Bought a condo - what to do with it?

[orly]

So for the past 27 years of my life, I've lived with my parents.

I just bought a condo. It's small, but very nice and modern, in a very nice neighborhood.

Now, I have some decisions I have to make:

1. Do I move in? I make enough that I can do so without financial problems, but obviously I won't have as much disposable income as I had in the past. The main point in this would be that I would be living on my own, out of my parents' house, for the first time in my life.

2. Or do I rent it out? The renter would then pretty much be paying my mortgage, so I'd still have a good chunk of disposable income to play around with. It would also be a good cushion considering the current subprime fiasco.

3. Alternately, I've also been exploring the idea of renting out the living room (it's a 1BR) to a friend, which would be a hybrid of #1 and #2. Though for obvious reasons it'd be awkward to have people over.

4. Go with #1 for a few months, see what life on my own is like, and if it isn't all that it's cracked out to be, go to #2.

 

[HandyAndy]

So for the past 27 years of my life, I've lived with my parents.

I just bought a condo. It's small, but very nice and modern, in a very nice neighborhood.

Now, I have some decisions I have to make:

1. Do I move in? I make enough that I can do so without financial problems, but obviously I won't have as much disposable income as I had in the past. The main point in this would be that I would be living on my own, out of my parents' house, for the first time in my life.

2. Or do I rent it out? The renter would then pretty much be paying my mortgage, so I'd still have a good chunk of disposable income to play around with. It would also be a good cushion considering the current subprime fiasco.

3. Alternately, I've also been exploring the idea of renting out the living room (it's a 1BR) to a friend, which would be a hybrid of #1 and #2. Though for obvious reasons it'd be awkward to have people over.

4. Go with #1 for a few months, see what life on my own is like, and if it isn't all that it's cracked out to be, go to #2.

Im confused.

You said you bought a condominium, and your asking if you should move in?

Im also confused as to how you "bought" the condo and how your going to "rent" it?

Im just a little confused, and I would go with #4.

 

[orly]

Im confused.

You said you bought a condominium, and your asking if you should move in?

Im also confused as to how you "bought" the condo and how your going to "rent" it?

Im just a little confused, and I would go with #4.

Lol, I'm confused at your confusion too =P.

I'm just wondering what others would do in my situation. Go for what is the more financially safe route (rent it out to a tenant and use the rental income to either assist in the mortgage payments or as disposable income) or the "new experience" of living on my own.

I've had zero success with women throughout my life, and am not really a social butterfly in the general sense either. I've always partially blamed this on the fact that I've been living with my parents - it's hard to have friends over your house past high school (or even before then) when you have the folks bearing down upon disapprovingly on everybody. Yes, I know it's a crutch, since I know personally know guys who've managed to have fulfilling social/romantic lives while still living with their parents, but they aren't me, and I'm not them.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Life on your own is amazing. I'm doing something very similar soon but I will be living in my condo. If i need to go somewhere else and do other things then I will rent it out. You have a variety of options that way. Try it out, I'd really recommend it

 

[Wiesman44]

Im confused.

You said you bought a condominium, and your asking if you should move in?

Im also confused as to how you "bought" the condo and how your going to "rent" it?

Im just a little confused, and I would go with #4.

Dear Little Boy,

Please don't try to give advice when you are not qualified to give it. You probably don't even have your drivers license yet, and u are replying to a real estate question.

You need to know when to reply on this forum, instead of doing so to EVERY freakin' thread on here. Seriously man.

 

[HandyAndy]

Dear Little Boy,

Please don't try to give advice when you are not qualified to give it. You probably don't even have your drivers license yet, and u are replying to a real estate question.

You need to know when to reply on this forum, instead of doing so to EVERY freakin' thread on here. Seriously man.

Oh Im sorry, I didnt know I had to be qualified to give advice.

Who says I cant reply to a real estate question?

 

[Alle_Gory]

I wouldn't rent it out to a friend. Sounds like trouble.

 

[Quiksilver]

What's the margin on the investment assuming you rent it? The extra disposable income would be helpful, but if it isn't going to get you towards your short/long term goals, then it isn't worth the hassle and you might as well live there.

Don't rent out to a friend, friends and money generally don't mix. Say he comes on hard times, he might ask for 'favors' and lean on that relationship.
-
For my whole childhood and youth I lived on a property with two houses. We lived in one and rented the other, it turned quite a good profit for the time we lived there, but we made the mistake of letting someone rent it just as we were about to sell it, and there was a little bit of legal trouble(he was entitled to stay, potential buyers didn't want him, therefore no sale).

Only rent if your financial situation is stable and you're planning on owning it for awhile.

Personally I'd rent it, since I'm more interested in cash flow/investment/passive income, but depending on the net profit you'll make from it... As I said above it might just not be worth it for you and in that case live in it.

P.s. If I were you I wouldn't go buying property with no idea what I want to do with it. You should have a clear goal in mind for what you want to get out of it, BEFORE you purchase it, whether it be passive income or your home.

 

[The Bat]

Umm...move in?

I'm assuming that if you didn't move in, you'd still be living with your parents.

And you bought the condo in the first place to get away from living with your parents.

I honestly don't see what the dilemma is here.

 

[DJKid]

I just bought one too man... I'm definitely going to live in it though... I've had so many chances to score but because I had nowhere to go with the girls it fizzled... at the very least this will be one of the fringe benefits of having your own place.

But you say renting it out will cover the mortgage? How much is your mortgage and condo fees if you don't mind me asking? I certainly couldn't cover mine with rental income thats for sure...

 

[WesCottII]

Well, if you want to rent, and live away from parents . . .

Why not use YOUR condo that you're about to move into, get a loan secured against it, then buy another place to rent.

 

[Desdinova]

2. Or do I rent it out? The renter would then pretty much be paying my mortgage,

What would be the purpose of this? The only thing it would do is pay off your mortgage. How long until it's paid off? If the answer is 25 years, then there's is no point in renting it out.

However, If you went for one of those deals where you can get the mortgage for a longer period of time (more than 25 years) with a smaller monthly rate, then you could actually use your condo to MAKE money. Your disposable income would then be increased.

 

[Effington]

Definitely move in! I would be extremely surprised if you would be able to charge the cost of the mortgage for rent, besides that, you still will be paying an association fee, plus property tax...if someone can afford to pay all the expenses of owning their own property, they don't rent! If they do, you probably don't want them living there because they either have serious credit issues or have some other weird situation surrounding them.

While you might think you're in the money by mooching at home and collecting rent from tenants, it's not really a low risk venture. Tenants break stuff all the time and don't pay. You can take their security deposit, but that rarely covers all damages. Trust me, I've been there...the one time I rented from a random guy, we really took him...he completely restructured his lease because he lost big bucks on us. There will be headaches and annoyances, which will be amplified dramatically if it was your friends doing it. In general, people who rent don't care nearly as much as those who own.