Condo Living - Great, But Not Risk-Free
The last 50 years have brought forth a true revolution in the way people see their dwelling.
While most big cities have been offering the possibility of living, sometimes in grand luxury in apartments called COOP the bread and butter offering in residential real estate was the basic single-family house.
But a few decades past and due mainly from the demographic of the city and the search for better utilization of the expensive real estate related to downtown locations, the industry borrowed the concept from Europe and started to build condominiums. They came in all sizes and all price range, but were slow to make substantive inroads in the market. The Real Estate Agents were not very familiar with this concept, and as usual, the different levels of Government were not very prompt in dealing with this new reality by adopting Laws and Regulations specifically tailored to condos.
In general, the busy lifestyle of city dwellers warrants a close look at condo living. Even though the ownership of the unit is clearly established, condo owners have substantially less hands-on responsibility than owners of single houses as regard to upkeep and capital expenditures. A condo association bonds the condo owners together and the elected administrators see to it that the condos are maintained and looked after. In certain circumstances, the condo owners can even get the exclusive use of a garden on the ground floor and it will be as close to a regular house as one can get.
Bur usually, the space available in a condo is more restricted than in a house. There are no equivalent to huge walk-in closets and a full basement to 'store' all sorts of goods that could end up being left there for years and years.
There is greater proximity with neighbors and condo living might not be for everybody, especially at the early stage of matrimony, when child rearing sometimes warrant available private outside space for the kids to go and play in a more traditional back yard.
But once the children are out on their own it is sometimes proper to question the need to keep such an elaborate fully equipped house that used to shelter five or six persons.
Condo living has been a God-sent solution for many aging baby-boomers. They are not, as the classic expression says, "Prisoners of their possessions". The condo owner has a greater control on his time and greater sense of freedom to 'lock up and go' compare to the owner of a traditional house.
Want to go on a 3 week cruise? Simply close the water valve into the condo, disconnect the water heater and voilą, you're ready to go. Same procedure applies if you want to go spend 4 months in Arizona. It does greatly simplify one's life.
But, as usual there are a few caveats; it behooves you to chose a condo where the colleagues/owners have a sense of responsibility and view their living there as a oasis of tranquility and good behavior.
The condo owners are all in this project together and the decision to appoint responsible and competent administrators will go a long way to prevent complications that can be both highly annoying, and often very expensive.
Gilles Martin is a Real Estate Agent, accomplished Entrepreneur and long-time businessman. His articles can be read on Musings of a Real Estate Agent.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
Added: March 19, 2008
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