Long term value of condo?

[OS]

Can anyone here comment about the long term ownership of a condo vs the usual single family home? It seems to me that a condo is a substantially inferior property type in terms of value and desirability, but in LA there's not much in terms of houses. Plus I have concerns about over a long term period, if a condo complex gets ratty or damaged, it's hard renovate or rebuild.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Here in Indiana we used to live in condo, we stayed there for about 5-6 years and didn't have any major problems.

 

[DrPizza]

I think it would depend on the quality of the construction, materials used, etc.
Too often, though, I've seen dozens of condos/townhouses appear out of no where... go down a road... 3 weeks later, go down the same road and "where the fvck did those trees go? Where'd those townhouses come from?!" Typically, many of those are built with the bottom line in mind... build cheap, sell for $$$, make profit.

edit: that's not to say all townhouses and condos are built cheaply...
But, I've been in some that weren't anything special...

 

[OS]

most of the ones in the LA area were built in 1970s, 80s. Anyone familiar with the area, I've been looking at Torrance, Lomita, PV. They seem to be ok for now, but who knows about tacking on another 10 years. I mean if I buy one soon, the idea of owning a condo that 40, 50 year old ten years down the line just seems like a bad idea.

The thing is, before the housing run up the past 2-3 years or so, condos were kind of considered crappy property. They didn't go up much in value. Now condos in the above area commonly go for 400K, 500K. So my thinking is also that if the bubble pops, condos are also gonna be harder hit than traditional houses.

 

[redly]

Eeeewwww...70's and 80's construction
recessionary tightassedness