Buying a Condo - The Biggest MISTAKES When Purchasing a Condominium

Buying a Condo - The Biggest MISTAKES When Purchasing a Condominium

Real estate agent and Arlington VA Realtor Matt Leighton talks about the 7 biggest mistakes that condo buyers make when buying a condo. Whether you are a first time home buyer or you are a seasoned real estate investor, the goal of this video is to provide you with tips and tricks when buying a condo so you have the best experience possible.

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Buying a Condo tips - The 7 biggest mistakes when purchasing a condominium:

0:37. 1. Not understanding renovation rules. As a condo owner, you will own everything from the "walls-in". Although you are the owner, there still may be restrictions on what renovations you can and can't do. Items like load-bearing walls, plumbing, and electrical work may limit your renovation plans. If you're planning on doing a significant remodel of a condo as soon as you move in, reach out to the condo management office to confirm your plans are possible.

1:32. 2. Not viewing the parking spot. Most 1 bedroom condos will come with one spot and most two-bedroom condos will come with one or even two parking spots. But a mistake that a lot of first time home buyers are making is that they are not seeing their parking spot until the date of closing. Your spot could be located very far away from your unit, or even worse, the spot could be labeled a "compact" spot and the spot could be too small for your vehicle. Before writing your offer on any condo for sale, be sure you tour the parking spot.

3:20. 3. Not knowing the percentage of owner-occupied units. Before buying a condo, you want to have a broad understanding of the owner-to-renter ratio. This is important for two reasons: 1. it can be more difficult to get financing when the owner-to-renter ratio is around or under 50%. The reason being is because absentee owners (rentals) are more likely to default on the loan compared to owner-occupied units. The second reason you want a high owner-to-renter ratio is that your quality of life will be better with more owners. Owners oftentimes will take better care of the unit and community since they have actually purchased the property, compared to a renter that may only be there for a year or two years.

4:31. 4. Not learning about an upcoming special assessment. A special assessment is a fee levied on homeowners in a condo association to pay for an unexpected repair or deferred maintenance. You can potentially find out about a special assessment by asking the listing agent, asking the condo management, or by reading the condo docs (re-sale disclosure) once you are Under Contract on the condo.

7:28. 5. Not being aware of the pet policy. Some condos do not permit pets, others allow as many pets as you would like, and of course, there are many policies in between that dictate the size, number, breed, and type of pet allowed in a condo community.

8:29. 6. Not checking for FHA/VA approval. If you are going the FHA or VA loan route when buying a condo, you want to be sure that the condominium is actually approved for this type of loan. Ask your local real estate agent or ask your local loan officer.

9:18. 7. Not understanding condo fees. Condo fees are usually paid monthly and they can range from $100 - $1,000+. The fees will go towards operating expenses, amenities and the Reserve Fund. When judging one community versus another, it's important to learn about everything the condo fee provides so that you have a full picture of the value of each individual community.

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Matt Leighton - Arlington VA Real Estate Agent
Matt [at] Orange Line Condo dot com
Century 21 Redwood Realty
1934 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201

[kaml.]

The biggest mistake I ever made was not looking up the reputation of the condo developers. Most of them declared bankruptcy as soon as all the condos were sold effectively making their warantee null and void. My experience has been costly!

[Texas_Made_]

4:30 YES YES !!! Me and my two neighbors by me all own and we have our own little "click" lol..we look out for eachother and definitely are super cautious of activity within the complex...and parking is a HUGE deal because I drive for work and I'm always randomly coming home at different times so I'm glad I have 1 covered spot(under the port) and 1 uncovered! Also the pet policy is a MUST for me always since I always had dogs(before when i was renting), they have a policy no more than 2 dogs. Size limit has been stretched lol. I'm also very picky when it comes to the layout of the unit like having my own personal restroom inside the master bedroom and having the guest bathroom in the hallway so guest don't have to walk through my room. As far as fees go, I just pay maintenance fee and my taxes which are both decent, and I don't pay for water or gas!

[JeffLeighton]

always look at several condos (i.e. minimum of 10 but ideallly 25+) before buying one too, especially if its your first one.

[annaholt]

I'm in the midst of decision-making 🤔
Condo? Sounds ideal for me after living in my home. No more maintenance!! Now I realize there are other major considerations.
Thank you!

[gthebron]

The condos in the area im looking at may be cheaper than most townhomes list price, but the condo fees are so astronomical, that it takes the mortgage from affordable to not worth purchasing.

[lisarae]

Questions are condo fees and HOA not the same? Also, do you have any updated videos of condos in Arlington and/or surrounding cities?

[GuitarsRgood]

Thanks for all the useful tips! I'm really considering buying a condo, and I've been watching your videos today.

[WhitneyStylez]

In Houston I’ve seen condo fees up to $1900!

[amazaan]

Excellent video! I have been your fan for long. Regarding HOA i see some condo has almost fee like $1900 for price of $450000 but some in Brooklyn similar price range condo’s in other neighborhoods has HOA fee of $ 200-300( I am from Brooklyn) Why such drastic differences? Is it due possible special assessments. How can i make sure condo association has decent and sound finance before buying? And it will be a value trap for me and difficult to sell in future. Most condominium i see don’t look at buyers financial condition as throughly as otherwise a COOP but if one occupant condo falters in mortgage or causes harm to Condo overall harm due to being irresponsible or accident. Then what happens to other owners? How is other owners protected or even from crime/violations that occurs other units that reduces overall appeal and value of your units? Please kindly explain. Thanks 🙏

[ASH-sekr]

I’m looking for a Condo to buy, but since I have no experience I wanna ask how much I can make monthly clear if I’m renting it ?if hire property management and gross monthly income is about 1500$? I wanna know what the expenses, thx

[wildwest]

eh id rather have a low condo fee and pay for stuff myself vs group it into a fee and spread it out among everyone. Houses dont share an internet fee for good reasons lol.

[Reid-yynw]

#1 When a new owner takes 5 months to renovate, make that completely rip out the unit above yours, and you loose total use of your own place everyday from 7AM to 7PM with JACKHAMMERS, do you have TO TAKE IT? What could a lawyer STOP? #2 Can a lawyer get any unit owner out of paying the monthly HOA FEE when the Board and Association DO NOT enforce the original restrictions and property rules violated by unit owners? Any rights for the INNOCENT?

[nicholasminor]

Is the monthly condo fee different than the HOA fee?

[halfvolley]

just buy a small car - if you are living in a big city where people live in condos - why buy an SUV ?

[flashoflight]

Anyone actually happy with their condo after two years?

[Man_of_culture_]

I’ve never heard of a fish that barks, what’s wrong with you dude?

[djangogeek]

make sure to take a look at your assigned parking spot if any.
Make sure to take a look at the owner occupancy rate.
Find out if there are any upcoming special assessments.
- Ask condo management, real estate agents, or read contract disclosure
Read pet policy
Check Govt loan policy
Check condo fees

[MrAwesomeAMV]

Do you think you could make a video about a check list of things you should definitely do before buying a condo.

[PutlerHuyIo]

How to avoid condos with crazy/loud neighbors? Imagine moving in only to find out upstairs kids are running around 24/7 and an alcoholic next door yelling at her husband every night.

[BodyworkASMR]

As someone that has a 60g fish tank, I took that personally. hahaha