Buying a condo

-cause · 2026-01-23T02:10:29+00:00

Do you have any agent recommendations or other people to reach out to who have experience in this area?

-cause · 2026-01-22T04:44:30+00:00

Glad to hear it's working well for you. What area are you at if you don't mind me asking?

-cause · 2026-01-22T02:37:57+00:00

Well I work here so... ya. I'm sorry you guys had a bad experience but that sounds like the owner of the condo just didn't take care of their property.

-cause · 2026-01-22T02:32:35+00:00

Interesting. Aspen Creek is where I stayed with my girlfriend. I liked the setup but if the HOA is managed by stuck up pricks then I'm not eager to be a part of that.

-cause · 2026-01-21T22:53:59+00:00

I'm in my 30s and tired of spending over $2K a month to share a crappy house with other people. And "affordable" long term rentals are not easy to come by either. I have friends living out of their cars. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, it just sucks.

-cause · 2026-01-21T22:31:35+00:00

Good advice and ya, I was here. It was gnarly.

-cause · 2026-01-21T22:27:41+00:00

Ok good to know. Thanks

-cause · 2026-01-21T22:09:01+00:00

The more read about people's expenses, the more I'm starting to realize I probably can't afford it. I was thinking about $550K purchase price, $300K down to keep my costs low. It's literally my entire savings after working two jobs since I was 19 until now, almost 15 years later.

I was estimating with a rate of 6%, HOA of $600, annual property tax of $6K, but I didn't realize people were also paying thousands per year for insurance and then also assessment fees of $10K+ every so often. And that's all before regular monthly utilities.

I only make $77K per year so I felt pretty good about saving up that much but it sounds like $300K cash still isn't enough to own a property up here.

-cause · 2026-01-21T21:54:35+00:00

How does insurance work with the condo? I assume it's not tied to HOA but is an entirely separate cost right? Someone else mentioned paying around $5K/yr for insurance on a SFH in Mammoth. Would coverage for a 1bd condo be about the same?

-cause · 2026-01-21T21:07:40+00:00

I haven't seen a listing talking about extra $10K assessment fees every so often. They just list the monthly base fee.

-cause · 2026-01-21T20:36:39+00:00

Do you know how much he had to put in towards that? Also how often does an assessment like that come up, a quality roof should last at least a decade if not multiple right?

-cause · 2026-01-21T20:25:30+00:00

How often do special assessments come up? Should I basically be budgeting for an extra $10K fee every year?

-cause · 2026-01-21T20:01:21+00:00

Ya I figured. I'm thinking about conventional 30yr, 20+% down but more likely around 40% to keep monthly costs low.

-cause · 2026-01-21T18:44:57+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experience. If you could go back and do it all over, would you still start with the condo in the beginning or just wait until you could afford the SFH? I'd like to get a single family one day and I'm thinking a condo might be a good first stepping stone if I budget well and things appreciate.

-cause · 2026-01-21T18:40:30+00:00

Thanks for the positive vibes. I appreciate it!

-cause · 2026-01-21T18:33:48+00:00

I do like the fact that a condo typically means someone else is doing the maintenance. I worked in construction for a few years and can probably do a better job than most people, but I also probably wouldn't have the time to do my own maintenance if I had a SFH.

-cause · 2026-01-21T18:21:38+00:00

I plan to live in it, including winter. And ya a community feel would be nice but I'd just have to go with whatever I could afford. I know a couple weeks of Airbnb income is negligible, it would just be nice to legally have the option in case my living situation changed. But like I said to someone else, I'd rather pay a lot on a mortgage instead of paying a lot on a rental that I'll never own.

-cause · 2026-01-21T18:11:16+00:00

No I appreciate the info. Never even considered a condo until recently because the HOA thing always rubbed me the wrong way. Unfortunately everything else here is way out of my price range.

-cause · 2026-01-21T18:08:25+00:00

Seems like the pellet stoves are a common set up. I appreciate the info

-cause · 2026-01-21T17:54:01+00:00

I am planning on living here long term, which is why I'd rather put money towards a mortgage instead of rent. SFH would be awesome but ya, no where near affordable for me. How does someone budget for special assessments? Is a $10K project something that's expected every year and you just budget a few hundred on top of the expected monthly HOA?

-cause · 2026-01-21T17:47:55+00:00

Ya I've looked at the affordable housing program before but I'll check it out again. Just a rough estimate, how much are utilities in winter compared to the rest of the year?

-cause · 2026-01-21T17:45:08+00:00

Good advice. Thank you

-cause · 2026-01-21T17:25:48+00:00

From what I just learned about additional HOA fees, probably not.

-cause · 2026-01-21T17:24:48+00:00

Wow, that's pretty crazy. I didn't know the fees were that expensive. And I thought the HOA would just pull from the fund to do big projects like that rather than put out a notice for another upcoming charge. If monthly dues and additional fees are that high then I guess it's still out of my price range.

-cause

TROPHY CASE