Apr
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Buying a Condominium?
April 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
Buying a condominium is a great alternative to a detached, single family home. They are more economical and they require less effort on your part to maintain them. Or… do they?
Just like any purchase in life, there are those things that are promised on the purchased and then there is reality. When working with responsible, respectable people the expectations tend to match reality most of the time. When working with the wrong kind of people, the opposite may be true. For this, you need to contact a trusted direct Mortgage lenders…
Two extremely important tips:
- Are You Willing To Live There Forever? — Yes, I mean it. No matter how optimistic you are, you should always consider the unfortunate possibility that your financial situation may not improve ever again, or even deteriorate. But that is not the reason or my argument. You want a property that other people will be able to buy or rent from you once you are done using it. And you want them to buy or rent it because they fall in love with it, not because they have no other choice. Those people who fall in love tend to pay a premium, while those who do not have a choice tend to pay the least – or in the case of rents… they may stop paying.
- Maintenance Free? — Some condominiums have perfect finances. I define it as a condominium that is in current repair, does not require special assessments, and has at least one year of condominium dues in the bank (unless it is brand new). Any special assessments in the last 5 years means that the condominium has been poorly managed: someone dropped the ball on repairs and they didn’t had cash reserves. Most states do not require condominiums to estimate repair costs over the course of the years. Fortunately Florida creates the guideline that condominiums have to be inspected every 5 years and estimates should be done for major purchases (roof, siding, etc.) — they also require them to be funded in cash reserves.
In summary: Before making any offer: Buy a property only if you fall in love for it. Ask for a copy of the cash reserves (savings) statement. The vendor may try to lie about any special assessment the condominium has made in the past, and the condominium association may be lying about the repair schedule. But it is difficult to fake a pile of cash – not to mention fraudulent if they use it to advertise the property and entice you to leave a deposit. Your attorney will advise you as to what other documents he/she will use to evaluate the worthiness of the property.
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it is convenient to live in a Condominium if you are in a big city but i like big lawns and backyard gardens.-~~