Buying your first home

[TheMix]

"Scraaappppiiiieeee! Where are ya, Scrappie?"

Scrapple's nickname was just "Scrap," which to me has always been the perfect dog name.

I don't know. I think the best name I've run across for a dog is "Stella". Seriously, how can you not yell "Steelllllllaaaaaa!" every time you call the dog?

I had a friend who named her dog "Sailor" so that she could say "Hey, Sailor" when she wanted him. That was pretty good as well.

[Holman]

-the central air does not extend to the third floor, where my wife and I will have our bedroom and offices, but we can make do with window units up there.

I would suggest you look into mini-split air conditioning units. They are so much more comfortable than window AC and they are much more energy efficient too.

Just a follow-up: we did go with a mini-split system on the third floor. It was installed in June, so it made the summer bearable, but of course this tech is both cooling and heat, so now we can warm the third-floor as winter comes in.

Best of all, there's a separate unit in every room, so you don't have to cool or warm the office at night when you just want to do the bedroom.

[Holman]

Maybe this could be a more general "Home Buying" thread? I'll treat it as such.

As I keep mentioning, my wife and I are divorcing. Our agreed date by which I will be out of our house is June 30.

My wife is buying me out of my half of the house we share. This will give me almost exactly $250,000 for a down payment (and fees, movers, etc) for finding my own place. I much prefer to buy rather than rent.

I have some job applications out, but the likelihood is that I'll remain in my current job. I'll certainly know about these applications by June. I'm trying to decide where to live (whether it's in Philadelphia or elsewhere), and especially what kind of place to buy: house or condo.

The budget I have would allow me to buy either a narrow rowhouse in parts of Philadelphia that are fine but not my favorite (and where a car would be almost necessary) or else buy a one- or even two-bedroom condo in a well-maintained full-service building in the location I much prefer. (I will no longer own a car.) I'm open to taking on a smallish mortgage after the down payment, so I think my upper limit is $320,000 or so.

So: house or condo?

Normally "house" is the obvious answer, but I'm tempted by condo options because they would allow me to live in the better and most walkable parts of downtown, and I'm attracted to the idea of not having to worry about maintenance, snow shoveling, and etc. Am I dumb to think this way?

Of course condos come with condo fees. While these usually cover most utilities and sometimes even the property tax, they typically amount to more annually than a house owner's taxes and utilities. But when I think about the various sudden and expensive repair needs that I've experienced as a homeowner for the past 21 years, I'm not sure the math is all that much different in the long run.

Basically, I'm looking for input on the house vs condo question. I welcome your thoughts!

EDIT: another issue is mobility. A rowhouse probably means two or three floors of up-and-down stairs, plus a basement. A condo will be all on one floor (with building elevators). I'm 56 and already have bad knees, and I'll be growing significantly older in the next place I live.

[Isgrimnur]

I’ve spent almost $15 k in the past year replacing the water line from the street to my house. I wonder how many years of condo fees that would have covered? We have been in the house 10 years, replaced the roof twice, the A/C, and the furnace.

[Kraken]

I'm a poor example, having just bought (at age 67) a large and very private house that requires much more upkeep than my previous house. It would have been appropriate 20 or 30 years ago...not so much as I close in on 70. It wasn't a smart retirement move. But, it's what we both wanted, so we went for it. I can hire out a lot of the maintenance. It has a first-floor bedroom and the upstairs and basement are basically optional. The basement could easily be converted into an apartment -- it has a separate entrance, a full bathroom, and a bar that could become a kitchenette with very little work. We could host a live-in caretaker, if such exist. Maybe we'll only be able to stay here a few years before moving into assisted living, or maybe (I hope) we'll die here.

My advice is to go for what will make you happier, even if it's not the most rational choice. We've got a great house in a place we love. We'll enjoy it while we can and take the future as it comes. This country is breaking down around us, and it ain't ever going back to what it was, or at least not in my lifetime. Any rational planning seems...speculative. So, live for now.

[Madmarcus]

I generally don't like condos but my experience is influenced by condo complexes out in the suburbs that aged badly in the same way that many suburban apartment complexes age badly. A good complex in Center City or adjacent areas is probably a better deal all around and it is pretty clear that is the option that your heart leans towards. Go for it!

[Holman]

I generally don't like condos but my experience is influenced by condo complexes out in the suburbs that aged badly in the same way that many suburban apartment complexes age badly. A good complex in Center City or adjacent areas is probably a better deal all around and it is pretty clear that is the option that your heart leans towards. Go for it!

I'm chiefly interested in Center City, yeah, where some of the good condos in my price range are in pretty lovely 19th century or early 20th century buildings (with updated amenities, of course). Being in one of these within easy walking distance of many good things would be an ideal Philly experience.

I continue to like Philly's northwest side [where Madmarcus and I both live, and where I've been since 2002], but I feel like it's best to be somewhere new. Moving just a few blocks away feels weird somehow.

[Madmarcus]

I continue to like Philly's northwest side [where Madmarcus and I both live, and where I've been since 2002], but I feel like it's best to be somewhere new. Moving just a few blocks away feels weird somehow.

Someplace new helps mark that the change isn't just a slightly bigger version of moving into a different bedroom. It makes perfect sense.

[ImLawBoy]

I started my home ownership journey with a loft-style condo in a rehabbed industrial building in Chicago. I bought directly from the rehabbers, so I picked my stuff. It was a great looking place, and when I first moved in I was one of the original owners. As more people moved in, the drawbacks of the loft-style condo became more apparent - namely lack of privacy and sound-proofing. After a few years I sold it and moved to a single family home in the same general area. I was still on my own at that time, but the house wasn't too big so it seemed manageable. Not long after that I met my now wife and we started procreating. After about 15 years total in that house we moved to our current, larger house. It's been adapted to our family (i.e., wheelchair accessible), and I anticipate staying here for the long run. That said, i could see us at one point moving back to a condo when the kids are out.

So that's my background to provide context to my thoughts. I prefer the privacy of a single family home and the ability to play music or movies loud, even if I don't do that much anymore. I prefer not hearing the neighbors' TV or listening to them having sex (not kink shaming if that's your thing, though). The convenience of condo living is great, although the association fees (and don't forget about "special assessments" for when your entire building needs a new roof or something) can suck. If you do choose to go condo, soundproofing would be my big recommendation. People who are heavy walkers in a unit with hardwood floors above you can old really quick.

[Madmarcus]

I prefer not hearing the neighbors' TV or listening to them having sex

Sort of a tangent but now that I'm in a row home I think about these things. We rarely hear our neighbors other than the creaking as they walk up and down their 100+ year old stairs. What we do hear is the kid and new baby on one side and the dog on the other but not often or loud. Practically no TV or music in two years, no sex, the only conversations were when some neighbors (who moved out) had parties and then we only heard them when it was late so that we were upstairs and quiet.

I wonder how much they hear us (even as I know that social norms mean that if we ask they will say they never hear us)?

[pr0ner]

I prefer not hearing the neighbors' TV or listening to them having sex

Sort of a tangent but now that I'm in a row home I think about these things. We rarely hear our neighbors other than the creaking as they walk up and down their 100+ year old stairs. What we do hear is the kid and new baby on one side and the dog on the other but not often or loud. Practically no TV or music in two years, no sex, the only conversations were when some neighbors (who moved out) had parties and then we only heard them when it was late so that we were upstairs and quiet.

I wonder how much they hear us (even as I know that social norms mean that if we ask they will say they never hear us)?

A couple of friends live in a row home near the Eastern State Penitentiary, and other than the occasional child crying (and street noise), I've never heard their neighbors any time I've visited. No TV noise, no music, no talking, nothing.

[Holman]

When we were in a twin, our neighbors on the other side mounted a TV directly on the shared wall just behind our bed's headboard.

Surprisingly, it was rarely a problem. We could tell when it was on, but it was only a muffled background noise for us.