House or Condo?

[nena10]

Thanks everyone for your input. I guess I will save up for a house. I think when I start my fulltime employment, I will get a secured visa. Just one so that my credit ratings can be good. I do like to plant and maintain my yard and I want a house with a fence surrounding it and a garage. I kind of want an small, older version type that I can fix up with the help of my friends here in Utah.

 

[spooky]

Good luck Nena! Let us know how everything turns out.

 

[julieb]

It really depends on the housing market in your location whether a condo will appreciate in value or not. I totally disagree with the people who said that without land a property will not gain value. My husband and I bought a new condo two years ago and it has gained $40K in value, about 30%; of course we are in a housing boom here.

Again depending on where you buy a house, your neighbours might be thisclosetoyou anyway. That is one of the things that made me want this condo; I wasn't willing to pay an extra $50K to have my neighbours be just 6 feet further away. In the city, they build houses so close together that they don't even bother to put windows on the sides of the houses because you'd just be looking directly into your neighbour's siding. We don't have a yard, but we do have two balconies, one with a full suite of patio furniture and flower boxes, and the other dedicated to my vegetable garden.

Yes, we pay condo fees, but we don't mow the lawn, plow the snow or salt the walks. Neither do we pay to paint the exterior or replace the roof or windows.

Just another view...