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Old 08-02-2009, 06:02 PM
 
46 posts, read 137,480 times
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My daughter is thinking of buying her first property - a 2 bedroom/2bath condo in Midtown. She is zeroing in on the Plaza Midtown and The Spire complexes. Does anyone have any advice about either of these two condo's? Also, any advice in general about the current condo market in Atlanta? Seems to be very risky right now and I'm a tad nervous about this...Are sales picking up at all? Her lease is up in Oct. and she doesn't want to rent anymore...wants to find a deal and take advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit. Which I can see her point. I see prices have dropped considerably and condos are a dime a dozen in Atlanta. She is not interested in owning a detached home as she would feel safer in a condo. And she doesn't want the yard work, etc. She will only consider Midtown. Any advice would help.
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Old 08-02-2009, 07:00 PM
 
Location: Norman, OK
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Check out Viewpoint. They were running specials of 2 bedroom condos for the price of their 1 bedroom units.
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Old 08-02-2009, 07:03 PM
 
46 posts, read 137,480 times
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I think Viewpoint has been crossed off the list, can't recall why...could by syn. stucco. I'll pass on the info. to her, though...
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Old 08-02-2009, 07:05 PM
 
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Does she understand that there may be little or no resale potential for a very long time? Does she care that she may have to leave money on the table if she needs to sell say within 5 years?

The condo market is soft and it is, in Atlanta, at least, the slowest part of the real estate market to recover and the fastest to fall. One issue is that there were literally 1000s of units in the pipeline to be built when the condo market fell apart here. I doubt many of these units will appear anytime soon, but if they do, many people prefer new to used.

My concern for young people is that there are so many factors in their lifes that can change -- job transfers, marriage, etc and that can impact where they want to live.

Newer buildings generally have a cap (and a low one at that) on how many units can be rented, so you really can be stuck if you don't want to live there anymore.
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Old 08-02-2009, 08:46 PM
 
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I rented in Spire for a year before buying in Viewpoint. Spire is a fairly good building, decent sense of community, and overall very nice people. I'm fairly certain Spire has the stucco exterior on the lower floors while Viewpoint is mostly raw gray concrete. Spire and Plaza you would be trying to buy resale units b/c both buildings sold out during the boom.

In my 3+ month process I made 4 bids on units within Spire after looking at about 20 places w/o any luck b/c sellers were mostly unwilling to move down to a reasonable price. Because they were sold in the '05-'06 time frame most of the people either put nothing down or aren't willing to lose what they did put down. This put most units about 30-40k more than I was willing to pay. Sure there were short sales and foreclosures but those either go so fast they're gone by the time the listing notification hits your inbox or the bank ignores your short sale bid completely despite bringing earnest money and pre-approval.

I'm still getting notification emails on Spire and it looks like most 2bdr's are at least 270k+ to 300k still. A lot of people paid 320-400k so I wouldn't expect many 2bdr's in Spire to come in under 250-270k even in this market. I offered 40k below asking for one unit and the buyer came down 15k but needed an extra month to close just so she'd have the cash to payoff her balance. That may be the situation your daughter will run into if she plans on aggressively negotiating. It's cheaper for someone to pay their $2k/mon mortgage than take a 30-40k haircut all at once. I ended up at Viewpoint b/c it's essentially the same setup as Spire w/ slightly better floor plans, nicer amenities, and actually more reasonable pricing given the builder wants out help their other more troubled buildings (Twelve Centennial and the Atlantic).

lastminutemom is correct that there are a lot of issues that can affect home ownership but assuming your daughter is in a stable job, relationship status, etc; then buying w/ a horizon at least 5-7 years isn't a horrible thing. I do think prices at best will be flat but I'm in need of the tax break and have at least 2 years of school left keeping me in Midtown and a job that is fairly stable. Given I got in w/ a 4.75 fixed rate, I'm paying $100 less a mon than I was renting for and the area along Peachtree near Piedmont seems far less risky than aiming for the transitional neighborhoods or West Midtown.
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Old 08-02-2009, 09:07 PM
 
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Yes, there are factors to consider given the current down market but there is also considerable upside to having property in Midtown. I think in 3 years Midtown will be even better then today and in 5 years better yet. Look back 3 years and even 5 years and look at midtown now compared to then. Investment wise I'd take a condo in midtown over a SFH in the outer burbs. The deals that are out there for condo's are awesome considering the location you are getting. Then of course there are trends such as people moving back into the city, the rising cost of gas etc.

If she has considered the risks and this is what she wants why not buy now, while things are discounted.
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Old 08-03-2009, 05:28 AM
 
46 posts, read 137,480 times
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I couldn't have said it better.




Quote:
Originally Posted by lastminutemom View Post
Does she understand that there may be little or no resale potential for a very long time? Does she care that she may have to leave money on the table if she needs to sell say within 5 years?

The condo market is soft and it is, in Atlanta, at least, the slowest part of the real estate market to recover and the fastest to fall. One issue is that there were literally 1000s of units in the pipeline to be built when the condo market fell apart here. I doubt many of these units will appear anytime soon, but if they do, many people prefer new to used.

My concern for young people is that there are so many factors in their lifes that can change -- job transfers, marriage, etc and that can impact where they want to live.

Newer buildings generally have a cap (and a low one at that) on how many units can be rented, so you really can be stuck if you don't want to live there anymore.
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Old 08-03-2009, 05:30 AM
 
46 posts, read 137,480 times
Reputation: 33
Wow. The flip side of the coin and I agree, too. So, confusing. So scary. But, she is young and head strong. The young are risk takers and I sometimes wonder if it's not the young ones that will lead us out of this recession. Thank you everyone for your advice. I have no idea what will happen...she is level headed and I know she will make the right decision, whatever that might be...




Quote:
Originally Posted by noah View Post
Yes, there are factors to consider given the current down market but there is also considerable upside to having property in Midtown. I think in 3 years Midtown will be even better then today and in 5 years better yet. Look back 3 years and even 5 years and look at midtown now compared to then. Investment wise I'd take a condo in midtown over a SFH in the outer burbs. The deals that are out there for condo's are awesome considering the location you are getting. Then of course there are trends such as people moving back into the city, the rising cost of gas etc.

If she has considered the risks and this is what she wants why not buy now, while things are discounted.
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Old 08-03-2009, 05:35 AM
 
46 posts, read 137,480 times
Reputation: 33
Good info. Thanks. She is in a stable job and relationship. She can walk to work in Midtown, and she loves the area, so that's where she wants to stay.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Mishap View Post
I rented in Spire for a year before buying in Viewpoint. Spire is a fairly good building, decent sense of community, and overall very nice people. I'm fairly certain Spire has the stucco exterior on the lower floors while Viewpoint is mostly raw gray concrete. Spire and Plaza you would be trying to buy resale units b/c both buildings sold out during the boom.

In my 3+ month process I made 4 bids on units within Spire after looking at about 20 places w/o any luck b/c sellers were mostly unwilling to move down to a reasonable price. Because they were sold in the '05-'06 time frame most of the people either put nothing down or aren't willing to lose what they did put down. This put most units about 30-40k more than I was willing to pay. Sure there were short sales and foreclosures but those either go so fast they're gone by the time the listing notification hits your inbox or the bank ignores your short sale bid completely despite bringing earnest money and pre-approval.

I'm still getting notification emails on Spire and it looks like most 2bdr's are at least 270k+ to 300k still. A lot of people paid 320-400k so I wouldn't expect many 2bdr's in Spire to come in under 250-270k even in this market. I offered 40k below asking for one unit and the buyer came down 15k but needed an extra month to close just so she'd have the cash to payoff her balance. That may be the situation your daughter will run into if she plans on aggressively negotiating. It's cheaper for someone to pay their $2k/mon mortgage than take a 30-40k haircut all at once. I ended up at Viewpoint b/c it's essentially the same setup as Spire w/ slightly better floor plans, nicer amenities, and actually more reasonable pricing given the builder wants out help their other more troubled buildings (Twelve Centennial and the Atlantic).

lastminutemom is correct that there are a lot of issues that can affect home ownership but assuming your daughter is in a stable job, relationship status, etc; then buying w/ a horizon at least 5-7 years isn't a horrible thing. I do think prices at best will be flat but I'm in need of the tax break and have at least 2 years of school left keeping me in Midtown and a job that is fairly stable. Given I got in w/ a 4.75 fixed rate, I'm paying $100 less a mon than I was renting for and the area along Peachtree near Piedmont seems far less risky than aiming for the transitional neighborhoods or West Midtown.
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Old 11-29-2009, 04:30 PM
 
6 posts, read 35,897 times
Reputation: 11
Default How are condos in midtown; Spire, Viewpoint, midtown plaza

I am thinking about buying a 2bed/2bath spire condo. Does anyone live there ? How much is HOA for one bed or two bedroom ? What does HOA include ? How is noisy level ? Is it good time to buy around in January of 2010 ? Are condos get better or more expensive as close to piedmont park ? Thank you.
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