What is Maintenance-Free Living?

If someone is attracted to the condominium lifestyle, it’s usually has something to do with the lesser-maintenance with owning the condo than owning a home.  Many condo neighborhoods include lawn-care, roof replacement, siding replacement, landscaping, snow removal, sidewalk repair, amenities (such as swimming pool, clubhouse, fitness room, tennis courts, etc.)  Some non-condos may contain some or all of these aspects and that’s where confusion often sets in.  Just because it contains some amenities or maintenance included in the HOA dues, doesn’t make it a condo (remember that only the form of ownership does that).

Understanding precisely what property-management and/or maintenance features come with a condo is critical to making a satisfactory decision about a particular condo neighborhood.  Sometimes what’s stated in neighborhood documents or websites isn’t what’s practiced.  Sometimes what’s practiced isn’t done consistently or universally.  So determining what is intended/stated and what can actually be expected is important when evaluating a condo.