TRADITION.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Well, be it a condo association or a Home Owners Association, I would rather mow the lawn and shovel snow and have MY property be MY property, and not run by some persnickerty group of people who feel the need to impose their way oflife on everyone else. But then again, usualy those buildings are usualy newly constructed, and have attached garages and are located in sub divisions. Even with out a HOA or a Condo Association, I would never live in a house like that just because I don't like that "modernistic" style. I much prefer an older house which lends itself more to TRADITION.

Take my home, for instance. It was built 100 years ago, by a guy who was looking to build himself a real home. It's a spooky old haunted house on Halloween, a loving place of family comradity at Thanksgiving, a holy and magical palce on Christmas. It's a great place for Easter Egg hunts, Spring and Summer barbecues and 4th of July fireworks fun. My house becomes what ever season it is. I just can't say the same for my younger sister's place in New Lenox, or my older brothers place in Frankfort. My older brother is not even allowed to have fireworks in his house. To me, it just looks fake. No offence intended, but that's the way I feel, and that's why I wouldn't want my brothers town home or my sisters house as a GIFT if I had to live there. If I could sell them, I could make a killing, but if I had to live t here, I would turn it down flat.

Mike

[DemonSlayerMau]

I wonder if cost has anything to do with it. It may be more economical at this point in time with the bad economy to live in an apartment complex, although a condo sounds more like a rich person's place.
Houses often need a lot of upkeep. I live in my grandma's house, and that is over a hundred years old too. It also has a ton of problems and things that need to be fixed up.
If you have the time and money though, it can be great. And even the ambition to make repairs as needed. But if you don't, the apartment/condo might be more practical.
It also depends on if you're happy where you live, or plan on travelling a lot. An apartment might be more ideal for someone who hasn't settled into a specific area, well, unless they sign a lease or something. When you buy a house, you're stuck with a mortgage payment.
Someday, I would love to have a little log cabin out in the middle of the woods. But until I'm economically efficient enough to do so, and figured out exactly where I'm going to spend the rest of my life, I think an apartment will be my ideal choice when I move out.

[MacPhantom]

It probably started as a not half bad idea. A bunch of neighbors getting together, agreeing not to let their grass get knee high, or leave old furniture out on the front lawn. Then a couple of power-hungry fusspots with nothing better to do started imposing restrictions on what color you could paint your house, or what font the numbers on your mailbox had to be, or how many Christmas lights are too many Christmas lights. And then the whole fining business.

Some people. You give them an inch, and they'll take your yard.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Condo, Town Home or House, the worth or cost of those buildings will usualy be determined by the location among other things. My brothers Townhome in Frankfort Ill is worth almost 3 times as much as my two story house in Dwight's worth. There are some very expensive condos and townhomes, and there are some cheaper houses that you can get if you're not particular about what kind of a neighborhood you live in. In my town, property values are cheaper because it's 40 miles from Joliet, which is the closest large city. There's only one major eimplyer there, H & R Donnelies, and they recently had a rath of lay-offs.

But I DON'T CARE. I'm living in a REAL HOME for the first time since I was 17, and I LOVE IT.

Mike