by Martin Dansky

Created on: June 28, 2008

I think that the average citizen is still in the middle-income bracket and cannot afford to invest in more than one condo because in order to get money from an investment of this sort it helps if the person can buy more than one property. He than sub-lease and make money from rentals himself or he can sell and speculate on another condo. Buying into one condo in itself is not a good investment, it is on the way to becoming a good one then if the person has lots of money and can acquire property quickly. This is part of the adage that money goes to money do that investment would be a smart move for the already affluent looking for a good source of revenue so that they can leave their day jobs.

If you are going to buy a condo, there is going to be hassles with the neighbors from time to time and it is very much like living in an apartment where you have to put up with all kinds of problems, from the smoke that filters in from next door to the neighbor who does not want to lower their sound system. Buying into a condo then is not a good idea if you are looking for a truly independent home where you do not have to bargain with intractable neighbors.
Another disadvantage towards buying a condo is that you are subject to meetings that occur regularly to keep up the standard of the property or to work out problems in common like fixing a common stairway. This means losing time if you regard the repair as trivial and have more important issues than a chipped walkway. There are cases too where a condo owner received a bill to the tune of a few thousand dollars which has to be shared with other condo owners according to the agreement that she has. She had a pipe burst in her kitchen and the water damaged some electrical wiring in the ceiling there. Since the burst pipes are part of the building premises she should not have to pay for the wire replacement bill according to her lawyer. What is disgusting is that the condo owner refused to show her agreement details attesting to her right not to pay. It looks like the real estate company does not want to pay for repairs and will try to get individual condo members to pay for common repairs even though they are already contributing for them.
I would not want to get caught with such a bad deal.
The last disadvantage in buying into a condo is that you will still be paying taxes after the condo is supposedly yours. The taxes amount to the same amount of money or more than i am currently paying for my rent. So the condo is never really yours even though it is paid up. Furthermore if the owner wants to sell his condo as the property goes up then will end up paying the money he gets or more because property values generally increase. The condo owner is going to have to put his money into another dwelling where he will be looking for more 'shared' problems and increased taxes. So where is the logic in investing into something to make money just to buy into another piece of mortar?

Learn more about this author, Martin Dansky.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.