If you've just begun your preparations for a move to Washington D.C. from your familiar Oshawa homes village, it can be difficult to decide what type of property you should be looking for. Factors like the size of your family and your budget will come into play here, as will your personal preference for a dwelling. The first decision you will need to make is whether you will be looking for a house or a condo. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the differences between these two types of property, we will outline them for you here.

Ownership Terms

The biggest difference between a house and a condo is that a house stands alone, while a condo is part of a larger whole. This means if you had chosen North York condos instead of a house, you would now own only part of a structure instead of a whole building. What's the difference? The difference is that you have no control over who else is allowed to live in the building and you must pay a monthly fee to contribute toward the upkeep of the building. On the other hand, with a house, you are responsible for all maintenance, not just the upkeep of the inside.

Location

Another major difference between a detached home and a condo is that they tend to be located in different neighborhoods. You know yourself from living in Toronto that Toronto luxury condos are mostly found downtown where the population density is the highest. In Washington D.C., it's a little different. There is some separation, but in many neighborhoods condos and houses exist alongside one another. You also won't find so many tall buildings. Rather, condos tend to be carved out from within larger renovated structures like factories or mansions. Houses are interspersed throughout.

Features

What was the biggest reason your sister chose to look at Etobicoke homes for sale rather than downtown Toronto condos? She wanted her kids to have a yard to play in. With a house, the features you might find there include a yard (front or back) patio, deck, pool, driveway, garage, attic, or basement. With condos, some of these features, like yards or patios, might be available in your building, but you would have to share them with other tenants. Condo unit features sometimes include things like a balcony or garbage chute.

Price

And finally, there are often major differences in price between buying a house and buying a condo. Liberty Village Condos seem expensive, but only because of their downtown location. In reality, a similar house would cost nearly twice as much. In Washington D.C., the average detached home costs nearly $760,000 while condos in three or more unit structures cost, on average, between $470,000 and $480,000.