My Condo Came with a Pile of Cash: The Unrecognized Costs of Traditional Home Ownership
Stephen Gibson Stephen Gibson

My Condo Came with a Pile of Cash: The Unrecognized Costs of Traditional Home Ownership

Picture this: you’re buying a traditional home and you arrive at closing to find the previous owner handing you a surprise pile of cash! “Here,” they say. “You paid us a fair market value, but we had set aside $12,500 for a roof, which is 1/20th of the cost of a new roof, and we want you to keep that money for this beloved house. Oh, and here is another pile of cash for the furnace replacement we expect in 5 years. … And here is another for the driveway; it won’t last forever.”

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When Your House Turns Out to be a Condo
Stephen Gibson Stephen Gibson

When Your House Turns Out to be a Condo

So you find your dream house. The offer has been accepted. As you prepare for the closing on your diamond in the rough, a vague memory occurs to you: Didn’t the realtor say something about the monthly fee in the neighborhood? Some technical talk about “platted subdivisions” being the old way, and “Site Condos” being the new? No big deal, right? Well … maybe.

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