Should you buy a House or a Condo.
There are valid reasons why people buy homes and condos. Each has its own pros and cons. But why should you buy a house vs condo and what is the advantage? Owning a property has its own advantages to begin with and hopefully you have decided to buy one for the benefits of it. Although many people opt for the maintenance free living of a condominium, especially if you live downtown Toronto or Mississauga, if you are looking for value in terms of the dollars spent, freehold house is the way to go in my opinion, and it is what I recommend to all my clients.
Why should you buy a house?
When I talk to my clients about the benefit of owning their own home, one of the first things we address is the fact that owning your home is a way to build equity and wealth. Just recently, I was working with a buyer looking for a place in Mississauga and one of the things that the buyer asked was why so many people still buy houses when condos are so much more convenient to live in, when it comes to maintenance and care over all. I think that a lot of young people tend to flock to care free living not realizing that paying $1,000-$2,000 dollars a month for a “shelter from elements” called home is more than just that.
Why do we buy a Home?
Most people buy a home so that they could have a roof over their heads that they can call their own. If you have been renting for a while, you very quickly realize that paying rent is paying someone else’s mortgage and therefore helping someone else get richer. Every dollar out of your pocket goes towards the landlords wealth. This is by far the greatest reason people decide to own instead of rent. It make sense?
House vs Condo advantage
Similarly to buying instead of renting, you buy a home vs condo. Think of your condo or maintenance fees. Every dollar you pay, is not helping you get any richer. When I look at Mississauga’s condo listings I generally see condo fees ranging from $300 to as high as $700 per month. Those are dollars that you will never get back. What did you spend it on? Did someone maintain YOUR pool, or landscape YOUR garden, or repair YOUR roof…? NO. Take that same condo fee and apply to your mortgage and suddenly, not only did you pay off your mortgage a lot faster, but those few hundred dollars a month of a condo fee could get you a bigger better home if you want. But most importantly, instead of a condo fee you are now putting that money towards paying off your mortgage and therefore eventually back into your own pocket. Given the choice, and all other things being equal, I would always chose putting money back into my own pocket. FREEHOLD is the way to go!
Check out some Houses for sale at my website with free search for houses in Mississauga and GTA area at www.myGTAhomefinder.com