Which is the best investment...house or condo?

I found a one bedroom condo I like but the r.e. taxes are high and therefore puts me about $300 above my budget. I saw a nice small 2 bedroom house with lots of potential. The asking price is similar but the r.e. taxes are lower and no common charges. However I would have to pay for heat, water, etc. which puts me about $200 over my budget. Either way I plan to get a "temporary" part time job. I am expecting a raise with in the next 9 months. I plan to live here for about 5 years before selling to get my "dream home. Which is the best between the 2.

You'll always get better resale value in a house. Just stay out of the war zones.

Pick up a HUD home (easy qualifications for 1st time buyers) and you'll receive a lot more equity when you get ready to resale. Check out SW Alliance below.

Good luck.

choose a house even if its small...condos dont sell well

Sounds like you are not ready to buy either of these. Continue to save and look until you have a larger downpayment, or find a less expensive place.

Too many variables to answer your question appropriately. Such as location, price, etc..

There are good markets for condos.

One big thing to consider is how much responsibility you can handle. With a house, you are pretty much 100% responsible for everything. Roof leaking..out of your pocket. Lawn needs mowing...you do it, or out of pocket. House needs painting, your pocket..fence falling down, your pocket...etc...etc..

With a Condo, normally groundskeeping and all outside maintenence is included in the homeowners fee.

Of course with the house, you are free to paint whatever color you want, put up whatever kind of fence you want, install whatever style of roof you want, etc...plus the house will have more privacy.

So you have to weigh what is best for you. I used to think people were nuts to pay 2 to 400 dollars a month in association fees, but right now my house needs painted, my fence is falling down, bricks are crumbling, roof is leaking, grass needs mowed.....I would trade for a condo right now...

Choose the house. In regards to a condo, yea they are hard to sell, but if the owner of the property that the condos are on gets foreclosed on, you will be wrapped up in their foreclosure too, and still loose the condo. Check your real estate laws.

It really depends on where you live. The value of real estate around the country is dropping. Most homes have dropped about 8-10% but some places like southern CA, areas of FL, Phoenix, Las Vegas, MI, and OH it can be as much as 30%...And the foreclosure rates have increased which have added to the problem...so if you plan on reselling in 2 years...do not buy at all but rent for now and allow the rest of the housing bubble to play out...there are some 2-3million more homeowners with ARMs resetting in 2008 with the peak seen in March...I would NOT buy now except in very special markets and definitely NOT a condo. Do some research into how difficult it is to sell them!!!