By Katherine Shubert
When it comes to buying a condo I feel that there are some aspects of the sale that might be overlooked. Today I would like to focus on more than just getting the right price, good resale prognosis, location and more than one bathroom as a must-have. After all, this is a buyer’s market so the only thing that is left to do here is to find the truly very best. For you, that is. So if you want to save some money on headache medicine and enjoy carefree living in your fabulous condo/townhouse, try to find out as much as possible on these topics in advance.
The financial condition of the Homeowner Association.
Is there a reserve? A healthy cash reserve available makes the homeowners better protected in case an expensive repair becomes necessary. Is there any special assessment being anticipated? How about a foreclosure or short sale pending? Usually, if homeowners fall behind on a mortgage payment they also stop paying the association dues which might have to be made up by the other owners.
Percentage of owner occupancy.
Are you one of a few owners who live in their unit when everybody else rents? If so, you might have a hard time to enforce any improvements and updates to the common areas. Tenants may be lacking the pride of ownership ingredient since they live there only temporarily. The absent owners are typically interested in the best return on investment and avoiding any additional expenses. In addition, some lenders refuse to issue a loan for the new buyer if more than 25% of the units are rented out. Now, on the flip side, do you really want to buy your condo if there is a rental restriction? Perhaps you too in a couple of years would like to move and keep your unit as an investment condo.
Who manages the property?
It costs more to hire a professional management company to run the complex but it might save money in the long run. Professional managers negotiate better for services because they usually represent a large number of complexes. Keep in mind that your unit’s resale value depends a lot on the way the complex has been managed.
In the end, buying a condo is like buying any other property. There will be some things you’ll love about it and some things that you can live without. I hope that you’ll find these few tips helpful.
If you have a question or come across a condo related issue you'd like more information about, do not hesitate to contact me at 773-517-4411 or katherine@ownacondo.com
By Anthony Caciopo
Like it or not, credit scores impact many areas of our lives beyond just financial considerations. Credit scores are sometimes evaluated by insurance providers and even employers these days. Keeping one's score in the best shape possible is more important than ever. Even if you have no immediate desire to obtain a loan or additional credit, keep up your score. It's vital.
Your credit score can be managed, and managed well. Sure, having lots of money to pay off every bill well ahead of time is one way to ensure you keep a great credit score, but let's see a show of hands among us all who can do that these days. Bueller? Bueller?
Effective credit score management takes time. Nothing happens overnight. Start by obtaining copies of your report from the three primary credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Steer clear of certain consumer services which will provide a report from only one of the agencies, or an averaged or distilled version of all three. AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site sponsored by all three credit reporting agencies mentioned above. It allows consumers to check for free once per year.
After obtaining your credit reports, employ these tips to raise your score:
- Check the reports for accuracy. Credit reports are highly interesting, detailed documents. They might contain mistakes. Review everything, including your birthdate, social security number, names of accounts, credit cards, duplicate items, etc.
- Report errors. Credit bureaus are required by law to investigate mistakes you bring to their attention and report back to you.
- Pay your bills on time. Yep, you knew there was going to be at least a little heavy lifting in these tips, didn't you? Well, here it is. There's no magic bullet or shortcut to a lot of basic things in life, and keeping current with your bills is simply the best way to be financially responsible and increase your credit score.
- Pay down your debts. Don't be too close to the limit on your credit cards. Lenders look at this and may judge you to be near the edge financially.
- Keep credit cards and other revolving accounts open. That may seem counter-intuitive, but closing old accounts you're not using won't help your credit scores and may, in fact, hurt them. And from a lender's perspective, if you are carefully and wisely using various credit cards, without maxing them out or being delinquent in your payments, it speaks volumes about your ability to manage your finances.
If you're looking to purchase a place to live, be it a condo, townhouse or single family home, and you need financing, take that credit report to a lender for a look-see. Lenders will probably be required by their in-house rules to pull their own version of your credit reports in order to make any official committement to you, but generally speaking they can at least use the reports you supply to give you a general idea where you stand and perhaps prompt some additional tips and conversation that can help you. Also, be sure your credit reports are no more than 30 days old. Beyond that, they will be relatively useless, except for your own information.
With your credit reports in hand, you now have knowledge, and knowledge is power. Your credit score is important. Manage it well.
By Anthony Caciopo
A routine correspondence between our Customer Care Department and a person browsing our website led to an interesting thought about that classic old real estate axiom of "location, location, location."
Kyle O. registered for a search on OwnACondo.com and left us a comment stating that he is looking for rental condos under a certain price per month. Our customer care manager asked for a general idea of where Kyle would like to live, and Kyle replied via email:
"I know this sounds vague, but I am willing to look anywhere that gives me the most bang for my buck. I will need a reasonable commute from any location as I work on Randolph/Wells. The areas I was initially interested in were Lakeview, UIC area, and Lincoln Park. With that said, if a unit in Evanston provides me a better situation I will gladly look into that. "
We thanked Kyle for his reply and have already gotten to work on his behalf. We didn't find any difficulty whatsoever with Kyle's description. He has a wide range of interesting and desirable communities, and we should be able to hook him up without problem. But beyond the locations he specified, what we heard especially loud and clear was his stipulation that he is "willing to look anywhere that gives me the most bang for my buck."
Value has always been important to consumers, of course. But currently, we've noticed more and more consumers demand the very best deal possible, whether they are renting or buying real estate. Obvious? Sure, but that wasn't necessarily the case just a few short years ago, when buyers were grabbing properties at top-dollar prices, often not daring to make an offer less than asking price for fear of being passed up by someone else who was willing to pay more.
We understand and we can help, because we're not only in the business of real estate, but we're consumers, too, and a desire for the best possible value is never far from our minds.
