Condo living can be good for the environment, requires less maintenance, and can increase security/community. Smaller spaces and sharing heat reduces your carbon footprint (assuming you pay attention to that kind of thing). You don’t have to vacuum common area carpets, shovel snow, or cut grass. The garbage is taken away down your chute, and your condo fees cover most of your utilities. You also have the benefit of living in close proximity to others for added security.
Of course, there are some cons to condo living as well, most of it tied up in the condo fees. Condo fees cover maintenance and bills for the condo. The thing with fees is that they can go up and down depending on need. The condo board can rule to increase fees to cover unforeseen maintenance/repair, or to establish a larger reserve fund.
Condo buyers sometimes forget to factor in the monthly fees in their living expenses. But let’s assume you don’t make this basic mistake, how can you ensure that getting into a codo is a safe investment?
Before purchasing a condo ensure you do your due diligence.
Every condo board has minutes, and every board will provide assessments to your realtor. You’ll want to ensure that there are no special assessments that the building is currently or going to enact. You’ll also want to talk to existing condo dwellers to see if there’s rumors of upcoming maintenance that maybe your reports don’t mention.
Once you’re locked into your condo you’ll be responsible for all future rulings by th eboard to maintain and repair anything that requires fixing.
So buyer beware, do your homework and save the heartache and hit on your wallet.