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Comment by jackson1442 | Hacker News Reader

We need more apartments for purchase rather than renting in America. That's practically unheard of in Texas- just about anything in a shared building is only for rent.

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Landlords hoard housing and sell it back to people for a profit. It's arguable that most people would be better off buying their housing directly, but like you say the options are extremely limited.

This exists. It's usually called a condo or a townhome. I'm sure they exist in Texas too. You'll find them in more urban areas. They aren't as popular during a pandemic, but they usually cost less than a house, and if the organization is functioning well enough, then you also have the outside maintenance covered.

A nice condo in Dallas currently goes for $400k with a $700/month HOA assessment.

More proof that condos exist in Texas. The HOA payment seems a little high, but everything is bigger in Texas.

That seems to be the norm in Australia. When a building gets approved, the developer puts all the apartments up for sale before it gets built. Of course most of them get sold to landlords but it’s not one company that owns the whole building and there is nothing stopping you buying one as they are always selling.

Condos have their own problems. See the collapsed building in Miami.

I’m not sure why a freak accident should be used as an example of anything. If anything it stands to show how insanely problem free modern buildings are if one building falling down is shocking news globally and known as one of the worst non malicious building issues in the developed world.

The incentives do not line up since condo owners who will be out before problems affect them will vote to kick the can down the road. Even if other buildings do not collapse, it is common to hear of excessive repair bills because of it being delayed until the last minute.

This happens with cities too, but the tax base is greater to spread the cost over and there is a higher likelihood of more qualified people working, rather than on individual condo boards.

I wonder if anyone knows how this works in countries with widespread apartment ownership. Same model, but done right? Different model?

> I’m not sure why a freak accident should be used as an example of anything.

Maybe follow the news a little more. Several MSM outlets over the last month have done in-depth stories about the fundamental problems with the condo model of ownership and maintainance. It has nothing inherently to do with construction methods; the evidence is that what happened in FL is a risk in an awful lot of condos all over the US.

Would you mind sharing a link?

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/us/condo-associations-sur...

That is a freak accident, the more common problem with condos is the management jacking up the fees and trapping people in the building because nobody wants to buy a unit in a building with outrageous fees.

Would the condo board not be able to cancel the contract with the management company?

I think the problems of governance are non-trivial in tenant-owned apartments. Not that they can't work, obviously. But, I think the ability to 'vote with your feet', is a bit more powerful than the ability to reconcile disagreements between owners.

I think for things to work, we need to seriously cut down the fees for selling a house. The fees and laws are set up for someone who buys/sells once every few decades. So if you move frequently, there is no way you could be a owner without taking serious losses.

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