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Looking for a house to buy in Cheshire..we lost out on few houses in multi offer situations. A couple of them had problem in inspection. Perhaps we have placed too much required things on our list.
Now thinking of considering buying a condo. We have 2 kids 12 & 3 and would like to have minimum 3 bed and 2 baths. Not much choice in condos which are not >55 Community.
What do you suggest. Is it a good decision to buy a condo?
The positives that we think is that it is cheaper .. so we end up saving some cash in our bank (though we were fine in buying a house about 100K more expensive than condo), has gas heat, community has pool and being busy professionals..we wouldnt have to worry about snow/ lawn.
However we feel afraid that we may feel too restricted in space and may miss the feeling of owning land . (Of note, we have always lived in bigger houses back in our country till about 3 yrs ago). Moreover..we know that condos dont sell fast and are generally not a good investment decision. One of the 2 condos that we have liked has been on market for > 1 month, with similar condos in neighbourhood still not getting sold for 3-4 months in market. We consider living in area for about 4 yrs as of today..dont know of future. We are also thinking if it is right to buy a condo now and then buy a bigger house after a couple of years once we know about our future, and rent the condo. That may sound a better investment deal.
Even though we are getting tempted to buy the condo..some thing seems to be stopping us from going ahead.
Any suggestions are welcome. Does anybody know of good Condos in Cheshire with minimum 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms? Anybody who has the experience of renting out condos...is it cost effective?
In the right location, a condo can be a good investment. However, many times, they are not unless you can rent them out later on. However, some condo associations require owner occupancy, and other condos are not approved for FHA financing, either, so make sure to check on both (especially if you planned to use FHA financing)
Condo fees are not tax deductible, and there are also worries over the long time about the financial health of some condo associations at times. (certainly not all, but it's not another thing to check on beforehand...)
What sort of inspection issues come up with the homes?
I have no issues for financing. My loan was approved for house and was told by the bank that it will work for condo too.
How can we know about the financial health of the condo associations...
I can see 2 good condo communities in good location in Cheshire- Old TOwne Road and Ives Hill ct. Does anybody have any idea about these condo associations or any problems faced by the condo owners here???
Most of the time we lost out on multi offer situation. Two times inspection issues came- once there was significant mold in atttic and owner was not ready to compensate as removing it would have involved improving part of roof. The other was pretty good house , but one room showed crack in ceiling and signs of water leakage, about which owner was ignorant and again not willing to do anything about it.
well, if you're doing a conventional loan (20% down), it would work for a condo or home. If you wanted an FHA loan, only certain condo associations are qualified.
Hi Vin100- since I know nothing about Cheshire; is that the town you are set on? Since real estate values can go up or down, lets assume the value will be the same in 4 years. During the 4 years you have the potential mortgage deduction, but when you go to sell you have the commission and fees. From a financial point- this might help. With renting you lose the deduction potential. But buying a condo now might prevent you from being able to jump on a more desirable or more of a bargain property down the road. Just from reading this forum; it seems the state is stuck in a holding pattern economy- wise. So- I would wait. But... at some point...interest rates will go up. Does a good rate now trump a higher rate in the future? Not so much. But what if a typical property [i]drops[i] in value before you buy (even with a higher interest rate)? Good luck either way-M
To me, condos are fine for young people starting out or older people who do not want the responsibility of maintaining a home. But for a family, a single-family home is preferable. Since you have children and you seem hesitant to go with a condo, I think you know the answer of which is best for you and your family.
A couple of things to keep in mind with a condo. You have to live by the rules of the homeowners association which at times may not be what you want. You have to live close to and deal with a lot of other people so you can't just go into your house or yard and not deal with others. You may have to deal with special assessments for major repairs like roofs or repaving driveways and parking lots.
When you go to get a mortgage, the bank will take the condo fees off your monthly payment allocation so you will likely not be able to afford to buy a condo that is the same price as the house. For example, if you have been preapproved to pay $2,000 per month for your mortgage, taxes and insurance on a single-family home, you would only be able to buy a condo which has the same amount per month for mortgage, taxes, insurance and condo fees. Also note, condos usually are harder to sell in a down economy.
Since you seem to really want a house but can't seem to find one in Cheshire, I am wondering if you should expand your search area. Consider towns like wallingford or Southington as well. They may not be as affluent as Cheshire but they are good solid towns with a lot to offer and home prices there are more reasonable. Jay
Thanks for your inputs. I am well aware of the financial implications of loan on a condo…I would be able to afford a house for 400K, so condo for 280-300K should be manageable. The only thing tempting is that since I am not sure of my length of stay in this state after 4 yrs, I feel it might be easy to rent the condo at that point. In that way I won't have to bother with the snow/ grass etc and rental income is an attraction. To tell the truth, I feel that if I buy the condo, I would want to buy a bigger house after 2 yrs and rent the condo. However, the very big possibility of feeling tight in a condo, with limited space and rules of association, and also the very high chances of difficulty in reselling it, makes me feel nervous. Though one of the condos that we saw is a corner unit, with garage between the condo and the adjacent condo (hence no common wall between condos), and the back and side yard almost secluded, so that looked tempting. My family liked it..at the same time my wife was upset when she came to know that inspite of a good back lawn, one cannot place the swing set of a child as per rules of any condo. She accepted this fact though.
We have been to Wallingford and Southington and have liked those places, but somehow, we seem to have got hooked to Cheshire for its small town feel and school system. So much so that now even when we don't go out looking at homes on weekends, we end up driving to Cheshire for an ice cream.
If it's an affordability or availability thing, I would look at other towns first. There's plenty of towns in the area with a similar feel and quality of schools. Where is your work?
I agree with Jay that you're better off with a SFH. Older condos are especially a problem, as the common fee can just keep climbing. Also, you're stuck with the association and management, and if they stink, there's not much you can do. My first condo looked great on paper, but the woman that ran it was a nightmare. They currently have a few dozen lawsuits against them. And the common fees doubled in 5 years. The lack of privacy stinks too, and a lot of the people that tend to live in condos have nothing better to do than to be nosey.
I'd also think that there may not be as many families with kids in a condo development, as opposed to even an older subdivision.
My condo was full of young families. One telltale sign, the kids were always extremely loud during the summer.
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