I'm often asked by buyers, which is the best to buy, Condo or a house?  You have to access your lifestyle to make that decision. 

Do you want to avoid all the maintenance that goes into a Florida home? And I say a Florida home because you have to know our maintenance is not like the typical northern maintenance on a house. You have, mud dobblers, sand build-up that needs to be pressure washed semi annually (and that doesn't include having a lanai, which is like every month), outdoor paint on your lanai cool deck, gutter cleaning, shrub and brush trimming (year round), weed maintenance, again-year round. Your pool has to be treated and cleaned. Pumps, filters, heaters and all those mechanicals that can go (and eventually will) wrong. Not to mention the cost of your electric to run those items. So you get my drift. 

Also think about this when you balk at condo fees. If you're into fitness and go to a gym, what does your membership cost you annually? What does the time and cost of gas cost to get you there? Most condos have a fitness room on site along with a pool.  Most individual gyms and fitness centers outside of a condo don't come with the pool. So that's one extra item you don't get to use. Condos sometimes have tennis courts. Does your gym? There is no individual roof on your condo (considering you're in a multi-level mid to high rise) so that can be left to the association for repair and maintenance. That is a big deal because if you have trees on your property or live in Florida, you're susceptable to wind storms, hurricanes and lightning damage.  Your roof is a sitting duck. 

How about your water to bath, drink, and to live on. It can be included in your condo association fees. Not with owning a house! Cable or internet connection: sometimes with a condo, seldom never with your house. So add it up and do the math. The fees are justifiable with condo ownership.  thats my opinion, whats yours?