**** Condo with low condo fee *** (sale, foreclosure, to rent)

[DC19082]

i decided to buy 1 bed room apt near falls church area, does anyone know a condo that in the area or near the area has low condo fee.

If in the future my job changes, is falls church area easy to rent out apt.

Thanks for reading this

[mshan242709]

I would focus on location (easy commute to DC and Metro within easy walking distance).

Unless you know for certain you will be at job for at least 5 years, I personally would hesitate about buying condo because you think it is "cheaper" than renting.

What happens if you really like area and job and want to buy house, but can't unload condo and lender won't give you enough mortgage to buy a home?

Do you have emergency fund (rule of thumb used to be 3 - 6 months living expenses in quality money market fund like Vanguard Prime Portfolio, could be up to 2 years if there is real risk of losing job and not being able to get another for quite a while), does your current job have 401k with company match (should fund up to company match if they offer something like 50 - 100% match)? Even good taxable mutual fund investments are likely to appreciate faster than housing over next 3 - 5 years.

http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Finan...9510621&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-Du...tt_at_ep_dpt_6

http://www.amazon.com/Mortgage-Ripof...9510676&sr=1-1

Cheap does not necessarily mean good value. By this, I mean you can't look at peak prices and say how great deal you are getting based upon current price, relative to peak price. Peak prices were base upon interest rates basically getting cut in half in past, plus no principal, negative amortization loans which allowed housing prices to double while maintaining same monthly payment; that is gone and hopefully won't come back. Coarse rule of thumb would be to look at 2003 comparable sale prices and adjust for inflation (inflation has been hasn't been a significant issue since then, and as a whole over very extended periods of time, home prices will go up at rate of inflation - i. e. replacement cost). Unemployment rate in NoVa I think has only been 7%, so home prices I don't believe have crashed like in other parts of country (e. g. Florida with poor souls whose homes are only worth 25% of what they paid just a few years ago).

I would view a home as a hedge against inflation, rather than a get rich quick scheme, or even as a way to create a lot of wealth over time (quality mutual funds will do that much better and are much more liquid if you have to sell unexpectedly).

[statecollege]

A "low" condo fee can be a dangerous criteria to use for buying a condo. Other factors have to be investigated. If the condo association is not budgeting properly for expected maintenance and emergency repairs, then all owners will have to contribute to a special assessment to fund the repairs. It is common for special assessments to be several thousands of dollars. A well run association will have an adequate reserve fund that targets unforeseen spending requirements--and, believe me, they will occur. In the long run, however, budgeting properly--and causing a higher condo fee--is less expensive in the long run. Special assessments can also cause some owners to refuse to pay, which increases the burden on the responsible ones. The association may be forced to file foreclosure action against owners delinquent in their condo fees or special assessments. You should look at condo newsletters, meeting minutes, and budget documents to determine how well the association is run and budgeted. You do not want to buy in a condo that has a high percentage of absentee owners, a large proportion of fee delinquency, too many foreclosure actions, and a difficult time getting owners to volunteer for association positions. In conclusion, relatively low fees can mean an association not dealing with reality and trouble down the road.