What Type of a Home Should you Buy?
So, you have decided to move ahead with your home buying plan. Now the question arises- what type of a house? A condominium or a single-family house? A new house or an old house? Let us discuss the important features of each of these models and compare their advantages and disadvantages.
A condominium is simply an apartment. You are the owner of the house only within the walls and under the ceilings. However, you will be a partner for all the common facilities of the condominium as a whole, including the parking area, swimming pool, and the infrastructure.
Advantages of Owning a Condominium
- Condominiums are reasonably priced than the individual houses. The reason behind this is the cheaper cost of construction and the shared infrastructure facilities.
- Condominiums offer a lot of facilities such as swimming pool, security services, car parking, etc., for a mere monthly association fee.
- Most of the condominiums are constructed in ideal locations in order to attract good homebuyers to it, so they are in close proximity to the services such as transport stations, shops, etc.
- As the maintenance of the condominium falls under the responsibility of the condominium association, you are free from the tensions of exterior maintenance.
Disadvantages of Owning a Condominium
- You will have to compromise privacy of your home atmosphere if you are staying in a condominium. The refreshing swimming pools or parks that had attracted you before purchasing the house, will not be as thrilling as you expected, especially in the weekends when they get crowded with kids and parents.
- An additional burden over your mortgage, i.e., the condominium association fee, though minimum, is not a contributory asset to your investment.
However, if you can sacrifice a little of your privacy, the condominium is the best option for you. They are the safer places and have lower risks compared to any other housing modes.
Single family House
The single-family detached homes come in different sizes. You may opt for a 600 sq. feet bungalow or a mansion with a size of more than 6000 sq. feet.
- Advantages of Single-family house
- As the entire house, both interior and exterior, belongs to you exclusively, you have the complete freedom to modify or renovate your house. You may think of an extra room, or you can double your car porch without waiting for the sanction from anybody.
- The resale value of single-family houses is much higher than that of condominiums.
- You save the maintenance fee that you otherwise pay to the condominiums even in periods of inactivity.
Disadvantages of Owning a Single Family House
Single-family houses are much costlier than the condominiums of the similar size and locality.
- You are the only bearer of the maintenance, security, and other facilities to be provided for your house.
If you want an exclusive home for you, be ready to pay for it. The single-family house provides you a lot of comfort and luxury that the others don’t.
The next choice is between the new home and the resale home. A new home is the comfortable choice of many house hunters for it gives them the freshness of every item it possesses and saves them from the initial maintenance. However, for many homebuyers, other factors, such as the cost, location, and the resale value, etc., are important concerns than the age of the house. There is no harm in choosing a resale home, provided it is ideally located. Here the priority of the buyer is important. If the location of the house is important for him, he may have to sacrifice the newness of the property. On the other hand, if the cost and the location of the new property suit him, it is the ideal choice as the new property offers a better resale value than the old one, even if the later is maintained in a proper way.
For those opting for resale homes, home warranty is a must-to-do. It costs them only a few hundred dollars and can be availed easily. Some of the home sellers would have already purchased this, and so the new buyer can avail its benefits as long as the warranty is active. Therefore, it is a good idea to opt for houses with warrantee.
After all, it depends on person’s interests on whether to go for premium mansions, an affordable bungalow, or a cheaper and rather tension-free condominium to make his ‘sweet home.’ The other factors are less likely to influence his personal interests on the types of houses.