Friday, March 30, 2007

Housing Decisions

The date of the closing on the sale of my condo is about a month and a half away now and I still haven't found a new place. I have, however, apparently gotten pretty good at picking out places that are about to sell. So far, about half the places I decided to look at ended up selling a day or two before I got a chance to look at them.

The big decision I really need to make is whether to buy a house or a condo. I lke the idea of having a house with my own bit of land, but there are some drawbacks to this. I am seldom home, so I wouldn't really get mouch chance to enjoy the land, and having a house and land means I'd have to spend time on upkeep and maintainance - and I don't have a lot of free time. Plus, a house costs at least $100,000 more than a condo (at least the ones I've been looking at). An extra $100K for a mortgage equates to about an extra $500 per month in a mortgage payments. A condo has monthly condo fees - lets say they're $200 (on the high side), so, owning a house would be costing me an extra $300 a month (well, taking into acount the higher taxes, its probably a bit more - maybe the difference should be $400). Is it worth having my own house with a bit more open space for an extra $300 or $400 each month? I don't know... It's not like I need the space and land I'd get with a house.

Hopefully I'll make a decision this weekend.