I’ve thought about buying a house before, but I’ve usually been under the impression that I’m not financially stable enough to invest money into a home. However, I’ve been thinking more and more about purchasing a house considering how high rent prices are in Austin. But this also means that the housing market is booming as well.

One option I haven’t considered is a condo. I didn’t know a whole lot about condos, except that they sometimes can be cheaper than a house, but still provide ownership rather than renting.

As I begin to consider this option, I decided to do a little more research. I learned that a condo is very similar to an apartment in that the residents share the common areas and facilities, but differ in that many of the residents own their own property.

I also found that condos are not always the better option. When looking into a condo, there are a lot of things to research and take into consideration. For example, there are generally maintenance fees that need to be paid monthly to the condo association. Additionally, condos aren’t without their risk: They may not sell as well as homes, but this depends on the housing market and the city.

No matter what I decide, there are going to be pros and cons. The biggest things I need to consider are monthly payments, how long I plan to stay, the potential to resell, and location. I plan to do more research and probably talk with a couple of real estate people at my credit union. This will hopefully give me some more information. My lease is up in October, so I need to get going now.

Have you purchased a house or a condo?