Owning a place to live is one of the biggest dreams of people who just received their financial independence. If you are reading this article, then you must be on a quest to find your own place. Moreover, you must be drawn to a choice whether you should rent a condo or an apartment. While both have advantages and disadvantages, for the lifestyle and needs of a working professional, one is more beneficial than the other.
Security
Safety will always be one of the most important things to consider when it comes to moving in a new place. It is always right to ask whether the neighborhood is safe, or if there were any history of burglaries or other crimes. In apartments, the level of security is left to your hands. So if you want to install remote-controlled sentry tranquilizer guns or dwarven runes that will require intruders to speak “friend” first before entering, then by all means, do it. You may need to look up with the legal issues about your security guns though — it may be illegal. Condominiums, however, have a different approach: upon moving in, you already have a competent security personnel that guard the place 24/7, CCTV cameras that will monitor and detect all suspicious activities, and state of the art fire alarm systems that will help ensure your safety from fire.
Mobility
Most apartments are developed in residential areas, which take you away from the city life. However, this means that you are more likely to engage in long hours of commuting from work to home. If you own a car, then prepare your wallet for some painful gas upkeep. Most condos today are being developed at the very heart of the urban jungle. This allows you to have more mobility when it comes to access to work and all other fun places in the city. This is the perfect setting for young professionals like you, who love to both work and play hard.
Amenities
Apartments generally cover little to none amenities, but it means that you can add facilities on your own in any available spaces. Condominiums, on the other hand, have amenities and facilities available and maintained before you move in. Gone were the days when you can only see all these in mansions. You can have a pool, a gym, and even a game room in your condo without even the need of maintaining it yourself.
Maintenance
Apartments in the country often leave the maintenance of the units to their tenants. If you can drive a hard bargain to your landlord, he may get to work on the repairs himself. So generally, maintaining your home is left to your hands, which allows you to control the costs and timing of your repairs and modifications that you may want to do. Condos have a different way of doing things: they usually have an in-house maintenance crew that is ready to lend a hand anytime. This reliable feature is included with the homeowners’ association dues that you pay every month. This ensures you that you will have professionals under your beck and call, preventing you to do the repairs yourself—because ain’t nobody got time for that.
Price
Renting apartments here can range from cheap to pretty expensive. If you are paying for a cheap price, you can expect that you will be moving in to something that may closely resemble a crime scene. Nowadays, finding a decent apartment with a great value can be really hard. Good thing that condos offer the best value for your money. Though some are not that cheap, they provide the most comfortable living conditions for a hard-working young professional like you. And besides, there is no better deal than renting a home with swimming pools, gyms, tennis courts, and all other facilities available in one bundle for a fair price.
With all the factors laid out, you can start making your deliberations. Always remember, at the end of the day, it is always up to you. With proper knowledge, it is almost certain that you will make the right decisions for yourself. So there you go, enjoy your new-found independence, young urban professional.
