Express contributor Lynn Thorne weighs the choice between a single-family home or a condo.

AFTER MARC-PIERRE JANSEN AND JESSICA CARRANO got married last September, they went house hunting. But like many new nesters, they ended up with a condo.

In January, they closed on a property in Columbia Heights at the Piedmont Condominiums, a four-story, 21-unit building that, for more than 100 years, has offered a convenient location to its residents.

So, why didn't they go for the American dream of a Cape Cod or Colonial with a picket fence? "For a single person or a young couple, a condo has its advantages — primarily, to be near the city," says the 27-year-old Jansen, who works in Georgetown and jogs 30 minutes to his office each day, taking the bus home at quitting time. He says he loves the convenience: "I don't want to commit to three hours a day of commuting."

For other pad seekers, the choice between purchasing a condo or a single family home is a toss-up. Not so long ago, condos were often considered less desirable than freestanding homes. But in recent years, as detached home prices have soared and travel times from far-out suburbs have ballooned, condos have become an attractive alternative.

Michael Rankin, managing partner of Tutt, Taylor and Rankin Sotheby's International Realty, which has offices across the metro area, says it usually comes down to dollars. "If you're spending $400,000 to $600,000, a detached home in the city is hard to find. But we have a lot of demand for condos in that price range."

Single-family homes may appear to come with bigger price tags. But after a certain price point, certain houses cost less than some condos. For example, Rankin says, "It's hard to find houses at $1,000 per square foot, but at 3303 Water Street, condos there in Georgetown were $1,000 a square foot, and the Ritz Carlton in Georgetown [3150 South St.] is $725 per square foot." By contrast, "I would say a typical three-bedroom home in Arlington is $400,000 to $900,000 and the average size is about 2,000 to 2,500 square feet. Bethesda would be a little more, like $900,000 to $1 million [for the same size house]," which puts them in the neighborhood of $360 per square foot.

The climb in the appeal (and price) of condominiums is partially because these flats aren't the bland white boxes of past decades, says real estate developer Scott Pannick. "It's someone's home, and because it's small, it needs to be dramatic in some way. The increased cost of space is causing us to design interiors much more carefully. The buildings of the future will have incredibly tight designs where everything has its space but doesn't lose that sense of drama."

Pannick's company, Metropolis Development, just began selling the multimillion-dollar Metropole, a collection of 90 luxury residential condominiums, pictured at left, at 15th and P streets NW in the District.

Pannick says location is often the driving force behind people's choosing a condo versus a detached home. "There are not a lot of choices in urban living," he says. "People want to live downtown, and they have limited options."

"Condos are typically located closed to subway stops and amenities," says Barry Levy, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Allegiance in Northwest D.C. "If you want to jump on Metro and walk to Starbucks, you're more likely to find that in a condo."

But that convenience comes at the cost of space. Tiffany Stone, 35, and her husband are looking for a single-family home to accommodate their 4-year-old and 6-month-old kids. Stone's a Realtor with Fairfax Realty, Rockville, and says having room is more important to her than living next to public transportation.

"Having the space is important to me because I have two children," Stone says. "We need a yard for them to run around in."

And Stone's also looking ahead. "We also want something we can add on to. You can't grow with a condo. We'd like to be able to build an addition on our single-family home in the future."

As a Realtor, Stone advises that both condos and single-family units have appreciation potential but, "Higher-end condos are having a hard time right now," she says. "It depends on the price of the home and where it is. You have to analyze the appreciation rates in the area where you're looking. Single-family homes also maintain a consistently higher resale value."

Eric North of ZipRealty agrees. "If someone was on the fence, I would counsel them to get the single-family for the investment alone. I see them holding their value better. When there was a downturn in the market, condos seemed to lose their value."

Beyond monetary and space considerations, remember that condos come with rules. There are associations you have to join, maintenance fees to cough up and restrictions regarding noise, pets and even the number of visitors you have. So, if you have a home-based business that requires a lot of foot traffic, a condo may not be for you. And that ninth-floor one-bedroom with a view of the Potomac also can't offer the privacy you'd find in a detached home.

"There are people upstairs and downstairs," Jansen says wistfully. "They can hear us, and we can hear them. I'd like a bit more space."

Of course, there are a lot of extras in a condo that don't come with the key to a single-family house. You don't find concierge services and fitness centers located inside the average suburban split-level. But beware.

"The trick is to not pay for the things you don't want," Levy says. "You have to figure out what you want to pay for, and not things that cost money that you won't use."

Single-family homes offer their own amenities. Space, privacy, autonomy and a yard can be powerful draws.

"It's the dream," Rankin says. "We all think about when we get to a certain point in our lives and have a detached house with a front and backyard. We check it off our list of what we want to do. We're all grown-up now."

Being an adult with a freestanding home requires physical and fiscal demands for upkeep. In a condo, someone else cuts the grass and cleans the gutters. Jansen says he doesn't mind paying condo fees to save himself some headaches, but he was shocked at how much some developments charge.

"Some of these fees are $600 a month! Ours is only $200. That includes gas, trash and cleaning and general fund, so it's pretty set in that sense. You know what to project for bills."

Experts say condo fees aren't a rip-off, but you should still examine them closely before signing on the dotted line. Nanci J. Rands, former president of the Metropolitan Consolidated Association of Realtors, says it is important to determine what is included in your monthly association fee.

"Usually a condominium complex hires a management company to take care of the day-to-day maintenance, like clearing driveways and mowing lawns, but there is a wide variation in exactly what their duties and responsibilities are."

While Jansen and his wife are pleased with their current condo, he still dreams of the day they'll own a single-family home.

But his choice to live in a condo now boils down to its convenient location. "I like the country. I'd like to have my own grass and a garden. But I don't want to commute an hour and a half each way."

Photo by Gabriela Bulisova for Express; image of Metropole courtesy Metropolis Development Company

Posted by Express at 10:23 AM on April 30, 2007
Tagged in Condo Living , Free Ride , Real Estate