Okay here are a few tips for you provided that you happen to be trying to acquire a condo and what you need to know before hand. First thing to bear in mind just like not all people are created equal and neither are all homes or condos and more importantly not all Condo associations!
The real estate market has quite a bit of condo complexes in addition to with many of them for sale. A few of them are run very well in addition to others not so well and are underfunded. The difficulty is when a condo association is having problems and you acquire condo in that association their problems now become your problem. When you acquire a condo you basically join a club in addition to take on a portion of the issues that they may be having. So there are few steps that a person needs to keep in mind when considering a condo, for the reason that your decision is something that you will have to live with daily as you continue to own that condo.

1) What is the Home Owners Association fee in addition to what does it cover?

Sometimes this is simply known as the HOA dues you could surely find that a few of those HOA dues as high as almost $400.00 per month. That is an extra $400.00 added towards your monthly payment on top of the loan on top of the taxes in addition to on top of the insurance, although I think you get the idea. The HOA dues alone can make you or break you as to whether or not you will qualify for that condo or whether or not you even want to consider obtaining it. The fee comes from the annual expenses to maintain the common areas such as the club house, the pool etc. It is furthermore a result of whether the association is professionally managed or self managed. Assuming that this is going to be your new monthly fee you need to know what your getting for what you pay for.

2) Why are there HOA rules?

This can legitimately make obtaining your condo one extremely regrettable decision, considering the rules may prohibit pets, or even your ability to rent out the unit. You will want to get a copy of the bylaws to look into if there will be anything which you might have issues with.

3) Why the number of renters vs. owners is important

Routinely renters do not at all possess the same level of consideration for the property they exist in. Whether or not it be a condo or a house too many renters tend to give unwanted issues. A different consideration is that provided that there is too many renters in the condo complex the condo may not qualify for FHA financial backing. Even provided that you were to acquire a conventional loan instead of an FHA loan and this was to be your primary home it may have to be financed as investment property due to the high number of renters. A loan for investment property is ordinarily an extra 1-2 points than the going rate for home which would be considered your primary home. This may be a problem for certain communities when quite a bit of houses for sale in addition to condos were bought by investors in the course of the market frenzy most were used as investment properties. Use the link below to find out if the Condo you anticipate on purchasing will qualify for FHA financial backing due to having too many renters.

Here is the link to find out if your condo complex may or may not be approved merely go to:

4) How much funds is in the reserve fund account?

The is probably the most overlooked and never actually taken into account until it is too late. Getting a condo you become part owner of the association and just about all the bills which come with it. So if there association is poorly run or funded the condition of the condo complex as a whole can deteriorate. Or a lack of funds can be an indication of possible litigation draining the fund which will eventually require a special assessment pertaining to all those that intend to keep there condo units. Is there an increase of delinquent owners if so the reserve fund will get drained. Request a copy of their budge to look into if there may be any indications for concern. The last you want is to do is buy a condo plan on a budget in addition to get hit with new and higher HOA dues. Do not let this scare you after all acquiring a condo will have its benefits such as no yard in addition to maintenance for a few of us its just not on the schedule in addition to it does at times furnish you the luxury of having a pool in addition to lets not forget the hot tub. Some Condos even possess security which is a nice added benefit for anyone along with kids especially assuming that you happen to be a single mom. Basically look past the price in addition to make sure you will be happy with the condo association in addition to its rules and fees. Purchasing a condo is not similiar to buying a TV ,,,you can't take it back with the condition that you're not at all happy with it.

Santa Maria Real Estate