for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/townhous

[Miss Sparkly]

Is noise always an issue with the shared walls? Our apartment was terrible about noise issues and so DH and I moved into a house. We hate everything about the yard. It's a money sucker that we just don't use. Once our lease is up I would like to get into a condo by the river but I'm worried about noise issues with shared walls. Is there something in particular I should look for when assessing a condo?

eta: our dogs are crazy and they do not like to go potty in the grass. They use the concrete patio instead so no grass isn't an issue. Either way I do a lot of patio cleaning

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I don't. My neighbour lives an ordinary life and doesn't throw wild parties The fact that our walls are solid brick, 20cm thick, probably helps a lot. I am not sure what is used for the walls in your region, but some materials let a lot more noise through. I can hear people talking in the shared hallway (4 apartments open up into a small hallway with elevators), since the door is wood.

 

[chemgirl]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I only heard the neighbours twice in the condo. The first was during a domestic dispute where there was screaming and furniture throwing. The second was when they were drilling in to the shared wall. I could hear people in the hallway sometimes, but most people seem to be respectful while in common areas.

We are now in a townhouse and no noise at all. If there wasn't a car coming and going every day I'd think the place next door was empty.

That said, my SIL lives in an older townhome and the construction isn't the greatest. You can hear people in the bathroom next door! Its horrible. Its military housing so I think there are quality issues. Well think isn't really the right word...I'm pretty sure the place is falling down.

I think a good thing to look for would be the overal quality of the finishes. I've had good luck in places that have above average trim, lighting, doors and flooring. The building materials that you can see seem to be a good indicator of the quality of the parts you can't see. Its also good to try and find out who the builder was if its a newer property. Our current place was done by one of the better builders and they are very specific about the measures they go to in order to reduce noise from adjacent units.

 

[missy]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

We don't hear our neighbors next to us but you can hear the neighbors walking above if they do not have rugs. But we are lucky in that we never hear anybody. I know I walk in my bare feet or slippers when in the apt so maybe our upstairs neighbors do too. We have rules in our co-op and if there is any problem you can bring it to the managing agent. That's why I prefer co-op living to condo living where there is less action you can take should an issue arise. Luckily though we have never had any issues and in fact, it is noisier at our beach house with the neighbors all doing yard work on the weekends LOL! I told my dh that the suburbs seem much noisier than NYC!!

 

[minmin001]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I hear people next door in a condo once in a while but nowhere nearly as much as the apt. which drives me crazy right now consider there are like 4 little kids next door so they take turn to scream and cry...

 

[Pandora II]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I live in an apartment and we all try to respect each other and keep noise to a reasonable level - so no loud music, late night parties etc and no DIY before 9am or after 9pm.

There is also a ban on people keeping dogs because of the issue of the noise made by barking.

It all comes down to the other people being reasonable human beings and the quality of the construction - noise tends to be worse vertically than horizontally.

The apartment block we were in before had a lot of issues with noisy tenants - one of my favourites used to hoover the house on Sunday mornings at 7am and turn her music up loud enough that she could hear it over the hoover. Another used to get raided by the police at 5am on a fairly regular basis and invariably played her music too loud. I spent my life knocking on doors asking people to turn things down. There was a dog ban there as well for the same reason.

 

[sonnyjane]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I have only ever lived in apartments, condos, or townhouses for the last 10 years. There were only two issues during those years. The first is that the person that lived above us was a smoker, and DH and I both have really bad reactions to smoke. Whenever we turned on the bathroom or kitchen fans, the smoke from the unit above came into our unit. We were only at that place for a year, but if we weren't moving anyway, I'm not sure if that would have been enough of a dealbreaker to not renew the lease or not. At our current place, our next-door neighbor that shares a bedroom wall with us had a very, um...loud girlfriend for about 6 months. We would often hear their bedroom activities in the morning. He broke up with her more than a year ago and he has been quiet since. I am THAT neighbor that will make noise complaints. Our HOA has rules about noise after 9PM, so if I hear a loud party, I have no problem calling our neighborhood's security guard and having him come over to talk to them. Most of my neighbors in their 50's and 60's with the exception of the one guy right next to us, so it's not like we have to worry about keg parties or anything from the other neighbors.

I much prefer townhouses to apartments (that's what we live in now), since there is nobody above or below us - just beside us.

 

[stephbolt]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

Our previous home was a rowhome and we heard the neighbors all the time. Mainly screaming at one another. When we decided to move one of our requirements was no shared walls.

 

[Circe]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

It all comes down to the quality of the walls, really. In my experience, if you're in a post-war building, you're going to hear some noise. Pre-war? Not a peep.

 

[MissStepcut]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

It all comes down to the quality of the walls, really. In my experience, if you're in a post-war building, you're going to hear some noise. Pre-war? Not a peep.

This is so funny, because I came here to say essentially the opposite. The newer high-rises I've lived in were all quite quiet. The older midrises had more issues.

Being in a row house or otherwise on the top floor helps a lot though.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

Not all shared-wall units are noisy; though I've certainly lived in places which were, at our current place we *never* hear our neighbors. Just recently, I was riding in the elevator with the long-distance boyfriend of my neighbor of 3+ years and he was surprised to meet my dog because in all of the years of all of his visits he'd never heard a single bark through the solo shared wall. Good construction can make SUCH a difference.

As to finding a place with those standards, what we've deduced is: (1) find a building that was built as condos rather than an apartment building, and (2) condos which were built with a higher-end clientele in mind are far more likely to have those sound-dampening features as de facto features. Look for double-pane glass windows in solid, smoothly-moving frames. Interior doors which are solid rather than hollow-core. Higher ceilings. Don't dismiss architectural embellishments on the outside of the building as well as inside the units, for they can indicate the builder conscientiously made decisions to not go bare-bones-all-the-way during the construction period but instead was willing to spend more money to target those higher-end clients. Slam a door; no window should audibly rattle. Lastly, look towards year of construction; when the economy is down, builders cut corners (like soundproofing), but in an upwards economy everything-- counters/cabinets, finishes, sound-reduction measures-- is more likely to be high-end.

 

[Haven]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

It totally depends on the building, of course. We have a condo in a very old building in the city, and you can't hear anything going on in the hallway or next door. However, when I was a kid we lived in apartments and eventually a townhouse, and we always heard EVERYTHING that happened around us. Of course, our apartments and the townhouse were in crappy newer buildings.

DH's father owns a six-flat that should really be called a single-family-home with six separate entrances. You can hear everything.
But he also owns two condos in Old Town that are super quiet.

I'm inclined to say older buildings have better walls, but that's just been my own experience here in Chicago.

I can actually handle the NOISE of living with shared walls. What I can't handle is the NOSINESS of the neighbors. DH's condo is one of those high-rises on Lake Shore Drive that's old and thus filled with an amusing mix of very young people and very old people. I'm convinced that the woman who lives across the hall from the condo has nothing better to do than to monitor our every move and butt in whenever possible. Every time I used a cart to carry up groceries, I wouldn't even make it to the kitchen (and this was a 900 sq ft place, mind you) before I heard her knocking at the door. I'd put the groceries down and answer the door: "Do you know you brought a cart up?" Me: "Yes, I just got up here." Her: "Yes, well, there's a cart in the hallway." Me: "Yes, Ethel, as soon as I get the milk in the fridge, I plan to take it down." Her: "Well, okay. But you know, you brought a cart up here." Me: "Yes, I know. We aren't supposed to bring them into the units, remember? I have to leave it in the hallway while I carry the groceries inside." Her: "Okay, I just wanted to make sure you knew you had a cart in the hallway." EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

I don't know if your place will have a doorman and garage attendants, but I really disliked that whole aspect of DH's condo, as well. I know people are trying to be nice, but I have little capacity for small talk, and for whatever reason it really taxed me to feel obligated to make small talk every time I went in or out. I know this sounds silly, or perhaps rude, but it's the truth. Seinfeld, anyone? The one where everyone in the building puts their pictures up and Jerry can't stand the kisses he gets for greetings? Yeah, I suppose that would be me.

ETA: If you plan on living in the place the entire time you own it, I'd look for a place that only allows owners to rent for a certain period of time. Owner-occupied condos are always nicer places to live, IMO.
Of course, if you plan to keep it as an investment one day and move out, that would be a bad idea!

 

[missy]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

If you plan on living in the place the entire time you own it, I'd look for a place that only allows owners to rent for a certain period of time. Owner-occupied condos are always nicer places to live, IMO.
Of course, if you plan to keep it as an investment one day and move out, that would be a bad idea!

Great point Haven! This definitely makes a difference. Our building is 100% owner occupied and if you want to sublet you can only do so with strict board approval and then you can only sublet for a maximum of 2 years within a 10 year period. So, it makes for more considerate neighbors I think. And I think it makes it a better sale actually because people want to live in my building for that reason. It doesn't attract transient people (those that move a lot) at all.

 

[chemgirl]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

Not all shared-wall units are noisy; though I've certainly lived in places which were, at our current place we *never* hear our neighbors. Just recently, I was riding in the elevator with the long-distance boyfriend of my neighbor of 3+ years and he was surprised to meet my dog because in all of the years of all of his visits he'd never heard a single bark through the solo shared wall. Good construction can make SUCH a difference.

As to finding a place with those standards, what we've deduced is: (1) find a building that was built as condos rather than an apartment building, and (2) condos which were built with a higher-end clientele in mind are far more likely to have those sound-dampening features as de facto features. Look for double-pane glass windows in solid, smoothly-moving frames. Interior doors which are solid rather than hollow-core. Higher ceilings. Don't dismiss architectural embellishments on the outside of the building as well as inside the units, for they can indicate the builder conscientiously made decisions to not go bare-bones-all-the-way during the construction period but instead was willing to spend more money to target those higher-end clients. Slam a door; no window should audibly rattle. Lastly, look towards year of construction; when the economy is down, builders cut corners (like soundproofing), but in an upwards economy everything-- counters/cabinets, finishes, sound-reduction measures-- is more likely to be high-end.

I can't agree with you enough. Its why I have to stop myself from jumping up and down and clapping whenever I see fireplaces or granite in a condo. Its not because I feel I need those features, its because I know that if those features are standard, the condo is geared towards higher end clients and I will probably have a better experience living there.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

We are not looking to buy. Life changes too much to have that large of ball and chain on us. The other issue is that our rental house is stunning! The people who own it are first time landlords and under priced its rental value. If we ever decided to go back to a house there is no way we could get something like this. Right now DH and I are just sitting tight until the jobs puck up and we can move to my hometown.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

The best you can do is find an end unit townhome. We lived in a townhome end unit and it was nice b/c we only could hear one neighbor AND, with end units, there are more windows for additional lighting. It was a larger place w/three floors. Oh, another option you have is moving to a detached condo. Basically, it's a house on a very tiny lot the county parcels out as a condo, but has it's own seperate walls. This is what we live in. It appears to be a house, but our lot is so small that it can't be considered one. An advantage to this is rent appears lower. Houses just down the road from us go for about $600 more per month!

Oh, and I'd NEVER again do a single floor apt/condo. Last place we lived in, I could hear the guy DOWNSTAIRS. I didn't expect. He snored so loud, he'd wake me up in the middle of the night!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

If you plan on living in the place the entire time you own it, I'd look for a place that only allows owners to rent for a certain period of time. Owner-occupied condos are always nicer places to live, IMO.
Of course, if you plan to keep it as an investment one day and move out, that would be a bad idea!

Great point Haven! This definitely makes a difference. Our building is 100% owner occupied and if you want to sublet you can only do so with strict board approval and then you can only sublet for a maximum of 2 years within a 10 year period. So, it makes for more considerate neighbors I think. And I think it makes it a better sale actually because people want to live in my building for that reason. It doesn't attract transient people (those that move a lot) at all.

We live in a subdivision with HOA rules that allow only 5 homes to be rented at any point, but I was looking into laws and found that people can petition to rent out their place if they have to move due to job situation or similar. We were able to move into our house even though 5 had been rented out because there are homes sitting here for sale and a couple have gone into foreclosure so having an occupied home is better than another empty one. It kind of bugs me that renters get a bad rep especially since I'm always out there raking leaves and keeping our yard clean while there are owners out there who currently have their yards heaped up with leaves. As a renter, I do not have the power to complain to the HOA.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

If you plan on living in the place the entire time you own it, I'd look for a place that only allows owners to rent for a certain period of time. Owner-occupied condos are always nicer places to live, IMO.
Of course, if you plan to keep it as an investment one day and move out, that would be a bad idea!

Great point Haven! This definitely makes a difference. Our building is 100% owner occupied and if you want to sublet you can only do so with strict board approval and then you can only sublet for a maximum of 2 years within a 10 year period. So, it makes for more considerate neighbors I think. And I think it makes it a better sale actually because people want to live in my building for that reason. It doesn't attract transient people (those that move a lot) at all.

We live in a subdivision with HOA rules that allow only 5 homes to be rented at any point, but I was looking into laws and found that people can petition to rent out their place if they have to move due to job situation or similar. We were able to move into our house even though 5 had been rented out because there are homes sitting here for sale and a couple have gone into foreclosure so having an occupied home is better than another empty one. It kind of bugs me that renters get a bad rep especially since I'm always out there raking leaves and keeping our yard clean while there are owners out there who currently have their yards heaped up with leaves. As a renter, I do not have the power to complain to the HOA. (and FWIW, I REALLY love my neighborhood. It's quiet and neighbors stay to themselves = no drama...but the LEAVES are driving me batty!)

 

[Jennifer W]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I lived in a 1960s multi-storey block in the Gorbals in Glasgow before it was pulled down. It was built entirely of in-situ concrete, which I'm told makes for virtual tomb-like silence in each apartment. I never heard another living soul all the time I was there, and it was fully occupied when I moved in.

I missed: a murder; a towering-inferno type rescue drama after an arson attack two floors above me; a 48 hour welcome home from prison party in the flat next door that ended with a police raid, and a kidnap and murder right across the hall. I was interviewed by the police on each of these topics, and they got very snippy indeed each time when I said I'd heard nothing. "That's what you all say..." Well, that's because we all lived in virtually sound proofed concrete pods!

So, if eerie silence is what you're after, find an apartment block made from poured concrete!

Come to think about it, if a nice safe place to live is also on your wish list, maybe give Glasgow a miss.

 

[Amys Bling]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

We are in a townhouse and don't ever hear pir neighbors if they slam the front door. That's it- and we have been here for 3 years...

 

[Pandora II]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I lived in a 1960s multi-storey block in the Gorbals in Glasgow before it was pulled down. It was built entirely of in-situ concrete, which I'm told makes for virtual tomb-like silence in each apartment. I never heard another living soul all the time I was there, and it was fully occupied when I moved in.

I missed: a murder; a towering-inferno type rescue drama after an arson attack two floors above me; a 48 hour welcome home from prison party in the flat next door that ended with a police raid, and a kidnap and murder right across the hall. I was interviewed by the police on each of these topics, and they got very snippy indeed each time when I said I'd heard nothing. "That's what you all say..." Well, that's because we all lived in virtually sound proofed concrete pods!

So, if eerie silence is what you're after, find an apartment block made from poured concrete!

Come to think about it, if a nice safe place to live is also on your wish list, maybe give Glasgow a miss.

You were brave! My father worked in A&E in Glasgow for a while in the catchment area for the Gorbals... he said he used to often stand up very slowly to the full extent of his 6ft 5" and it had a very sobering effect on the pugnacious!

 

[Jennifer W]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I lived there for years! It wasn't actually as bad as maybe it sounds (or perhaps I was desensitised to it). My cousin lived in a not so nice neighbourhood in the Bronx at the time and she was terrified for the whole of the week she stayed with me in that flat. Have to say though, I had neighbours who looked out for me when I was sick and rarely brought firearms when they came to borrow money...


ETA, that would be the Vicky (or the Victoria Infirmary to give it it's full title). That was a scary, scary place.

 

[pregcurious]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I used to own a condo, and the construction of the walls/ceiling/floors make a difference in how noise transmits. Basically, the fewer rigid connections you have to transmit vibrations, and more noise dampening material you have (versus empty air space), the less the noise. Standard quarter inch drywall, nailed to a shared wall of studs with only air in between the drywall will not dampen noise well. The condo we bought had a thick brick wall between a unit that was next to us on the same floor, and we also had blue-board with plaster on our walls, which dampened noise better than standard quarter inch drywall. We also had rugs on all our floors, curtains, and french doors that separated the room that faced traffic the road from the rest of our unit.

There are articles online that talk about systems you can use during the construction of a building to separate or "decouple" building elements from each other (so they don't transmit vibrations), and to add noise dampening insulators. There are a few things a tenant can do themselves, but I don't think they'll be as effective. The bottom part of this article (starting at the topic "Reducing Noise with Building Assemblies") touches on things a renting tenant can do to build in noise dampening, and retrofits for condo owners.

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/reho/reho_003.cfm

 

[vc10um]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I haven't read all the responses, but DH and I can not WAIT to get out of our condo (we rent...thank GOODNESS we don't own it!) because we are CONSTANTLY hearing the elephants upstairs walking around. And at all hours of the day and night. When the woman upstairs exercises in the living room, I can see our sprinkler head moving. When I'm in the bathroom, I know when the person upstairs is running their shower, and unfortunately, sometimes I know when the person next door is using the bathroom that shares a wall with ours.

Soooooo...YMMV...but we will NOT be sharing walls or ceilings/floors with anyone again any time soon.

 

[PinkTower]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I have bought several townhouses with brick firewalls between the units and never heard the neighbors. We are currently on the sixth floor of a high rise, and we don’t hear anyone above or below us, because high rises have to be structurally sound.

 

[missy]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

If you plan on living in the place the entire time you own it, I'd look for a place that only allows owners to rent for a certain period of time. Owner-occupied condos are always nicer places to live, IMO.
Of course, if you plan to keep it as an investment one day and move out, that would be a bad idea!

Great point Haven! This definitely makes a difference. Our building is 100% owner occupied and if you want to sublet you can only do so with strict board approval and then you can only sublet for a maximum of 2 years within a 10 year period. So, it makes for more considerate neighbors I think. And I think it makes it a better sale actually because people want to live in my building for that reason. It doesn't attract transient people (those that move a lot) at all.

We live in a subdivision with HOA rules that allow only 5 homes to be rented at any point, but I was looking into laws and found that people can petition to rent out their place if they have to move due to job situation or similar. We were able to move into our house even though 5 had been rented out because there are homes sitting here for sale and a couple have gone into foreclosure so having an occupied home is better than another empty one. It kind of bugs me that renters get a bad rep especially since I'm always out there raking leaves and keeping our yard clean while there are owners out there who currently have their yards heaped up with leaves. As a renter, I do not have the power to complain to the HOA. (and FWIW, I REALLY love my neighborhood. It's quiet and neighbors stay to themselves = no drama...but the LEAVES are driving me batty!)

Hi MC, my apologies to you as I never meant to offend any renter with my statement. It's just a generalization. Homeowners are going to be more house/apt concerned than renters as they have more to lose. Their life money is invested in their home and people want to look after that kind of investment. That's not to say there are not very considerate renters out there who take pride in where they live and keep it looking beautiful. And that's also not to say there aren't bad seed homeowners out there who let their property go to pot. I was just saying that in our co-op we want mainly homeowners because there is more of a chance of getting someone who will keep their home up to good standards and be considerate of their neighbors whom they get to know very well. Renters tend to move more and you don't get to know them as well and may not be as considerate for that very reason. But just a generalization and sorry if I offended you.

 

[zoebartlett]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I've lived in several condos and apartments over the years, and from my experience, the more high end the development seems to be, the less sound carries in the individual units. There's more attention to detail in the construction of the units and they're just built and insulated better. Also, I think it depends on who lives in the development. Are there young children around? If so, you may hear noises from your neighbors that you wouldn't hear from a couple who has older children or none at all.

We live in a very quiet development in a residential area of my city. We have upstairs neighbors and neighbors next door, and we rarely hear anything. Our former upstairs neighbors have little kids, and we would hear them run around occasionally, but not often. It never bothered us at all.

When looking at condos, townhouses, or apartments, I'd go at different times during the week. I'd visit on the weekend and notice how many people are out and about in the development. I'd also go during rush hour so you can see what your commute would be like during the busiest time of day. Not that this has anything to do with noise or what you posted about, but it's a tip I got once and I thought I'd pass it along.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

If you plan on living in the place the entire time you own it, I'd look for a place that only allows owners to rent for a certain period of time. Owner-occupied condos are always nicer places to live, IMO.
Of course, if you plan to keep it as an investment one day and move out, that would be a bad idea!

Great point Haven! This definitely makes a difference. Our building is 100% owner occupied and if you want to sublet you can only do so with strict board approval and then you can only sublet for a maximum of 2 years within a 10 year period. So, it makes for more considerate neighbors I think. And I think it makes it a better sale actually because people want to live in my building for that reason. It doesn't attract transient people (those that move a lot) at all.

We live in a subdivision with HOA rules that allow only 5 homes to be rented at any point, but I was looking into laws and found that people can petition to rent out their place if they have to move due to job situation or similar. We were able to move into our house even though 5 had been rented out because there are homes sitting here for sale and a couple have gone into foreclosure so having an occupied home is better than another empty one. It kind of bugs me that renters get a bad rep especially since I'm always out there raking leaves and keeping our yard clean while there are owners out there who currently have their yards heaped up with leaves. As a renter, I do not have the power to complain to the HOA. (and FWIW, I REALLY love my neighborhood. It's quiet and neighbors stay to themselves = no drama...but the LEAVES are driving me batty!)

Hi MC, my apologies to you as I never meant to offend any renter with my statement. It's just a generalization. Homeowners are going to be more house/apt concerned than renters as they have more to lose. Their life money is invested in their home and people want to look after that kind of investment. That's not to say there are not very considerate renters out there who take pride in where they live and keep it looking beautiful. And that's also not to say there aren't bad seed homeowners out there who let their property go to pot. I was just saying that in our co-op we want mainly homeowners because there is more of a chance of getting someone who will keep their home up to good standards and be considerate of their neighbors whom they get to know very well. Renters tend to move more and you don't get to know them as well and may not be as considerate for that very reason. But just a generalization and sorry if I offended you.

No worries, Missie...you didn't offend. My comment was just general too and I know there are good and bad in every form and we have moved a lot, so I've seen so many scenerios. Once (a few years back) we lived in a house and right after moving in, the neighbor came over and was really nice, but when we said we were renting, he said, "ahhh, you're renters." After that he pretty much ignored us. What bugs the crap out of me is he doesn't even own the home. I had found out he was the boyfriend of the owner of the house! lol

On a postitive note, the people next to us raked their yard. Yay!!! Looks so much better

 

[Haven]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I understand what you're saying, MC, but I stick with my original point that *in general*, owners take better care of their units than renters. Many multi-unit buildings have clauses in their contract that put heavy restrictions on renting for this very reason--people would often prefer to buy and live in a building that is owner-occupied.

Of course there are many renters who take excellent care of their units, and you sound like one of them! The man who is currently renting DH's condo is an excellent renter. We are very lucky to have found him.

DH's father owns a few buildings and you would not believe the stories he has about his renters. Some of them are wonderful, and some of them are, well, they make me think I never want to be a landlord.

That being said, Sparkly is going to rent and not buy, so I'm sorry to have brought up a totally irrelevant point, anyway! I didn't know you were renting when I posted it, Sparkly. Sorry! I'm sure you'll be a great renter, too. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't have bought my house, I would have just rented forever. I don't hate my house, I just think it wasn't the best choice to buy. I wish I was renting!

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Re: for those who do or have lived in a condo/apartment/town

I understand what you're saying, MC, but I stick with my original point that *in general*, owners take better care of their units than renters. Many multi-unit buildings have clauses in their contract that put heavy restrictions on renting for this very reason--people would often prefer to buy and live in a building that is owner-occupied.

Of course there are many renters who take excellent care of their units, and you sound like one of them! The man who is currently renting DH's condo is an excellent renter. We are very lucky to have found him.

DH's father owns a few buildings and you would not believe the stories he has about his renters. Some of them are wonderful, and some of them are, well, they make me think I never want to be a landlord.

That being said, Sparkly is going to rent and not buy, so I'm sorry to have brought up a totally irrelevant point, anyway! I didn't know you were renting when I posted it, Sparkly. Sorry! I'm sure you'll be a great renter, too. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't have bought my house, I would have just rented forever. I don't hate my house, I just think it wasn't the best choice to buy. I wish I was renting!

I agree. After owning a home and having to go through a short sale I've learned that I'm a renter at heart! DH and try to be good renters, though I feel so terrible that I killed the rose bushes when I pruned them I'll be replacing those next year.