Is a condo right for you? Should you buy a condo?
Is a condo right for you?
And, if so, is now the time to buy?
If condos are on your radar, consider these 20 questions before you offer to purchase, and you could eliminate some unpleasant surprises later on.
How do I know?
My husband, son and I (plus a couple of lazy cats) have lived in and rented or owned homes of just about every description - apartments, a couple of bungalows, plus a townhouse, detached heritage house (the moneypit) and (most recently) a condo. This was in four towns or cities and over the past couple of decades or so. (Yes, we’ve moved often, but we’ve also learned a lot about home ownership).
So, if the question you’re asking just now is “Is a condo right for you?” give these Qs some careful thought:
1. What matters MOST to you in the home you’ll buy (your deal-breaker absolute must-have)?
A. Location. Close to work, schools, family, restaurants, activities, on the waterfront, shopping, my favourite part of the city.
B. Price. We want to get the most space for our money.
C. Investment. I expect to buy a fixer-upper and want a great opportunity to add value.
D. Character. I want to live in a heritage building/converted warehouse/penthouse with a view/restored windmill/former church/a reno’d firehall…
2. What would you choose as the thing you MUST have in your new home, in addition to your answer for the first question?
A. Parking, preferably indoor or my own garage.
B. Shared amenities like a pool, fitness centre, clubhouse or playground.
C. Plenty of space, big closets, great storage.
D. A garden.
3. Same question, your third priority, from the possible answers for the two questions above, or:
A. Large bedrooms, large bathrooms, a separate dining room, an eat-in kitchen.
B. Space to entertain or for my sports equipment, trailer, boat, home office or hobby workshop or space for future development such as an attic or basement.
C. Somewhere safe for my kids to play.
D. They have to allow pets. We have 2 dogs, gerbils, a pygmy pig, an aquarium, a de-scented skunk, my daughter rescues stray cats, my son has a snake...
4. How would you describe this new home?
A. My dream home. I might live here forever.
B. A good place for this time in my life. I expect to stay 5 years or so.
C. Temporary. It makes sense, for now.
D. A compromise between what I really want and what I can afford or what’s available. It beats renting.
5. How would you describe the stage of life you’re in currently?
A. Single and building my career or just got married, two careers and looking for a starter home.
B. The kids are gone and we want to downsize to an easier life.
C. We’re ready to make the move up from being renters to owners or I'm recently divorced/widowed and need a change.
D. I’m young, in my first adult job, and looking with a friend who will rent the second bedroom or share expenses.
6. How would you describe your work/career situation?
A. Close to retirement or already retired.
B. Probably more stable than most people. I don’t plan on leaving my current job, the company is doing well and they aren’t going to transfer me to another city.
C. I’ll probably be transferred or change jobs in the next 3 years or so.
D. I try not to think about it.
7. What about your financial situation?
A. Healthy. I have checked my credit rating recently and have earned a high score. I have cash for the down payment that is more than 30 % of what I expect to spend on my new home and am pre-approved for a mortgage or can pay in cash.
B. Very good. I have cash that is more than the minimum down payment and am fairly sure I’ll get the mortgage I want.
C. Probably OK. I have about $10,000 or so saved. Haven’t looked into the mortgage yet.
D. No idea. Probably about average. I don’t have a down payment.
8. How close do you like to be to your neighbours?
A. Close. I like knowing they’re nearby and enjoy having some of them as friends or at least to say “Hi” to in the morning.
B. Nearby is fine, as long as I still have my privacy.
C. I like having other homes in sight. I couldn’t live out in the country. Too remote.
D. I wish I could live out in the country.
9. How often are you away from home?
A. Almost constantly. I travel for my job.
B. Frequently. I love to take trips and go on an extended vacation at least 2 or 3 times a year but also like being home.
C. Probably about average. We go away maybe once a year or so.
D. I’m never home except to sleep, shower and I’m gone.
10. How do you feel about home maintenance?
A. Avoid it. I don’t mind paying someone else to do it.
B. Don’t mind it. I can afford to hire someone to do the things I don’t know how to do, or don’t want to tackle or don’t have time for. I have budgeted about 3 % of home value annually for upkeep.
C. I expect to find a home that’s move-in ready and not have to do anything to it.
D. Don’t know.
11. What about yard work?
A. Avoid it. I pay to have it done.
B. Don’t like it but it has to be done.
C. I actually don't mind it that much.
D. Ignore it.
12. How ready are you to move?
A. We’ve already sold our home and need to find something.
B. We have a short-term lease and are flexible.
C. We have to sell our current home first/wait until the end of our current lease.
D. Don’t know. Probably ready.
13. Have you budgeted for moving costs?
A. Yes. I’ve talked to a lawyer and a real estate agent and know what to expect when it comes to legal and moving costs.
B. I’ve moved before and have a good idea of what the costs will be.
C. I haven’t considered that yet.
D. There won’t be any expenses because I have friends to help with the move.
14. How long have you been looking for your next home?
A. A while. We’ve been out looking.
B & C. Just started looking.
D. We are thinking about starting to look.
15. How clear are you on what it is you’re looking for?
A. I know exactly what I want.
B. I know what I want, but my spouse wants something different. It will be a compromise.
C. I’ll know it when I see it.
D. Not sure. Guess we need to see what’s available.
16. Say you could time-travel to 18 months in the future. You’re settled and content in your condo and life is good.
But then there’s a Big Change in your life. You inherit or win the lottery. You lose your job. You quit your job to start a business. You get a huge promotion (and a fat raise). You are pregnant, and there isn’t an extra bedroom. Your adult child moves back home. With your grandchildren. Your marriage ends. Your partner/room mate moves out, and you can’t afford to live there. Is a condo right for you NOW? What will you do?
A. Keep the condo. I love it here and I (or we) can make it work somehow. Whatever it takes.
B. I’d immediately put the condo on the market.
C. Don’t know. Never thought about it.
D. I guess we’d cross that bridge when we come to it.
17. My new condo will be:
A. New or just renovated and move-in ready OR not built yet. I get to choose fittings and finishes. OR in a mature neighbourhood. I expect to do some work, but it will mostly be cosmetic.
B. A fixer-upper and I expect to have to do a lot of work, or hire it done. Either way, I’m prepared and have budgeted for the improvements.
C. OK as is. I don’t want to have to do anything to it.
D. Temporary, so I can pretty much ignore décor.
18. What do you already know about condo living?
A. A fair bit. I’ve done some reading, talked to friends who live in condos, asked questions. I’d say I’m informed.
B. Somewhat informed. I like what I’ve heard so far.
C. Frankly, I’ve just started considering condo living as something I might be interested in.
D. It’s pretty much the same as buying a house, isn’t it?
19. In the past, the thing that has annoyed me the most about home ownership is:
A. Upkeep, especially yardwork/shoveling snow/having to fix anything. I loathe it.
B. Unexpected major expense like needing a new roof or cracks in the foundation. I worry it.
C. Settling for what I didn’t really want. I can’t find, or can’t afford, the home I want to live in and it feels like it goes beyond compromise.
D. Don’t know.
20. In the past, the thing that has delighted me the most about home ownership is:
A. Stability. It’s my haven, where I can relax and feel grounded.
B. Comfort. I could make it into what I want.
C. Convenience. It suited my lifestyle.
D. Don’t know. These all sound pretty good.
Well, how did you do? IS a condo right for you?
As you probably already suspect, there are no ‘right’ answers to “Is a condo right for you?”
You may also find your ideas and preferences changing or evolving as you get closer to the buying decision for your next home.
There’s no scoring for this quiz, but mostly A answers, or As and Bs, are what adds up to condo owner contentment. If your answers are mainly Bs and Cs, perhaps home ownership is for you, and it could be that a condo works for you.
If your answers are mainly Ds, the answer to is a condo right for you is maybe not, at least not at this point in your life (and possibly buying another type of home isn't your best option right now, either).
Is a condo right for YOU? Yes, if:
You value stability, order, the (reasonably) predictable and a steady, long-term investment. If house prices are like common shares of stock with ups and downs in the market, condo ownership is more like owning government bonds – growth is slow but steady.
You want convenience, including being able to turn the key and go away for a week, a month or longer with no worries.
Someone else cuts the grass, shovels the snow, repairs the roof, cleans the gutters, inspects the fireplace and alarm system and arranges for garbage pick-up and you never have to think about it. It just gets done. You don’t mind paying a monthly fee (its in the condo fee) for this convenience.
You also don’t mind rules about what colour your front door can be painted or if you are allowed to put up Christmas lights or have climbing plants or a BBQ on the balcony or other issues that might seem arbitrary (even silly). They’re the condo rules and so be it.
You don’t have pets or, (if pets are allowed in your condo) you can live with the rules about pets (only one pet, only a small pet, cats yes but dogs no, no aquariums, etc.)
Is a condo right for you? Yes, if you don’t have children, so a safe place for them to play, or enough space, or a school nearby isn’t an issue.
You prefer living in an older, established subdivision or downtown rather than in a small town or in the country.
You don’t mind, or actually like living fairly close to the neighbours.
You are prepared for special assessments, if and when they come, and you've even budgeted for them (perhaps in your emergency savings). Special assessments are usually major expenses (such as replacement of all the surrounding sidewalks or parking lot resurfacing or building a new clubhouse) voted on by all condo members (as an owner, you have one vote) and for which every condo owner will pay a share (which could amount to you getting a bill for thousands of dollars).
It doesn’t make any difference if you have voted against such an expense – the majority rules; and if the majority of your fellow condo-owners vote for the project, everybody pays a share.
You (or the gardener in the family) would enjoy a satisfying but smaller (and more manageable)
patio garden or balcony container garden.
When you live in a condo, and someone else does the more tedious yard work, like cutting the grass and spring clean-up, small-scale gardening is a pleasure.
You just love the convenience. Condo living is as easy as it gets.
Almost all of your neighbours are either busy young career types or seniors and that’s fine with you, too.
You plan to stay at least three years, possibly five, but not a lot longer, and know that it takes 3 to 5 years to make the transfer costs (moving, the lawyer, real estate agent commission, etc.) worthwhile. OR you plan to stay forever, and transfer costs were factored in.
If you buy in a new building, you’ll pay a premium for shiny new and also possibly for a larger kitchen, larger bathrooms (or more than one), larger master (with ensuite), larger balcony, spectacular city view OR to be in a downtown loft/heritage building/conversion OR highrise with lots of amenities (pool, fitness centre, concierge etc.) and you’re fine with that.
If your condo is in an older building, it might be a converted apartment block, it might have very small rooms, only one bathroom, limited storage space, no elevator, no dining room, outside parking or no parking, a tiny or no balcony and other less-than-glitz features but, again, that is reflected in the price or you accept all this to get something else you just love (really close to work, tremendous deal, waterfront, backs onto a park, you can walk to your favourite restaurants, etc.)
Is a CONDO right for you? Not so much, if:
You want to be far, far away from neighbours - in your ideal world, you would never hear them and rarely see them.
Rules just aren’t your thing. Too Big Brother, or too parental.
You are in family mode and need 3 or more bedrooms and a big yard, a rec room, and some place to put all the bicycles, sports equipment, your own workshop…
You can’t live without pets, a basement, an attic, a big garden, a 3-car garage, your own pool, a hot-tub, some place to put the pool table and lots of space to entertain.
You are a musician and need to practice or have some other reason to create a lot of what your future neighbours will call noise.
You mind noise and it will drive you crazy when the people upstairs do their laundry at midnight, play video games at 2 a.m. (which you can hear through the shared wall), crank up Saturday Afternoon at the Opera or drink on their patio and get rowdy or let their dog bark all day long or run power tools when you want a nap (and the list goes on).
You once lived in an apartment (or do now) and hate everything about apartments (in many ways, condo life is a blend of apartment living and detached home ownership).
You just adore period details – high ceilings, hardwood floors, beautiful crown moulding, or interesting and unexpected spaces that go far beyond boxy rooms and standard finishes. Though there are character buildings that are condos, they can be hard to find (and cost a premium when you do).
You really want to live in a small town or out in the country.
You must economize, or have a very tight budget. Condo fees generally pay for extras rather than necessities; apartment living is generally cheaper.
So, is a condo RIGHT for you?
Only you can answer that.
I hope I’ve helped you come to an informed decision, and good luck in finding your next IDEAL home!
More about condos in Winnipeg
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