Which is better to live as your first place to rent, an apartment or a condo?

[Oliverlogan263]

What are your thoughts and opinions

Apartment

Condo

[molonski2]

Sorry , I'm an Aussie , living in a Condo in Thailand. What's the difference? Id say a house if possible , In Australia they don't use the word Condo really..

But , I had an American girlfriend years ago , and I was living in a Flat , she called it a Condo , I'd never heard that expression before at the time.

[WindAtMyBack]

When I was young I never heard the word "condo" either. It wasn't really a thing. Either you rented an apartment or house, or you owned a house. I think condominiums started being heavily marketed in the 70s or 80s. They were pretty controversial at first and considered a really bad investment by a lot of people. There is less stigma about them now, especially for retired people.

[molonski2]

@WindAtMyBack
So whats the diff between apartment and Condo? haha and I worked in property for 25 years.

In Australia we had flats ( now they call everything apartments ) or Student accommodation.

[WindAtMyBack]

House - individual housing unit. Or possibly a duplex or double house - which are two attached houses which are owned individually.

Apartment - we use this strictly for renting a single unit in a multi-unit building. 'Apartment' is not used for a unit that you own.

Condominium - this a a hybrid. It is multi-unit like an apartment, but you own the unit. You might have a yard (what much of the world calls a garden). You are responsible for repairs and maintenance of your unit. Unlike an apartment, you also pay property tax. Even though you own the unit, you still pay a monthly fee to the condo association for maintenance of the common grounds and facilities like pools, gyms and internal roads.

Condos have become popular with retired people who want to downsize. Condos in tourist areas are also a common choice for time-shares.

[molonski2]

@WindAtMyBack
Yeah that terminology with the exception of House , is completely different to Australia.

Many in Australia reside in an apartment.

[WindAtMyBack]

For your first place, whatever is cheaper and in a reasonable neighborhood. At your age you have better things to do with your money than spend more on housing than you really need.

[Kori1236]

I’d go with apartment over condo. Condos come with condo fees and anything that needs to be changed or taken care of has to go through the condo board

[petitedollbabee]

I’ve never lived in either types of places, but I would assume that an apartment would be more comfortable?

[Anonymous]

The housing market is going to crash in the next 2 years or so. Rent anything now and buy something then.

[Paris13]

Apartment to Begin your Beguine is Maybe Cheaper. xxoo

[Fireguy17]

I rented a house, then was a caretake at a couple different places.
Saved a ton of cash doing that.

[exitseven]

It is about the same. You rent the place from somebody, you cannot deduct anything on your federal income tax and you build no equity. All you have at the end is a drawerfull of rent receipts.

[NathanDavis]

first place? the smaller the better...

[Drumlin2001]

Personally, somewhere as cheap as you can stand and save as much as possible to you can buy

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Apartment

[MissStrawberry912]

Whatever feels like home to you :)

[Kingofkings1992]

Neither. You should try to rent a room in a house. If the place is yours, you’re gonna be footing all the bills and that can be overwhelming.

[BarryLiverstone]

First place? Apartment

[LavLavLuv]

I like apartment

[Anonymous]

I say apartment.