Who here can tell me about condo living?

[stoopified]

My wife and I are looking to move to Norman in the next year and are now considering condos.The price range we are lokking at we haven't found what we are looking for in a house AND neighborhood,however we have come across several condos in our price range that are in neighborhoods we like.Here is our problem we have never lived in a condo.Can anyone enlighten us as to both the advantages and pitfalls in condo living as opposed to houses? Thanks in advance for any help.

[royalfan5]

It's like a stacked trailer park. YWIA.

[olevetonahill]

Ya ever lived in an Apartment With More rules than you can shake a stick at ?
No way In hell Could I live in a box , With folks above , beside and below .:eek:

[Mongo]

If you have large pets, it sucks if it has a small back yard.

You are moving into a college town, college students live next door and like to throw parties. that can go either way, unless said parties are sausagefests:D

Your neighbors will get tired of the headboard violently hitting the wall for 30 seconds.

[olevetonahill]

It's like a stacked trailer park. YWIA.
Spek Royal
Ya said pretty much what I said with Less words !

[Penguin]

I lived in a condo for 3 years. It's like a shoebox that never goes up in value.

It's like living in an apartment, but you actually own it. I would rather rent than own another condo. Never again.

[soonerscuba]

Don't hang your TV on a shared wall. Your neighbor throws his wife into that wall and BAM.

[AlbqSooner]

Apartment living but with equity ownership. Not sure how Norman is, but Florida seriously overbuilt condos and they did not appreciate in value at all for years. Also, the condominium board consists of elected owners and governs what you can do and in some cases must do outside of your condo. You will be required to pay an association fee in addition to your mortgage. This pays for the common areas such as parking, pool, roofs, landscaping, etc. The association fee can be raised at any time by majority vote of the membership. Check to see how much of the reserves are funded by association fees. If it is a low percentage then you can expect to have a levy when roofs need to be replaced, exteriors painted, parking areas repaved and restriped. If you fail to pay the association fee or any levy, the condo association can, and usually will, start foreclosure proceedings. That will seriously p i s s off your mortgage company. Condo living is not something I will ever partake in again.

[BajaOklahoma]

Look at smaller homes in a good neighborhood.

Seriously.

[olevetonahill]

Look at smaller homes in a good neighborhood.

Seriously.
Yup Like a TENT in the park !

[yermom]

i grew up in a condo in Tulsa

for the most part it wasn't bad, but yeah, it's like an apartment, you hear your neighbors, etc...

[soonerboomer93]

some of the newer condo's can be made with a lot nicer sound proofing materials so it isn't as bad...

might ask froze, i think he has a condo/townhouse...

[Frozen Sooner]

Yes, he does. He has a townhouse. :D

It's appreciated by 50% in the last four years.

Yeah, sometimes I can hear the neighbors. Generally, if you're not an *******, your neighbors like you and will ask you before they're going to have a loud night. Heck, they even ask me before they do.

Advantages:

I haven't mowed a yard in four years.
I haven't had to paint an exterior wall in four years.
I haven't had to shovel snow in four years.
I haven't had to rake leaves in four years.
I had sex with the girl next door a few years ago.
I had a pipe burst three years ago. Didn't cost me a dime to get fixed.

Now, I do plan on moving into a detached home at some point, but the townhouse suits me right down to the ground right now.

[Scott D]

I would say it depends on what kind of condo it is.

apartment condo = avoid it
townhouse condo = go for it

[LoyalFan]

I've lived in the same pandemonium...er...condom...inium as a renter from '83 to '87 and an owner since '87.
Upside: It was appraised at 82K and I bought it on foreclosure for 26.5K.
I don't have to mow a lawn, clean pool, or change exterior light bulbs.

Downside: (Gotta minute?)
Depending on state/local ordinance, you may NOT be able to BBQ over open flame (gas or c'coal) on your patio or balcony. I can't, and I owe it all to the Section 8 housing residents around Texiz that said, "Hey! el fuego ess no hot enough for los fajitas, lemme joos add some gasolina to heem." There goes another block of subsidized housing and a few welfare bums. Not necessarily a bad thing.
You may have a "Junta" that runs the place like Stalag 17. They will raise assessments, impose special lump-sum assessments, etc, at will, and may favor those who bought as investments rather than as a place to live.
Parking can be a problem, especially if you have guests over.
You will not be permitted to keep your boat or travel trailer there, in all but the rarest of instances.
One a-hole neighbor can make your life a living Hell, and there's little you can do about it.
Renters in the place are often a problem.
Pool rules may be so restrictive that you can forget about a romantic dip with the lady after, say 10PM.
If you are in Building 2, and Building 5 needs a new roof, ALL may be "taxed" via a special assessment to meet the cost.
Some folks, especially those from foreign lands, buy these places to warehouse college age kids attending a nearby school...chaos, racket, your parking slot usurped.
Then there's the resident nutcase who insists on feeding/attracting stray cats by the dozen, birds by the thousands (who will coat your vehicle AND you with poop.)
There will be a person who calls the management "anonymously" to beyotch if you even sneeze loudly.
There's the upstairs couple who either practice highjumping or the NFL version of the Kama Sutra regularly.
There's the downstairs bunch, from Upper Baboonsbuttistan, who cook their native foods, like Goat Spleens with Garlic/Limburger Sauce. The fumes rise, you see.
There's the punk kid who revs his souped/f---ked-up rice rocket at all hours, as he raises the volume on his car stereo. Complain and you are labeled a racist, have your windshield broken, door egged, etc.
There's the neighbor's cat, illegally allowed to roam, who will leave pawprints and claw marks on your car, partially-devoured rodents on your doorstep, and strong odors on your patio/balcony. Complain, and you hate poor little animals.
The authorities will decide to widen or repave the avenue and you will have noise, dust, and and tar on your conveyance for three years.
The local transit authority will establish a bus stop on your corner. Diapers will be changed...and left... on the hood of your vehicle. Litter will abound, and window-peeping will be rampant.
Enjoy!

Oh, whatevAr you do, avoid membership on the Board. I got drafted and spent three years at that, then was voted in as President WHEN I WAS NOT THERE!!!! Seven years later, I told them to KMA!

LF
Fair and Balanced

[Petro-Sooner]

The ex lives in a condo. I wasnt impressed for ALL the reasons stated above. Get a house.
I can remember helping her plant flowers and monkey grass around her fence to her patio and she said she was suppose to get it all approved. I laughed it off thinking that was ridiculous. You own the condo. Sure enough some of the board members out for a walk came up to us and said that they approved of what we were doing. Thanks but we didnt ask your opinion. I can see the need I guess if you get some odd ball doing crazy stuff to the outside of there place but that rule never sat right with me.

[stoopified]

The general negative response gives me a certain amount of trepidation about going CONDO.

[Frozen Sooner]

I will caution you to make sure that owner-occupancy is high.

It's over 80% here.

[Scott D]

The ex lives in a condo. I wasnt impressed for ALL the reasons stated above. Get a house.
I can remember helping her plant flowers and monkey grass around her fence to her patio and she said she was suppose to get it all approved. I laughed it off thinking that was ridiculous. You own the condo. Sure enough some of the board members out for a walk came up to us and said that they approved of what we were doing. Thanks but we didnt ask your opinion. I can see the need I guess if you get some odd ball doing crazy stuff to the outside of there place but that rule never sat right with me.

getting a house isn't necessarily a guarantee that you'd be free of all that invasion of privacy. Depending on where you live, a homeowner association can be as bad if not worse than a condo association, because they have a larger area that they can make rules and limitations for.

[Stoop Dawg]

Exactly, Scott D. Try living in a historical area.

As others have said, it depends entirely on the type of "condo". We purchased a condo/townhome for the same reasons you stated (couldn't find the right house in the neighborhood we wanted). We have only one shared wall, a smallish back yard, no association, 100% owner occupied, and there are only 8 of them total. It's in a very up-and-coming part of town and we expect a fairly nice return when we do finally find the house we want in a year or two.

So, it certainly wasn't our first choice, but it was better than overpaying for a house, or renting, or getting a house in a neighborhood that is flat or even on the decline.

[BajaOklahoma]

The general negative response gives me a certain amount of trepidation about going CONDO.


COMMANDO > CONDO

[stonecoldsoonerfan]

Apartment living but with equity ownership. Not sure how Norman is, but Florida seriously overbuilt condos and they did not appreciate in value at all for years. Also, the condominium board consists of elected owners and governs what you can do and in some cases must do outside of your condo. You will be required to pay an association fee in addition to your mortgage. This pays for the common areas such as parking, pool, roofs, landscaping, etc. The association fee can be raised at any time by majority vote of the membership. Check to see how much of the reserves are funded by association fees. If it is a low percentage then you can expect to have a levy when roofs need to be replaced, exteriors painted, parking areas repaved and restriped. If you fail to pay the association fee or any levy, the condo association can, and usually will, start foreclosure proceedings. That will seriously p i s s off your mortgage company. Condo living is not something I will ever partake in again.

i owned a condo for 3 years. this post above pretty much sums it up. reread it several times and take what was written seriously. that's my advice to you. for your own good, please take this advice and keep looking for a house.

another option (maybe) would be to buy a duplex and live in one half and rent out the other half.

[Stoop Dawg]

If you fail to pay the association fee or any levy, the condo association can, and usually will, start foreclosure proceedings.

Foreclosure? I believe that foreclosure can only be accomplished by your mortgage company. All the HOA can do is put a lien on the property. Now, that *might* **** off the mortgage company enough to call in the loan, but I doubt it. More likely the lien will just sit there until you sell, then get paid off at closing.

[Frozen Sooner]

Foreclosure? I believe that foreclosure can only be accomplished by your mortgage company. All the HOA can do is put a lien on the property. Now, that *might* **** off the mortgage company enough to call in the loan, but I doubt it. More likely the lien will just sit there until you sell, then get paid off at closing.

Nope. The HOA in fact has a lien superior to that of the mortgage company and can foreclose on the property without satisfying the mortgage.

We're foreclosing on a couple of people who haven't paid dues in almost a year right now.

[Stoop Dawg]

Wow. pwn3d.

[Frozen Sooner]

Lemme tell you, though, it's a MAJOR pain in the ***.

[C&CDean]

I'd rather have a rusty nail hammered through my ballsack than live in a condo, townhouse, and especially somewhere with a homeowners association. We had one when I lived on the west side in Norman. The day I came home and found a notice in my screen door reading "The Homeowners Association of Castlerock has noticed that you landscaped the area around the live oak tree in your front yard without the Homeowners Association's written approval, blah, blah, blah."

So, I went to the next meeting and said "when you **********s start paying my mortgage payment I'll plant bushes and flowers where you tell me. Until then, I'll plant them wherever I want." One of the dweebs came up with a feeble "but sir, we're just attempting to keep the property values up in our neighborhood." I said "do you think my landscaping is ghetto?" He said "no, it looks great, it's just that the covenants say you can't do any landscaping without permission." I said "why don't you guys go after the *******s who are parking their cars, boats, and RVs on the street - or the *******s who don't mow their lawns cause last time I checked, those things are also against the rules. Don't put another notice in my door until you've corrected every other violation in the hood." I never heard from then again.

Find a house. And if you're on a tight budget, look in Moore, Noble, Lexington, or Purcell.

[jk the sooner fan]

yeah i am really glad i dont have HOA here......

[Scott D]

Foreclosure? I believe that foreclosure can only be accomplished by your mortgage company. All the HOA can do is put a lien on the property. Now, that *might* **** off the mortgage company enough to call in the loan, but I doubt it. More likely the lien will just sit there until you sell, then get paid off at closing.

yeah like Mike said, the HOA or COA is given higher priority if a lein for foreclosure is placed on your home. Basically they got dibs, and the Mortgage Co. has to wait in line with their hand out for the scraps left over after the HOA takes their pound of flesh including legal fees.

When we moved in here our Bylaws were probably about 12 pages long. In the 13 years we've been here, the Bylaws have become the size of a good sized oversized hardcover novel.