Return

Lock and Leave Lifestyles

Amenities of condo living are becoming ever more desirable and as the baby boomers move into their 50s and 60s – the condominium market should be hotter than ever!

A demand for luxury, services and the ability to lock and leave should continue to exert a modest upward force on condo prices and keep sales moving at a strong pace.

Condos and townhouses are plentiful, so you can choose from oodles of condo lifestyles including downtown condos and hi-rise flats, golf course condos, mountain-view condos, vacation rental condos, resort condos, and gated community townhouses.

Common walls and roofs, unlike single-family homes, join both condos and townhouses. Each individual unit is separately owned. A property owner’s association manages the communal areas, such as the pool and surrounding landscape.

Condominiums differ from townhouses mainly in that condos can have common walls and ceiling/floors, because the owner owns only the unit and not the land beneath the unit. Townhouse owners, own the land beneath their unit, so they cannot be stacked.

A single-unit owner has little control over the people around him; he is forced to adjust to the circumstances. Costs may be unpredictable as well. The property owner’s association may need to make a repair and slap fees on owners with no warning and no option. Leasing options may be limited for some condos or townhouses; some complexes only allow one lease per year, for example. The official rules for the complex must be carefully reviewed and agreed upon to prevent frustration in the future.

Despite these obstacles, many owners find condos and townhouses to be wise investments.