Not sure whether to rent a condo or an apartment? Or don’t you know what are the differences between these two? Here we leave you the definition of both and their advantages and disadvantages so that you can make the right decision that is aligned with your tastes and needs.
Condos and apartments, in general, are somewhat similar, as they both refer to individual residential units within a building or a residential complex. So what are the differences?
- The property
The type of property is the most significant difference between condominium and apartment. While in an apartment complex all the units are owned by a single person, in a condominium building each individual unit has a different owner.
2. Administration.
Usually, in an apartment complex, the owner hires a management company in order to deal with the tenants directly with everything related to maintenance. On the other hand, a condominium building is managed by the homeowners association (HOA), which sets the rules and enforces the rules, as well as takes care of the common areas.
When you rent a condo, you deal with the landlord, who owns the condo, instead of dealing with a management company.
3. Maintenance and repairs
In the case of the apartments, if something breaks, you can contact management 24/7 and they will take care of the problem. If it is a condo, you must contact your landlord to have him contact the HOA. If there are urgent repairs, you will probably have to pay for it and then present the ticket to be reimbursed.
4. Costs
In a condominium, the owner sets the rental price, so in the same complex there may be different rental prices. Likewise, a fixed monthly fee for the HOA is included in the condominium. With these fees added to the rent, condos are often considered more expensive, but this is not always the case. On the other hand, when you rent an apartment, services such as water and electricity are paid separately, while maintenance and repair costs are included in the rent, in addition to the maintenance of common areas.
So what would be the best option?
The answer is always “it depends”. It depends on the preferences you have about the treatment and the flexibilities. If you prefer to have a more personal relationship with your landlord, the option would be a condo, in addition to giving you more flexibility to negotiate aspects such as price, pet policies and renewal requests.
In the case of apartments, as the administration is normally entrusted to a third party, the management is experienced and, being professionals, processes such as garbage collection, rent payments, claims and maintenance requests are streamlined and optimized. They usually have very long hours to take care of problems and attend to tenants.
