Is a Condo Unit Favorable for Your College Kid?

On the arrival of the school term 2012-2013, aside from assisting their children in choosing a school to enroll in and a course to take, parents are also on the quest to help their children look for a place to reside in while in college, particularly if the chosen school is far from their home. A dorm room close to the campus is the usual choice for a student, but because of the increase of condo developments, they are beginning to see the possibilities of living in a condo.

While there are a lot of advantages to living in a condo, people who choose to stay in them also experience quite a few drawbacks. If you are thinking about buying a condo for sale as a place for your college kid, these are some things that you should think about.

Price

A condo unit can cost quite a lot of money, and paying the actual cost of the unit itself is only the beginning. There are a lot of financial obligations that you need to think about, too, such as association dues, home insurance and property taxes, all of which you need to pay even though your child will probably only need it for the 4 or 5 years he will be in college. Put in another way, the great thing about a condo is it can pay for itself one day; after your kid has graduated, you can either sell it or offer it as a rental.

Privacy

One of the things that condo residents take pleasure in is privacy, and this factor can come in handy for college students who need peace and quiet when they study. On the downside, students who prefer to socialize with others might find condo living a bit too quiet and lonesome.

Protection

Because condos have guards to keep the building safe day and night, as well as cameras that monitor everything that happens, you won’t lose sleep thinking about your child’s safety. Unlike dormitories and their rules, however, condo boards don’t force residents to stick to a curfew, so even late into the night, you might find people still coming and going.

Closeness to businesses

Can your kid get from the condo to essential businesses like 24-hour convenience stores with no trouble? When he’s in college, your kid will have to get used to staying up very late at night, so if he doesn’t have some sort of vehicle on hand, it’s necessary that he be able to get to these establishments on foot. Still, if they live in the heart of a well-known hotspot, the noise and the traffic can be a distraction to them.

Even if you want to be able to hold on to your children and keep them home, they have to grow up and become independent eventually so that they’ll be ready when they start working. In the end, it doesn’t matter if you choose a condo or a student dorm for them; what matters is that their residence will not compromise their schooling, development and security.