Is condo association living right for you? Consider the following:
Amenities you'll want: Many of the newer condo associations development offer a pool as well as health and exercise facilities. If they do offer them, you'll pay a higher condo association fee so decide if they're really a benefit to you. This will be your home so choose a community that fits your lifestyle. Consider things like children, pets, parking spaces and the developments location to surrounding communities.
ADA compliant: Do you currently need or will you need disability access to your unit and common areas? There are many condominiums that are high-rise that might mean many trips up and down stairs if they don't include an elevator to get to the higher floors.
Security: Check the level of the condo association security being maintained by the development. If you are elderly or you have children, then security needs to be high on your list of priorities. Check out the lighting and see if there are security cameras in use at all times. Burglars don't like lights and cameras.
Condo association fees: Ask what they currently collect each month and more importantly what increases are planned? Remember when you pay this condo fee you're paying to maintain all the buildings in the complex, the insurance, any landscaping, the security and even administrative costs.
Insurance: Your association fee should cover the condo association insurance on the physical structure, make sure you ask this. You as the owner of a unit will typically be responsible for insuring your own personal items maintained within your unit.
Financing: The condo association rules governing the condo financing on condos can be complex depending on the condo developer and the association's rules. Once a condo development has passed the new financing guidelines as directed by Fannie Mae and FHA each unit in the complex is treated and financed just the same as a single family residence.
Condo association living can be just the right decision for your current lifestyle but it isn't for everyone. It is a good choice if you're looking for convenience, little to no maintenance and value. Think about how you currently live, what your household is like today and look five years down the road, where do you see yourself? Maybe, living in a condo really does make sense.
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