Condos 101: How to Find a Condominium For Rent

Many of you may have considered moving to a condo at some point in your life. This is a common thing to start comparing your apartment rental experience with condominium life. Trying to figure out how to rent a condo should start from the very beginning, so today we’d like to explain all the ins and outs of long-term condominium renting.

What Is a Condo?

Do you know the real difference between the condos and apartments? There is a chance that you may misunderstand the whole condominium concept, so let’s make a quick note about what is a condo after all.

The condo is a type of property that’s divided into separate units and each unit may have a different homeowner. The area around each particular condo may have surrounding areas like gardens, pools, and lawns. Unlike the regular apartment buildings that are usually owned by one homeowner or one property company, condos are owned outright and leased separately by the homeowner.

You should also note that most of the condominiums may have their own amenities like a gym or extra storage space. Pools and lawns are maintained by the Homeowner Association (HOA) and it makes this kind of property very attractive.

Write Down Your Needs

Prior to going to the market, you should decide what needs you have. This goes for all the details you may have in mind and dream of.

You should know how many square meters you need for a comfortable life, and what kind of amenities should be out there. Do you need a doorman? Do they have one? Do you want to have a backyard for your kids and barbeque parties?

More like this: Condo vs Apartment: Main Differences, Covered

Never forget about the condo affordability and keep in mind the price you’re ready to pay on a monthly basis for your new home. Of course, meeting all your needs and requirements is important, but you should always be reasonable.

Decide Whether You Need Your Condo To Be Furnished

Usually, it’s a pretty simple choice that you’ll figure out fast. Unfurnished places are always cheaper and it gives you a chance to furnish it to your taste.

This will work great for you if you have a lot of furniture from your previous home and you’re ready to move everything with you into your new rental.

Furnished apartments most likely cost more and are much more difficult to find, yet have all the things you’ll need for a comfortable life.

Assess Distance From Your Office and All Amenities

Location plays a leading role in your rental experience. Your commute will affect you every day, so you have to make sure that all the needed amenities along with your office are not too far away from your home. Having a few grocery stores within a walkable distance from your home is a must.

We understand that the location usually defines the price and when you have an office in a central part of the city, you don’t have a real choice rather than looking for a place somewhere far away. However, in these cases look for a condo located close to the transport hub with buses or even a subway if we talk about a big city.

Check the Neighborhood’s Walkability Store

When we talk about the walking distance from the amenities, there is a great way to discover how walkable the area around your new home really is.

Use recommend you using the Walkscore services and get the most up to date you’ll need.

Get a Higher Floor

The level of noise pollution is an important thing to keep in mind while renting a condo. There is a chance that your windows will face a highway or a train stop and it will basically ruin your calm lifestyle.

When we talk about condos in the apartment buildings, you should choose a floor higher than the 15th.

Don’t Rent a Condo Facing a Courtyard

There are complexes that include a few condominium buildings that have a common courtyard. In these cases, some of the condos will face each others’ windows. When you choose a place facing the courtyard, you automatically choose to have a lower privacy level since your neighbors from the other building will be able to look at your windows.

Avoid Areas Where Condos Are Being Developed

While making a walkthrough of your future home, take your time and take a look outside. If you have a few new buildings developed around, this is a red sign that should scare you off.

Areas, where new condos are developed, are very noisy, the construction sites will disturb you constantly and make your everyday life uncomfortable.

Visit the Place at Different Times

Every neighborhood has a different face in the daylight and at night. There is a chance that there are a few nightclubs in the area and when you visit it in the middle of the day you won’t notice it.

More like this: Rentals Compared: Condo vs Townhouse vs Single-Family House

Try to visit your future neighborhood at different times. Your best shot will be even trying out to commute to your office from this neighborhood and checking out if this time really works for you.

Avoid Condo Rental Scams

Alright, so we’ve already noted that each unit of the condo has a different owner and is leased separately. For a long time, people speculated that renting from a private owner is more dangerous for tenants. However, with companies like Rentberry, you can rent a condo without an agent and be sure that your deal is safe and secure.

We would also recommend you take a look at one of our extensive blog posts about how to avoid rental scams. It was a real deal to gather all kinds of tips for you in that post, but now you can rely on it and become well-prepared.

Check Who Is Responsible For the Fees

Here comes the unusual thing about condos. All condominium owners pay taxes and additional fees to the HOA (Homeowners Association).

Since you’re renting a place directly from a homeowner, you need to understand who’s responsible for all the additional fees. Some of the condo owners include the fees into the rent, some of them imply that you understand that you’ll need to pay the fees separately.

The fees themselves are not shady or unfair, since this money is used to keep the courtyard, gym, swimming pool, etc. in the good condition. All the maintenance services are covered by the fees, so it’s a really good thing that helps you enjoy the condominium building at its best.

Wrapping Things Up

Renting a condo sounds more interesting since you can rent a place directly from the owner. It gives you freedom from the middlemen and that’s what we all need. The ability to interact with your landlord directly is much more convenient. The condos themselves give you more amenities nearby than the regular apartment, so everyone should consider an opportunity to rent a condo at some point in their life.

If you’re ready to rent a condominium and live your everyday life in a cozy small society, we definitely recommend you go for it!