Tips for buying a condo (Denver, Littleton: real estate, lease, HOA)

[harrison21]

I've always rented up to this point. I inherited some money last year which has made buying a possibility for the first time. The only people I know IRL who have bought recently are back in my hometown, which has a very different housing market, so I'm hoping to get more specifics about how things really work here.

About how long should I expect this process to take? My lease is up in early June and I have to give 60 days notice if I'm not renewing. I know it's unlikely that things will work out perfectly time wise, and would probably rather be "too early" and have to pay to break the lease vs. having to worry about finding month to month housing and moving twice at the last minute.

Does anyone have any tips? A realtor you really like? I work in Englewood, so ideally hoping to find something around DTC/Littleton/Greenwood Village/Centennial etc.

[alloo66]

I found a place two years ago at a great price and location. When the right deal comes along it will happen for you. Winter time is the best time to be looking since the market is slow. If you wait for the Spring, you will have lots of competition. The process depends on what is available, who else bids on the property, get pre-qualified, and start looking at properties to get an idea what the market is. What will meet your needs. Good luck.

[Mike from back east]

Send any realtor referrals via the DM method, not in the open forums. Thank you.

[2bindenver]

Start 90 days before you wish to move.

Get a copy of your credit reports now. Dispute any false information. Do not close any accounts. Do not increase your debt. Try to keep your balances below 50% of the balance.

Do not overdraft your checking account.

Interview buyer agents two weeks before looking at properties in person.

Try finding a place not west of work.

[Dogmama50]

The first thing I would do is talk with a loan officer, be that through your bank, a credit union or a mortgage broker you need to establish how much you can afford before you go looking to buy anything. As Mike indicated above there are a number of realtors on this site that can send you a DM and hopefully assist you.

[davebarnes]

Budget $500 for a lawyer to review the condo docs. (I will PM you with my choice)
Do not sign anything you don't fully understand.
There are no stupid questions when $100s of thousands are on the line.
Watch house hunters on HGTV and don't be those people.
Remember that your monthly payment will be: mortgage (principal reduction + interest) + HOA + property taxes + mortgage insurance (if you put down <20%) + repair/maintenance fund ($200/mo).
Make a short (very short, as in 3 items) list of your NEEDS and WANTS. Fire your agent if s/he ignores the NEEDS.
Budget $500 (total) for the 2nd and 3rd weekends after moving in to spend at Home Depot.

And, above all. Your condo is a place to live and not an investment.

[beezle1]

Be sure to look over the rules at any complex you are thinking of buying into, as well as the regular meeting minutes and financials. You should be able to review all of this as part of your contract to buy, and often you can obtain some of the information prior to making an offer. If you don't like what you see as you are reviewing the information, like some HOA rule you cannot live with, nitpicky stuff going on in meetings, or not enough financial reserve to cover a large expense, you should be able to back out of the contract and get your earnest money back, provided you do it within the time frame allowed in the contract (a good realtor should guide you through this).

[2bindenver]

Originally Posted by Dogmama50

The first thing I would do is talk with a loan officer, be that through your bank, a credit union or a mortgage broker you need to establish how much you can afford before you go looking to buy anything.

It CAN BE the first thing to do, but it should not be anywhere close.

1. Find out what your credit report says, dispute any false items.
2. Do what you can to increase score and not debt. (Better score = better interest rate)
3. In six months who knows what the interest rate will be, so don't yet talk to a lender. (Don't do any hard pulls on your credit until March.)
4. Do not take the CHFA first time homebuyer class until you have a place under contract.

I am a licensed real estate broker/owner of a brokerage in Denver metro. I have helped hundreds of first time home buyers navigate the experience.

[Cfella]

As a person purchased a townhouse a year ago, my number 1 recommendation would be to learn about HOA's and to learn about your HOA. How much money do they have on hand? What repairs are they expecting to do next year?

[Mike from back east]

A key item in HOA rules are the parking rules, how many spots, where are they, street parking, visitor spots, etc. It can be a battle ground.