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Even if it is your first time to buy a condo or a home, you should not get the short end of the stick. With good information, you can land yourself a good condo that will meet your dreams perfectly. Buying a Verde condo is different from buying a home and offers quite a unique experience.
That is why you need to bear these 10 tips in mind:
You Need a Realty Attorney
A real estate attorney can help the wheels of the transaction move a bit faster. Besides, even if you do not hire one, the other side will hire one. One of the most important reasons for hiring an attorney is to explain the whole process to you, and to check out details like the size of the reserve fund and how it is managed. If a condo reserve fund is too small, it could mean that the condo fees will hit the roof soon. This fund is used for roof repairs, pavements and other major services.
Get Pre-approved First
Whatever you do, get pre-approved first because most mortgage companies and lending institutions do not allow their loan to be used on buying condos. Instead of doing all that groundwork only to end up not approved, it would be better to be preapproved first and then get to the footwork later.
Work With a Real Estate Agent
From knowing the neighborhoods to knowing where the best condo location is, a real estate agent spends each day doing what they do – searching and listing homes. Thus, they will be in a much better position to find the best condo for you. Of course, they charge a fee for this, but it will make your work so easy at the end of the exercise. Besides, you also want a real estate agent to find you a condo in a place that attracts buyers, just in case you have to sell in future.
Find Out How the Condo is Managed
Because of the closed neighborhood with many people living together, it can be quite frustrating to live in a condo that is not well maintained. While most condos contract outside companies to do the maintenance jobs, some condos require residents to help in the upkeep. Even if a management company has been contracted, read about it, know whether it has a good reputation.
Find Information First
Buying anything for the first time requires that you be fully informed. Thus, know what to expect from a condo by reading up as much information as you find about it. That way, you will know whether it is the right home to buy.
Assess Your Needs First
Think about why you need a condo so that you can be able to choose the best one. If you have a family, you want a condo in a building that has many families. If you are 50 years and older, you want a condo community that has people of similar age if not older. Once you have made up your mind that a condo is perfect for your needs, go for one.
Know the Amount of Condo Association Fees That You Will Pay
Know how much in condo association fees you will pay and when you will be required to pay it. Usually, the fees are paid monthly, but in some condos, you will find they are paid on quarterly, half year or on a yearly basis.
Know What the Condo Association Fees Do
You now understand that there will be fees to pay. You can ask how those fees are going to be used. When there are roof repairs, pavement repairs and any other groundwork, the fees cater for such. Thus, buying a condo is not enough because you still have to foot the association fees every month.
Read The Condo Regulations
Condo rules, like any other rules are made to help maintain peace within the community, seeing as many people from different backgrounds will be living together. Read the rules before buying the condo so that you know whether you can live with them. For example, some condo rules prohibit keeping pets.
Get a Full Disclosure of Any Planned Special Assessment
If there is going to be a special assessment in future where condo owners have to pay fees for the condo structure repair or such other big repair, the association fees could be raised. If you know there will be this kind of assessment soon after you buy your condo, you would maybe move on to look for another one.
Conclusion
Knowing and applying these tips should help you buy your first condo without much hassle or confusion. If you are from Los Angeles, condo sale is a great place to start your search for your dream condo. If you are more specifically looking for a condo in Santa Monica, you can check out condo for sale in Santa Monica. Los Angeles has to be one of the popular locations to own a condo. Due to high price of regular homes, buying a condo can be an affordable option for you in Los Angeles.
