Know your association

Before buying a condominium, it pays to get to know your neighbors, especially the home owners association (HOA). First of all, find out how much their building dues are and how many times it has gone up in the past five years or so. Ask to see a copy of their building regulations. Some HOAs are very basic and only enforce restrictions on how many people can live in a unit and other safety and security measures, while some even control what sort of Christmas decorations you can put up.

Ask how large the HOA’s reserve funds (used to pay for maintenance and emergency repairs on the building) are. The larger the reserve, the less a chance of an assessment or one-time payment to chip in for an unexpected expense. The smaller the reserve, the greater the chance you’ll be billed for a building repair in the near future. Some states require periodic updates of reserves to be published to HOA members.

Monthly fees

One of the cons of condominium living is the monthly fee that you need to pay to the homeowners’ association for the general upkeep and maintenance of the building, and in some cases, for the ongoing mortgage or debt incurred when the building was constructed.  Before buying a condo, make sure you find out exactly what the monthly fee covers, and if there are any quarterly, semi-annual, or annual payments to be made. Do the fees include the following?

• utilities
• cable TV
• internet
• heating
• security
• cleaning of the parking areas and other common areas
• maintenance of the building itself (or are owners expected to contribute to emergency funds if maintenance is urgently needed?)

Some Benefits of Getting a Condo

Many buyers consider condominiums as a major investment, and rightly so. Since majority of condos are located right in the middle of bustling cities, the value of condos appreciate when the economy booms. While the same goes true for just about any property, condominiums are particularly lucrative as their location and amenities greatly influencing the renting and selling value.

And because of condos are located in highly strategic locations, residents would be able to enjoy the luxury of having just about everything at arm’s reach. They get to have access to the basic necessitates and a lot more as bigger cities are more often than not more fully equipped compared to smaller towns.

Singer’s Former Condo Goes Platinum

THE Time Warner Center was New York’s premier development when it opened a few years ago, and it has come a long way since.

Back in 2004, Ricky Martin, the pop star, bought a new apartment on the 65th floor of the south tower for $6.8 million.

The apartment is a four-bedroom condominium with 65 linear feet of floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Central Park and Columbus Circle, and Mr. Martin sold it in September 2006 for $9.75 million. He pocketed a 30 percent gain.

Since then, he paid about $6.3 million for a condo in another new development, at 40 Bond Street.

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Common areas

These are the usual common spaces in a condominium building that are free for all residents to use. Remember to observe the Golden Rule when in these locations, out of respect for your neighbors. Some good tips are to keep these areas as clean as you would your own personal unit, keep your voices down when in these areas, and never block them with your possessions.

• front stairs
• grounds and lawns
• lobby and reception
• staircases
• hallways
• elevators
• parking floors
• storage areas
•  swimming pools, gyms, workout and recreation rooms
• roof top or viewing deck

Is High Rise Condo Living Right for You? (Part 3)

Read this information before buying!

Parking: In order to accommodate the required number of parking spaces for a high rise condo development, parking is commonly built underground. Generally, at least one underground parking space comes with the purchase of a condo. However, some buildings allow an owner to purchase, sell, or lease out additional parking spaces that may be desired by the other residents. Don’t forget to make sure that the luxury high rise condo project you are considering purchasing in has adequate parking for your guests, preferably close to the elevator and/or close to your unit.

Pets: Thinking about moving into a luxury high rise condo development with your 100 pound Pitbull named Conan? – not likely going to happen! Most buildings do allow domestic pets but have rules against exotic pets – no Snakes in a High Rise! With dogs, there will likely be restrictions on size and sometimes even breed. If you have a dog, make sure that either the condo development has adequate green space to walk your 40lb. or less ‘best friend’ or that there is a park close by. The last thing you want is to have to walk your dog 10 blocks to the park on a toasty 115 degree August afternoon!

Source:  scottsdale-az-condos.com

Is High Rise Condo Living Right for You? (Part 2)

Read This Information Before Buying!

HOA: HOA fees for high rise condos work similar to other HOA’s that you may be familiar with. The dues are paid monthly to cover landscaping, building maintenance, blanket insurance, & reserves. However, in luxury high rise condos, the HOA fee can also cover luxury amenities such as concierge, valet, wine storage, limo transportation, high-end fitness center, & even maid services. The total HOA monthly dues will vary depending on the age of the building, the number of residents, & what’s included in the monthly fee. Before purchasing, also be sure to inquire about both any pending special assessments as well as confirm that they HOA reserve fund is adequate.

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Home Prices Rise Slightly – Still Not Enough

The rise in home prices has given renewed hope to the ailing housing market that has suffered a great deal, victims of this widespread economic recession. The effects of this economic turmoil are so much that the time it took for it to stabilize (the much expected rock-bottom process), that most gains in the area are still overtaken by the sheer amount of damage caused by months of downwards trends.
The housing market is yet to experience the end of the slump that has cost many jobs, and as other areas of the economic machine sheds more jobs, less people can afford homes so the future is still quite hazy for most in the housing industry, indeed.

Rental Rates Fall in Most Metro Areas

The housing market is still in a slump but a very interesting event is happening in many metro areas, rental rates are going down.
This is due to the fact that so many people have lost jobs that once crowded city centers, brimming with office workers and professionals are now mostly void of their previous congested self. And jobs are still being lost, as more and more companies fight to save themselves from bankruptcies, trimming down workforces by the thousands. No jobs means the demand for rental properties are at their lowest ever.
The end of this recession isn’t in sight yet, and many are basing their hopes on jobs, more of it means an improving economy that is enticing companies to once again open their doors to the many jobless folks out there.

Greening the Condo’s of Today

One of the easiest way to go green is to rid your condo of the old inefficient incandescent and halogen bulbs that were the norm of days gone by. Replacing them with more energy efficient CFL’s or even LED bulbs are the best way to save on electricity which is one of the most polluting vices of our technology driven world.
Want to go a step further? Why not convince the condo association to undertake either solar or wind turbine power generation projects to serve some of the building’s electrical needs. They can provide power to the building’s lighting or other more used facilities like the gym or something else. The re-greening of the city needs all of us to do our part, the smallest things making bigger changes possible.
The giant redwoods of the forests begin with the tiniest of seeds, a trickle of water from a faucet becomes a torrent when you consider the thousands of ill maintained faucets the world over. A little goes a long way and all change begins with the smallest and most obscure ideas, crazy even. Doing your part is your obligation and while you’re at it, why not convince them to adopt waterless urinals too for the public use toilets. Go green is the norm of today, as we strive to make the earth last a little bit longer for your children and your children’s grandchildren.