Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello Wordsmith --
House, Apt, and Condo hunting has always been one of my favorite things to do. I love it! However, hunting under a time pressure always does complicate matters. Our first home, we started house hunting in February, because our lease would be up on May 31st. We were looking mostly at HUD homes and we were outbid 3 times. The 4th one, we won over 16 other bidders and it was turn-key perfect (unusual for a HUD home - they even left the fireplace screen!). And we did look at 75+ homes to find it. That was in 6 weeks and another 6 for closing time. 16 years later we bought our 2nd home before selling the 1st, and I had it narrowed down to the exact subdivision.
We also had it narrowed down to 4 bedrooms. We ended up buying a 3 bedroom plus a living-room size loft, plus a fully separate dining room that could be a 5th bedroom! There are always a few things you may not get, but being a little flexible can sometimes help you score what you really want. I'm glad I we went to look at this "3" bedroom home. I'm not worried about selling it either, because any potential buyer with sq. footage smarts will realize the size is bigger.
So, on to your condo search! Yes, you have every right to be picky. I am assuming that since you really liked two previous condos in certain buildings, that you are still closely watching all condos that are coming up for sale in these two buildings [or complexes] and looking at them when they come up for sale. Have you done some research on the condo builder to see if they offer the same exact floor plans in another location? That may be an option for you, since you are willing to stretch your commute.
A couple of things you might want to think about: Does your Realtor specialize in condo sales? Do you have a Realtor who specializes in the exact area you are looking? What size building are you looking for? Remember, the more amenities the building has [i.e. a swimming pool, exercise room, etc.] the more costs you will have. On the other hand, sharing the cost of a pool with many others could be a great benefit -- there are two sides to the coin.
You mentioned that you may end up living in this condo the rest of your lives and that you do not wish to live on the first floor. If you have, or will have, elderly parents, you probably should be looking at condos in an elevator building. This is quite useful for yourselves, too, if you break a leg! And someday you will grow old, too. A friend of mine made sure she lived in a building with at least two elevators, in case one broke down. Some buyers look for condos that require owner occupied units. Some buyers want a garage. Some buyers want to condo to be close to public transportation and a grocery store. or in a certain school district. There are so many things to think about.
Remember, a Realtor is someone who is trying to earn a living. The requirements you are listing do not sound that hard to find. And I am speaking only of 2 bedroom units because 3 bedrooms in 900 sq-ft. would be very small rooms. So, this unit should be fairly easy to find, as long as you are looking in neighborhoods where this price point works. If the Realtor is showing you units in neighborhoods where you do not wish to live, then perhaps you need to either stop looking for two bedrooms and go to one bedrooms [some are really spacious], start looking for a two bedroom condo with a laundry room on the same floor [great way to get to know your neighbors], or stop your search until you have a larger down-payment saved-up. Also, have you thought about a Coop?
Best of luck to you! And, I would love to hear your wife's side of this long house-hunt. Keep her happy!!
On the other hand there is often a growing or maturing experience when house shopping.
It's when reality and must haves meet.
I have very specific requirements and have only found one home in years of looking that had everything... location, amenities and in my price bracket... beautiful home close in located in the SF Bay Area with 5 acres and a shop... even though my offer was 100k higher I was never able to get out of backup position and someone else bought it...
It's good to know what you want and go to be able to transition to what you need or sill accept.
A coworker of mine said she would never buy a used home... that is her priority and it meant she would have to find one miles from her job...
There is nothing worse than mortgaging your financial life and then have buyer's remorse.
A little off topic... the godmother of my niece had always rented... she has a great job and loved to travel to far off places...
In 2012 she decided it was time to buy a home and found one she liked... older in a urban area.
She bought it and soon found it was tying her down... the gutters clogged, a tree toppled in a windstorm and someone tried to break in...
She decided to stick it out for one year... in late 2013 she decided she really wanted to be a renter and sold...
During this time Bay Area Real Estate experienced a lot of appreciation and even though she found she did not want to be a home owner she was able to make enough from 1 year of home ownership to retire her student loans in full and pay off her car and still put 75k in the bank...
Her experience let her be totally debt free and able to really enjoy her time off to travel...
Your list of criteria is less than half of mine - lol!!
Your criteria is yours, and if it means a lot then don't budge, but also be realistic with regards to what you can get for your price range. I live in a climate where you generally don't want to sit on a deck 9 months out of the year, but those 3 months you can sit outside mean everything to me. Thus, we have a deck, and passed up several places that didn't. I also like an upper floor. I grew up in the sticks, and it means a great deal to me to be able to see long distances, and thus we have that too. It took a loooong time to find all our criteria, but it was well worth it. Does it all make sense on paper? No, not all of it, but DO NOT shortchange your mental well-being. If it means something to you, then you'll be unhappy if you feel you sacrificed your mental health for expediency.
That said, we were also financially well prepared to be competitive for what we wanted. Interestingly, in the end, we got the view, location, square footage, etc. for $100K less than our budget - which was good, because to get everything we wanted, we'll need to do some remodeling, and so be it. Neither of us wanted that, but given that the place met ALL of our other criteria, that ended up being the item we were willing to budge on. Units like we bought don't come up that often in this building, so we had to weigh that. At the end of the day, we'll end up with the unit we want for the price we want, but yeah - I could have done without the remodeling bit. Ah well... I wouldn't have thought I'd be willing to budge on that, but we when we stood in the place and saw what it could be, we weren't willing to wait for something better when this place was exactly what we wanted in every other way. If you have a similar experience, it'll just feel like the right thing to do. Best luck with your search!
That's not too picky. You need the space you need (rooms, sqft), if you have a pet you need a place for it, laundry is a big deal so make it a priority.
As far as not living on the ground floor...I'd say that would depend on the unit. Some may come with a little outdoor space, more than a balcony would give you, and be preferable. I get not wanting to be on the ground floor but for me that's because I don't want to be under someone (especially someone with hardwood floors) AND means being on the top floor, and not sandwiched between two other units. See, we are all picky in our own way!
Apparently competition is tough where you are looking so keep your priorities in mind but decide what you can compromise on, IF ANYTHING.
I truly do not understand the appeal of owning a condo. It seems like one becomes a slave to the whims of the COA who over time, charges more and more to do less and less and puts many restrictions on the owners of the properties. All the while, the condo owner is stuck making high mortgage payments on a small living area. Am I missing something?
My wife and I have been hunting for a condo now for nearly 8 months. We've had two deals fall through and are at wits end, as this process has been physically and emotionally draining.
.
Why did the two deals "fall through"?
Change your mind? Outbid? Unable to reach agreement on price/ terms? Inspection issues? Association issues?
As an aside, your requirements do not appear unreasonable unless most units that meet these requirements are beyond your comfort zone in terms of what you are willing to pay. If this is the case, it's time to blalance needs with wants.
I would give up an in unit w/d in a heartbeat in a 900 square unit intended to be occupied by two people, if such facilities were available in a common area. I would rather have more storage space. That's me.
I truly do not understand the appeal of owning a condo. It seems like one becomes a slave to the whims of the COA who over time, charges more and more to do less and less and puts many restrictions on the owners of the properties. All the while, the condo owner is stuck making high mortgage payments on a small living area. Am I missing something?
I've lived in 2 condos and I never had the HOA do less over time or increase restrictions. And small is relative - the condo/townhouse I just sold has almost 1600 square feet with 12 foot ceilings and an open floor plan and is nicer than many SFH in the same price point. I personally like the benefits of not being responsible for outside maintenance, landscaping, snow removal, etc. YMMV but it's a perfectly reasonable choice for many people who want the benefits of ownership without all of the responsibilities.
I agree about having a balcony. We are presently living in a (temporary) apartment that has no deck or balcony. Although it is spacious (1,350 sf), it seems closed off without a balcony. I end up sitting outside in a small space by the front door, just to be outside for a change. Without some outdoor space, it feels claustrophobic.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
