Should I get this Hoboken condo -- need advice!! (Washington: sale, real estate)

[Jakobkraft]

Okay, so here's the story. My wife and I, having friends in Hoboken and always liking the area, decide to use a sizable sum of money from my inlaws for a down-payment toward a condo, but a reasonably priced one (relatively speaking of course). With mortgage rates down so low, I figured we might as well go for it. But we reviewed all the sites and ads and nothing really caught our eye until this place.
159 14th Street, Hoboken NJ - Trulia

2 bdrm, 2 full bathrooms, almost 900 sq ft - and we figure we can talk the guy down (and we did, to 315K).

But then comes along the HOA...who we need to provide letters and questionnaires to finalize our financing, because although we've already been approved, this property has an unfortunate history, which can be seen here:
La Scala - post fire - Hoboken 411 » Hoboken's Leading Web Community

Now keep in mind, that was three years ago, and except for the two restaurant windows on the first floor being boarded, the place looks great, inside and out. The exterior is completely repainted a nice burgundy (way better than that pale green from before) and the interior has also been totally renovated. And, most importantly, our would-be apartment on the fourth floor is gorgeous, also newly renovated, even though the fire never made it to the fourth floor. Home inspectors thought the apartment itself passed muster -- they weren't too impressed with how the basement was maintained but they admitted they'd seen far worse and didn't think it was a deal breaker.

But this freakin condo association...they're dragging their butts getting the questionnaire and letter from their attorney to explain all the post-fire drama (apparently the affected tenants insurance and condo insurance are still in litigation over who should cover what).
We've been out of attorney review for over a month and we've been ground to a dead halt by this HOA who are being bafflingly difficult about providing what my lender requires. I have a rate-lock with my broker, who's already had to extend it once.

I'm thinking what if, as tenants, we need this HOA to handle something urgent?
The HOA is Realty Express LaBabera, btw, if anyone's interested.

Bottom line, they're saying we MAY get what we need this week, despite the fact that the property manager has gone on vacation!

Should we just spare ourselves this aggravation and walk away from this? Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated -- thanks in advance!

[BergenCountyJohnny]

I don't know too many people in condos, but the ones I know do nothing but complain about theirs, so I have to wonder if this HOA is a unique case or if it's the norm. I have a feeling that no matter where you go the HOA will be a pain in the rear.

If you love Hoboken so much then I think you will have to get used to some of the nuisances and less-than-perfect situations, and buying this condo is showing you that already. It's a city and crowded and expensive and bureaucratic, I'd imagine any condo you look at will be bound to have flaws/damage that you'll have to accept and the bureaucracy will always be there - maybe better, maybe worse, but always there.

I'd say the bigger question is do you really want to live in a place like Hoboken where you'll be dealing with all that stuff??? If the answer to that is still "yes", then I'd say this place is probably about as good as it gets, all in all.

[Ninjahedge]

Um, I would not worry about THAT stuff, as you might not eed to be bothered with it after purchase.

the problem is just as you are saying it, people trying to get all the insurance monies and the like settled.

The area you are moving to is OK, a bit noisy on 14th since that is the main bussing route (aside from Washington Street). But you do have access to some great places to eat (Baja, Turning Point) and you are pretty close to the parks on the river.

$315K for an 800+sf place is not bad, especially newly rennovated, but you know you WILL outgrow it. That and the market has been pretty silent for th epast year or so (prices on many have frozen at what they were a year ago, and where a place sold in 2 weeks is now taking 6 months). SO be prepared for that, especially if the economy does not pick up.

If you have a car, find a place for it. Parking is very diffiult or expensive (I waited 16 months for my spot in a public lot many years ago, and even THAT is $185/mo).

If you need groceriies, go to Shop Rite. Very affordable comparitively, although Kings is more fancy-schmancy....


That's about it!

I am sorry I can't give you any real advice on the legal, since we did not have any problems with that.

[luckyshoes]

Can you walk away if you're out of attorney review? If so, then maybe you should walk if it's too much trouble.

I didn't read the whole thing, but I imagine disputes like this are par for the course when dealing with a large loss, an HOA and insurance companies.

However, is there is still a large outstanding bill that needs to be paid that could end up in the homeowners' laps? That's something to think about, because that bill could be your bill if so (divided up by the number of condos).

I wouldn't judge it on the management company though. Management companies are only as good as the condo boards. The management company works for the board, although in some condos, the boards get lazy and it goes into reverse. Have you talked to anyone from the board? What is the feeling you get there? Do they seem competent and on top of the situation?

It's really not your job to get this required paperwork though, it's your seller's. Tell your agent to put pressure on the seller's agent if they want this sale to go through. They should be putting pressure on the association and it really shouldn't be your concern.

Good luck! All condos are kind of a pain in the neck, but some more than others.

(all just my opinion, not a lawyer!)

[luckyshoes]

Originally Posted by Ninjahedge

$315K for an 800+sf place is not bad, especially newly rennovated, but you know you WILL outgrow it. That and the market has been pretty silent for th epast year or so (prices on many have frozen at what they were a year ago, and where a place sold in 2 weeks is now taking 6 months). SO be prepared for that, especially if the economy does not pick up.

This is a really good point. Are you planning on having kids anytime soon? Be careful about buying something right now that you will possibly outgrow. If you're not prepared to stay there for ten years minimum (preferably forever), then you might want to think twice about buying right now. This is just my opinion, I don't think people should put off buying their "forever" home right now if the price and payment is right, but I do think that if that is not the case, you want to make sure about this. It's called "underbuying", when you buy something that can't last you ten or twenty years and you outgrow it in three.

I "underbought" on my first place, a 800 sf 2 br condo. It was fine because we were in the boom years, so I managed to make a nice profit, but we would have been sunk had we bought it a few years later.

[Ninjahedge]

LS, I would not put it at 10, but I agree with the general argument.

You need to cover the losses inherent in the expenses of buying a home (fees, etc) or selling it down the line. SO if you go only a few years, you may end up netting 0 in overall profit due to them even if the market picks up again.

Unless we find some other way to commit financial suicide, I do not see real estate doing jumps like it did 5 years ago.


Just FYI, we moved into our 1500sf place about 5 years ago (up from my own 650sf tiny apartment). We are already starting to outgrow it with the kid, but mainly because although we like it, we have very little room for other people (guests, family) and a toddler WILL get into everything! (he is not quite at toddler stage yet...)

So YMMV, but just be prepared to feel the pinch, especially with seasonal items!!!!

[njkate]

Don't know but check out these two auctions for Hoboken condos one on Park and one on Jackson

Welcome to Sheldon Good - Auction Detail

Welcome to Sheldon Good - Auction Detail

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by BergenCountyJohnny

I don't know too many people in condos, but the ones I know do nothing but complain about theirs, so I have to wonder if this HOA is a unique case or if it's the norm. I have a feeling that no matter where you go the HOA will be a pain in the rear.

If you love Hoboken so much then I think you will have to get used to some of the nuisances and less-than-perfect situations, and buying this condo is showing you that already. It's a city and crowded and expensive and bureaucratic, I'd imagine any condo you look at will be bound to have flaws/damage that you'll have to accept and the bureaucracy will always be there - maybe better, maybe worse, but always there.

I'd say the bigger question is do you really want to live in a place like Hoboken where you'll be dealing with all that stuff??? If the answer to that is still "yes", then I'd say this place is probably about as good as it gets, all in all.

you forgot to mention how much of a breeze parking is!

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by njkate

Don't know but check out these two auctions for Hoboken condos one on Park and one on Jackson

Welcome to Sheldon Good - Auction Detail

Welcome to Sheldon Good - Auction Detail

Jackson is iffy...there are projects over by jackson & 2nd

[todd72173]

315K for 900SQ foot. Gotta love NJ..Hahah. Well, I used to live in a condo association - and never will again. Association does nothing but raise fees and not fix a thing. You also had a fire in building. Forget about it. Two huge X's.. Skip this one. Move on.