Condo Living. It May Really be for You After All

One fabulous thing Bainbridge Island has going for it is its wide selection of high-end, ferry-close, harbor view condos. If when you think of condo, you think of a cramped, dark, noisy space, think again about condos on Bainbridge. The best benefit to living in a condo on Bainbridge is that many of them are located in or near Winslow within walking distance to shops, restaurants, the ferry, grocery shopping, the theater, gyms, etc. If you want to ditch your car and commute to Seattle, the ferry and your feet could be all you need.

Condo living offers an easy lifestyle. A new condo, in Winslow, can be purchased new from the 300’s. The key word here is new. These new, high end homes, like the town homes and flats in Madrone Village offer quality finishes like wood floors, fir trim, stainless steel appliances, large windows, and solar tube sun lights. Venturing into the $400-600K range can afford you a harbor view and square footage into the 1300’s and up. Now, if you are looking for an entry level condo and it does not need to be new, resale prices start at $169K, but a two year old resale condo, that was never lived in is $211K at Island Crossings.

Many buyers are excited when they start looking at condos, but sometimes get turned off when they see the association fees. However, if you take a closer look, you’ll see that the fee usually includes a large array of utilities and benefits, like phone lines, exterior homeowners insurance, garbage, water, sewer, parking, security, exterior maintenance, and cable and reserves for future maintenance like a new roof. They could go on to offer a work out room, pool, computer lab, etc. When you add up all of these items, you usually find that the home owner’s dues are quite fair. Current research has shown that “80 percent of (condo) residents said they received a good return for their assessments in the form of such services and amenities as landscaping, trash pickup, exterior lighting, pools and tennis courts. Monthly assessments paid by interviewees ranged from less than $25 to in excess of $500.” See the article Are Condo Dwellers Happy? Study ranks satisfaction, written on February 1^st, 2008 for some timely information about how happy condo residents actually are. Once people move into condo life, overall, they appreciate the association running their complex, and actually enjoy all those rules. The Are Condo Dwellers Happy, article goes on to say that, “74 percent believe rules protect and enhance property values.” More than likely residents enjoy the fact that people are not hanging up purple curtains or parking their old RV in their reserved parking spot. Clean white window coverings, neat patios, well-kept landscaping and a lack of RV’s can do wonders for your home value. See also HOAs Get High Marks for more on that topic.

The main appeal, I found, after touring the new condos on the market is that they all speak to the idea of a simpler existence. If you have a little less space, it affords you greater things like a view and beautiful, quality finishes. And, you have your choice of personal style from what is on the market. Madrone Village offers homey, classic architecture, with bead board and craftsman era trim. Seabreeze on Bjune offers some of that same feel with a more modern, urban feel in its exterior architecture. All of the work has been done in these fine, new condos, they just await your selection and inhabitance.

Note:  In my annual blog “clean-up” many article links were removed from this blog post, as they were broken.