D is planning to buy a condo/townhome. We’ve only bought a house before - so turning to the collective wisdom of this group.
What should we be looking at specifically with a condo? Any gotchas? I assume the condo association covers the outside maintenance (roof, siding, windows, lawn care, snow removal etc).
Do not assume anything. Ask to see a copy of the bylaws and financial statements. HOA meeting minutes, too. Actually, make your offer contingent on review of these documents.
Is there a rental cap? Who manages day to day upkeep of the grounds? Are there any major assessments? What kind of insurance the association has on the structure?
Also look at the long term maintenance plans and costs. Deferred maintenance can allow for lower fees for now, but big assessments later.
Ask how often painting is done? How old are the roofs? What’s the history of assessments?
I know a condo association (is that what it’s called?) that is on a lake. Really pretty wood siding. That they have to paint every 5 years. Huge assessments.
All three of you that responded mentioned assessments. What exactly are you referring to when you say assessments? Can you give me an example? And I assume that new assessments/increased assessments automatically translate to higher HOA fees? Can the association raise HOA fees pretty much any time?
A special assessment occurs when something major needs to be done that wasn’t budgeted for and the condo doesn’t have the reserve money to cover the expense. In my parents last condo it was replacing the roofs on all the units. In the current unit it’s a new pier and elevator.
We initially were looking at condos here and our realtor knew which buildings had no reserves left and were known for special assessments.
Assessments were IN ADDITION to the monthly HOAs.
Also ask how assessments are made. Some buildings are by square footage of units so bigger units pay way more.
Also ask about pet restrictions. There are two buildings in our town that don’t allow pets and those units are super hard to resell.
Also parking and guest parking.
Test the wifi. We lived in a condo that had some wonderful noice-reduction walls that also made our wifi signal terrible no matter what we did.
Understand the taxes.
What are the current property taxes for the unit and how are they assessed? Especially for a condo understand if there are any abatements and when they expire how much higher the property taxes will be.
Will her income taxes change? Income taxes for residents in Ohio can vary by address depending on municipality and school district.
You want to know if there’s any litigation. Also, find out the rules on rentals-short term rentals can impact quality of life.
An example of an assessment, my parent’s home is in a gated community, it’s not a condo, but when they rebuilt the clubhouse, every home owner was hit with an extra assessment of many thousands of dollars.
I’m on the board of the HOA of a town home community. Read the documents. Read the policies. Is anything a deal breaker? If you get two assigned parking spaces and own three cars, don’t think it will be fine if you just park the extra in a visitor space. Check the financials. Make sure the money coming in is greater than the money going out. Ask for the most recent study done to see the long term projects for the community, such as retaining walls, containment ponds, resurfacing and striping pavement, etc. Find out what outside services are covered. Some cover all exterior maintenance and some don’t. Are you responsible for any of your outdoor landscaping or is that done for you? Trash policy? Look up the management company and see how long they have been managing the property.
We constantly have people move in and then find out they need to mow, or don’t have enough parking, or can’t plant that garden. They are very upset and blame the HOA, but it’s their fault for not reading the docs. In Virginia, it’s a legal requirement that they have the docs and have the legal right to back out of the deal if they reject them. Because of this, we have little sympathy for the people who move in and then find out what they say.
Thanks for all these tips. Please keep them coming. We are driving down this week and plan on seeing a few condos this weekend - will keep this list of questions handy. It almost feels like it might be easier (more straightforward) if she were to buy a house! Unfortunately, in her price range, most of the places we’ve liked (viewed online) thus far have been condos.
Try to talk with some of the existing condo owners to get a variety of viewpoints about how well/poorly it’s being managed and owner concerns are being addressed. Also, try to visit the condo at different times of day and days of the week. Does she think she will be comfortable with the people who are owners/renters there? Sometimes they may be mostly MUCH older than her or all speak in languages she may not know (that was one reason S decided against some buildings he had been considering)–he didn’t feel the people who lived in the building were “his tribe.”
-RESPONSE TIME FROM THE ASSOCIATION?Our daughter bought a condo and the response time from the association is ridiculous! She had bees in her wall and in her crawl space/attic! (The home inspection didn’t catch that the crawl space was stuffed with newspapers. The bees entered her condo anytime an LED light was on. She had to pay a good amount of money to a beekeeper, during a holiday weekend, and had to move back home because the bees had invaded the inside of her condo via the “can” lights. )
APPROVAL FOR CHANGES?
She’s trying to put in dual paned windows and the approval time will be 4-5 weeks!
TRASH FEES?
HOA FEES?
USE OF COMMON AREAS?
FEES FOR THE CLUBHOUSES?
SECURITY PATROLS? She wasn’t given the correct number to access the complex’s security guards. She was given the number of a previous security company. She had to stop one of the security cars and they didn’t want to give her the number because she was outside of her condo, and they didn’t believe she was a resident. “Looked too young” to be a resident.
AS ABOVE: WIFI issues
AND “APPROVED” INTERNET PROVIDERS or satellite dishes allowed?
PARKING???
Also, if the intended resident MAY want an electric vehicle, what options are there for charging an electric vehicle in the complex or nearby? Wow, @“aunt bea” – sounds like your D has had to learn a lot in her condo ownership!
Yep, @HImom, fortunately, she has a backbone and did read the documents, but some were outdated and she pushed to have them updated for new residents. Security knows her well now, as does the board.
We also were surprised by a special assessment to replace all the balconies and railings in a highrise . Seemed like something they could have set aside money for each year but I guess not.
I wonder if condo board meeting minutes ever are available online- it would be useful to know what is being discussed.
“I wonder if condo board meeting minutes ever are available online- it would be useful to know what is being discussed.“
I hope not. If the HOA has them posted online without any security in place - I will recommend passIng that condo… because the HOA is behaving unprofessionally.
That said, a prospective buyer with a serious intent to buy can request these documents and make the offer contingent upon review of these documents. Here, a buyer can get a couple of weeks for such review.
Try to find out the percentage of units that are unoccupied and percentage of owners who are full time residents. What is the policy regarding rentals? Ideally, look for condos where almost all units are full time owner-occupied. Lots of rentals, especially short term rentals, can mean problems.
It’s interesting how the actual living unit itself is less important than these financial and management issues. Well, assuming it’s not noisy, right by the parking lot, etc.