Keep big suburban house or get a condo in city

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fair enough but kids and grandkids probably won't be able to visit if there isn't enough space at your place.

Oh yes, they will.

My friend just moved to Manhattan this year. Everyone wants to visit, friends, family, people she barely knows are totally IK with the living room couch.

Those people are just looking for cheap loading! lol.

This^. Couch accommodates single college student but not couples with kids.

This.
Have those launched adult kids host you.
And even when they do - still staying in a hotel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fair enough but kids and grandkids probably won't be able to visit if there isn't enough space at your place.

Condos aren’t necessarily small. A three bedroom condo with an office, living room, dining area and two bathrooms is doable and plenty of room for the kids and grandkids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Condo in the city hands down! They can stay in a nearby hotel or something. You don't keep a huge house in the suburbs for the three times a year your kids visit you. That's not smart.

This 1000%

You can rent a place nearby when they come or use a nearby hotel.

We downsized and never looked back.

One bedroom in the condo for guests, guest suite for rent in bldg (if you plan far enough in advance) and 5 hotels within 3 block radius.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with condos are the fees

Not really. Those fees include things you no longer need to pay for directly:

HOA fees include
Insurance on condo (except our belongings and $25k deductible)
Alarm system (don't need with 24 hour concierge)
All exterior maintenance (no roof, no painting, no snow shoveling,etc)
Hot water heater is HOA managed (central for the bldg so no leak issues)
No landscaping to manage

Once you consider that the costs are not that much. It balances out with what we paid for our big ass house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We decided to stay in our suburban house - we don't want to downsize and the kids still like coming home to our house. We like our neighbors and it costs a lot to get a condo - we figured we would be better off paying for ubers if we want to go downtown rather than the cost of moving.

Dumb.

You're missing the whole point. Having to take an Uber every time you wanted to go downtown makes going downtown a hassle and something you're going to have to think about and plan every time. If you're already living downtown you can just walk out the door any and every day on a whim. It changes everything.

And, sure, your kids still "like" coming home to your house but how often do they do it, how long do they stay, and for how long will you put your own life on hold for your adult kids? On top of that, what makes you think they won't "like" having you downtown just as much and probably more because of all of the things you could all do together and all the time without an Uber?

You’re also missing the point that for many of us, we don’t want to go downtown all the time like we did when we were younger. We don’t go to bars and restaurants multiple times a week. So it’s truly no big deal to take an uber when we go into the city because it isn’t often.

You'd go out more often and to more things than bars and restaurants if you actually lived in the city. You don't do it because you have to Uber.

We literally walk out the door to everything. Sure, bars and restaurants. But also grocery stores, pharmacies, coffee shops, doctors offices, post office, banks, shops, parks, museums . . . everything.

Yup!
I get 10-15k steps daily quite easily. We walk everywhere. We can drive to see a show at 6pm and make it to the 7pm show and leave home at 6;50. Want X for dinner, it's nearby. I'd rather have activities and dining nearby than a massive home. 1200 sq ft is plenty for two..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d downsize and put the money saved on yard care, gas, and utilities into a savings account earmarked for family hotel stays or holiday travel to to ur kids’ places.

Consider that there might not be any money saved at this point. Would it still be worth it?

Yes for quality of life. We lived in suburbs for the kids and their education. But once they are gone I didn't need a big ass home in suburbia. We want to enjoy our lives and get out and do stuff. Being in city makes it very easy.

We went from 5k sq ft home to a 1500 sq ft without any issues. Downsizing and getting rid of things is good. You realize how much crap you didn't need

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The idea of a condo in the city is great. But the reality less so.

The fees are ridiculous. And you can't budget for them, because it always changes, and it's alway toward the upside.

And that's a shame.

The nature of ownership of a condo is very different than owning a house. It's a problem.

The fees are mostly for maintenance and insurance and your 24 hour concierge. Just like a house has big fees (new roof, paint entire house, fix leak damages, etc) so will the condo. It's just someone else manages it all for you and most likely does more preventative maintenance than many of you do it sounds like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We decided to stay in our suburban house - we don't want to downsize and the kids still like coming home to our house. We like our neighbors and it costs a lot to get a condo - we figured we would be better off paying for ubers if we want to go downtown rather than the cost of moving.

Dumb.

You're missing the whole point. Having to take an Uber every time you wanted to go downtown makes going downtown a hassle and something you're going to have to think about and plan every time. If you're already living downtown you can just walk out the door any and every day on a whim.

Sure, you can walk out the door. But what's within the 2-3 block area that a retiree (perhaps with declining mobility) can access?

Living in "downtown" DC means you will still have to take Ubers/taxis. Especially as you age. Unless you plan to walk from your condo in Kalorama to the Kennedy Center for a performance, museums or other cultural/dining activities.

Pick a location where you can walk to many things. I live in a west coast city and I use my car maybe 1-2 times per week--mainly grocery shopping (can walk but no desire to carry it all back 6 -10 blocks) and medical appointments

We downsized in early 50s when last kid went to college. We figure we still have 20+ years of walking everywhere we want (and doing it daily will keep us in shape)

I can walk to 4 theaters, all the sporting events in town (1.5 miles at most to any location), symphony hall is 5 blocks away and every restaurant I could ever want is within 1-1.5 miles, tons within 4-5 blocks.

[Anonymous]

IMO it's a service to adult children for older parents to proactively downsize, especially into a home that is friendly to aging-in-place (no stairs). You should take that into account, as well as the likelihood that adult children will visit.

Also consider how far you are from adult kids/grandkids. If you're relatively young and in good health and willing to provide childcare, living close to them can be really helpful. If you're older or in bad health, living close to adult kids can make it easier for them to help you.

Those are the factors I would be focusing on, rather than the possibility of occasionally hosting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with condos are the fees

Not really. Those fees include things you no longer need to pay for directly:

HOA fees include
Insurance on condo (except our belongings and $25k deductible)
Alarm system (don't need with 24 hour concierge)
All exterior maintenance ([b]no roof, no painting[/b], no snow shoveling,etc)
Hot water heater is HOA managed (central for the bldg so no leak issues)
No landscaping to manage

Once you consider that the costs are not that much. It balances out with what we paid for our big ass house.

What about the capital assessments? That seems like a bigger issue and they often feel like big surprises. A homeowner doesn't really have any maintenance charges for a roof or painting, other than every 20 years you need a new roof and you may paint your house every 10 years...but i assume a condo also charges the tenants for these things as well with capital assessments.

I realize the situation in Florida is extreme, but obviously tons of people now looking to offload their condos for whatever they can get because the older buildings are getting hit with massive capital calls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with condos are the fees

That's stupid. If managed well, condo fees just take housing expenses and equalize them so you are aren't stuck with say a $20k roof bill or landscaping etc.

The actual problem is a lack of comparable appreciation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with condos are the fees

Not really. Those fees include things you no longer need to pay for directly:

HOA fees include
Insurance on condo (except our belongings and $25k deductible)
Alarm system (don't need with 24 hour concierge)
All exterior maintenance ([b]no roof, no painting[/b], no snow shoveling,etc)
Hot water heater is HOA managed (central for the bldg so no leak issues)
No landscaping to manage

Once you consider that the costs are not that much. It balances out with what we paid for our big ass house.

What about the capital assessments? That seems like a bigger issue and they often feel like big surprises. A homeowner doesn't really have any maintenance charges for a roof or painting, other than every 20 years you need a new roof and you may paint your house every 10 years...but i assume a condo also charges the tenants for these things as well with capital assessments.

I realize the situation in Florida is extreme, but obviously tons of people now looking to offload their condos for whatever they can get because the older buildings are getting hit with massive capital calls.

Well yes capital assessments are included. You do have to pay to maintain older buildings. A good condo will keep up with the maintenance and minimize those capital assessments. Just like a 25 year old home can have major added costs. My 4Ksq ft home that is 25 years old, needed a new roof ($40K, trust me I priced around, that was the best price for a reputable place), have to paint every 6-7 years where I am ($15K), I've had to replace 3 windows and doors due to leaks and getting ready with the 25 yo home to replace the rest---so $50-75K, the 25 yo propane tank deteriorated and had to be replaced ($15K+ for the entire project)...and the list goes on. You have those "capital assessments" with a home as well as it ages. And yes Florida is extreme. You have to research when purchasing a condo anywhere. I read the HOA notes for 2-5 years for the 5 places we considered, and ruled out 3 of them due to poor management/maintenance.

But same things can happen to a 10 yo home. Once replaced a roof on that house, because it kept leaking and the builder had done a terrible job, and shingles were wearing down early. So between all the leaks and inside repairs and then the new roof (3 years in), I spent close to $25K on a 10 yo home, something I woudlnt' expect to need to spend until 20+ years, but there I was.

But the beauty of a condo is I no longer have to plan the maintenance...I just pay the HOA fee and it happens automatically. Our building is one of the top 2 in the city that is in the 15+ year age range. Because we spend and maintain well and it's extremely well run. That translates to no hassles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with condos are the fees

That's stupid. If managed well, condo fees just take housing expenses and equalize them so you are aren't stuck with say a $20k roof bill or landscaping etc.

The actual problem is a lack of comparable appreciation.

In a city, they do appreciate. Much different from a condo in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fair enough but kids and grandkids probably won't be able to visit if there isn't enough space at your place.

So you get them a hotel or Airbnb that week. Whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with condos are the fees

That's stupid. If managed well, condo fees just take housing expenses and equalize them so you are aren't stuck with say a $20k roof bill or landscaping etc.

The actual problem is a lack of comparable appreciation.

In a city, they do appreciate. Much different from a condo in the suburbs.

I own a condo in the city. I love it. I will argue for it a million times. On the other hand, it has not come close to comparable appreciation. Over the past 20 years, it has gone up about 20% but has since gone down at least 10%. In 20 years!