Buying a Townhouse/Condo

[NaturalChick]

We're moving to Virginia and we'll be looking for a place to buy (first time buyers). Any stories/suggestions about townhouse or condo ownership? I'm so nervous, but excited nonetheless!

[mysteriouspoet]

um...I wish I were you?

[Marie]

I bought a condo and I'm kind of wishing I just bought a house and hired a lawn service. Some things are good.. like the rules. But it's still nice to have your own space.

[Michael]

I agree. I bought a condo about 3 years ago and now I'm kind of wishing I had just bought a house.

Mainly you'll want to become familiar with your association's rules. Also be aware that if an association has low monthly dues you'll be assessed for any large repairs. So if for instance you need a new roof on the buildings and they don't have enough money saved (because fees are low) they'll send you a bill for your share of it. This probably wouldn't be too much of an issue in a newer building though.

[Tame]

To follow up on what Michael said...
Check and see how much of a cash reserve the home ownership association has. This will give you some idea if increased assessments are likely. I would also ask for copies of their meeting minutes for the past year.

[Michael]

I would also suggest going by at night several times, on a weeknight and weekend, check to see if your neighbors are quietly watching television or having a big ol' honkin' party.

[meatless]

We bought a condo/townhouse, mostly because we couldn't afford a freehold townhouse or a single home.

I wish we had more of a yard, but it's not too bad. I like that we don't have to worry about exterior repairs, or a water bill. My condo corp is self-run, and it seems to work out pretty well. We all have a vested interest in keeping costs as low as possible without sacrificing on the quality of the houses.

Try to get a copy of the condo's rules before you make an offer. The first place we almost bought wouldn't let us until after we put in the offer. We discovered there were rules we could not live with (i.e. max. of two cats-- we have three, indoor-only cats who nobody would notice, but we couldn't take the risk), so we had to cancel the offer. READ THEM. Don't just assume it'll all be fine.

[bstutzma]

Same thing happened to us. We made an offer and then got the condo rules (we couldn't get them till we made the offer.) Luckily you get your deposit back if you find something in the rules unacceptable. We found out that the condo fees had been understated by 50%! That was reason enough for us to high tail it out of there. I'm quite happy in my apartment till the market crashes, thank you very much.

[meatless]

We made our offer contingent on our acceptance of the condo's rules and regulations, giving ourselves full leverage to back out if we didn't like them for any reason (and we didn't even have to state our reason, although we did). We had a good real estate agent. :)

[Marie]

Make sure they take care of all the yard work. The reason I moved into a condo is so I wouldn't have to deal with the outside.. I just spent the afternoon spreading woodchips. Grr.

[NaturalChick]

I'm back everyone! Thanks for your suggestions. We looked at numerous condos and saw some of the things you've mentioned. Why would we get all excited about the tennis court if there are cracks in it with grass growing out of them, but we have to pay $150/month for it's maintainance?? I have no idea! We saw some poor upkeep, that's for sure. We ended up buying a cute little red brick, ranch style house close to downtown in a nice quiet neighborhood for only slighly more than the condos. :) We are so excited!!!

[Marie]

Congrats :)

[meatless]

I'm back everyone! Thanks for your suggestions. We looked at numerous condos and saw some of the things you've mentioned. Why would we get all excited about the tennis court if there are cracks in it with grass growing out of them, but we have to pay $150/month for it's maintainance?? I have no idea! We saw some poor upkeep, that's for sure. We ended up buying a cute little red brick, ranch style house close to downtown in a nice quiet neighborhood for only slighly more than the condos. :) We are so excited!!!

Congrats. :)

see it really depends on the market. Where I am, it would cost me nearly double the cost of our condo townhouse to buy a house like you've described close to downtown.