Condo or house for first property?

[Eric Miracle]

I’m a newbie and looking at what would be best, a single family or a condo?

What say the people who are the professionals at this?

Thanks!

[Brad Hammond]

Hey @Eric Miracle, good question, there are a lot of pros and cons to both.  I started out with condos and loved it but it depends on your goals.  Here are some things to think about.

1. What is your long term plan with the property?  Are you going to rent it out after you've lived there for a year?  A condo might pencil out better.

2. When looking at condos, find one with a low HOA and see what is covered. Often times they cover water, sewer, trash, and roof. In one of mine, the HOA offsets what I would normally need to pay for these due to economies of scale (dumpster vs. trash cans for example).

3. Condos don't appreciate as fast as SFHs do.  Since there are a lot more of them and they are not as unique, they take longer to sell as well.

4. Obviously condos are less expensive and require a lower downpayment.  

5. Some condo's HOA have rules about if and how many rentals there can be in the community and if you can use FHA financing.

You will get a lot of people who write condos off because of the HOA but if you find one with low fees and fewer restrictions, you will be fine. Usually these are smaller buildings. Good luck and remember that neither is right or wrong, it depends on what is best for you. Decission is better than inaction.