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Hire a good agent that is very familiar with condos. They'll make sure you're taken care on the rest, from the right condo to the best lender for you. Forget the costco advice. Look on Zillow for agents that sell condos in the area you're looking. It's a good start. Then call a few and see who you like, trust, and connect with.
Zillow is my number one visit site/app right now LOL
I even talked to their lending department. I never knew Zillow had it's own mortgage lending. The guy was very informative and never said I don't know or tried to sugarcoat anything. He suggested that they had soruces that would link me to local agents that were highly rated.
My co worker closed on a townhome in East Mesa back in May and suggested her realtor. She mentioned she had been through about 3 before she found one that worked for her. I am honestly weary about realtor's that are like 24 or just young in general. I get being personable and arodun my age but what about the paperwork and all the business part of it. Might be my own bias/cynicism talking but it's hard to know what companies or lenders are in cahoots with what realtors. Or having a realtor pretend they know an area of something. Seems a bit hard to navigate such a saturated field of realtors. It reminds me of personal trainers. Almost anyone can be one but not everyone can be a good one.
If at all possible, I wouldn't wait until your lease ends (you're losing appreciation + deductions). Phoenix is a hot market and it's not getting any cheaper. I also advise you to find a mortgage that allows you put the least amount down (e.g. if you're a vet, you can do zero down). Lower down payment = lower risk to you and, besides, why tie up your money that could be used for a cushion.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a condo, Based on what I've seen, higher HOAs and sometimes more than one HOA depending upon the community. HOA costs steal buying power.
Good points
I was not waiting until Julty 2021 to start looking but it is a good goal to actually be closing or even moving on a place. I imagine I'd get pre approved early next year.
Buy a building that was built to be condos or townhouses for sale to owners; don’t buy anything in a complex that used to be rentals and was converted to owners. The soundproofing won’t be the same.
Unless the building was built to commercial standards (steel structure with 9” concrete between floors) never buy a condo with someone on the floor above you.
Make sure your windows don’t face west. Unbearable in warmer months between 3:30 and sunset, and it will cost more to cool off the place.
If there is a pool, avoid having your bedroom windows over the pool, people partying at night can be very annoying.
Look at the HOA covenants carefully. Understand reserve funds at condos. Ask about planned capital improvements.
Stalk your neighborhood of choice online. Join nextdoor, drive by in different times of day and night, really research to understand where annoying/loud/problematic neighbors might be ic you are buying anything that shares a wall
Shop your interest rate
Put as much money down as you can afford
Understand your market. Dint get huffy if you low ball and there are multiple offers. You didn't lose the place. You just didn't make an attractive enough bid. Learn from your mistakes
Be aggressive about going to see places quickly if the market is hot
Don't get your heart set in one place. Theres always another house
Pretty much this. ^^^^^
I would add a few things, however.
If you have your heart set on a particular complex or community, wander around the common areas and engage the locals in conversation. Tell them you're considering purchasing a unit and see what they say. Understand that you'll have to filter a lot of this, as people tend to exaggerate if they've got an axe to grind. You'll get an idea of the makeup of the owners, too, which might be important. If you're in your 20s and all of your neighbors are retirement age, it might present some incompatibilities.
Keep emotion out of the process. That's easy to say, but as someone who treats houses as commodities before they can become a home, realize that there will be others and probably better ones, too. If you find something you really like and is a good fit for you, go full throttle to close it. If it doesn't work out, pick up your marbles and move to the next game.
Buying real estate, no matter how simple it may seem, is always a rollercoaster. You'll go from elation to panic many times before you finally close. Just keep your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel and you'll get there. The hassles you'll have will pale in comparison to the satisfaction you'll have once you get settled in your new home.
I am a first-time buyer in the Phoenix area looking to buy a condo/townhouse. I am just researching and getting my ducks together but will not actually get into until about next spring. The main reason behind that is because I am in a lease until July 2021. I would rather not break the lease and it also gives me time to get proper research done and get organized. I think it's good to watch how things go as well as things change so quickly these days.
I have been saving searches on sites like Zillow and Realtor and Redfin for places that match my liking as welll as my estimated spending. My main issue is understanding when things start to get going what exactly happens with negotiations and all the costs that I hope will be expected by then. I do expect to pay a PMI but it may not be super high as I have a very high credit score. I just don't have 20% down (I was told it's not as common and not as important as you think or were told). I was told to apply for a conventional loan and I should be alright and get a good rate as well as a decent range (250k being the top of budget).
What are somethings that I should be looking out for when it comes to the searching process that pertains to condos/townhouses exclusively? I notice a lot of listings tend to leave out a lot of information and some just fail to photograph the property properly or sometimes exclude entire rooms or the patio/balcony
When I start actually doing tours, what besides the feel and ovbvious things do I look for? Also, how do you choose a good realtor? A good lender? I know shopping around is good but are some better than others or is it like the phone companies where they are all bad but you HAVE to pick one
Any advice you can give that maybe you wish you had receieved when you were first buying?
Thanks
Pick one who has years of experience and go with one that is with a nationally affiliated company. If you need extra time in your apartment because you haven’t closed yet, PAY the exorbitant rate to stay there. It’s not worth it picking a rushed one in a hot seller’s market.
1. If humanly possible always try to squeeze into a 15 year loan vs. 30 year loan.
Why do you say this? Particularly when the cost of money is low
It really depends upon the goal. If the plan is to not stay in the house, then why have higher payment? With a 30-year, you'll still have the same appreciation, but your monthly outcome will be lower.
Why tie up money in a house when you can use it for something else (like buying a second house)?
I hear people bragging all the time: "I've paid off my house" I'd rather say that my house paid me through the equity I was able to take.
Neither option is right or wrong, just depends upon your goals.
one specific thing to look at for a condo or townhouse community is the percentage of owner occupiers. You want it to be as high as possible. It can affect financing in some cases, but it's also a quality of life thing. It's just a reality that owners have more at stake than renters do. I'm not knocking renters, most are fine. But owners are literally more invested in the property as a whole.
You also want to find out more about the management of the place and the HOA. Personally, I would not buy someplace that has professional management rather than being self-managed. If there is an issue with a neighbor, I think it's helpful to have the buffer of a professional management company to help resolve things.
And you want to read the HOA rules and covenants very carefully as well as the association finances. You need to know up front what rules they have that could impact you - limiting or requiring permission to rent out your unit, some people have said they even had limits on taking a roommate, although I've personally never seen that. Rules around pets, overnight parking, guest parking, displaying flags or other things on the outside of your unit, any restrictions on remodeling or landscaping if you have any outside property. As long as you are in the research stage, if you can get a hold of some Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs), that would be great to familiarize yourself now with what they are like, so that when you are looking at CC&Rs for places you are actually considering purchasing, you understand what you are looking at.
And also looking at a reserve study, which assesses the replacement cost of all the public elements of the association, and any association budgets you might be able to find. Again, I mean this in a general sense, to familiarize yourself with what they are like. In most cases, you won't be able to see ones for particular community you might be interested in until you are at the point of making an offer. But you can sometimes find random ones online that you can read for educational purposes
I even talked to their lending department. I never knew Zillow had it's own mortgage lending. The guy was very informative and never said I don't know or tried to sugarcoat anything. He suggested that they had soruces that would link me to local agents that were highly rated.
Don't use Z mortgage! We've a few deals with them and they've been a disaster. I won't get into the details, but please don't go with them if you value your sanity.
Buy a building that was built to be condos or townhouses for sale to owners; don’t buy anything in a complex that used to be rentals and was converted to owners. The soundproofing won’t be the same.
Unless the building was built to commercial standards (steel structure with 9” concrete between floors) never buy a condo with someone on the floor above you.
I assume this information could be easier obtained? As someone coming from apartments, I can def see a conversion vs a built to own complex. It would be nice to find out or get a list of what are and what aren't.
The second point may point to wanting townhome instead. One wall shared and no neighbors up or down stairs. Also the yards are better as some yard to me is better than a cement box with prison bars. At the same time I see a lot of them facing the parking lot which is not the best thing. I am seeing the second story condos skimp on the balcony but I guess they figure it makes up for getting a "view"
I agree. Pay attention the HOA. Also, check for noise levels above, below, beside.
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