The following information on condo real estate in Toronto was graciously provided by Atlantispools.ca. One of the major struggles with deciding between a standalone home and a condo is the addition of condo fees. It seems as if you're paying a small rent to the condo association each month for a home that you own and most likely also pay a monthly mortgage fee as well. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell where all of those fees are going if you don't have one of the condo with as many extra amenities as floors in the building. Here are some common applications for condo fees and some of the advantages they offer.
Maintenance and repairs is one perk that you can count on in most buildings once you've paid your condo fees. You could be living in a local home and need someone to come in and fix your sink or be in a townhouse design and not have to worry about winter shovelling or mowing the front lawn. If you're looking for a home that doesn't require much of your time to stay in working order, this could be the home style for you. Your condo fees are generally paying for a superintendent for the building. If they are unable to fix a problem, they will call someone in to handle it.
Utilities are also usually part of the packaged deal of condo fees. If you take off what these payments would cost you separately in a standalone home, these fees might already be paying for themselves. The condo fees on the average condominiums for sale are priced at around $400,000 might be $575/month. Utilities on a two-bedroom home including internet and cable would likely be around this much.
While you may find a longer list of amenities with vacation condo rentals than you will with the average designs in Toronto, buildings usually now come with at least a few perks. You may have access to an onsite gym or a party room that you are permitted to book for your own events. Condo fees are divided evenly between all of the units in the building. This means that you are paying for these amenities even if you don't use them. This might be a drawback for someone who doesn't plan on spending much extra time in their building.
Condo fees can also been put to other uses at the discretion of the condo board. Each condo owner within the building has one vote with board decisions. This means that you do have some say where the fees are going for your building. If you feel that you're paying enough to the mortgage company that you deal with, you may even be able to lower the condo fees by a small amount.
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