Should you buy a house or a condo? Which one gives you “more bang for your buck?” You should consider a few things with both. As with everything, there are pros and cons for owning a home as well as a condo, short for condominium.

For one thing, there’s the difference of what you actually end up owning when you buy either. When you buy a house, or a single family residence, you own the land underneath, the air above it, and the structure itself. When you own a condo, you only have an ownership interest in the air contained within the walls of your unit and a common interest in the common areas like the clubhouse and what have you. That has always bothered me about condo ownership.

However, there are perks. Because you don’t technically “own” the lawn and the common areas, only an interest in them, they are maintained by the condo association, as are all issues regarding the exterior – like termite damage, flood repair, wear and tear and so on. So if you like the idea of ownership without the headaches, or plan to travel a lot, a condo might be perfect for you.

The condo association will require a certain fee be paid each month for these services, however and you should check around to find out what the fees are. Some fees can be as high as $260 a month or as low as $50 a month.

Some of the drawbacks of condos seem to be that you are required to maintain a certain color on your door, or a certain kind of window covering for example, which drives some people pretty crazy. If you’re one of them, a house might be right for you. In terms of resale, there seem to be more condos on the market at any given moment than houses, which often causes prices on condos to fall faster. There are however exceptions – do your research before you buy.

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