Real estate agents would advertise the properties being a business for owners to rent out like those AirBnB's but fail to disclose how Home Owners Assoc. or building policies have strict guidelines that may limit your options to renting the units out. Look at the amenities, pool, security, gyms and etc.
I get it, it's the sales talk and not all condominiums have these problems for owners but some do. If you're a middle class, taking on a mortgage is one of the most common and necessary financial risk you have to take unless you're sure to inherit some property from your folks to live in. If you're building wealth, owning an asset you can hand down to your kids is just the bare minimum and this means enslaving yourself for a few years of mortgages.
For people entertaining the idea of buying a condo unit while starting a family, consider the family size and long term possibilities while kids grow up in a small space. I do think the condo trap is enticing because it's relatively cheaper than purchasing a house and lot somewhere that's more spacious. My argument about not opting for a condo despite how cheaper it is compared to the traditional house and lot in Filipino culture is how your decision now will affect your grand kids' financial health later on.
Like how our grandparents made their financial decisions to take on a mortgage loan to own their homes. While the interest rates back then may have been high, asset prices increase much faster than the interest rates so their gamble paid off for taking on much more risk. We are living with wealth inequality as a reality and while the pandemic and financial crises made everyone suffer, the asset prices for real estate didn't go down, it went up after the economy showed signs of recovery and give it a few more decades of ups and downs, property would just go up in value anyway.
The only time I'd be interested in a condo now is having a place to rent out temporarily or being a crash pad if I want to be somewhere else. Not for family building or something that helps create generational wealth. At the end of the day, a condo unit is still one of the many units in a building that the changing times may come to demolish and the property value is split amongst other occupants.
On the other hand, with your own house and lot, you may get some negotiating power selling the property later or have more control renovating it. The attractive thing about these condo units is that most are built on prime locations in urban areas where public amenities and work places exist. But times are changing and work adjustments have been made to make it convenient for everyone living in urban areas where remote work, blended learning, and even online shopping gained traction. I'm saying, there's an economic incentive to make people travel less and make it convenient for them to do most of their transactions at the comforts of their own home. And businesses eventually expand to create more locations for their stores to reach beyond highly competitive urban areas to suburban areas. It may not be as apparent now but give it some decades.
Not against people who stuck with the condo living and are happy with it, you do you.
Thank you for your time.
