What is the difference between a condo and an apartment?

You can find the answers to most if not all of them on our website. Professional real estate advisors will consult you and provide you with all necessary details on estimating, selling, or buying the property.

A Condo VS an Apartment: What is the Difference?

So, where to start if you want to make up your mind between a condo and an apartment? The first logical step would be to identify one big similarity: both a condo and an apartment are most often defined as a part of a residential building or a condominium. A brief research of terminology will show that there is only one main difference between the two. And that would be the ownership status. 

• An apartment is normally referred to as a rented property
• A condo in its turn is an owned property

Being very similar in structure, inner and outer infrastructure, amenities, and supporting facilities such as a gym or a swimming pool they differ a lot in legal status and tax obligations. An owner of a condo is obliged to pay all the fees and taxes connected to this property. If you are renting an apartment you only pay rent and in most cases, all utility services are covered by the rental fee. Taxes are paid by the landlord as well as any kinds of faults, breaks or maintenance costs. 

Can I change the ownership type of a condo or an apartment?

If the ownership type is a criterion that identifies a condo from an apartment, how can people rent condos and buy apartments? Wouldn’t that change the type of property? Is that legal at all? To make the long story short, it is legal and it wouldn’t change the type of property. The fact that you’ve bought an apartment would not turn it into a condo.
How then one should make their choice? Let’s see what points of concert you should consider before making your decision.

If you are not planning to live in a certain area for longer than five years, a more considerate option will actually be to rent a condo. Owning one will actually be a wise financial decision if you are planning to invest in a long-time residence in the area. We ought to admit though that in the current situation in a property market with the rental prices growing up steeply, more and more property buyers choose to invest in purchasing condos rather than throwing rental monthly payments to the landlords. You can clearly see this tendency in a Florida hot property market if you follow us here. 

The same goes with owning an apartment or investing in an apartment building. If you are new to the area or try to understand for yourself whether this is your place or not, renting an apartment is the best option. It gives you some flexibility and does not charge all the ownership responsibilities which may turn you right away from the property market of the area. Once settled and chosen the place of your residence, it’s high time to think about purchasing the property. This may be the apartment you’ve already chosen for living in the case is it available for owning. That is important to find out from the property owner because most of the apartments are only available for rent. And that actually makes perfect sense: purchasing an apartment building and giving the apartments away for rent is a very worthwhile business. That is the reason why most of the apartments are only available for rent and that technically became the reason to distinguish condominiums from apartments.

A Condo VS an Apartment: Pros and Cons

When deciding between a condo or an apartment we are mostly trying to make up our minds between two types of ownership. Thus, the pros and cons of a condo VS an apartment will basically be equal to the pros and cons of owning a property VS renting one. Let’s see what we have here to compare and choose from…

Here are some pros and cons of owning a condo:

• A condominium is more affordable. Based on the most recent research by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) the average condo price is almost 12% lower than the price for a single house. So, for first-time buyers investing in a condo may be a more appealing option. Plus, as a homeowner, you’ll build equity over time and have access to the tax benefits that come with owning property. Then again, in some parts of the country, where the property market is exceptionally hot and the real estate prices are really high, renting a comfortable apartment may cost you less than a monthly mortgage for a condominium. We recommend doing more detailed research on this issue in your specific area.
• There is certain design flexibility (not as much as with a single house, but still better than an apartment where, as a tenant, you can’t change anything according to a typical rental contract). Since you own the property you are more flexible in changing and upgrading things. And if you are planning to rent it out, you will be able to charge more if your condo has been restyled with a hint of more personal touch and equipped with new household appliances.
• One of the biggest disadvantages of owning a condominium is the HOA fees, which you have to pay to keep the condo building in a good shape. And if your monthly mortgage payments are not usually subject to inflation, your HOAs will most definitely be raised as the inflation goes up. 
• Another con of being an owner of a condo is the lack of moving options flexibility. In case you need to move it would be more difficult to sell your condo than just move out of a rented property. On the other side, you may choose to rent your condo out and use this money to settle in a new place.

Renting an apartment also has some pros and cons

• First of all, renting an apartment is the best option if you are new to the city and still trying to get its vibe. Statistically, when people first come to a new city, they move three to five times before they choose their best location within perfect reach to their workplace, children's facilities, or /and their favorite food and entertainment proving spots. In this concern, renting an apartment during the settling period is perfect.
• Another advantage of renting an apartment is that you don’t need to worry about furniture, almost all apartment units come fully furnished. It is very rare that you’d be offered a non-furnished apartment to rent.
• You will also appreciate the option of not paying any HOA fees as they are the full responsibility of the property owner. If your radiator leaks or there is a problem with electricity, all you need to do is call maintenance. 
• Out of the disadvantages of renting an apartment the first and pretty much the only one is that it is not 100% your household. You can't change much in the design, or if you do you’ll have to change it all back again when you are ready to leave the place. In most cases, you can’t have a pet in a rented apartment.

There are many more details that need to be paid attention to before you sign your property contract. You can always contact us with all the questions you might have on the case. Our advisors are more than happy to assist you in your search for a perfect home for living.