Getting your own space has become the biggest problem to solve nowadays. Buy or rent a condominium or an apartment in the city or countryside, these dilemmas often prove to be lingering hurdles in your pathway. The only way to reach your destination effortlessly is by doing meaningful research. Dissect your needs and step into the market for some ground reality.
And till you lace up your shoes, knowing some slants can potentially lay a ground map for you.
Relax. It’s all prepared, you just need to take a look.
Start by differentiating between condo and apartment
| What is Condo? | What is an Apartment? |
| A condo is a unit out of numerous multi-units located in a building or a complex surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. They are owned separately by different individuals.
Each unit has separate landlords. You can either buy or rent a condo. |
An apartment is a unit out of numerous multi-units located in a building. The whole building is owned by a single identity.
There is one single landlord for all units. You can rent a single apartment or the whole storey or even the whole building according to your needs. |
Which is more pricey than the other?
A condominium is directly taken care of by its landlord. Hence, he/she directly deals with the potential tenant or buyer. In the majority of cases, there are no untouchable rules and pricing as such while renting or owning a condo. You can always talk things out with the landlords. A flexible approach is adopted by the landlords.
The apartment is administered by an on-site property management company with a rental office in the building. They are the people that the landlords have designated to handle the day-to-day operations of all the apartments. Usually, in their scenario, rules and regulations are strictly fixed, and in all situations, they remain unbent. The management is instructed by the owner, and the code of conduct won’t be amended upon individual request.
In some way or the other, we can say one holds the possibility of being cheaper than the other.
Is one between the two can be a more easy purchase?
Usually, a condo lender will be extra careful before making a deal. As he/she is sometimes hard to please and significant credible evidence is needed to prove the candidature.
Whereas a building owner has a considerable amount of apartments to reckon with. The hefty volume of work develops a less inquisitive approach towards the tenants. Hence, going for an apartment could be an easy purchase process with this dimension.
Which will offer a more smooth journey afterward?
The answer can be derived via addressing the question, ‘if you aspire to build home equity or simply continue with paying rent’.The difference lies in the purchase. Where in a condo, you can do both, rent and buy. With an apartment, you can only be a tenant. The responsibility towards your residential space varies.
With condo ownerships come great responsibilities in the form of maintenance, repairs, paying property taxes, and keeping up with other essential assessments. But it also offers certain tax benefits as you consolidate home equity in your account.
There are no tax benefits achieved from paying the rent, but the maintenance toil will be taken care of by the landlords. That means it will be a no-sweat living.
Property tax or leasing amount?
Property tax is the amount that is paid by the landowner to the municipal corporation or the local government for his/her area. With the increase of inflation and fiscal requirements, property taxes are of ever-increasing nature, mostly. Property taxes are paid annually, whereas rent is a monthly duty. But along with the responsibility of paying the property tax, tax benefits on home equity are also bestowed by the authority.
If you are more inclined towards short-term commitments and are not bothered about building an asset, you can opt for renting an apartment for easy purchase and living.
Buy or rent the condo?
Primarily it depends on your core requirements and depends on your budget, the number of people in your family, your motive for residence, and many more. Buying a condo can leverage you with many advantages, from assets built up to stability along with a personal sense of satisfaction. So, the answer to whether you should buy a condo in the future depends on your personal choice. At the same time, the process of renting is short and simple but comes with monthly liability. And renting does free you from many hefty procedures required later in maintenance.
So, the choice is open, and it’s completely yours.
Conclusion
First, know your requirements, gain clarity about the location, analyze the market trend, calculate all the tax mathematics and learn about the future benefits associated with the decision. Such decisions require contemplation not just about the present needs but also about the future impact.
