But if you break even at closing, you lived rent free for all the time you were in the house. You pay property taxes, but you get an income tax deduction. And you were in control of your home and your choices. I was there with my first house -- still wasn't a bad deal. I loved that house, loved living there -- and it cost me less than renting a place in the same area. Nothing to cry over.

I wonder what it's like buying homes in places other than the US

Yes, I've noticed that people tend to underestimate the costs and overestimate the benefits.

In many parts of the country, where the value of homes grows slowly, if at all, it can take 5 (or often more) years to "break even" on the transaction.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Home ownership is not for everyone. And it is not necessarily the best investment either. In fact I believe that over time, the market is a much better investment.

However, it's only been in the last 30 years or so that we've looked at our homes as an investment and not just a place to live and raise a family. We nowadays tend to move more often.

My parents were an exception to those who stayed put in their generation but even so, they were not moving all that often. They owned their first home for 9 years, their second home for 20 years and their third and final home for over 30 years. They didn't buy the homes looking to make a profit but as a place to first raise their children and with their last home, to enjoy their retirement.

Part of the problem is we've been taught to look at home ownership as an investment. Maybe that's the wrong idea. And no, it's not free rent as there is a mortgage and repairs, etc. However unlike a rental, we're free to do what we want with our homes. If we want to paint the walls purple, we can. If we want to have a Japanese rock garden with no grass, we can (unless we live in an HOA area). If we want to nail pictures into every single wall, we can.

Good comments from everyone. One thing that I didn't mention that can be a big factor in the overall experience is if you own the home alone or as a couple. Being alone, it's a lot to meet people for service appointments, handle insurance issues, yard work, etc. while working full time. It would helps single person to think about that. It's a big part of the purchase equation.

Being alone, it's a lot to meet people for service appointments, handle insurance issues, yard work, etc. while working full time. It would helps single person to think about that. It's a big part of the purchase equation.

I agree. I think if I were alone, I would consider a condo with services instead.

But if you break even at closing, you lived rent free for all the time
you were in the house. You pay property taxes, but you get an income
tax deduction.

Check your math. A mortgage isn't free. And income tax deductions only rebate you a portion of the out-of-pocket interest and property taxes you pay. :-)

The other thing to consider, on top of the transaction costs of selling, is the illiquidity of real estate. If you're not in a hot seller's market, you may sit on your house for months waiting for it to sell, and possibly paying double mortgages if you're selling because you moved. That's an awfully lot of opportunity cost adding up as the clock ticks. I've sold 3 homes (one even in California) and none of them sold quickly. Timing sucks.

For my first home, I tried the condo route. Never again. That created its own set of headaches. I tell everyone I know to stay away from them. If they aren't run well, aren't financially stable, slow on repairs, and don't enforce rules, you can have big problems. They are also extremely hard to get rid of due to having a limited pool of potential buyers. My advice to people is to always buy a home, if you must buy. Condos should not be on the menu.

I am so glad that you are sharing your experience. My husband's career has moved us all over the country and paid the closing costs and realitor fees with every move, had they not we wouldn't be able to afford to move. Owning a home comes with many headaches and if you break even you didn't live rent free, please check your math on that. We now live out in the country on some acreage and that's more of a headache than I expected.

Condos may come with their own set of issues (HOA) but in areas with a lot of single professionals who don't want the hassle of outside upkeep and other matters that come with owning a single family home, they are part of the residential property 'ecosystem'. Not all HOAs are poorly run, or financially unstable - it's upon the buyers to find out whether the one they're looking to buy into has problems or not. Here in California we have the Davis Stirling act which is used to govern all HOAs in the state.

Our HOA was extremely well(too well if you ask me) run, and very well maintained, updated, repaired, and constantly beautified. Rules were enforced very well too. To the point when they made my cleaning lady re-park(so the back of the car would be seen and not the front)..because all the cars should be parked the same lol.

The community is considered one of the very best in the area, and actually is very popular. Several reasons for that-great location, upscale area, beautifully designed. True, you depend on immediate comps more..and they can be better or worse..and it depends on the market and condo itself of course(bigger or smaller plan, location within the community, view, etc)..but can be purely circumstantial too (say folks were in a hurry due to their own personal reasons, set the price 50K lower than the market value, said "we don't care what your comps will be we're out of here cause want to be in Reno,Nevada or something within a month"..what can you do?)

Personally-I'd never leave from there, had our family circumstances not changed.

And when we had to move-first and foremost, I checked another condos.

They just don't make them 4 bedrooms here. If they do these are scarce, detached, zero lot, so the feeling of privacy is exactly the same..and HOA does nada except for the street part.

Not like our HOA. They took care of a lot. They really did. Well they were a PITA sometimes, with their constant beautifying-but most good things in life come with some PITA.

And if I was single? no house for me for sure. I'm with cpartist fully on that one.

Of course does depend on a community..so I'd be very careful on what and where I choose.

I'm already pretty educated on what exists in the area..what's worth looking into, and what you shouldn't start with..I check listings as well-thinking maybe getting one smaller one for MIL..unfortunately the ones I really like are too far from where we are now-makes no sense, in our case..we want walking distance between us.

I think condo communities in high end areas, specific geographic regions, and in big cities are somewhat in their own category. I am mostly referring to small communities in an average town with a mostly middle class population. In my experience, where I am, condos tend to run into issues than not. In my own experience, I was in a community where the demographics were fine moving into the place. I was a professional who moved there because it would be cheap living and I didn't want a yard. Within a few years, we had some bad apples who couldn't follow rules, were messy, and would rather spend money on a nice vehicle, or expensive trip, than take care of necessary repairs. I usually tell people to take a close look at a community while home shopping. If the yardwork is sloppy or looks like it should be more asthetically pleasing to the eye, that is a sign of a problem. If anything looks as if it needs repairing or worn, that's a red flag. Ask about the HOA dues. What do they cover? If multiple items are amenities, beware. The occupants may be more interested in having cable and water than money for wood repair and community upkeep. That's a problem. Ask how many assessments have been given in the last few years. How much was it and why? Does it sound like something the dues should have covered? Does it sound like something was not monitored for upkeep and a big problem came up and now requires a big fix it job? Ask if there is a board. Ask how often they have HOA community meetings. If there isn't a board or regular meetings, walk away. This often means decisions are being made by a cliche and your money is spent without your input. This is also a red flag for accountability. Find out how rules are enforced and unpaid dues are handled. If there isn't an attorney available for hire or fine system, rules aren't being enforced. If a lien was put on a property, did they get all their money back? Find out how many units are rentals. This can affect your resale value. Overall, condos can give you the ability to own a home, but you have half the control. Example-You contribute to the fees for the yard man. He does a horrible job on your part. You speak to him about things getting better and he tells you he only answers to the officer who pays him and they have to complain themselves. Example-The neighbor's dog keeps urinating at your front door. You complain to the officer handling rules. Nothing happens. You can't complain outside of the community because you all are on the same private property. It isn't like you are two houses on two separate properties. Not all condos are the same, but be an educated shopper.

They are also extremely hard to get rid of due to having a limited pool of potential buyers. My advice to people is to always buy a home, if you must buy. Condos should not be on the menu.

A lot depends on the area you live in, the condo community, etc.

My DH sold his condo on Long Island back in 2005. It took him 1 month to get a buyer. We just sold our condo in SW FL last year and it took a few months and we got a very good price for it. My aunt's condo sold in Manhattan after being on the market less than a month.

Many condos are well run and well financed. It's up to you as a buyer to do your due diligence to make sure the financial picture of the condo is solid. If you didn't, then who's to blame?

Also if it's such a small pool of buyers, then why are builders in my city building 7 new condo complexes downtown?

And a house is not for everyone. For young working couples, it's a great way to get into housing without the headaches of having to maintain the lawn, etc. As you age, a condo building may be just the right place for the same reasons and many more.

Sorry you had a bad experience, but don't make blanket statements assuming everyone had the same experience as you.

Like I said in an earlier post, where your condo is located, and the price range of units, affects the variables. I never said it was everyone's experience everywhere. I just listed things people should consider when purchasing and that my advice was that a house was a better situation. You are entitled to your experience and your opinion and I am entitled to mine and I am going to make it. I, and multiple people I know, have had much of the same dynamics in our condo ownership experiences and I will speak about them to warn other people of the possible pitfalls. It had nothing to do with not investigating prior to purchasing. I investigated and a change in unit ownership and management styles affected the community. That's a common problem in the stories of people I personally know. Anyway, this thread is about passing on information and sharing opinions about personal experiences of home ownership. If you had a different experience that's fine and are free to say so, but I don't think it's necessary to turn it into a condo debate or attack a poster.

I did oversimplify and/or overstate my casse, but with that first home of mine, I paid 1/3-1/2 what it would have cost me to rent in the area to own it. I had some repairs -- nothing major, and taxes and ins were included in my mortgage and what I was comparing to rent. If I then got money back at the end of the day, I still came out ahead. I can't quote figures 30 years later, but I sure didn't regret it. But I didn't sell at a great time and having to sell and close is a bigger hassle than just giving notice to a landlord. But it wouldn't keep me from buying.

I have sold 2 other homes since then -- both while carrying a new home's mortgage as well. One was as good as it could have been -- we just had to move in the fall and wait for the market to return in spring - which we knew to expect. Well, there was one clown who made several ridiculously low offers during the winter, but we held firm and wound up with multiple offers and something just above asking price -- and the clown was one of them and he still couldn't get why we weren't even responding to his way, way low offer that asked us to pay his closing costs, etc. The other was a bit of a pain.

If you expect a home to be something that pays you in cash eacch time you move and be hassle free, you will be disappointed more often than not. But I have a family member (by marriage) who has rented for 36 years -- same house, and they are being forced to leave now. Now, at 65 years old, you would think they would see the benefit of buying -- but they are renting again, at more than 3 times to cost of the last rental -- where they said they were stuggling just to get by, and twice the cost of buying a home in some nice areas we suggested. He will never be able to retire. One of the biggest reasons to own a home is so that someday you can actually own it and not be paying a mortgage or a landlord. And you control when and if you move. Retirement is an entirely prospect when you do. The longer you pay for someone else to own property, the harder it becomes for you to ever own it.