In my last post, 6 things to consider before buying a residential condominium unit, I presented several factors that may make one wince at the thought of buying a condominium.

I concluded by saying that just because there are several serious downsides to owning a condominium doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t buy or live in one.

In my two maiden posts here and here, I said that there are three basic types of housing – the traditional single-detached house, attached housing like duplex, quadruplex or townhouses and the condominium unit.

In those posts, I mentioned that it is important for a prospective home buyer to assess the basic values or benefits – time, convenience, space, privacy, space and/or peace and quiet – that are most important to him when deciding on the type of house he wants… because there is no one type of housing that can provide all those values to him.

So, what are the values that a condominium can offer at an extent that the two other types of housing cannot?

Time and Convenience

Investing in a condominium may seem like buying into a money pit, but by taking advantage of the time you save and the conveniences you gain by living in a “carefully chosen” condominium, these can result to massive savings that can more than offset the cost and expenses of living in one.

This can be best explained by giving an actual example of people who have opted to live in a condominium.

I have a cousin whose family of three used to live in a single-detached house in BF Homes, Las Pinas City. My cousin is a stay-at-home mom while their little daughter attended pre-school that daily required the service of a school bus. Her husband, a lawyer, used to drive daily to work at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration along EDSA corner Ortigas Ave. in Mandaluyong City. That was at least an hour drive, one way, on a good day.

Today, they live in Cityland Mega Plaza just behind Robinsons Galleria; only spitting distance from the husband’s office.

Their daughter, who’s now in grade school, is enrolled at St. Pedro Poveda. Being devout Roman Catholic, they attend regular mass at EDSA Shrine. Need I say more about the convenience of living just across Robinsons Galleria?

They have sold their car realizing that they have no more need for it; they have everything they need near where they live. Whenever they need to go far, they take advantage of the MRT.

They have done the math and are certain that whatever money that goes out of their pockets for choosing to live in a condominium will be more than offset by the considerable daily savings they gain by simply walking to the places that are most important to them.

Aside from the monetary benefits, consider also the improvement on the family’s lifestyle.

The husband walks home from the office every day at 12:00 noon to eat lunch with his wife. Cutting on the husband’s travel time by at least two hours daily means precious hours that can be spent either relaxing or spending more time with the family.

It is by carefully choosing the “location” of a condominium, its amenities, the conveniences nearby and factoring and considering if such elements will give you the savings and the lifestyle you want that living in a condominium is highly justified.

Like I said in the past, choosing the type of house you like is not simply a financial decision; it’s also a lifestyle decision.

Thank you so much.