Posted by Gary on February 22, 2001 at 20:12:35:
I have four condos that I rent and I find them easier to manage; there are the assessments that come and go but usually you get a heads up on that if you read the condo board minutes or go to some of the meetings…rents are very predictable and units are easy to rent…good luck.
Are condos and townhouses good rental properties? - Posted by Richard Jones
Posted by Richard Jones on February 20, 2001 at 16:35:11:
I’m a newbie ready to buy my first revenue property. I was wondering if condos or townhouses will make good rental property than a single family house.
Re: Are condos and townhouses good rental properti - Posted by Frank Chin
Posted by Frank Chin on February 20, 2001 at 18:51:30:
I owned both types and here are pros are cons
CONDO Pros
Maintenance in common areas handled by management company or condo owner volunteers.
CONDO Cons
1- Renters in some cases must be approved by Condo Board, which meets once a month. You may lose potential tenants who wants to move in quickly. I was able to quickly rent to a tenant one time who was waiting to be approved at a condo.
2- If your tenant has nosiy neighbors, he’ll complain to you, you complain to the board, and the board writes a letter to the other condo owner. You get the picture.
3- If the proportion to non owner occupied units goes over 50%, the property quickly deteriorates. The absentee condo owners does not want high maintenance fees. I own a condo where they restrict absentee ownership to 25% and condo prices goes for 50K to 75K. Prices at a neighboring building with over 50% absentee ownership was selling as low as 10K.
4- Condo board may make special assessments on major improvements which may occur at an inconvenient financial time for you.
5- You depend on the condo board to make sound financial decisions. Sometimes they fall asleep at the wheel and major assessments might have to be made to replenish reserve funds. I owned a condo once where the association was $15,000 in arrears on their utility bills, at the utility threatened to cut off services. Fortunately, the fact came to light soon after I sold the condo. The new owner wasn’t very happy.
From my standpoint, there are many more things you’ll have to watch out for when renting through condo ownership.
HOUSE Pros
With a house, you pay the bank and taxes, and the tenants pay the utilities. Very simple. You decide when and how to do the repairs repairs. You don’t have to wait for a condo board to approve your tenant.
House Cons
You do all the repairs. But with proper screening, have the tenant do it for you.
Re: Are condos and townhouses good rental properti - Posted by Richard Jones
Posted by Richard Jones on February 20, 2001 at 22:11:05:
Thanks, for your insight it was extremly helpful. I’ll think 3 or 4 times about a condo.