Condo vs Apartment; Solo vs Roommate(s)

[pachewisc]

While all my other expenses (tuition, food, etc.) are on my bill, my parents have volunteered to cover my housing during medical school. They're strongly leaning towards purchasing a condo instead of going the rental route to avoid the ~$40,000 of sunk costs for an apartment over the 4 years. Their price range isn't huge, but it would allow for upwards of a 2-3br, 1.5-2ba condo if I wanted a roommate(s) or a smaller 1br, 1ba place for living alone. They intend on selling it after my 4th year (assuming the value increases, otherwise they'll hold onto it and find renters). That leads me to two questions:

1. Did any of you purchase condos/houses, and are you pleased with the investment? If you didn't, do you wish you had?
2. Would you recommend living alone or having a roommate?* Personal experiences and advice are more than welcome!

*Re: alone vs. roommate - I'm a social guy, but I certainly enjoy "me" time. I lived in the dorms/my fraternity for the entirety of college, so I've always been surrounded by tons of friends and activity. I do most of my studying at the library and use my residence for relaxing, hanging out, etc., though I could see that changing in medical school (especially if I decide fly solo). My biggest concern about living alone is, well, getting lonely haha.


Thanks in advance!

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[addy]

While all my other expenses (tuition, food, etc.) are on my bill, my parents have volunteered to cover my housing during medical school. They're strongly leaning towards purchasing a condo instead of going the rental route to avoid the ~$40,000 of sunk costs for an apartment over the 4 years. Their price range isn't huge, but it would allow for upwards of a 2-3br, 1.5-2ba condo if I wanted a roommate(s) or a smaller 1br, 1ba place for living alone. They intend on selling it after my 4th year (assuming the value increases, otherwise they'll hold onto it and find renters). That leads me to two questions:

1. Did any of you purchase condos/houses, and are you pleased with the investment? If you didn't, do you wish you had?
2. Would you recommend living alone or having a roommate?* Personal experiences and advice are more than welcome!

*Re: alone vs. roommate - I'm a social guy, but I certainly enjoy "me" time. I lived in the dorms/my fraternity for the entirety of college, so I've always been surrounded by tons of friends and activity. I do most of my studying at the library and use my residence for relaxing, hanging out, etc., though I could see that changing in medical school (especially if I decide fly solo). My biggest concern about living alone is, well, getting lonely haha.


Thanks in advance!

I'm sorry I can't give you much help but I just want to send this shout out to others who may be considering buying a home/condo for medical school---

In an ideal world, it sounds wonderful. No loss of money to rent, instead you're making and investment that will hopefully yield a small gain. My best friend's brother went this route and it was a huge pain in the butt for him because of the upkeep and maintenance a home requires. Second, housing is not a safe asset like it used to be back in the day. If you've been following the news, there are a lot of telling signs pointing to the fact that we are either in or are headed straight for another housing bubble--banks are getting rid of foreclosures off of their balance sheets, low interest rates continue, most homes being picked up by hedge funds/institutional investors, unreal appreciation of residential/commercial housing in the past year. So, in 4 years, you're not going to make a huge return on your money and are probably just as likely to lose money, too. So now on your hands you have an asset that you barely broke even on or even lost money on while having to worry about its upkeep, closing and other transaction costs and taking up its maintenance costs (read: $$$-$$$$). Not only is that a time-suck, something that is undesirable in medical school, it's also fiscally unattractive. Now, if you have an SO that can help you take care of the place and things around the house as they come up, I could see the time as not being that big of a deal, I guess. I thought about buying a house for medical school, but decided against it for the aforementioned reasons--instead I'm going to take the downpayment I would have made and buying some broad-market ETF's with it once the market pulls back some.

Again, i'm sorry this wasn't hte most constructive ore completeresponse you were probably looking for, but I feel obligated to say something just because I've looked into this topic a lot.

 

[AnthonyBourdain]

How far do your parents live from your school? Can they help you take care of it?

I don't know about a condo but I have a friend who bought a house to live in during med school. She just finished her second year.

First year, she was constantly stressed out from the transition and often forgot to mow her lawn and had undergrads (seniors) she knew from college as roommates. Bad idea. I remember her calling me asking me if I could get her a discount on a new washer because hers broke down. She was stressed out from price comparing and setting up appointments to replace the washer right before a test. It was also awkward because one of her roommates never paid rent on time. If anyone had a problem with another roommate, they would come to her expecting her to take care of it.

Second year, she loves it. She has gotten into the swing of things and the little problems she came across after she first purchased her house were taken care and she had found a reliable trustworthy handyman. She also has classmates she handpicked as roommates now and isn't stressed out by phone calls for the neighbors complaining about noise or drama from roommates.

A condo you won't have to worry about yard work and if you live alone, even if the washer breaks down, you can wait until after the test to find a new one and have it put in. Not to mention avoiding playing landlord to your friends or the dealing with any drama that may arise.

If your parents live near you, they could possibly take care of some things for you if you don't have the time.

EDIT: I should note my friend pays zero mortgage and only her share of utilities. Rent form her roommates covers everything, so don't feel too sorry for her.

 

[Gut Shot]

While all my other expenses (tuition, food, etc.) are on my bill, my parents have volunteered to cover my housing during medical school. They're strongly leaning towards purchasing a condo instead of going the rental route to avoid the ~$40,000 of sunk costs for an apartment over the 4 years. Their price range isn't huge, but it would allow for upwards of a 2-3br, 1.5-2ba condo if I wanted a roommate(s) or a smaller 1br, 1ba place for living alone. They intend on selling it after my 4th year (assuming the value increases, otherwise they'll hold onto it and find renters). That leads me to two questions:

1. Did any of you purchase condos/houses, and are you pleased with the investment? If you didn't, do you wish you had?
2. Would you recommend living alone or having a roommate?* Personal experiences and advice are more than welcome!

*Re: alone vs. roommate - I'm a social guy, but I certainly enjoy "me" time. I lived in the dorms/my fraternity for the entirety of college, so I've always been surrounded by tons of friends and activity. I do most of my studying at the library and use my residence for relaxing, hanging out, etc., though I could see that changing in medical school (especially if I decide fly solo). My biggest concern about living alone is, well, getting lonely haha.


Thanks in advance!

Have your parents ever been landlords before?

 

[Druggernaut]

It depends largely on the market and how good of a deal you get. I'm on my phone and I'm sure others will lay out most of the pros and cons, but if you are considering a condo, go over the association paperwork very carefully. Many will not allow you to rent your place out.

 

[Anastomoses]

Okay, so they should be aware of the tax rates...in certain places property tax rates almost make it worth it to just rent exactly where you'd like to live rather than buy.

Unless you get a dirt good deal and you're in an area of certain progressive growth, a house purchase can be a bad idea.

As for the roommate end of things - depends on the space and if it's just one roommate that could be a cool thing. Obviously this majorly depends on who the person is.

 

[AnthonyBourdain]

I guess I should share what I'm doing.
We ( my SO and I) decided on purchasing a house.

We are doing this even though we are 80% sure we will be leaving for my residency. Rates are low, prices are low, we are thinking of starting a family, it makes sense for us right now.

 

[eastcoastdr]

I don't know anything about buying vs. renting, but what I will say is pick an option that allows you to NOT worry about little things like maintenance, appliances, yard work etc. I think Anthony Bourdain brought up a great point about that kind of stuff.... Although I am renting an apartment right now and while the landlord does take care of and pay for everything it's still up to us to notify him of any problems, and then wait for it to be resolved.

In regards to solo vs. roommate...Go solo if you can afford it. I love my roommates but everyday I just wish I lived alone. I wish I could say that little things don't bother me but they do..dirty dishes in the sink, messy bathroom, not paying bills on time. If you do get lonely living by yourself that is easily fixed..join study groups, intramural teams, parties, etc.

 

[Overhauser]

After living alone for the first two years of school - get a roommate. Studying is lonely as hell, even if you do it with other people.

 

[pachewisc]

How far do your parents live from your school? Can they help you take care of it?

My parents will be in a different state, so I'll be taking most of the maintenance on myself. I'm slightly handy, but not to the extent I would need to be. With the condo I can avoid lots of those little issues (lawn, typically washer/dryer, structural problem, etc.), but I'll be paying association fees, ~$200 or so each month, to cover those expenses.

Okay, so they should be aware of the tax rates...in certain places property tax rates almost make it worth it to just rent exactly where you'd like to live rather than buy.

I have looked into tax rates and found that one of the popular areas near campus has significantly lower property tax rates than the other, so I'd intend on getting a place there.

______

Overall I really the point a number of you brought but about being stressed and busy and being unable to handle lots of little issues that come up. Hopefully a condo has less issues than a house would have. Obviously if the fridge busts or the toilet breaks, I'd have a lot of work on my hands that I could have passed the buck on if I were renting.

 

[dlm2852]

My parent bought a house for me in undergrad as an investment and a place they can come visit. It can be a lot of upkeep and by owning the renters will complain for you to fix something. Overall my parents where only 2 hours away and my dad does most of the work. I would not be able to do it myself. Also roommates can make thing complicated. They may not pay rent on time or be 6 months behind (it happened to me) and just being hard to live with. I moved in with three friends and now only friends with one. Now I live with my friend and my brother is now and it's works well. We would like to have anther roommate for money but haven't found anybody. Overall it has been a positive investment but it didn't come easy. We have a great location right next to a major University and my parents don't plan on selling for a long time and renting it out when my brother graduates and moves on. For me personally I would skip the roommates and get the smaller place if the money ends out to be the same. I have gotten way to many headaches from renters.

 

[evilbooyaa]

I would rent, live solo. I like being able to do things on the common area on my schedule. If I had a roommate, I would've had to clean my dishes, pick up stuff of the floor, etc. etc. way more often than I do now.

 

[Kaustikos]

While all my other expenses (tuition, food, etc.) are on my bill, my parents have volunteered to cover my housing during medical school. They're strongly leaning towards purchasing a condo instead of going the rental route to avoid the ~$40,000 of sunk costs for an apartment over the 4 years. Their price range isn't huge, but it would allow for upwards of a 2-3br, 1.5-2ba condo if I wanted a roommate(s) or a smaller 1br, 1ba place for living alone. They intend on selling it after my 4th year (assuming the value increases, otherwise they'll hold onto it and find renters). That leads me to two questions:

1. Did any of you purchase condos/houses, and are you pleased with the investment? If you didn't, do you wish you had?
2. Would you recommend living alone or having a roommate?* Personal experiences and advice are more than welcome!

*Re: alone vs. roommate - I'm a social guy, but I certainly enjoy "me" time. I lived in the dorms/my fraternity for the entirety of college, so I've always been surrounded by tons of friends and activity. I do most of my studying at the library and use my residence for relaxing, hanging out, etc., though I could see that changing in medical school (especially if I decide fly solo). My biggest concern about living alone is, well, getting lonely haha.


Thanks in advance!

I was in a satellite site my first two years which sucked because I was going to buy a place at the main site/capitol for my four years. It didn't work out... so I rented. But now, after looking at places, I went ahead and purchased a two bedroom place downtown. The cost/mortgage is so much cheaper it's almost dumb not to. Esp if you have the means and are staying for four years. Condos usually increase in value, but that depends highly on location. And how demanding those condo's are.

Regarding roommates - I'd do it if you could. Maybe not a med student...but a friend/relative that you know. You can charge 60-70% of your mortgage and they'd definitely pay it because it'd be cheaper for them to rent from you than an apartment. But be ABSOLUTELY sure the condos are okay with it. My place allows it, so I'm going to get a roommate to cover the cost. I'm atm looking at non-med students. I put in the ad that they have to be responsible/mature and can handle with my occasional *******/selfish tendencies when I'm pissed off/whatever.

Also - I HIGHLY recommend setting up a meeting with them at a starbucks/coffee shop before you show them the place. Makes it easier to gauge whether or not you can tolerate them.


Also - you might want to add that you'll be willing to take payments in 6mo increments. This is usually sought after by people (like me when I rented) because it alleviates the stress/annoyance of paying monthly. And you could even throw them a bone and give them a discount.

Also - I'd look into college graduates. DO NOT get undergrads. They're not mature. You and I both know this because we were there.

 

[Kaustikos]

I would rent, live solo. I like being able to do things on the common area on my schedule. If I had a roommate, I would've had to clean my dishes, pick up stuff of the floor, etc. etc. way more often than I do now.

Part of dealing with roommates is sharing responsibilities. Finding a college grad/mature person usually gives some credence to that. Splitting chores like dishes/cleaning is usually implied in roommates. My friend/roommate did that at the condo I rented. He cleaned the place/did dishes...then I'd clean the place/did dishes. It wasn't a mandatory requirement but something we knew we had to split/share.

And living with a roommate does NOT mean you can't be solo. TELL THEM what you expect and if they don't follow it...you have every right to kick them out if you own the place.

I really don't get this reservation about roommates because some are beneficial. You just have to meet them beforehand and get some references. Asking friends/family if they're interested or know anyone interested helps. They'll tell you how they are.

 

[survivordo]

Buy the condo and get a roommate. You will both rarely be home and when you are you will likely be doing quiet studying. When you DO have time off you will likely both have it and enjoy having someone around to hang out with. All the while you are POCKETING their rent toward an investment... seems like a win win win to me!

Survivor DO

 

[evilbooyaa]

Part of dealing with roommates is sharing responsibilities. Finding a college grad/mature person usually gives some credence to that. Splitting chores like dishes/cleaning is usually implied in roommates. My friend/roommate did that at the condo I rented. He cleaned the place/did dishes...then I'd clean the place/did dishes. It wasn't a mandatory requirement but something we knew we had to split/share.

And living with a roommate does NOT mean you can't be solo. TELL THEM what you expect and if they don't follow it...you have every right to kick them out if you own the place.

I really don't get this reservation about roommates because some are beneficial. You just have to meet them beforehand and get some references. Asking friends/family if they're interested or know anyone interested helps. They'll tell you how they are.

I'll be perfectly honest and state that I am the type of person that is probably not a great roommate. My threshold for messiness/dishes in the sink/period of time between cleaning the bathroom/vacuuming seems higher than others, based on personal experience. I think you have to be between a clean freak and a messy pig to not project yourself on your roommate (as they likely won't be the same extreme as you).

 

[KnuxNole]

Roommates were fun for college. After that, I prefer to have my own place...I wouldn't want to live with others. Hang out with others? Absolutely! But, I need ample time to myself. Not to mention I would be a turrible roommate for a med student. Especially early birds who hate night owls 😱

Honestly, if you are social, you can still be fine living alone. You can always visit your buddies apartments, or let them come to your place. However, the benefit of having a roommate is to split the cost of a living place, which is a big plus for many.

 

[Gut Shot]

While all my other expenses (tuition, food, etc.) are on my bill, my parents have volunteered to cover my housing during medical school. They're strongly leaning towards purchasing a condo instead of going the rental route to avoid the ~$40,000 of sunk costs for an apartment over the 4 years. Their price range isn't huge, but it would allow for upwards of a 2-3br, 1.5-2ba condo if I wanted a roommate(s) or a smaller 1br, 1ba place for living alone. They intend on selling it after my 4th year (assuming the value increases, otherwise they'll hold onto it and find renters). That leads me to two questions:

1. Did any of you purchase condos/houses, and are you pleased with the investment? If you didn't, do you wish you had?

A sunk cost is a past expense that cannot be recovered, and therefore should not influence current or future decision making. Four years of future rent is not a sunk cost, it is an expense for a place to live, one the provides the flexibility to leave it after you graduate.

If you parents are not/have not been in the landlord game before, I would advise against the plan outlined above. I graduated from medical school just before the housing bubble really inflated, and witnessed many of my classmates rush to make highly regrettable home purchases. Even without the bubble, almost all of them failed to properly account for the expenses associated with transient home ownership.

After paying for the inspection and various other purchasing fees, to make a down payment your parents will have to extract money from savings or another investment vehicle. In addition to the mortgage, there will be property taxes, homeowner's insurance, association fees, and most people annually budget at least 1% of the property's value toward maintenance and upkeep. Your folks can recover some of this expense through tax breaks, which is one of the few unequivocal benefits of this process.

In four years they will have build very little equity. For every $100,000 borrowed on a 30 year fixed at 4%, four years of payments will reduce the principal by ~$7,500 while paying over $15,000 in interest. Counting on the market to make this a smart purchase is speculation, which may or may not pan out. Should they sell, the realtor fees will negate a large chunk of the down payment.

Finally, being a landlord sucks. A lot. Especially if you live in a different city. Your parents should have ample cash reserves on hand to cover emergency repairs and months without occupancy. They should plan on dropping by at least once a year to make sure the tenants aren't manufacturing methamphetamine. For relative peace of mind they should consider enlisting a property management company, but which is yet another expense.

And if the market in this city is such that it's cheaper to own than rent, good luck finding decent tenants. Most of them will be out buying their own condos. About the only way this whole proposition makes sense is if you parents buy a multifamily home with enough bedrooms and renters to generate positive cash flow each month. At which point they will truly be landlords. Which will suck.

 

[HatWobble]

^ Excellent post. The man/woman speaks the truth.

Just rent a 1BR for four years, and tell the parentals to pay your rent for you if they want.

 

[rodmichael82]

SOLO all the way. I can't stand living with someone.

 

[Bacchus]

SOLO all the way. I can't stand living with someone.

Its true. I lived with friends this past year of medical school. We're still friends, but there's definitely a reason I went back to a 1BR, single apt at the start of residency.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Also agree with Gut Shot on the finances. It's cheaper here to own than rent when you factor in the mortgage and insurance and property taxes in my current town, but once you factor in maintenance and upkeep it starts to go the other way, then after that when you sell you have realtor's fees and closing costs that hit you as well.

I've had a few "fun" surprises as well and even though the market has picked up here, I'm not going to make enough to come out ahead on my house given what I've put into on on repairs and stuff. It inspected well too. 2 burst pipes, new hot water heater, foundation repair, new garage door opener, so on and so forth probably has me close to 15k in the hole for major stuff. And stuff never breaks when it's convenient or you have time deal with it.

 

[tiedyeddog]

I think living with a roommate vs. alone is highly dependent. What did you like in undergrad?

Many people will tell you to live alone, an equal amount of others will tell you to live with roommates. I lived alone in undergrad and with roommates in medical school. My medical school roommate has been awesome.

Personally, medical school can be isolating enough on its own. I liked having a medical school classmate as a roommate who I could commiserate/drink with. If talking about school with your roommate is going to stress you out, then live alone. I think I lucked out because my roommate had similar interests to me and is the chillest/nicest guy on the planet.

I would no recommend living with someone rando who is an undergrad or in graduate school unless you're 100% sure they'll respect your sleep schedule and personal space during exam weeks/rotations. Would suck to come home the night before an exam and see your roommate is throwing a basher in your house.....

 

[Kahreek]

After living alone for the first two years of school - get a roommate. Studying is lonely as hell, even if you do it with other people.

thats why study rooms and libraries exist

 

[Pasmal]

My living situations (for reference):
UG 1st yr: 1 roommate, fun but somewhat miserable experience
UG 2nd yr: alone
UG 3rd yr: 3 roommates, good experience
UG 4th yr: 9 roommates, great experience

My take on having roommates

Major downsides:

1. If they're both a) messy and b) ignorant of their messiness, you may end up doing more than your fair share of cleaning.

2. They may like to be loud at very inconvenient and sometimes almost unthinkable times. That said, med student roomies should be a little more sensitive about this one (keyword: SHOULD).

3. If you're the kind of person who studies at home and they're not, you will frequently be presented with distractions/temptations. You will need the self-discipline to buckle down despite these distractions.

4. Your food may get eaten. Toiletries may be used (you can't be paranoid about this and retain sanity).

5. Less alone time (you'll succumb to distractions every once in a while, roomies will pick your brain about some hw topic, roomies HAVE to tell you about that new X that came out, etc etc).

6. Roommates may designate you as the manager of their social life, meaning they will cling to you during social situations and make friends with all of your friends (and only them). The level of discomfort you experience will be inversely proportional to the roommate's social IQ.

Upsides:

1. You'll never be bored/lonely (assuming you're all fairly normal and don't enjoy complete isolation from society for great lengths of time).

2. You'll have captive study-buddies if you're both in the same program/classes.

3. You can have alone time when you want it if you don't share a bedroom.

4. They'll know you well enough to be great wingmen when you need one.

5. 2BR+ apartments are often cheaper on a per-person basis than 1BR.

Get a roommate if:
-You like/need regular/sustained social contact.
-You don't let the little things bother you.
-You typically study elsewhere.
-You know him/her well enough to know that he/she would be a good fit.
-You want to save some cash.

Don't get a roommate if:
-Some small things really get to you.
-You ritualistically need quiet and uninterrupted alone-time.
-You hate realizing that things have moved around in your apartment while you were gone.
-You read the "major downsides" and repeatedly thought, "wait, I do that..."
-You want a reliable study spot.
-You are married/in a committed relationship (seriously, for everyone's sake, just don't... unless the roommate is your SO obviously)
-You tend to expect too much out of those around you.

My recommendation: Get to know the potential roomies ahead of time. The more information you have, the better. Ask to talk to previous roommates on the phone, on facebook, etc. to get a better idea of what the roommate is like after signing on the dotted line. Know yourself, and make the decision that won't have you pulling your hair out in the middle of the year.

If you don't know what you want to do, just start looking for roommates and see what happens. Just remember, if you're only signing a 1-year lease then the stakes aren't the highest.

 

[Kaustikos]

I'll be perfectly honest and state that I am the type of person that is probably not a great roommate. My threshold for messiness/dishes in the sink/period of time between cleaning the bathroom/vacuuming seems higher than others, based on personal experience. I think you have to be between a clean freak and a messy pig to not project yourself on your roommate (as they likely won't be the same extreme as you).

Well,
I'd still get a 2 bedroom condo (purchased) rather than rent. Especially if you have the means. You can only keep renting for a certain period of time before you have to ask "Wtf am I doing throwing all this money away?"

Myself? I have a 2bedroom. Not because I need a roommate, but it's nice to have another bedroom. That way friends/family don't have to sleep on the couch all the time. Or I can convert it into a private study if I want. Point is - it's mine.

 

[IniestaDeMiVida]

Pasmal, well put. I agree. Totally justifies my reasons for living alone!

 

[evilbooyaa]

Well,
I'd still get a 2 bedroom condo (purchased) rather than rent. Especially if you have the means. You can only keep renting for a certain period of time before you have to ask "Wtf am I doing throwing all this money away?"

Myself? I have a 2bedroom. Not because I need a roommate, but it's nice to have another bedroom. That way friends/family don't have to sleep on the couch all the time. Or I can convert it into a private study if I want. Point is - it's mine.

I mean if you have the means, get a 4BR 3 bath on the top floor of a highrise overlooking the entire city with a squad of women hired to get you ready through your big day of sitting in a library cubbyhole and studying and facebooking. Also, a chaueffer. And a personal cook.

I think getting a 2BR "if you have the means" as a solo person is fine, but in terms of economics, the decision seems to be between a studio/1BR (for one person) or a 2BR (for 2 people).

 

[Kaustikos]

I mean if you have the means, get a 4BR 3 bath on the top floor of a highrise overlooking the entire city with a squad of women hired to get you ready through your big day of sitting in a library cubbyhole and studying and facebooking. Also, a chaueffer. And a personal cook.

I think getting a 2BR "if you have the means" as a solo person is fine, but in terms of economics, the decision seems to be between a studio/1BR (for one person) or a 2BR (for 2 people).

Well, the OP said he had the means. I'd have to check, but it seems like the market for condo's is a lot better for 2 bedrooms. You get a better/larger market from that versus a one bedroom.