Given the housing market in which I live, a house is pretty much out of the question unless I want to live in the burbs and endure a killer commute everyday. I love the little house I currently rent, but the landlady will not sell it to me. Even if she would sell, I am not sure I could swing the mortgage and still live like I want to live. I am thinking of purchasing a condo next year. Been saving up and everything.

ThreadCula said:

I want a house....bad.

unlucky7 said:

I own a condo which works best for me now. I am very happy with it.

With a condo you don't have to shovel snow in the winter, or repair the roof and pay so much for heating.
In a condo, the heating, and snow shovels, among many other things, are included in the maintenance fee every month, so you don't have to worry about it. In some you have an indoor pool, a gym, a party room (or whatever it's called) and other stuff.
But the noise is a problem, yes. I just came back from a friend who teaches the drums, and said he had to move to a house in order to be able to teach at his place.

I always imagined myself in a groovy apartment inner city

NOT what I ended up in house in the burbs here

ArielB said:

thanks! good explanation.

unlucky7 said:

My brother lives in a condo. He pays $500 maintenance fee a month. But it includes water, electricity, cables, and the building has a tennis court, a pool, a game room, a party room, a gym and even a hobby room. An underground parking, which is great for the winter (who wanted to warm up the car for so long and scrape the ice for half an our every morning? ).
Yes, it's would be great to have your own back yard, and have space between you and your neighbors, but I think the cost of time and maintenance is not worth it.

ArielB said:

That's all he pays each month?

unlucky7 said:

Yes. Well, he has a phone bill to pay, and it doesn't include air conditioning either (but since it includes water and electricity, all you need is to buy and install the air conditioner and that's all).
And it's one block from High Park which is one of Toronto's largest parks, and 5 minutes walk to the lake.

ArielB said:

ok thanks, he's in canada...ok, makes me want to get a condo even more...thanks again.

ArielB said:

Damn, that's a lot of money!

psychodelicide said:

hmmmm

A house, even after all the grief and maintenance.

There's a permanence and solitude that I have a tough time seeing delivered by a Condo.

psychodelicide said:

How much do you pay for electricity, water, gas and heating per month on a house?
I can tell you my friend pays about $3000 a year for heating alone, which means 250 a month. and with this condo you get a gym, a pool, a tennis court and much more.
Try and calculate the price again. You'll see that with a house, the expenses are not less. and consume more time from you taking care of the house.

ArielB said:

Dunno how much I pay in the condo I live in. But a $500 per month maintenance just seems high to me.

house house house...

i have owned both and house is way better, oh man i love love love space...

hmmm, I do plan on rocking out with an electric guitar.

unlucky7 said:

It all depends. There's a lot of maintenance that goes along with owning a house. Even a newer one. I know a woman whose children are a grown and moved out, That's decided that she does'nt need all the extra space and doesn't want to do yardwork anymore, So she sold her house and is moving into a Townhouse. They are putting them up all over the Twin Cities area here, Aren't they MPLS Orgers?

ThePunisher said:

A townhouse is kinda nice, because it usually has two levels (an upstairs and a downstairs). When and if I move out of the apartment-style condo that I'm living in now, I would DEFINITELY get a townhouse.

House