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I sold and escaped. Serious management and board issues. Many owners in foreclosure and were not paying condo fees. Budget issues. Which also translates into high risk of special assessments to cover expenses and the buildings need major overhauls. The condo fee rose steadily every year I owned with little to no improvements to show for it. I believe it was almost $500 per month when I sold....utilities included. Entrenched board leadership that many new owners tried to overthrow several times but kept getting reelected. Only a handful of owners ever showed for board meetings and elections. Elections were won mostly by proxy votes which I had my own suspicions about if the proxies were legit. Many owners renting to low income tenants who did not take any pride In their community and make it an unattractive place to live which makes it hard to rent to quality tenants when they come to check out the property or do drivebys to check it out in the evenings and weekends and see people yelling out of windows, unattended toddlers roaming around, trash, exterior halls smelling of urine, unruly teens hanging out, etc. Near the end of my ownership I had to battle bed bugs and roaches and everytime I thought I had roaches conquered it never failed that I would have the property manager show the unit to tenants and they would show back up. I had so many quality potential tenants who loved the inside of my unit and the price but were turned off by the environment around the community. It got to the point that where I could not find quality tenants and it sat vacant for months at a time. In the beginning I had tenants who stayed long term and when they moved I was able to rent it quickly. It got harder each time I had a vacancy. When I got the condo paperwork to give to the new owners as part of closing I read through the binder and there were a lot of things of concern in the finances that suggested to me that the lack of people paying dues was going to lead to more fee increases or a special assessment to cover the expenses or major repairs that were needed. For the many units that were in preforeclosure or foreclosure...most banks are not paying the condo fee. My buyer was an investor who paid cash and I believe that is likely the only way to buy considering the rate of foreclosure and short sales and high ratio of investors with mortgage guidelines which makes it harder for first time buyers who would likely transform it from rental properties to owner occupied community. I believe my buyer and any other investors are attracted for the same reason I was years ago, albeit now not at the height of the market. It seemed like a great investment. It can be....but the hurdles the community has to overcome just seemed overwhelming and I couldn't foresee it happening anytime in the next decade so I got out. All I can say is that those who got out at the markets height when they sold for $140k or higher in 2004 or so were smart. I just can't imagine when they may hit highs like that again in its current condition even with smaller sq ft condos selling at the harbor for over $250k. I follow the crime reports and there are burglaries or items stolen from a car reported occasionally but I never had the sense that this is a community with lots of violent crime. They had a big vandalism issue in my final year. There is often an off duty policeman on site. I hope for the sake of the nice families and seniors who are trying to make a home there and the neighborhood at large that the environment improves and that it does not fall into great disrepair due to budget issues and poor management. I imagine with the outlets now complete and the casino coming the units are getting a lot,of interest from investors again.
With ALL that, how did you manage to find a buyer?
So my mother has a condo here. She has passed away and the rest of the family is considering selling. I was just wondering after reading all the post has anything gotten better. I noticed the last post was from 2013. Should we consider holding onto it for a couple years? Or just sell it and get out.
Financially speaking if you can rent it and remain cash flow positive it's not a bad idea to hold onto it.
Practically we're not talking an immense sum here. You have to figure out how to slice up the cash flow or keep it in a central pot. Who is going to manage it? It maybe more trouble than it's worth.
I sold and escaped. Serious management and board issues. Many owners in foreclosure and were not paying condo fees. Budget issues. Which also translates into high risk of special assessments to cover expenses and the buildings need major overhauls. The condo fee rose steadily every year I owned with little to no improvements to show for it. I believe it was almost $500 per month when I sold....utilities included. Entrenched board leadership that many new owners tried to overthrow several times but kept getting reelected. Only a handful of owners ever showed for board meetings and elections. Elections were won mostly by proxy votes which I had my own suspicions about if the proxies were legit. Many owners renting to low income tenants who did not take any pride In their community and make it an unattractive place to live which makes it hard to rent to quality tenants when they come to check out the property or do drivebys to check it out in the evenings and weekends and see people yelling out of windows, unattended toddlers roaming around, trash, exterior halls smelling of urine, unruly teens hanging out, etc. Near the end of my ownership I had to battle bed bugs and roaches and everytime I thought I had roaches conquered it never failed that I would have the property manager show the unit to tenants and they would show back up. I had so many quality potential tenants who loved the inside of my unit and the price but were turned off by the environment around the community. It got to the point that where I could not find quality tenants and it sat vacant for months at a time. In the beginning I had tenants who stayed long term and when they moved I was able to rent it quickly. It got harder each time I had a vacancy. When I got the condo paperwork to give to the new owners as part of closing I read through the binder and there were a lot of things of concern in the finances that suggested to me that the lack of people paying dues was going to lead to more fee increases or a special assessment to cover the expenses or major repairs that were needed. For the many units that were in preforeclosure or foreclosure...most banks are not paying the condo fee. My buyer was an investor who paid cash and I believe that is likely the only way to buy considering the rate of foreclosure and short sales and high ratio of investors with mortgage guidelines which makes it harder for first time buyers who would likely transform it from rental properties to owner occupied community. I believe my buyer and any other investors are attracted for the same reason I was years ago, albeit now not at the height of the market. It seemed like a great investment. It can be....but the hurdles the community has to overcome just seemed overwhelming and I couldn't foresee it happening anytime in the next decade so I got out. All I can say is that those who got out at the markets height when they sold for $140k or higher in 2004 or so were smart. I just can't imagine when they may hit highs like that again in its current condition even with smaller sq ft condos selling at the harbor for over $250k. I follow the crime reports and there are burglaries or items stolen from a car reported occasionally but I never had the sense that this is a community with lots of violent crime. They had a big vandalism issue in my final year. There is often an off duty policeman on site. I hope for the sake of the nice families and seniors who are trying to make a home there and the neighborhood at large that the environment improves and that it does not fall into great disrepair due to budget issues and poor management. I imagine with the outlets now complete and the casino coming the units are getting a lot,of interest from investors again.
I gave this advice to a friend and he just laughed. Never buy into a condo or townhome development with substantial black ownership. For some reason we think HOA fees are optional and collection of them are unfair. The finances of these buildings quickly deteriorate.
If the County was forward thinking they'd hold mortgages against these units to promote homeownership for the low income. Maybe if they had skin in the game they'd control their kids more.
I sold and escaped. Serious management and board issues. Many owners in foreclosure and were not paying condo fees. Budget issues. Which also translates into high risk of special assessments to cover expenses and the buildings need major overhauls. The condo fee rose steadily every year I owned with little to no improvements to show for it. I believe it was almost $500 per month when I sold....utilities included. Entrenched board leadership that many new owners tried to overthrow several times but kept getting reelected. Only a handful of owners ever showed for board meetings and elections. Elections were won mostly by proxy votes which I had my own suspicions about if the proxies were legit. Many owners renting to low income tenants who did not take any pride In their community and make it an unattractive place to live which makes it hard to rent to quality tenants when they come to check out the property or do drivebys to check it out in the evenings and weekends and see people yelling out of windows, unattended toddlers roaming around, trash, exterior halls smelling of urine, unruly teens hanging out, etc. Near the end of my ownership I had to battle bed bugs and roaches and everytime I thought I had roaches conquered it never failed that I would have the property manager show the unit to tenants and they would show back up. I had so many quality potential tenants who loved the inside of my unit and the price but were turned off by the environment around the community. It got to the point that where I could not find quality tenants and it sat vacant for months at a time. In the beginning I had tenants who stayed long term and when they moved I was able to rent it quickly. It got harder each time I had a vacancy. When I got the condo paperwork to give to the new owners as part of closing I read through the binder and there were a lot of things of concern in the finances that suggested to me that the lack of people paying dues was going to lead to more fee increases or a special assessment to cover the expenses or major repairs that were needed. For the many units that were in preforeclosure or foreclosure...most banks are not paying the condo fee. My buyer was an investor who paid cash and I believe that is likely the only way to buy considering the rate of foreclosure and short sales and high ratio of investors with mortgage guidelines which makes it harder for first time buyers who would likely transform it from rental properties to owner occupied community. I believe my buyer and any other investors are attracted for the same reason I was years ago, albeit now not at the height of the market. It seemed like a great investment. It can be....but the hurdles the community has to overcome just seemed overwhelming and I couldn't foresee it happening anytime in the next decade so I got out. All I can say is that those who got out at the markets height when they sold for $140k or higher in 2004 or so were smart. I just can't imagine when they may hit highs like that again in its current condition even with smaller sq ft condos selling at the harbor for over $250k. I follow the crime reports and there are burglaries or items stolen from a car reported occasionally but I never had the sense that this is a community with lots of violent crime. They had a big vandalism issue in my final year. There is often an off duty policeman on site. I hope for the sake of the nice families and seniors who are trying to make a home there and the neighborhood at large that the environment improves and that it does not fall into great disrepair due to budget issues and poor management. I imagine with the outlets now complete and the casino coming the units are getting a lot,of interest from investors again.
Pretty much. You know I am in complete agreement with you. I was very fortunate to get out of mines as well. I don't have high hopes for the community to be honest with you. I think it is going to end up in a similar position as Lynnwood in Temple Hills where the condo fees are going to become insurmountable. It's an ugly situation.
I gave this advice to a friend and he just laughed. Never buy into a condo or townhome development with substantial black ownership. For some reason we think HOA fees are optional and collection of them are unfair. The finances of these buildings quickly deteriorate.
If the County was forward thinking they'd hold mortgages against these units to promote homeownership for the low income. Maybe if they had skin in the game they'd control their kids more.
Well it's more than just black people not paying. It's really a lot of banks that aren't paying the dues that they are supposed to and the management isn't doing a very good job of keeping up with that. Granted they have to go to court quite a bit for these issues, but other communities have found a way to survive these issues in spite of.
As far as the mortgage issue, I think the problem is, the community is attracting a lot of low income residents, where unfortunately their mentality isn't set on being good homeowners. It's a bad investment for anyone that wants to own a home and live there, but it's great if you have money to make a cash offer without relying on the income to pay your bills. I honestly think the county should take over the land and put it under eminent domain. They could use it to expand 210 (which they are going to use part of the community for the Wilson Bridge Project) and perhaps build some new housing that goes along with the outlet mall. The county needs to either find a way to better control condominiums or get rid of substandard ones like these condos.
Location: Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill border, MD (Prince George's County)
321 posts, read 812,250 times
Reputation: 233
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry Rock
With ALL that, how did you manage to find a buyer?
I know right. It was a cash buyer...foreign couple who live in Great Falls. They had multiple closing that day in various properties. Like many I think they see wow a condo for under $60k near the new Harbor and great proximity to DC and NoVa....the financials look good to make some rental income. However once you are in and see all the issues and actually try to find good tenants who want to live there...
Hello all! My name is Julie Visperas and I come with my team as new owners of 17 units in Brookside Park. Despite the existing issues at Brookside, we are determined to remain optimistic about where this community stands today and the direction we would like to see it go. We've had several meetings with management and are in hopes of taking this community to the next level. That said, we can't do it alone. Please include me in your discussions, meetings, ideas and resolutions as I am eager to participate and represent for those who can't make it to the Board meetings. We are seeking to purchase more and would like to pow wow with folks interested in selling. We have addressed issues with old pipes, AC wiring, leaks, exterior appearance, steps, etc. I am available to discuss either on this forum, phone, text or email. My number is (202) 460-2100, please reach out to me and let's see what can be done to better our neighborhood and our properties!!!
Hello all! My name is Julie Visperas and I come with my team as new owners of 17 units in Brookside Park. Despite the existing issues at Brookside, we are determined to remain optimistic about where this community stands today and the direction we would like to see it go. We've had several meetings with management and are in hopes of taking this community to the next level. That said, we can't do it alone. Please include me in your discussions, meetings, ideas and resolutions as I am eager to participate and represent for those who can't make it to the Board meetings. We are seeking to purchase more and would like to pow wow with folks interested in selling. We have addressed issues with old pipes, AC wiring, leaks, exterior appearance, steps, etc. I am available to discuss either on this forum, phone, text or email. My number is (202) 460-2100, please reach out to me and let's see what can be done to better our neighborhood and our properties!!!
Julie Visperas
Oxon Hill Holdings, LLC
Good luck. I always thought there is potential to make money in these PG condo buildings but you have to buy in bulk and be very selective in your tenants. So selective frankly that you might run afoul of housing laws.
[quote=justtitans;19464625]Let me start off by saying that there are a lot of issues that aren't right. For those who live in Brookside and are on facebook, we have a group on facebook called "Brookside Park Condominiums" and we talk about a lot of the issues going on and we are trying to organize more effort to fix the problems here. You can also PM me and we can exchange contact info so that
Now I'm not going to get into all the issues because there just isn't enough time in a day, but right now it is a poorly ran and very corrupt complex. Sorry to say. The potential is there.
I am a recent investor. Looking for equity in buying near the Nat'l Harbor. I would be interested in working with you to improve conditions there. Condos are notorious for corruption. As long as we work together, we can prevail. I am a strong proponent of good property management and am not a Slumlord. Yes, we as owners should really stand together.!!!
You last posted 1 year ago. Any luck since then? I would be interested in working with you because there is strength in numbers. I am an investor and hopefully you as an organization will not try to take over, and become the enemy/mgt!!! Been there. How are your tenants performing..100% up to date, any delinquencies? I would love to know your secrets of success!
Have you updated your units? What's the average rental value?
I am all for full disclosure. If you own several units, I am hoping that you don't stuff the ballot boxes for "unknowns" and we individual owners get the short end of the deal.
How have you encouraged single owners to work with you? Why did you buy such a large lot?
Looking forward to a dialogue.
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Brookside Park Condominiums
