I’ve had people on this very community argue with me that purchasing a condo was exactly the same as owning a house, and it was a great alternative…
This was literally my counter-argument. Not glad that it happened to these people, but glad to see my viewpoint vindicated so quickly.
The difference is is that if you’re not responsible for screw ups that were caused by the HOA anywhere near the degree you are in a condo.
With a house, since its yours, it’s pretty easy to get a home equity loan and deal with that cost over time.
Can you equity loan a condo?
With a single-family house, you can also choose to DIY (especially since the scale is typically smaller), or make cost/quality trade-offs without having liability to your neighbors or being beholden to their opinions on what to do.
Maybe close if the house is in an HOA. I sold my house a few years ago and bought a condo. It’s definitely not the same as owning a house. It’s not better or worse, it’s just different.
I’m not sure why their insurance isn’t paying for it.
In my state the sublimit on condo assessments is very low, maybe a couple thousand per year