Do freestanding condos typically cost less per sq ft than a single family house?

[2HOTinPHX]

Family is key. We currently live close to the ranch and are close to my daughter with grand kids. The condo is about 20 min further away. We’re about 10 min now. Thing is, the grand kids are growing up and it’s just reality that they’ll be coming over less and less and a half hour drive really isn’t a big deal. Oldest is 19 and then 15. We hardly see those two. The youngest is 9 so we’re a bit more involved with her still. We moved close when the youngest was born and it’s been good, but times change.

Sorry we're of topic again but above comment reminded me how grateful we were that one of our siblings family lived very close to our parents. Being just a few minutes away allowed them to check up on our parents as needed which became almost daily when they reached their mid 80's. My brother could pop over and help them out and be back home in less than 2 minutes. It was nice knowing they were that close in those final years. Might be something to also take into consideration.

 

[Koolau]

Sorry we're of topic again but above comment reminded me how grateful we were that one of our siblings family lived very close to our parents. Being just a few minutes away allowed them to check up on our parents as needed which became almost daily when they reached their mid 80's. Might be something to also take into consideration. My brother could pop over and help them out and be back home in less than 2 minutes. It was nice knowing they were that close in those final years.

Yep. That was something I did for my parents for over 15 years as they aged out. Before my mom went to a nursing home, I was over there sometimes twice a day. It was cheaper than a nursing home and at the time she could manage with my help.

I don't expect that will happen with me, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Badger]

I moved out of an apartment around 1976. To me they are the same as a condo with having common walls and the aggravation with having lots more people in limited space. Since then I have lived in a non-HOA house and as long as I have a say I will not return to "beehive" living. I have always done most of the maintenance and repairs except for roofing and painting the outside. I also have a lawn service that comes once a week for $200/month. If we want to travel we have a trusted pet sitter that lives in the house while we are gone. With the money I have saved from HOA fees I can hire any job until I "kick the bucket" and still come out ahead while living in comfort in my own house with a private outdoor space.
Since you have lived on a house with land maybe you could try out living in an apartment for a few months to see how you like the different lifestyle. If you did it when you were younger it may have changed a little.
Others may like the crowded environment and HOA rules of a condo if it fits their needs. Just not me.

 

[Dtail]

Most townhouse style condos around us (and up North where we lived previously) are multi level with the master bedroom upstairs. As we age, this would not work for us.
However, there is one housing complex, whereby it is one level with one neighbor attached and a 2 car garage.

 

[jazz4cash]

We’re struggling with what to do at the moment. We live on an acre and I’m trying to figure out how far to downsize (the yard, not necessarily the house). We basically tell ourselves that if we move into a condo it’s an acceptance that we live our life primarily indoors and don’t want a dog (we don’t currently have one). In that case, if all the HOA focused on is how the outside looked, I couldn’t care less and would in fact expect that the are is well maintained. Buying the house with a yard says that we still want to do some outside things like yard work, gardening and have a dog. Personally, I’m leaning toward giving all those things up and even with a house, I’m probably going to farm out most of the yard work and snow removal. Not sure one way or the other about the dog.

For the cost of the HOA fee you could probably outsource all maintenance and escrow for a roof or HVAC replacement. Both properties are nice. .

 

[finnski1]

The ranch has an annual tax of $4,000. The condo has an annual tax of $8800 plus 330/month HOA fees. That totals about $12,760. So it will cost you $8760/year more for the condo or about $730/month. To me that's quite a bit. You can hire quite a bit out for that amount of savings.

 

[Jerry1]

The ranch has an annual tax of $4,000. The condo has an annual tax of $8800 plus 330/month HOA fees. That totals about $12,760. So it will cost you $8760/year more for the condo or about $730/month. To me that's quite a bit. You can hire quite a bit out for that amount of savings.

The taxes are misleading. The current residents in the ranch have been there since 1975. In MI, property tax increases are capped but reset when you sell. The condo will still cost a bit more only because the county it’s in has a bit higher tax rate than the ranch. I think it’s a disservice of the real estate sites not to use the existing tax rate times the asking price when they present a monthly payment calculation. The existing taxes being paid is meaningless.

 

[pb4uski]

So according to Wikipedia there is such a thing as a single unit condo but their description is still that of a single home with an HOA handling exterior maintenance. Very odd.

We have some friends that live in such a place. In that community they call them "carriage" homes. Concept is similar to a condo... association is responsible for maintaining grounds and exterior and the owners are responsible for the interior.

 

[folivier]

Before we bought our condo a couple other gated communities we liked had separate houses along with four and six plexes. The HOA took care of the outside maintenance and roofs along with the yards. Don't remember but these might have been called carriage homes or something similar.

 

[pb4uski]

We’re struggling with what to do at the moment. We live on an acre and I’m trying to figure out how far to downsize (the yard, not necessarily the house). We basically tell ourselves that if we move into a condo it’s an acceptance that we live our life primarily indoors and don’t want a dog (we don’t currently have one). In that case, if all the HOA focused on is how the outside looked, I couldn’t care less and would in fact expect that the are is well maintained. Buying the house with a yard says that we still want to do some outside things like yard work, gardening and have a dog. Personally, I’m leaning toward giving all those things up and even with a house, I’m probably going to farm out most of the yard work and snow removal. Not sure one way or the other about the dog.

Having lived in a condo for 7 years, I don't see it as constraining as you do. Many of our condo owners had dogs, walked them regularly and seeing people on the street walking their dogs added to the sense of community. That and many condos have dog parks as an ammenity. Our condo allowed gardening within limits.

Our association wasn't very restrictive and enforcement was chill, but there always seemed to be something. The bonehead new owner who bought and had two dogs and never read the rules that you were only allowed one dog. The owner whose friend visited and parked their big-ass RV in the parking lot (a few days would be fine but this was for almost two weeks). The bigger problem was owners who had previously only owned SFH and couldn't fathom that the landscaping was association responsibility and that they couldn't change plants just because they wanted to.

 

[pb4uski]

The taxes are misleading. The current residents in the ranch have been there since 1975. In MI, property tax increases are capped but reset when you sell. The condo will still cost a bit more only because the county it’s in has a bit higher tax rate than the ranch. I think it’s a disservice of the real estate sites not to use the existing tax rate times the asking price when they present a monthly payment calculation. The existing taxes being paid is meaningless.

Agree. For homes in jurisdictions that stabilize taxes in some way what the homesteaded owners pay is many times irrelevant and misleading. One of the problems that I have with these property tax stabilization schemes is that you can have two identical homesteads side-by-side that pay very different property taxes based on how long the owner has homesteaded. Also, in some cases the homesteading benefit are like golden handcuffs making it hard for owners to move when they really should move.

 

[Jerry1]

To me, having a dog equals opening the door and letting them run. On the properties I’ve owned, that’s no big deal. In the properties I’m looking at, a fenced in yard is necessary for what I want. We all have our quirks and one of mine is that I’m not walking around with my dog picking up its poop. I don’t mind scooping it up with a tool I have but not going to do the walk and scoop thing.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

Regarding the "condo", other units on the street have sold for similar values. My guess is price is reflective of smaller lot size, HOA, proximity of neighbors, and very similar comparables.

My Mom lives in a "villa" in Kentwood. Same setup. She is like an indoor cat, so enjoys her views but doesn't go outside much other than to walk the road occasionally. She enjoys her neighbors and they help each other out. HOA is a net positive for her as less service provider relationships to manage.

 

[finnski1]

The taxes are misleading. The current residents in the ranch have been there since 1975. In MI, property tax increases are capped but reset when you sell. The condo will still cost a bit more only because the county it’s in has a bit higher tax rate than the ranch. I think it’s a disservice of the real estate sites not to use the existing tax rate times the asking price when they present a monthly payment calculation. The existing taxes being paid is meaningless.

Gotcha. never mind.

 

[Jerry1]

Also, in some cases the homesteading benefit are like golden handcuffs making it hard for owners to move when they really should move.

We’re experiencing some of that right now. With releasing our tax benefit and the cost of a new house compared to what we’d sell ours for, staying where we’re at is definitely the cheaper option, even if we started to farm out some of the outdoor work.

 

[euro]

I’m guilty of taking my own thread off topic. The real question is what explains the significant difference in cost per sq ft. The land and the existence of an HOA are two factors. Anything else? It just doesn’t seem to compute for me given how large the difference is. But maybe it’s just that - it can’t be computed, it’s just customer preference for the single family ranch with a yard of your own.

From a real estate investment standpoint, single family houses almost always show far greater appreciation than condos and townhouses.

 

[Andre1969]

I haven't read through all the responses, but yes, technically, there can be such a thing as a "free standing" (i.e., single-family home) condo.

While we tend to think of condos as simply apartments that we own, a condominium is simply an entity. It can be an apartment style house, or a townhouse, or a single family home.

I've never seen a single-family home condo, but I'd imagine they do exist. Most likely, the condo association would own the land that the building sits on, and might be responsible for the exterior maintenance, major structure, etc.

Basically, like an HOA, but with more control over you.

As for this listing, I'd imagine one way to determine whether it's in a condo association, or simply an HOA, is, who is responsible for cutting the grass and landscaping? If there's a company that comes in and handles that, it's a condo. If you're responsible for handling it, but you can get in trouble if you don't, it's an HOA. And if you're responsible for it, but won't get in trouble if you don't cut the grass (although in some areas the city or county will still get you), then it's neither.

If it's a condo, your property taxes should be lower, since you don't own the land. However, the condo fee can be fairly high, and unpredictable.

On Redfin, it's referred to as a "Detached condo." it also says that the HOA fee (Redfin doesn't always distinguish between an HOA fee and condo fee) covers lawn care/snow removal. HOA's usually cover snow removal, but not lawn care. Also, there is no list of the square footage of the lot, so that leads me to believe this is indeed a condo entity, rather than just a house with an HOA.

 

[pb4uski]

In our area, the "condo" would probably be called a fee simple townhouse. As mentioned, you are responsible for all upkeep of the building and the HOA declaration probably gives the association some level of architectural control as to changes that can be made. And I would agree that a biggest part of the price per square foot difference is the land.

In most areas that would be called a HOA but not a condo. An HOA being a neighborhood of single-family homes but with an umbrella association that maintains common areas and ammenities. Typically, in a HOA you can make changes to your house subject to constraints. For example in my aunt's HOA, all homes must have tile roofs and that was later amended to allow metal roofs that look like a tile roof, but asphalt shingle roofs are not allowed. And unlike a SFH without a HOA, you typically need to keep your grass mown, landscaping tidy, etc where with a SFH with no HOA you can let things go if you wish to and there is nothing the neighbors can do other than bitch. Some HOA's have minimal common areas like just entrances and signage and others have that plus other ammenities like community pools, fitness centers, meeting rooms, etc.

IME condos are where the buildings, grounds and common areas are owned and maintained by the association and the owner is responsible for the interior only. Similiar to HOAs they can have minimal or more comprehensive common areas as described above.

In Florida, there are actually separate sets of statutes governing HOAs and governing condominiums that are similiar but different here and there.

 

[Jerry1]

Thanks for the education. Yes, I think this is an HOA. The listing doesn’t mention any building maintenance whereas another condo I was looking at does include the exterior building maintenance. So, back to my original question, I guess it’s all about the size of the property and the existence of an HOA fee that changes the pricing dynamic. Still, it just seems so out of proportion, but I guess that’s the value people place on having a yard, less restrictions and no compelled extra fee.

 

[pjigar]

Me? If I had to choose I'd take the house in a heartbeat simply because there's no HOA which means no petty 'Karens' measuring blades of grass or shapes and colors of trash cans.

Same here but here in DFW, most houses even have HOAs! So we ended up moving to an acreage.

OP,

On your original question: Compare HOA dues if any. Condos typically have large HOA dues because they maintain buildings, roof and common areas. There may be more covenant restrictions in condo. I would choose SFH over condo any day without even comparing them. You simply have more privacy and freedom with SFH compared to condo. YMMV.

 

[MichaelB]

There are so many different kinds of HOAs, it’s not really possible to categorize them as one things and know beforehand what their reach is.

A SFH HOA that provides landscaping and snow removal can be very helpful if the owner is frequently away.

Gatehouse security may mean the roads connecting the properties are private. Thst means the town does not own them the association does. In that case the HOA not only has to do the snow removal, it also has to repair them and provide all upkeep. A real estate listing probably won’t include those details in the listing. If so, it would also mean reserves are needed.

Regarding the question about valuation, a single family freestanding house with property would be more expensive simply because the title holder is the sole owner and decision maker, doesn’t have to share or cede authority. As evidenced by the responses in this thread, demand is greater for the SFH and people will pay more.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Here we would call it a patio home and they all have hoa’s. I live in a condo and my dogs are under 10lbs so I have them pad trained. Many people take them outside to potty. Even when I had my house I had pads for when I wasn’t home because it’s too dangerous for tiny dogs to be outside alone.

 

[EarlyandLate]

I have lived in a condo for several years now. Here's what I think is the biggest drawback. In a single family home, you are more or less in control of the timing of major repairs and expenses. For example, you could decide that you've had some big expenses this year, so you will delay the new roof until next year. In a condo, other people make those big decisions for you and the priority or timing may not be good for you as an individual.

 

[Koolau]

I moved out of an apartment around 1976. To me they are the same as a condo with having common walls and the aggravation with having lots more people in limited space. Since then I have lived in a non-HOA house and as long as I have a say I will not return to "beehive" living. I have always done most of the maintenance and repairs except for roofing and painting the outside. I also have a lawn service that comes once a week for $200/month. If we want to travel we have a trusted pet sitter that lives in the house while we are gone. With the money I have saved from HOA fees I can hire any job until I "kick the bucket" and still come out ahead while living in comfort in my own house with a private outdoor space.
Since you have lived on a house with land maybe you could try out living in an apartment for a few months to see how you like the different lifestyle. If you did it when you were younger it may have changed a little.
Others may like the crowded environment and HOA rules of a condo if it fits their needs. Just not me.

It's not about "liking" the downsides of HOAs - it's about liking the "upsides" while minimizing the downsides. Upsides such as "reasonable rules" that keep your neighbors from blaring music at 3AM or the fact that you never have to touch the lawn or pool or roof or a paint brush (unless you want to). Like most of life, HOA/CONDO life is a compromise. So is SFH living. Either can be a reasonable compromise or a nightmare.

I can make a case for either type of dwelling. I've lived in both and have seen their upsides and downsides. At this stage of my life (having done a lot of research on our specific building) I chose HOA/CONDO life. I certainly understand not wanting that life but just don't kid yourself that one way is always better than the other. There are trade offs and ways to deal with the downsides.

Now, if I were infinitely rich (or just less tight with my money ) I'd likely have a big ol' SFH on the beach and hire everything done. But even that's a compromise.

 

[Sunset]

To me, having a dog equals opening the door and letting them run. On the properties I’ve owned, that’s no big deal. In the properties I’m looking at, a fenced in yard is necessary for what I want. We all have our quirks and one of mine is that I’m not walking around with my dog picking up its poop. I don’t mind scooping it up with a tool I have but not going to do the walk and scoop thing.

Get a cat