I had a condo back in HI for a while. Bout it and there were monthly dues like an HOA because the facility had secured parking, gym, pool etc. at our complex if you were going to do major renovations you had to get them approved, other than that it was easy and no different than when I bought my house.

I’ve never heard of buying an individual apartment, but with a condo, yes, you would pay basically a monthly HOA or maintenance fee. These fees can be expensive. A nice high rise will charge $2k+ in monthly fees.

What makes you think us old guys care what you do with your money ? We’re busy spending our kid’s inheritance !

Apartment complexes get sold more than you would think. There is no HOA in an apartment because no one really owns anything. Just rules to abide by.

Condos will have an established HOA/Deed restrictions. For better or worse condos are generally bought and tenants want their investment to be protected from the scum that might lease one out from an investor/other owner.

Have you looked at any duplexes in the area? It sounds like this might a good move for you. Rent out the other side to half the monthly note, when you decide to bail you should have 2 tenants paying the note for you.

The third paragraph is what I would recommend. It is what I did many years back and it has turned into an awesome investment. as mentioned above, a duplex allows you to have a bit of extra spending cash while you live in one side and rent the other. Additionally, when you move out the rent from both sides generally covers the mortgage and you will have additional money left over.

Not sure about owning an apartment, but I have owned a Condo in Houston before. For reference, I have leased an apartment before as well.

The condo was not much different than an apartment, similar in size, but the overall property was a bit more exclusive; i.e. smaller, less people, etc.

The condo did require monthly HOA fees, like $200 monthly. I know that sounds like a lot of fees, but that included garbage pickup, exterior landscaping, overall grounds keeping/upkeep, exterior building maintenance, etc. Overall I liked it a lot more than leasing an apartment. At least 50% of the units were owner occupied; HOA didn't allow short-term leasing and the entire property was much more secure. Less units, less guest, you knew or at least were familiar with most people there. This wasn't a high rise place either.

Ended up selling and buying a house. Owned it for a couple years and sold it for a little more than I paid for it. Honestly, no regrets.

Duplex would be preferred, just not thst many in my area and when available they're gone quicker than any house on the market haha

Thanks again for the input guys, it did seem strange to me at first when thinking about buying an apartment unit but there's more and more being built near me daily and seeing what they're renting units out for is well more than what I could buy it for payments wise

I honestly don’t know what the difference is in an aprtment and a condo minus semantics but I’m sure there are some
On here that do. Look at condos and townhouse, seem to do well especially with all the folks moving into the metromess

Make sure to do the math on whether it actually makes financial sense to buy instead of renting. Assume you'll have one major appliance fail each year. Take into account property taxes. You may be better off paying rent and investing the savings in a more liquid investment.

It sure how it works, but make sure they don't prevent you from renting it out on Airbnb. That way when you move you can make money on it. Friend of mine did this in Austin and said he makes a good amount of profit on it.

Also look at quadplex's as well, may not be right in your target area but will generally have better returns on investment. If you are looking at turning it into an investment anyway I'd strongly consider and keep looking for a multifamily to househack with, remember you make your money when you buy.

check out biggerpockets.com for more discussion geared to this.