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I like it, but remember that you're at the mercy of your condo board. A larger, well-run building is probably a better bet than a small one with few units, where consensus is tough to reach, and disputes can get ugly fast. I've heard horror stories about poorly run condos.
The majority of owners in my building voted in favour of replacing all the windows in the building a couple of years ahead of schedule. This means the reserve fund can't quite cover it, so the condo board has to take out a loan to get the work done, and all owners are on the hook for a special assessment. Which I'm not thrilled about, I think the work could've waited. But, I was outvoted.
On the plus side: I get to live in the city, and I don't have to worry about maintaining the property. Condo fees take care of that.
I like it, but remember that you're at the mercy of your condo board. A larger, well-run building is probably a better bet than a small one with few units, where consensus is tough to reach, and disputes can get ugly fast. I've heard horror stories about poorly run condos.
The majority of owners in my building voted in favour of replacing all the windows in the building a couple of years ahead of schedule. This means the reserve fund can't quite cover it, so the condo board has to take out a loan to get the work done, and all owners are on the hook for a special assessment. Which I'm not thrilled about, I think the work could've waited. But, I was outvoted.
On the plus side: I get to live in the city, and I don't have to worry about maintaining the property. Condo fees take care of that.
At our last condo board meeting, they had the lawyer their who represents us. He said the government has been cracking down on special assessments and they are frowned upon big time.
Our condo community is less than 10 years old. Our reserve study is current and gets re-done every 5 years. Mainly the roof replacements and the streets maintainance are the biggest future costs. But our reserve amount builds for those costs down the road. And we have a 10,000 sq. ft. clubhouse with a pool. Those aren't cheap to maintain. But those amenities are worth it to me.
We actually have 3 separate 6-person boards that run everything. They send out weekly emails and quarterly newsletters, detailing the money coming in and going out. Everything seems to be run professionally. I was going to be on one of the boards, but they seem to be doing fine.
I hear the horror stories of poorly run condos. It gives a bad name to condo living. I had a house for 13 years, but got tired of some of the rif-raff in the neighborhood. It's so much more peaceful and nicer. Condos are not for everyone, that's for sure. But for me, it's perfect. The extra cost is worth it.
Make sure your building is least 80% owner occupied. This will help keep your assessments lower since there are more people putting into "the pot".
I don't understand why you think that the percentage of owner occupants has anything to do with assessments. One-hundred percent of the owners have to pay their percentage of the assessments, regardless of whether they live in their unit or rent it out.
The only way I would ever buy a condo would be if I could step out my door and directly onto a white sand beach, or else put my skis on and ski right out my front door. In addition, I wouldn't buy unless renting is not permitted in the building.
To a tenant, a condo is exactly the same as an apartment. On the hierarchy of tenants, apartment dwellers rank only half a step above trailer dwellers. I don't want to live surrounded by apartment dwelling tenants. If I wanted to live with tenants, I'd just rent an apartment. It would be cheaper and I could pack up and leave if I had an impossible neighbor.
The only way I would ever buy a condo would be if I could step out my door and directly onto a white sand beach, or else put my skis on and ski right out my front door. In addition, I wouldn't buy unless renting is not permitted in the building.
To a tenant, a condo is exactly the same as an apartment. On the hierarchy of tenants, apartment dwellers rank only half a step above trailer dwellers. I don't want to live surrounded by apartment dwelling tenants. If I wanted to live with tenants, I'd just rent an apartment. It would be cheaper and I could pack up and leave if I had an impossible neighbor.
This is a fairly narrow-minded point of view. Plenty of "respectable" people live in apartments, especially in big cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, DC, London, Tokyo, Paris ...
Condos in my neighborhood start at $1.3 million. I promise you these "apartment dwellers" don't know want to be surrounded by the likes of you either.
Actually, even the trailer homes here are getting another look because the housing crisis is so terrible. The dwelling you live in says nothing about you as a person.
Well said. I personally don't think they are money-savers, either, by the time you add in the monthly fees along with any assessments that you get with year to year. You can do your homework regarding the reserves, etc, but it's no guarantee.
Make sure your building is least 80% owner occupied. This will help keep your assessments lower since there are more people putting into "the pot".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jbeechuk
Wow---80%? That seem very low. More like 95% would be preferred.
Percent owner occupied will not affect your assessments. Assessments are by unit not by owner occupant for renter occupied units the landlord will pay his portion of his special assessment. And as for 80% owner occupied being low, that is actually extremely high. 95% is unrealistic. I would be willing to bet that there are very very few condo buildings that are 95% owner occupied.
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