Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Living in a condo or apartment comes often with the caveat of living in a run down neighborhood with a lot of crime.
I lived the first 10 years of my life in one. On the plus side there were always kids outside, but some were mean bullies and there were fights as well. I am happy my parents moved because suburbia was a completely different environment and I thrived.
I drove past that old neighborhood, it now has a very different demographic of residents, the crime rate statistics is high. I do not think that you could grow up in there and be oblivious to the influence of gangs, drugs.

Are you a middle school student or something? Because this comment is bizarre. There are condos in all types of neighborhoods. A condo doesn’t mean it’s a high crime area. There are also condos in the suburbs.

Anonymous wrote:Living in a condo or apartment comes often with the caveat of living in a run down neighborhood with a lot of crime.
I lived the first 10 years of my life in one. On the plus side there were always kids outside, but some were mean bullies and there were fights as well. I am happy my parents moved because suburbia was a completely different environment and I thrived.
I drove past that old neighborhood, it now has a very different demographic of residents, the crime rate statistics is high. I do not think that you could grow up in there and be oblivious to the influence of gangs, drugs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My tenant in my condo is a failure for them. I rented to them when newly married in 2018. I like them a lot.

In early 2020 a unit came up in estate sale that was pre being listed. I am on board and knew. Even though good tenants I told them about it as a good opportunity.

They were a bit nasty. I got we are buying s house in nearby fancy area we have no plans to stay in a condo.

It is 2024 they just renewed lease. Housing shot up crazy last four years and rates up.

So owners of condos not a failure. People stuck in condo rentals with kids are sadly in worse shape

You have absolutely no idea why they didn't buy. I understand you wanted the best for them, but the problem with giving advice is that you never know what's going on and might come off as nosy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You get constant comments? From who? I can't imagine ever having an opinion on this for a family member or friend.

You're in serious denial if you think friends, family, associates and colleagues don't judge you based on where you live and type of house. Especially since they don't even need to ask you to suss it out, takes about five seconds on Google. If you have kids, you don't think other parents want to know where you live and what sort of stature you have? You're dreaming.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:600K is cheap!

It's cheap by DCUM standards where everyone makes 200k and aspires to live in a million dollar home. The average household wouldn't get approved for a mortgage that high unless they had a big down payment, which is unlike for a household that is average.

If you make 200K, and you're trying to get a house that costs more than 600K, you're going to feel really cash strapped every month.

That said, there's nothing wrong with aspiring to live in a million dollar home. It's not like your dreams die once you get a career.

Which proves my point. The average family isn't making 200k. I don't see anything wrong with expensive homes, I just think it's ridiculous to say that 600K is cheap.

Anonymous wrote:In NYC there a a handful of small coop buildings down in SOHO where they are on the super expensive blocks for Boutique shopping with some of the highest rent per square feet around. The coop building owns the ground floor and collects the rent.

One building was feature in the NY Times a few years back. It has "negative monthly maintenance" Meaning the commercial rent is higher than cost to run building and owners get a check paid to them each month. That is crazy.
You are mentioning one rare exception to the rule. Most condos in NYC have high fees that are comparable to rent in many parts of the US.

I dont think any single family home could beat that deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Land appreciates. Buildings depreciate. It's that simple. That's why condos tend to produce less wealth in the long run. That doesn't mean condos in Manhattan aren't valuable in Manhattan. But condos in northern Virginia are garbage.

Fortunately condo owners own an undivided percentage interest in the underlying land.

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Anonymous wrote:No, plenty of our well off Alexandria friends are downsizing to condos in the DC area as we become empty nesters and near retirement. Condos are great for those starting out and those who don’t want the hassles of home ownership at retirement.

Yes, flushing $3k 4k 5k 6k down the drain in rent every month until you croak is so wise. Avoiding all those "hassles" and making corporate landlords filthy rich.

What rent? You buy a condo just like you buy a house. The monthly fee is for utilities, pool, cleaners, landscaping, emergency fund, etc

The fastest growing sector of "condos" are build-to-RENT by corporate landlord developers. It's a massive racket and frankly all of those parasites should be denied zoning.

I have owned two condos and one was in a building that didn’t permit tenants. Owner occupied only. The other is over 90% owner occupied.

You can ask the condo board about their policies with renters.

Same here. Our board is extremely strict about rentals, and even in a large high rise building we've got a really tight community of awesome neighbors. I grew up in a big house on a really big estate and there's no way I wanted to have all of that management/upkeep for myself. I could have a house if I wanted to, but prefer the ease and comfort of an extremely low-maintenance and low-stress home. Don't let others' snobbery trick you into believing that they are actually somehow better than you. You only get one life - live it for yourself, not to impress the jerks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Land appreciates. Buildings depreciate. It's that simple. That's why condos tend to produce less wealth in the long run. That doesn't mean condos in Manhattan aren't valuable in Manhattan. But condos in northern Virginia are garbage.

Fortunately condo owners own an undivided percentage interest in the underlying land.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You get constant comments? From who? I can't imagine ever having an opinion on this for a family member or friend.

You're in serious denial if you think friends, family, associates and colleagues don't judge you based on where you live and type of house. Especially since they don't even need to ask you to suss it out, takes about five seconds on Google. If you have kids, you don't think other parents want to know where you live and what sort of stature you have? You're dreaming.

Anonymous wrote:Land appreciates. Buildings depreciate. It's that simple. That's why condos tend to produce less wealth in the long run. That doesn't mean condos in Manhattan aren't valuable in Manhattan. But condos in northern Virginia are garbage.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, plenty of our well off Alexandria friends are downsizing to condos in the DC area as we become empty nesters and near retirement. Condos are great for those starting out and those who don’t want the hassles of home ownership at retirement.

Yes, flushing $3k 4k 5k 6k down the drain in rent every month until you croak is so wise. Avoiding all those "hassles" and making corporate landlords filthy rich.

What rent? You buy a condo just like you buy a house. The monthly fee is for utilities, pool, cleaners, landscaping, emergency fund, etc

The fastest growing sector of "condos" are build-to-RENT by corporate landlord developers. It's a massive racket and frankly all of those parasites should be denied zoning.

I have owned two condos and one was in a building that didn’t permit tenants. Owner occupied only. The other is over 90% owner occupied.

You can ask the condo board about their policies with renters.

Anonymous wrote:Land appreciates. Buildings depreciate. It's that simple. That's why condos tend to produce less wealth in the long run. That doesn't mean condos in Manhattan aren't valuable in Manhattan. But condos in northern Virginia are garbage.