The condominium resource
OwnACondo.com is a condominium resource for all your condo needs. If you're looking to buy a condo, regardless of the area, any where in the United States, OwnACondo.com can help you.
What's a condo resource? A company that's a resource for all your condo needs helps you with buying your condo, selling your condo, financing your condo, insuring your condo, repairing your condo and anything in between. If you want to see the latest and greatest condominium development that's going up down the street, the condo resource would be the website you want to go to. Do you have questions about association fees and special assessments? The condo resource will have that for you as well.
OwnACondo.com is becoming the resource for all your condo needs because that is all it does. It focuses on condominiums each and every day. It's important to get knowledge from a specialist. The condo you buy or sell will probably be the biggest investment item you buy. Why not get information from a specialist in that industry. A condo resource will give you all that you need, plus. What about attorneys to do your condo closing? Wouldn't it be nice to have an attorney to represent you knowing they specialize in condo closings?
Can you imagine selling a condo with a realtor that doesn't specialize? It could be one of the worst moves you could make. Every real estate agent out there has a specialty. They may take your condo listing and say they can sell it, but do they specialize in condos? If you're going to a condo resource, you know that the real estate agent working for them specializes in condos. The whole company specializes in condos.
A condo resource is a great tool for the consumer wanting more knowledge for their investment. It's like going to a website on the heart if you have a heart condition. A condo website geared towards the condo buyer and seller is one of the best things that could've been created. It's a one-stop shop for the consumer. The investor of condos can use the site for getting more information to better prepare him or herself before moving forward. There are so many useful reasons to start first on a condo website before moving forward on your purchase or sale. Check out a condo resource for all your condominium needs. You certainly will not regret it.
Rent to Own Condo
There are a couple of major reasons why someone would want to rent to own a Condo. First, it is an excellent opportunity for cash strapped home buyers to accumulate enough down-payment to purchase a home. Secondly, due to recent economic conditions it is an opportunity to repair some credit issues that will eventually put you in a place to buy a home or condo. There are some areas that need to be considered before you make the leap to homeownership.
What is rent to own and what kind of agreements are needed? Rent to own is in its simplest form is renting a home or condo with the opportunity to purchase at a later date. The lease to own or lease-option agreement is both a lease that allows you to occupy the home and an option that allows you to purchase the home in the future at an agreed upon price. The typical agreement may offer a part of the rent to go toward down-payment or closing costs. For example, $200 a month may be applied toward the down-payment where at the end of the year $2400 has been accumulated towards the purchase.
One other area to be aware of when you are interested in a rent to own a condo is the lease-option is not an obligation to buy. It is an opportunity to purchase with the advantage of a known purchase price and a potential rent credit toward down-payment or closing costs. In most cases if you choose not to purchase the credited rent is usually forfeited to the owner which is a form of compensation to the owner to offer the option.  Remember while you are living in the property the owner cannot sell the property to someone else and remove you from the property so keeping a portion of the credited rent is understandable.
One last area to be aware of when considering a rent to own option is who is responsible for the taxes and insurance. There are also association fees when you rent to own a condo and who is responsible for them while you are leasing. Obviously the owner is responsible for these costs since he or she owns the property and enjoys any tax advantages that come with home ownership. Of course, once you have purchased the condo or home at the end of the lease option term, you will be responsible for the taxes, insurance, and association fees but then the property is yours and the satisfaction of being a home owner.
Managing condos in Chicago
You own a condo, now you want to have it managed. Where is the best place to manage condos in Chicago? OwnACondo.com has an affiliate company called RE Management that specializes in the managing of residential property, especially managing condominiums in Chicago. They have over 4,000 condo units under their belt and have been in the business of managing for well over twelve years.
Managing condos in Chicago properly can be the biggest thing between a profitable investment and one that goes south. The management company plays such a pivotal role in the success of the condo investment. They will first start the search for a tenant for the property. If the tenant fits all the criteria, the condo management company will have a lease signed. Normally the lease runs twelve months.
The typical fees for a company to manage your condo are as follows; there is a fee for collecting monthly rent for the unit. This is roughly 5% to 6% of collected rental income. For instance, let's say the rent is $1,000 a month and $12,000 a year is collected. 5% is $600 for the management company. If the tenant vacates and the unit has to be re-rented, the fee is normally one month's rent. In this example the management company renting the condo would receive the full $1,000. If the condominium needs to be renovated, the management company will oversee the construction and charge typically ten percent of the construction cost. So if the cost for rehabbing the condominium is ten thousand dollars, the management company would make $ 1,000.
One might initially think that these figures may be high, but when you think about having to do all the work yourself, the $2,600 a year may be well worth your time and effort. Secondly, the management company has so many contacts in the industry, that ultimately they can get things done faster and for less money almost making their fees justified because it might cost the same if you have to do it your self.
Managing condos in Chicago is an easy task for a professional but you have to hire the right one. Leaving an investment like real estate in the hands of a bad property manager is the worst decision you could make. Do some background checks on the company you're going to hire and get some references. If a company cannot provide these, move on to the next one.
Chicago Condos
This week we're featuring three new developments under Chicago condos for sale. We have the property known as 9 west Erie Lofts, we're featuring the Emerald Condominiums and lastly, Wrightwood Crossing. All three developments are located in the city of Chicago.
The Chicago condos for sale can be found by doing a condo search of all units available through the Multiple Listing Service. The Multiple Listing Service provides an arena for all real estate companies to advertise their own individual listings. It's great for the consumer because they can go to one place and see all the Chicago condos for sale versus going to every individual real estate office all over the city to see what each office inventory looks likes. The MLS provides you detailed reports of each Chicago condo for sale, the price, location, how many bedrooms, etc.
If you looking to sell a Chicago condo and you'd like to have it advertised on the Multiple Listing Service, you'll need to be represented by a real estate company that's associated with the MLS. Ninety-nine out of one hundred real estate offices are members o the MLS. If you're interested in being in the MLS but do not want to list with a company because you do not want to pay the fees of a real estate firm, there are discounted real estate brokerages that will allow you to list for a small fee opposed to a real estate commission. I've seen many of these places advertise a fee of about $300-$500. They would list the property on the MLS and as calls and showings come in, they leave everything else to you.Â
The Chicago market has really picked up in the second quarter versus the first. Almost two times the Chicago condos are closing in the second half. Many Chicago real estate offices are busy and there's a lot of condo buyers looking to take advantage of the $8,000 tax break that ends on November 30th of this year. If you're one of the many looking to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit break, make sure you start the process of buying your Chicago condominium soon. We're already half way through July and it takes at least a few months to find your perfect Chicago condo. Then you have to finance the condo. That could take roughly thirty days. The best thing to do if you want to take advantage of the tax incentive is to start looking now. Five months will fly by.
Real Estate
Real Estate is crazy nowadays. Foreclosures, short sales, discounts; real estate has never been so much on sale. Across the country there are so many ways to become filthy rich if you can find a way to buy up all the discounted sales. There are developers in trouble. Banks lent many developers huge amounts of money in the beginning of 2000 and it continued through 2006. Then the crash came and these developers were stuck with inventory that not only did not sell, but came down in value. Can you imagine that. What do you think they can do now? The only way for these developers to get out of this situation is to sell the product at a loss...a big loss.
This is one of several reasons why you can buy real estate so cheap right now. As explained above, developers are between a rock and a hard place. They have product that's been sitting there for over three years and now the bank is calling the loan. Even for developers that are making their monthly payments on time, the banks are no longer willing to give them extensions causing a extremely tough situation for them. Who will give them financing? No bank around wants to touch these loans, so they have to go back to their original investors for more capital. Guess what? The investors don't want to come up with more. They already lost enough. What does all this mean? Deep, deep discounts for the buyers. The deals are crazy. I've seen condos that were once going for $1,400,000 now going for $300,000, thirty cents on a dollar.
If you have capital right now, I'd buy real estate and I'd buy up a bunch of it. The foreclosures have hit an all-time high and we're seeing the economy at a low. This is causing people to just dump their real estate at just about any price to survive. You can't be foolish about it and buy just anything, but if you focus on areas that have normally appreciated fast and are in neighborhoods that are always sought after because of their proximities to schools, stores, restaurants and work, you should be great.Â
Real Estate is the play right now for all you investors. The deals are gargantuan. Take advantage now. Five years from now you're going to be a very happy investor. For those who can't, find a friend that can and go in half. You find the deal and be partners.
Hiring Licensed Real Estate Agents
OwnACondo.com is hiring licensed real estate agents to fill many rolls in the company. OwnACondo.com is a full service real estate company specializing in the sale of condominiums nationally. They are head quartered out of Oak Brook, Illinois a western suburb of Chicago. Currently OwnACondo.com has one hundred real estate agents and is expanding into three cities outside Chicago. Their primary targets are Miami, New York and Los Angeles.
If you are a licensed real estate agent looking for a company, OwnACondo.com is looking for part-time and full-time people to fill the positions. OwnACondo.com is unique in that it focuses on a niche in the business. In addition, they provide leads through a number of marketing avenues that generate leads in the thousands annually. OwnACondo.com has been in business since 2000 and has closed well over 4,000 condos. Lastly, the thing that separates OwnACondo.com from many of the national brands is the amount of training they give their agents. They have a World Class Training system that is cutting edge for the real estate industry.
If you're a licensed real estate agent looking to be hired and would like more information about OwnACondo.com, please call the HR department at 877.627.5543.
In addition to selling condos for OwnACondo.com, they additionally rent, finance and insure condos. This leads to additional revenue that can be generated by the real estate agent. There is a division inside OwnACondo.com that purchased condos in distress, condo converts and constructs new condos causing an immense amount of inventory to sell outside what is generated simply by the lead system.
What does all this mean to the real estate agent looking to be hired? Lots and lots of leads. Imagine a company that trains like no one else, hands over daily leads from an incredible lead generation machine and then allows you to sell part of their product inventory below market prices causing easy to sell units. It's a company, that in the end, is very hard to beat.
We're hiring licensed real estate agents in Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and New York. If you fill this need and would like to get more information on the company please email us at BK@OwnACondo.com or call us at 877.627.5543. OwnACondo.com will be able to provide you with what you're looking for to get a quick start out of the gate as a rookie. If you're a season veteran, you'll love the leads.
Managing Chicago Condos
So you own your own condo buy you're looking for someone to manage it. To manage a Chicago condo, management companies typically will charge a fee of five percent of the collected income. Managing Chicago condos is something that is a specialty needed to be done by companies with experience.Â
The management company will start the process of with the owner by going over the goals of the condominium investment. The two parties will determine the length of time of the agreement and an exit strategy for the investment. Once the agreement to manage the condominium is in place, the process for finding a tenant starts. This is where a great experienced management professional is vital. They will sift through dozens of applicants to find the very best condominium tenant. They will do the showing of the unit and conduct the application process.  After they've showed the condo to several possible candidates, they start the application process to go over credit and background checks. Once they've determined the best of the best, they have a lease signed.
Managing the Chicago condo is now about to begin. The tenant moves into the property and will have to understand the by-laws and rules of the property. This will be provided by the condominium management company. Once the tenant has moved in and paid their first month's rent along with a security deposit, the management company is there for any questions that arise. They're also there for any maintenance calls or disturbances that arise at the property. If a leaky pipe ends up bursting, the management company is called.
Now the condo management company has a tenant and all is well for a few months. The owner is happy, the company managing the condo has an income flowing monthly and all is well. As the month ends, the tenant's check does not come in the mail on time. Now what? This is where the management company can really be useful.  They will immediately start a five day notice proceeding and begin the eviction process if they do not get the monthly rent check. If they have to go all the way through an eviction process, this is what they'll do. Once the tenant is out, the process starts all over again to finding the next tenant.
Managing condos in Chicago can be a hassle if you do not find the right company to represent you. Pick an experienced an specialized one and you'll have the best chance of making the most from your condominium investment.
Purchase a Condo in Chicago
So you want to purchase a condo in Chicago but you have no money and you've been renting for seven years. How do you go about owning a condo? Purchasing a Chicago condo without having money is not impossible. There are a few techniques to do this. It may take some time and energy on your part, but if you really want to purchase a Chicago condo, there's always a way.
To purchase a condo in Chicago you'll need a down payment. Typically for a first time buyer of real estate, a down payment is roughly 5% of the purchase price. So if you want to buy a condo for $100,000, you're going to need $5,000. So you say you don't have that amount. There are a few ideas that come to mind immediately. First, you can ask your family, friends or a business associate you may know for a loan. Five thousand dollars is not huge money and you may be able to get the money that way. The second way is to buy the condo with a friend. Let them come in with the down payment, they take 50% of the profits, and you pay the monthly mortgage. This way they are getting a break by not having to pay a monthly fee each month but they get half the profits at the end and free rent. What's in it for you? You own the Chicago condominium, not having to put a dime down on the property. Is this fair? You and your partner decide. There are always variations to this. You could decide to have your friend pay 25% of the mortgage and you pay 75%. You get the idea.
As you can see, already there are a few ideas if you really want to purchase a condominium in Chicago. What if you do not have a lender and you really want to live alone? Have you thought about renting a condo in Chicago with the option to own? A rent-to-own condo program exists today allowing buyers who do not have enough of income initially to buy, to basically save it in installments while renting the Chicago condo. It kills two birds with one stone allowing the landlord to keep his condo rented, you begin to escrow pa portion of your down payment monthly and after a year or so, you have enough money to put down on the condo by yourself.
To purchase a condo in Chicago without having a dollar of your own money may take some ingenuity, but it's definitely possible. I've seen it done hundreds of times.
Condominiums for Sale in Chicago
There are thousands of condominiums for sale in Chicago, but how do you know the best way to go through the selection? Buying a condo can be easy or complex depending on the level of expertise you have in owning a condominium in Chicago. Where do you start? What's an association fee? Who will manage the condo complex? What's the best deal out there right now? How do I know it's the best condo on the market?
The condominiums for sale in Chicago right now are all in varying stages of market time. Market time for condominiums represent the amount of time they've been on the market for sale. This is critical to watch. For instance, if a condominium for sale in Chicago has only been on the market for one week, there's a good chance that the seller is not ready for a discounted offer. They will probably wait things out for at least a few months to see how things will play out before thinking of discounting the Chicago condominium substantially. If you see a Chicago condominium on the market for over one hundred and eighty days you know that there's a problem. Most likely the seller has not priced the condo properly. More importantly, you probably have a situation in front of you that could produce thousands of dollars in savings. We call this the motivated seller.
There are a number of ways to find sellers to sell their Chicago condominiums. Tracking market time is one of them. It's pretty obvious that condos that have been on the market for over one hundred and eighty days are going to be more motivated than the guy that's only tried a week or so. Keep a running list of market time and start digesting it all. Once you see a few condos that have been on the market for at least six months, I'd start keying on these to begin making offers. There are so many condominiums for sale in Chicago, that I'd rather start offering the one's that the sellers are the most motivated saving me a ton of time. Once the ball starts rolling and you've made ten offers on ten condos, you'll start to see who really is most motivated. You'll zero you're pick down to two or three and eventually wind up with a great deal.Â
The condos for sale in Chicago can be sifted through in an organized fashion to ultimately find the deal of a lifetime. Take you time and have fun.
