House, Condo, Town home? whats the difference?

Question

ok i just asked a question on buying a house and it looked like rocket sciecne! some one said get a condo or townhome. which is better and whats the diiference? i want to be in a home for the privacy and due to i've lived in apartments my whole life!! i want to pay around 700-900 in rent and want to live in florida im in illinois now. some please help. this is my next goal and i am sooo confused. by the way im 22 have 1 kid 1 on the way. im not married and right now i only make 10 an hr. im asking so i'll know what to do in the next few years to prepare myself for this thanks!

Answer 1

If you buy a house you own the land underneath it.

If you buy a condo or townhouse, you share the land under it. A condo , townhouse, patio home, villa, garden home.... they are all condominiums.  YOu share the land and the grounds and the community pool with the other 200 owners.  If the pool chlorine costs $201 , your share is $1 because there are 201 of you sharing all costs.

You can do this.

Answer 2

another thing to note is that in a condo/townhome, you pay homeowners dues (can range from 100-400+ month) to help pay for exterior maintenance, roof repairs, parking lot, pools etc.  Usually on a house there are no Homeowners dues.  Although there can be in some neighborhoods.  But often are much less than in a condo.  Do you like yard work and painting?  I agree with ED... you can do it and keep researching.  Getting a good Realtor will help answer lots of your questions too.

Answer 3

It all depends on your current expenses -- at $1733 per month only you can answer what you must do to prepare. Get as debt free as you possibly can and make sure you have no collection accounts open first

Answer 4

florida can be very expensive either way, im not aware of anything that you would want to own for 900/month, unless you have a down payment of  50-75k dollars.  in this market, renting could be a better financial decision.  i would look for a good community to raise your child in, and find a way to afford living there.

Answer 5

I think you're right to begin to prepare well in advance like you are, but I would guess that at $10/hr, you're probably taking home about $1100-1200 per month at the most which will probably put home or condo ownership out of reach.  

Florida real estate is in the tank right now, so there are bargains to be had.  If you find a home for $125,000 and put $5,000 down, your monthly mortgage payment could be about $700.  You have to add in real estate taxes and insurance which in a total ballpark estimate would bring your payments to about $875/mo.  With $1200/mo take home, even if you could get approved, you probably shouldn't.  That would just be cutting it too close.  

Home owners have to be financially prepared to pay for all kinds of problems that come up: plumbing problems, roof repairs, etc.  Plus that $125,000 house will not be in perfect condition and will definitely need some work.  Buying a home at your current income could be possible, but it would be risky and inadvisable.

About condos/townhomes - often they are a much less expensive way to own your own place, and you don't have to worry about exterior maintenance (landscaping, etc.) because it's all shared.  However, you have to worry about the monthly condo association fees (usually at least $150/mo. but they can vary widely). That's how condo associations pay for those shared expenses.  Plus, if they have a big repair problem arise that they didn't plan for, they can hit you with an assessment on top of the fee that can cost thousands.  You really have to look out for this when you're getting into an older condo that is more likely to have major maintenance items like roof/plumbing failure.

I don't want to be overly negative or discouraging - just realistic.  It sounds like your kids have a smart mom that is doing her research and learning about these complex things so she can take care of them.  If a lot of the people who got mortgages in the past several years had asked the smart questions you're asking (and had someone give them straight answers), a lot of foreclosures and heartache would have been avoided.  Keep up the good work in researching, keep living below your means so you can save up your down payment and financial reserve, and I'm sure you will eventually reach your goals!