Smart Tips for Condo Buyers

While viewing condos with buyer clients, encourage them to walk throughout the complex. Have them pay close attention to unit locations as they pertain to sunlight (which could impact utility bills), neighbors, and noise (from a pool, street, or highway). Consider access to local amenities and good schools. Look at the long-term impact of planned city improvements and growth patterns.

Compare new and used condos with luxury units. And review amenities and home owner’s association (HOA) fees. But adding fees to a hefty mortgage might be deal breaker, so outline on paper the amenities, conveniences, and luxury items included in the dues.

“The fees don’t seem as startling when inclusions are broken down,” Mistretta says.

Taylor suggests looking for a complex in which you would buy and recommend that product to condo buyers.

With the selection process complete, we recommends a trip to the management office or law firm representing the building to access financial statements, condominium documents and declarations, and the public offering statement, which outlines the Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions (CC&Rs). CC&Rs dictate how the HOA operates and outlines ownership rules and regulations.

Look for undisclosed assessments and pending fees, research changes in the budget, voting rules, regulations, and bylaws. And clarify shared responsibility for common areas. Verify parking spaces and storage locker numbers. Check restrictions that might limit renovations, pets, and rental income. And make sure everything is paid on the unit. Pay particular attention to any assessments due after closing — especially with units in complexes impacted by last year’s hurricanes.

But not having the right information upfront can cause problems at closing. “In Florida, if you don’t receive all of your documents that are up to date, up to the time of closing, you can cancel your contract,” Karp says. “So make sure you’re giving the client all the documents, or you might not have a sale.”