Condo life is not for everybody
Living in a condo is like living in a rental apartment. People who live
in houses need to understand this before they downsize to a condominium.

Close-quarter
living
Individualists who bring the freedom from restraint that they had in
their private, single-family houses to the communal living of a
condominium, where a home is your castle only from the wallpaper in and
where the owner trades freedom from yard work and other maintenance
chores for a bondage to rules governing everything from barbecues to
boats, flower boxes to pets may find the cultural shock to hard to
handle.
A condo is not a place where you can change the oil in your car, store
your boat or rebuild a motorcycle in your parking spot. You probably
will not be allowed to have a bird feeder or let you cat run free at
night.

Loud late-night parties are not allowed and you may have to get rid of
your dog if she barks when you are not at home or when anyone in the
hallway walks by your unit.
The condo may have rules stating that your window curtains facing the
street must be white, you cannot store your bicycle on the balcony and
you must keep your pet on a leash while it is on the common elements.
The swimming pool, basketball court, aerobatics room and the other
amenities may be open only at certain times of the day and the board
may restrict the number of times a week a resident can use them.
You may find that you are not allowed to run a small business out of
your unit if you have retail customers coming in and out of the condo.
You must also give the manager a key to your apartment so the
superintendent or workmen can enter your apartment in case of an
emergency when you are not home, fire safety
inspections, vermin control and maintenance work. Some people
do not want to do this.
Condo life is a communal existance and the residents need to adjust to
the bylaws and rules that have been made by others.
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