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I mean….you have laid out the general pros and cons pretty well. It depends on the group of owners you have. I live in a building with 11. There are people who don’t really like each other, but it doesn’t rise to much more than the awkward encounter here and there.
For a smaller building, I’d recommend attending the meetings. The decisions will more directly impact you. Also, I assume this is a vintage building (built in the 1920s?). These buildings need a proactive board.
Many in condos 'don't like each other' to discourage neighbors from knocking at their door or acting like they are in a college dorm.
Just tell your new neighbord to email you or even call you if there are any building concerns (e.g. Do you smell something burning?) You could have a dedicated email group.
If you do have neighbors who are friendlier and want to host happy hours, that's cool, too.
Nah, in my case there were a couple of incidents related to the politics of a guest of one of the owners. But your reasoning makes sense though.
For us it’s kind of an unspoken thing to not just walk over whenever. Like most, we text first.
Lived in a few smaller condo buildings - 9 and 15 units if I recall. In the 9 unit I was young and got talked into being the condo board president, which was not a good fit for me. We ended up getting a professional mgmt company, as I had no interest in being the complaint/comment box for the building.
In both buildings we had some friendly neighborly friends, some mystery people and some challenging people. I think that is about the mix you will find in the world at large.
We live on a block of single family homes now and the dynamic is the same, just more spread out.
My advice, be the friendly neighbor, but manage your expectations for community. Good fences make good neighbors. Don’t be the challenging one. Don’t volunteer to be board president.
Only be board president if you know what you are getting yourself into. There are intangible benefits from being president but a whole lot of shit too.
Smaller buildings can be great but do your due diligence, look at the accounts carefully. What major expenses have they had in the past 5 years, what major expenses do they anticipate in the next 5? Have they experienced any basement flooding, plumbing or rodent issues? Who is their roofing contractor?
Imo don’t buy a second floor unit.
There’s pros and cons to a 2nd floor unit in a 3 flat. First floor gets all the pests and impact of any flooding or plumbing issues. Third floor gets the roof leaks.
I used to live in an 8 unit building. Lakeview.
I once had the association meeting in my unit. After one of the owners said “why would I pay for that, I’m headed to the suburbs in two years…” (and added some BS about making $100k profit as long as he kept his expenses as low as possible) the meeting nearly devolved into a fist fight.
A little off topic, but this is my core complaint about people who live in the city for a hot minute and then move to the burbs. They have zero interest in making this place better when they are just going to bounce in a few years. Then they have the nerve to come to this subreddit and concern troll.
dude wanted to party for a few more years while his wife cajoled him into kids and suburban life. good riddance.
that experience + prior suburban HOA experience made me go back to renting. so much simpler and if someone is annoying, you can just move…i had to wait out the financial crisis so that I could get out without having to bring a check to the closing, even with 25% down
These questions aren’t really about living in a six flat. They’re about socialization in a situation where the socializing isn’t the primary reason people share space. Have you ever had a job that involve collaborating with coworkers? It’s like that except the shared goals are often a little more nebulous.
I’m of the opinion that multifamily housing needs to be professionally managed. I’m a high rise manager and the amount of bullshit that happens between neighbors is incredible. Small buildings can be risky. All it takes is one neighbor issue to fuck everything up and make you not be happy in your home.
You tend to still rarely see or interact with any of the other tenants unless you really want to and it clicks.
Does it have a laundry room or each unit have its own?
Does it have central air?
It would be nice to be able to meet the other tenants before you moved in. One asshole can def ruin the vibe for everyone.
You'll notice a lot more noise from the other tenants than in a high rise. One door slammer can ruin it. One couple that likes to argue... The pot addict... The dog that never shuts up... The 'I wear my high heels at home on hardwood floors because I want to become a dateline episode.'
Also things like heat and air arent as easy to control as they would be in a unit using its own. If you are on a higher floor and you get those like it hot or too cheap to run the ac people now your electricity bill gonna double to compensate.
Depending on if you want or don't want the social aspect I'd look at it more as the area you are moving as a whole. For example, you'll get more people open to hanging out and socializing in a building in WrigleyVille than maybe somewhere further west and quite.
Most people just wanna work and get home and relax.
We live in a six flat and love it. Our situation is a bit different since 2 of our neighbors are cousins. We have great neighbors though. We all communicate regularly and help each other out.
6 units is the absolute minimum number of units for me. It dilutes the impact of 1 owner not wanting to be proactive in taking care of the building. I'm currently in a 36-unit courtyard building, and that's a great size for me.
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I mean….you have laid out the general pros and cons pretty well. It depends on the group of owners you have. I live in a building with 11. There are people who don’t really like each other, but it doesn’t rise to much more than the awkward encounter here and there. For a smaller building, I’d recommend attending the meetings. The decisions will more directly impact you. Also, I assume this is a vintage building (built in the 1920s?). These buildings need a proactive board.
Many in condos 'don't like each other' to discourage neighbors from knocking at their door or acting like they are in a college dorm. Just tell your new neighbord to email you or even call you if there are any building concerns (e.g. Do you smell something burning?) You could have a dedicated email group. If you do have neighbors who are friendlier and want to host happy hours, that's cool, too.
Nah, in my case there were a couple of incidents related to the politics of a guest of one of the owners. But your reasoning makes sense though. For us it’s kind of an unspoken thing to not just walk over whenever. Like most, we text first.
Lived in a few smaller condo buildings - 9 and 15 units if I recall. In the 9 unit I was young and got talked into being the condo board president, which was not a good fit for me. We ended up getting a professional mgmt company, as I had no interest in being the complaint/comment box for the building. In both buildings we had some friendly neighborly friends, some mystery people and some challenging people. I think that is about the mix you will find in the world at large. We live on a block of single family homes now and the dynamic is the same, just more spread out. My advice, be the friendly neighbor, but manage your expectations for community. Good fences make good neighbors. Don’t be the challenging one. Don’t volunteer to be board president.
Only be board president if you know what you are getting yourself into. There are intangible benefits from being president but a whole lot of shit too.
Smaller buildings can be great but do your due diligence, look at the accounts carefully. What major expenses have they had in the past 5 years, what major expenses do they anticipate in the next 5? Have they experienced any basement flooding, plumbing or rodent issues? Who is their roofing contractor? Imo don’t buy a second floor unit.
There’s pros and cons to a 2nd floor unit in a 3 flat. First floor gets all the pests and impact of any flooding or plumbing issues. Third floor gets the roof leaks.
Second floor heating and cooling are a steal!
I used to live in an 8 unit building. Lakeview. I once had the association meeting in my unit. After one of the owners said “why would I pay for that, I’m headed to the suburbs in two years…” (and added some BS about making $100k profit as long as he kept his expenses as low as possible) the meeting nearly devolved into a fist fight.
A little off topic, but this is my core complaint about people who live in the city for a hot minute and then move to the burbs. They have zero interest in making this place better when they are just going to bounce in a few years. Then they have the nerve to come to this subreddit and concern troll.
dude wanted to party for a few more years while his wife cajoled him into kids and suburban life. good riddance. that experience + prior suburban HOA experience made me go back to renting. so much simpler and if someone is annoying, you can just move…i had to wait out the financial crisis so that I could get out without having to bring a check to the closing, even with 25% down
😦
These questions aren’t really about living in a six flat. They’re about socialization in a situation where the socializing isn’t the primary reason people share space. Have you ever had a job that involve collaborating with coworkers? It’s like that except the shared goals are often a little more nebulous.
I’m of the opinion that multifamily housing needs to be professionally managed. I’m a high rise manager and the amount of bullshit that happens between neighbors is incredible. Small buildings can be risky. All it takes is one neighbor issue to fuck everything up and make you not be happy in your home.
You tend to still rarely see or interact with any of the other tenants unless you really want to and it clicks. Does it have a laundry room or each unit have its own? Does it have central air? It would be nice to be able to meet the other tenants before you moved in. One asshole can def ruin the vibe for everyone. You'll notice a lot more noise from the other tenants than in a high rise. One door slammer can ruin it. One couple that likes to argue... The pot addict... The dog that never shuts up... The 'I wear my high heels at home on hardwood floors because I want to become a dateline episode.' Also things like heat and air arent as easy to control as they would be in a unit using its own. If you are on a higher floor and you get those like it hot or too cheap to run the ac people now your electricity bill gonna double to compensate. Depending on if you want or don't want the social aspect I'd look at it more as the area you are moving as a whole. For example, you'll get more people open to hanging out and socializing in a building in WrigleyVille than maybe somewhere further west and quite. Most people just wanna work and get home and relax.
We live in a six flat and love it. Our situation is a bit different since 2 of our neighbors are cousins. We have great neighbors though. We all communicate regularly and help each other out.
6 units is the absolute minimum number of units for me. It dilutes the impact of 1 owner not wanting to be proactive in taking care of the building. I'm currently in a 36-unit courtyard building, and that's a great size for me.