A Chicago Condo Company
What is a Chicago Condo Company? How do they differ from a brand real estate agency we’ve all heard of? A condo company is a real estate organization that focuses on condos only. But why a condo only company? What will they do different? A Chicago condo company functions exactly like a normal real estate organization except they sell condominiums versus selling any style real estate that comes through their doors.
Let’s take an example of having a sore shoulder. What type of doctor are you going to see? You’re not going to go see an eye doctor, that’s for sure. That’s the idea here. You would look up a doctor that specializes in this area. It makes all the sense in the world. Sore shoulder, shoulder doctor, bad eyes, eye doctor, sell or buy a condo, condo company.
How do real estate companies exist generalizing and not focusing on one niche in the business? It’s been this way for so long that the general public really doesn’t know any better. The idea of having a company that does nothing but focus on condos doesn’t exist on a national scale. The consumer goes on line or down the block to the neighborhood agency. But times are changing. A condo company is needed and needed badly. This is a volatile market. It’s important that real estate agents really understand all the facets of condo ownership, condo association law, condo financing and the condo market. They have to be on their toes understanding if an association running the condominium complex is under budget or over budget or if the association is funded enough for a crisis situation or is possibly on the brink of bankruptcy.
Having a condo company real estate brokerage specializing in this is good for the consumer. That’s who it benefits. In the end, the condo company will be limited in that it onl sells condominiums, but just like KFC that sells chicken, when you specialize at something, you get really good at it. A condo company sells condos. A real estate company that doesn’t specialize is something to truly look at if you want to place your investment in their hands. There are always real estate agents in an organization that may specialize in one area of a metropolitan area or one type of real estate. This ultimately is good, but wouldn’t it be nice if the entire company did nothing but sold condos and you were selling a condo?
A Condo Brokerage
For those of you that do not know us, we are OwnACondo.com. We’re a company that started out as a small condo brokerage representing our first developer that decided to convert a 30 unit apartment building on the South side of Chicago. It was all very innocent. A condo brokerage, what’s that? You mean you represent only condos? Why is that?
A condo brokerage that decided to get involved at a high level of condo only representation in an industry that represents every thing that has a brick and some mortar attached to it. But why condos? Condominiums instead of houses. Everyone like homes and you’re going to only represent condos? Are you crazy? And then the second project started in Oak Lawn, Illinois. It was a small 30 unit as well. Time continued, the projects got bigger and a few years later, OwnACondo.com was selling hundreds of condo units annually.
Then word got out. Who is this “OwnACondo’com� Where are they from? They must be some Multiple Listing Service or something like that. I see their billboards everywhere was the ring we were hearing. Easy for that to be said when you put your condo only brokerage name on 400 billboards all over Chicago. Then the name appears on the Right field wall of the Chicago White Sox. Oh boy, they must be for real. What’s this OwnACondo.com really all about. Let’s call them and see if they can sell our condo know one seems to be able to sell.
The calls started to come in droves. A condo brokerage representing only condos. I like that. Maybe I’ll sell my condo through them. They seem to have their stuff together. Do they actually have Realtors that represent them or are they some internet thing? We’ve heard a lot of things like that. No, we actually have people that work for us we tell them. And those “people†do one thing. They sell condos. Lots and lots of Chicago condos, New York Condos, Miami and Los Angeles condos.
But why a condo brokerage only? Because it makes lots and lots of sense. Their Realtors are the best in the World at selling condos. They sell condos all day long. Condominium after condominium.Â
When will the whole World know about them? It’s coming. In fact, it’s right around the corner. A few years from now, everyone will know who OwnACondo.com is. It’s just a matter of time.
Chicago Condo Company
Is there really such a thing as a Chicago Condo Company? What does this term mean? Well, the answer is yes. There is one company in town that does one thing. Sell Condos. OwnACondo.com is a premier real estate firm out of Oak Brook, Illinois that sell condos for people that need to move condominiums fast. They are a dedicated group of passionate people focused on selling condos like no one else. OwnACondo.com has over 85 real estate agents that focus on all aspects of the condominium. They sell suburban Chicago condos, downtown Chicago condos and everything in between. OwnACondo.com will be expanding in 2009 to Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Eventually, OwnACondo.com will be in over 50 cities across the United States and Canada.Â
What’s the big deal about a Chicago condo company that just sells condos? Can you imagine anyone better to represent your condo than a Realtor that just sells condos? Every buyer that calls OwnACondo.com is looking to buy a condo. Imagine a company that gets over 50 calls a day, 1500 calls a month to buy real estate. And the only type of real estate they want to buy is a condominium in Chicago. And you have a condo for sale in Chicago. Get the picture?Â
There’s a reason why specializations work in business. They focus all their energy on one thing making them better than anyone else in that industry. We’ve seen it in the medical profession with doctors. There are pediatricians, optometrists, heart specialists, chiropractors, foot doctors…I could go on and on. The real estate market needs companies to get hyper focused on one area of the business.
Imagine going to a Walmart and buying a bike for your kid. No big deal. A bike’s a bike. Imagine buying a bike for an Olympic gold medalist hopeful. You’re going to get the best bike there is and it won’t be at Walmart. You’ll look for a bike store that specializes on the best. Now think of your real estate transaction. Possibly it will be the highest dollar transaction of your life. Wouldn’t you want a specialist to handle the most important financial transaction of your life?
Choose a Chicago condo company if you’re going to buy or sell a condo. If you’re really ready to make a move, a niche is the way to go.
Condos
Boy, did condos catch on. When the word condominium was introduced in the real estate market place in the late sixties, no one really understood it. I remember as a seven year old kid, going through my first so called condominium with neighbor friends of mine. Today, condominiums are built in every major metropolitan area of the country. They are international as well.
The great concept to condominiums is you’re able to enjoy the benefits of real estate ownership without all the hassle of maintenance. In condo living, you’re the owner of everything within your four walls. You own that space along with a percentage of the common areas as well, such as the pool, the landscaping, parking lot, etc. Each month there are fees called “association fees†that each condo owner has to pay to handle the expenses of the condominium complex. They involve the electric to light the condo complex, the heat, the garbage removal, long term maintenance, short term maintenance, hallway cleaning and a host of others.Â
The way the condo association fees are estimated is by taking the expenses from the previous year and adding an additional 5%. Then they take that total and divide it by twelve months giving a monthly total for expenses. Then they divide that total among the condo owners based on their percentage of space owned in the building. This figure will be the month association expense you will pay in the complex. If the complex expenses exceed what is estimated for a year, there will be what is called a special assessment that all owners will have to pay in to. This will happen on occasions and you’ll need to be aware of this. Once in a while, you’ll find that a major component of the building needs to be replaced like a boiler heating system and there is not enough of money to cover this in the association reserve. This will also be invoiced to you as a special assessment and you’ll be obligated to pay your portion of it based on the percentage of ownership you have in the complex.
It may sound dangerous to buy in to a condominium not knowing what might happen with all the what if’s, but as long as the property is managed decently, the chances of you benefiting by being an owner of real estate is much higher than that you having a negative situation of having to pay more into the complex than what it’s worth.
