Condo vs house in Miami: the framework that doesn’t lie

Buyers waste months on the condo-versus-house debate. Four questions usually settle it in a single sitting.

One: how often will you be in the unit? If under twelve weeks per year, condo wins on every metric — security, maintenance, lockup-and-leave. Two: do you intend to rent it when away? Condo HOAs increasingly restrict this; verify in bylaws before you fall in love. Three: hurricane preparation tolerance. A house in Miami is a yearly storm event; if you don't want to deal with shutters and a generator personally, you want a condo. Four: water access. If a deeded boat slip matters, the calculus shifts toward direct waterfront single-family.

We have a written worksheet we walk through with every buyer. It saves weeks.