Tips For Buying A Condo BEFORE You Buy The Condo
Buying a condo is an excellent option, since it gives you the best of both worlds--renting and owning. You own your own home, but the condo association takes care of the landscaping and repairs. If this is the direction you are headed with home ownership, you may want to follow these tips before you sign on the dotted line and claim your new home.
Meet Your Neighbors First
Condos are almost always stacked next to, or on top of, each other. Four to eight condos generally take up a single condo block. As such, you may want to meet your neighbors before you buy your home. Too many people tend to forget this tip in the midst of the excitement of looking at condos for sale, and then find that they have neighbors living downstairs or next door that are less than pleasant. If you like a couple of different condos at a couple of different locations, meet your neighbors first. It may just help you decide where you would rather live.
Since these are also the same people with whom you will have to meet for condo events and vote on changes, it is good to know who you will be dealing with and seeing a lot of. If you buy a condo and then meet your neighbors, only to discover that you will not get along, that could make for some very tense condo owners' meetings and some votes that would not go the way you had hoped. Get on a good foot with your neighbors by meeting them before you move in.
Ask to See the Condo Association's List of Rules and Regulations
Not all condo associations are alike. Some have some rules and regulations you may find disagreeable, or just downright weird. Ask to see the list of rules and regulations from the condo associations where you are considering the purchase of a condo. You may find there are some deal-breakers and deal-makers when it comes to the rules and regulations.
Find out How the Homeowner's Insurance Works
Homeowner's insurance on a condo is very different from homeowner's insurance on a traditional, single-family home. Your insurance provider has to take into account that your condo is attached to the homes of several other homeowners, and that a disaster that occurs to your condo may affect theirs too.You will want to get a quote as well as a full run-down of how insurance on a condo works and what happens if you need to file a claim. There may be some additional insurance required by the condo association too, so you will need to check with the president of the condo association.
For information on condos for sale, contact a real estate agent like Marilyn Salzman Real Estate.