Early on into my planning and research of moving into a new home I also did some number crunching to see if condo living would be financially feasible. I live very small and modestly and do a lot to keep my overall expenses low each month so I was rather surprised with the results of my calculations. Especially given that condos come with homeowner association (HOA) fees, which I currently do not have.
Most HOA fees cover the exterior and common area maintenance and upkeep, water, sewer and trash, hazard insurance as well as landscaping and snow removal. Some, for a higher monthly fee, also include heating (you pay electricity and internet) while others include all utilities. I decided when I crunched the numbers to look at both – with and without utilities included.
As a homeowner I pay for everything – water, sewer and trash, electricity, internet, insurance, maintenance and upkeep both inside and out, repairs and replacements of whatever fails or wears out, and it all adds up. Even though I am a do-it-yourselfer and I am super thrifty when it comes to my utilities and my projects I was really surprised by the results of my calculations.
It turns out that regardless of whether I choose a condo with basic amenities and lower HOA fees or a condo with the works and a lot of inclusions with the higher HOA fees I will be able to cut my monthly living expenses literally in half. And! The lower HOA fees versus the higher ones made very little difference overall. Knowing that makes it easier for me to go into choosing my next home without worry. Not to mention my do-it-yourself responsibilities would be greatly minimized.
As with any home purchase I will be asking a lot of questions and reading the fine print. I won’t be going at this blindly. It is nice to know all of the particulars ahead of time, especially the financial ones. So once again, condo living is making more and more sense to me. Now I just need to find the right one. In the right place…. Hmmm, sounds a bit daunting doesn’t it?
