furnace, and spent a few hundred dollars getting it repaired. A few months before that, our washing machine bit the dust, and we bought a new one. (Admittedly that is something that could happen to a condo owner too.) During high winds a couple of weeks ago, a huge limb broke off a large tree in our back yard. We've determined that, come spring, we're going to have that tree taken out and replaced with another one. The seals in our upstairs windows are no longer sound, and we're going to get those windows replaced this coming summer. The exterior trim of our house needs to be repainted, and that's another thing we're going to do next summer. Our roof is going to need to be replaced one of these years. We figure it can hold out for a bit longer, but we know it's approaching the end of its natural life.
If you want to predict exactly what you're going to spend, perhaps it would be better to rent.
Sorry, have just seen that Zoe made the same point about the costs of house maintenance, but my specific examples may help to reinforce the point.
#20
Re: Condos - pros and cons
Strata Nazis - our friends with a condo in Kelowna are only allowed to park noise in to car parking spaces. We have no idea why there is this rule. If there is a rule on which way round you can park this is the most dangerous not to mention inconvenient for getting skies, mountain bikes etc. out of the boot - and all 4 of us work in the traffic / transportation industry.
The only thing that we can think of is that Canadians can't reverse into parking spaces.
The only thing that we can think of is that Canadians can't reverse into parking spaces.
edit - re: Canadian reversing - don't start me on Canadian driving... when I get elected to Minister of Transport I'm going to make some changes...
#21
Re: Condos - pros and cons
Off the top of my head ...
Pros:
* generally much more affordable that single family homes
* external maintenance is done by the condo association
* You can go away on long trips and just shut the front door - nothing much else to worry about.
* can be located in parts of town where other housing is not available
Cons
* monthly condo fees
* you may have to pay for major repairs to the building
* sometimes have very restrictive rules: no pets, no letting, must have a red front door, and so on
* every condo development seems to have one busy body who takes delight in grassing up any trivial breach of the condo rules
* even in concrete buildings you are not immune from hearing your neighbours.
Pros:
* generally much more affordable that single family homes
* external maintenance is done by the condo association
* You can go away on long trips and just shut the front door - nothing much else to worry about.
* can be located in parts of town where other housing is not available
Cons
* monthly condo fees
* you may have to pay for major repairs to the building
* sometimes have very restrictive rules: no pets, no letting, must have a red front door, and so on
* every condo development seems to have one busy body who takes delight in grassing up any trivial breach of the condo rules
* even in concrete buildings you are not immune from hearing your neighbours.
#22
Re: Condos - pros and cons
Nobody thus far mentioned the horror and misery of the 'leaky condo scandal'.
This is a fairly unique west (wet?) coast phenomenon. Depends where the OP intends moving to. Plenty of coverage in the media, a search will deliver relevant info.
R.
This is a fairly unique west (wet?) coast phenomenon. Depends where the OP intends moving to. Plenty of coverage in the media, a search will deliver relevant info.
R.