Condo Living

Buying and living in a condominium community has both benefits and drawbacks. Less maintenance and worry about upkeep of your yard or landscaping to having to deal with grumpy or hard to live with neighbors. This is why purchasing a condo in the right community for you and your family is so important.

Condo communities can be as different as night and day. Some have strict rules, while others are lax in their enforcement along with variances in the cost to the association. Some have minimal costs while some others may have pretty large fees, don't forget the fee hikes if they ever need to assess for future improvements.

Some questions you may want to research before buying a condo:

• What is the financial health of the community? You should find this information in the HOA's Resale Certificate you receive for your review. Check to see if there are adequate funds in reserve. A reserve fund is held for large future repairs, such as replacing roofs, drives, sidewalks, and pools. The condo board must be charging an adequate amount every month to keep this reserve fund in pace with inflation. 
• Find out if they allow you to rent out your unit. One day you may find that yourself needing or wanting to move and possibly rent your condo instead of selling. Many communities are very renter friendly however, others may strictly prohibit non-owner occupied units. You'll also want to know the percentage of tenant-occupancy, this will come into play if you ever decide to sell your condo it may not qualify for certain financing as well as a possibly of usual rental complaints.
• What is the turnover rate of the community. Are owners settling for years or selling after a short hold? Settling for years may indicate that they favor the community. 
• Research to see if the the condo board is involved in any sort of litigation, meaning are they being sued by a former resident. Conversely, is there any litigation they are pursuing against any current or past residents? These kinds of questions can give you a real feel for the tone of the community. 
• Be sure to ask about the bylaws and restrictions of the property. While you may have your heart on painting your unit purple, pink or blue or having a garden or doing your own landscaping the condo board may have other ideas. Will they allow for certain upgrades or improvements to your unit? 

In retrospect, living in a condo community can be a wonderful experience. They can be easy and low maintenance as well as a great social & family hub. Just be sure to do a little more research when you're in the market to buy to be sure you purchase in the perfect community for you and your family.

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Source: Realtytimes.com