The tradeoffs are one of the reasons people buy them. They don't want to deal with yardwork, maintenance, kids running around, etc. It's the benefits of ownership without all of the hassles that come with a traditional house.

My aunt lives in one that is part of a gated community of mixed use properties built around a golf course and country club. It's a pretty good deal from what I can tell. They have several pools, a rec center, tennis courts, country club and a golf course. You can chose an HOA package that suits your needs. Hers comes with five rounds of golf a year which she gives to me and my cousin because she doesn't play golf but she plays a lot of tennis and does pool activities that are offered. You can obviously select a plan that includes more golf and more country club benefits. A lot of lakes to fish in too. No landscaping to fuss with and it's laid out like a traditional neighborhood, not units stacked on top of each other, with the exception of the Senior Living apartments where some of the residents transition when they get too old to take care of themselves.

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Posted by dat yat

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Member since Jun 2011

4925 posts

Posted on 8/28/23 at 4:13 pm to shutterspeed

You have to be careful, but they can be a good option. Mine has increased about 50% in a decade, which is basically keeping up with the local housing market.

The one I bought was cheap enough to pay cash when I downsized from a house in town. It is on the water on the outskirts of town, but still commutable. The dues are not cheap, but they cover things that you would have to spend money (or time) on if you had a house. (lawncare, pools, exterior maintenance, insurance$$$).

A strong HOA is important and ours sucked at first because it was dominated by elderly retires who wanted to avoid spending rather than do proactive maintenance. I'm on the HOA now and I know what's up and we have improved the place a lot. We had an assessment two times, one for a new roof and one for a new dock. If you had a home on the water, those are things you would have to spend money on anyway.

Condos get a bum rap, but they can be a decent investment if they are well run.

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