Is a Condo better than renting at an apartment?

[Rick Alvi]

Hey guys,

I'm a young entrepreneur (in my 20's) and I came across Bigger Pockets a few months ago. It has opened my eyes to this world and I want to thank Bigger Pockets for this community. Anywho, my gut feeling is telling me that I can at least not throw away the $700 a month that I'm paying for an apartment right now by buying a condo to live in. I'm looking at $60k-70k condos and after running the numbers (with 2% property tax's and a $250 HOA fee) it seems as though I'll be not only saving about $150 per month but that I may build some equity as well. What do you think? I have never invested in Real Estate but I want to eventually invest. But right now, I'm most concerned with my budget of purchasing real estate as a primary residence. Thanks so much for the opinions. I know Single-Family Homes are probably a better idea, but realistically, the Single-Families in my city that are in decent school districts and in decent shape go for about $110-120k which is out of my budget for my primary residence at this time.

Patrick