I'm so glad this thread exists. I'm currently searching for a condo. I renewed my lease for one more year in order to give myself time to save more money and condo-hunt patiently.

I saw two complexes last Saturday. One of them did not offer 1BR/1BA with attached garages. The other one did, but it was almost sold out to developers.

I do need to have a home inspection, possibly go through a realtor, and find a lender.

So many things to take into consideration.

And also be prepared to sign your name on five million different pieces of paper.

Anyone here do mortgages? I'm buying a place for about $150K with no money down. I'm going in on an 80/20 loan (to avoid PMI) with a 6.8 fixed on the 80 and around a 10 on the 20. Is that about the going rate? We're hoping to get a contract on the house this week before I leave for my honeymoon.

That sounds about right. I work for a mortgage company, but I'm not a consultant. But all of the marketing pieces I see and send out show rates in the mid 6s to low 7s, depending on where you are.

Speaking of condos and apartments, what the heck is the difference? My impression of a condo is an apartment that you buy and pay HOA dues. And apartment is something you rent and generally just as a carport or something. I have been looking for rental properties because my bf and I are no where near close to buying a house and management companies are listing condos AND apartments for rent. WTF? Aren't they the same thing? Especially around here where all the condos are all "condo conversions."

So what's the perk of getting a "real condo?" You still share a wall or ceiling or floor right?

I may be completely wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure the difference is that with an apartment the entire building is owned by one person/management company but with a condo, each unit in the building is owned by a seperate person. The building that my condo is in has units that are rented out to people and units, like mine, which are owner occupied. the benefit to this may be that it is in better condition, recently remodeled etc since the owner has to only worry about one unit instead of many.