Yes there is, and it’s more than just preference, but let’s start there.

Condominiums or townhomes offer a different lifestyle than single family homes. The appeal includes:

* Location. Often inner-city neighborhood boast higher density properties.
* Security. Home owner security that includes the potential of locked public areas and parking, and the proximity of neighbours.
* Maintenance. Although the extent of management varies between properties, condo and townhome associations take care of general maintenance of the public areas, outdoor grounds, and overall building such as major plumbing and roofs.

Those who have no desire to manage upkeep, apart from their own dwelling, will be drawn to the shared common grounds lifestyle. However, it also means owners must acquiesce to the majority in the community for maintenance and major repairs. That means lack of control over costs and unforeseen circumstances.

Single family dwellings, on the other hand, allow the homeowner to decide how and who will do any upkeep or repairs. That also means responsibility for these expenses fall exclusively to the homeowner.

Size is another factor. More often than not, there is more square footage (space) in a single family dwelling, which makes them ideal for those who are future planners and intend to increase occupancy in the home. You get more bang for your buck sort of speak.

Just like any home, have an independent inspector visit the property and conduct an assessment.

Apart from personal preference and location, what are the legal aspects that differ between the two property types?

One of the critical aspects to consider before purchasing into a condo or townhome property that includes shared public spaces and building managers, and homeowner boards, is the health of the building and/or association as a whole. In the real-estate transaction there are extensive documents to review to ensure your potential transaction doesn’t have costly problems ongoing or upcoming. There are more documents and things to consider when buying an apartment/condo/townhome. Because of the additional pieces, getting an experienced lawyer to look over the paperwork is important. You don’t want to buy into a property only to discover you’ll be on the hook for special assessments because the reserve fund (the money on hand for repairs) is too low or non-existent.

Ultimately it is the responsibility of the home owner to make the final decision regarding the health of the building reserve fund, potential future upgrades, and the management of the building and association board. You can hire a lawyer to look over these docs and present you with an assessment of the overall health. That would go along way to ensure piece of mind when making a down payment on the largest purchase in your lifetime. To ignore this step could pose significant financial stresses in the longrun.

With notes from Taylor Real Estate Law.

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Of course, there are some cons to condo living as well, most of it tied up in the condo fees. Condo fees cover maintenance and bills for the condo. The thing with fees is that they can go up and down depending on need. The condo board can rule to increase fees to cover unforeseen maintenance/repair, or to establish a larger reserve fund.

Condo buyers sometimes forget to factor in the monthly fees in their living expenses. But let’s assume you don’t make this basic mistake, how can you ensure that getting into a codo is a safe investment?

Before purchasing a condo ensure you do your due diligence.

Every condo board has minutes, and every board will provide assessments to your realtor. You’ll want to ensure that there are no special assessments that the building is currently or going to enact. You’ll also want to talk to existing condo dwellers to see if there’s rumors of upcoming maintenance that maybe your reports don’t mention.

Once you’re locked into your condo you’ll be responsible for all future rulings by th eboard to maintain and repair anything that requires fixing.

So buyer beware, do your homework and save the heartache and hit on your wallet.

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It happens all the time.

You have to declare in the sale what items are included with the purchase, they are called chattels.

Technically nothing is included, although most people will leave the stove and fridge, maybe even the washer and dryer. But sometimes that doesn’t happen. If you buy from someone who rents properties they could be taking all the appliances to put into another home.

Or maybe someone has the perfect washer and dryer and they want to take them to the new home.

Not considering what you think is included could lead to thousands of dollars in new appliances, money you probably don’t want to spend after buying a home.

Double check your chattels, it’ll save you time and money.

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