Condo Living 101

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One of the factors that lending institutions look at is how much downpayment can a buyer make. A downpayment is a borrower’s “goodwill money” and a sign of his intent to make good on a loan and a lender’s assurance to lessen the risk in case the borrower defaults on his monthly payments. The bigger the downpayment, the bigger the chances of getting a higher loan amount or a lower monthly amortization. Generally, borrowers do not have big amounts of cash on hand to be given as downpayment. However, they do have other sources of funds aside from their own savings. It could be from family, friends, relatives, money from sales of stocks or bonds or a qualified co-maker.

To accomodate buyers with a limited downpayment, lending institutions and other mortgage companies have come up with innovative solutions:

• Zero downpayment loans. As the name implies, this loan does not require a downpayment. This is usually offered to first time buyers who can make the monthly amortizations but have no family , friends or relatives who can lend them the downpayment.
  The downside however is that the interest rates or the monthly amortizations are usually higher.
• Rent to own loans. A buyer starts off as a renter with the option to buy the property any time during the term of the lease, at a price acceptable to the owner. In most cases, the rent amount you paid will be fully or partially applied as downpayment.

Subsidy programs are sometimes even offered by cities that are hoping to expand their communities.

If you’ve just bought a condo, or are planning to buy one, you might have overlooked the cost of your monthly dues. These, in addition to your mortgage, are major costs you cannot afford to miscalculate. Monthly dues can vary according to the amenities and services a condominium has. It’s usually calculated per square foot or meter. Think of these as fees as membership fees you need to pay to use the amenities your building has. After all, you have a pool, gym, jogging track, tennis courts, etc, amenities you would usually need to pay a country club for. Also, these fees will go toward building security, maintenance, disposal, gardening & landscaping, etc., all services you would normally have to do in a regular home, but is now being handled by a property manager. You’ll need to consider this part of your monthly expenses, remember too that these dues can’t be taken off, even if you’re not using the condo or it’s amenities.

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Your stylish new home at the Emerald Chicago condos and residences on Green Street puts you right in the middle of the New Loop, from which you can easily walk to the financial and business districts of downtown Chicago, which means no hassle with driving or parking after work. All you have to do is just…go. Living at the Emerald Chicago condos also gives you a front-row seat to the fine dining establishments of Restaurant Row on Randolph Street and shopping boutiques, not to mention everyday sort of things that you need like grocery stores and the major transportation routes around the city. One of the things that you will have easy access to just by living at one of the Emerald Chicago condos is the Hancock Observatory at the John Hancock Center. You will see some of Chicago’s most inspiring cityscapes, enjoy the pleasure of using the center’s talking telescopes and see the wonderful historical exhibits. You can also get a look at the largest and most complete T. Rex ever to exist in human possession, or learn about NASA and the universe at the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, or check out the Omnimax screen at the Museum of Science and Industry.

A condominium unit can be decorated according to your own style and individuality. You can add bits and pieces of interesting pictures to reminisce the memory lane. Display cabinets too can transform a room and at the same time is lovely idea to stack items. Definitely, one can do wonders in decorating a condo unit.

With the magnitude of post-construction condo profits no longer a sure thing, some folks may want to take some more time to fully evaluate whether it’s right for them.

Here are some things to keep in mind when buying a condo as you drive past a construction site:

� What is the builder’s track record at completing projects on spec and on time?
� What is the marketing company’s track record at communicating with buyers throughout the sales process and before closing?
� What will the unit feel like? How can you evaluate the floor plan as realistically as possible?
� What upgrades are appropriate and how are they priced?
� Should you lock your interest rate? Lock it sooner and pay for the costs or lock it later when the construction is closer to completion or not lock it at all?
� How is the unit priced in light of a market trends and other projects in the pipeline?
� How will you time selling your current property and close on the new one?
� How prepared are you for the project finishing 6 months late?
� What is the developer’s reputation for handling pre-closing punch list and post-construction defects?

Source: Seattle Condo Review

If you really wish to have more storage in your condo you can install high rise cabinets or wall mounted cabinets so that you can put things in there. But if you do not wish to drill the walls or occupy some floor spaces in your condo (maybe you have other things to put in there), maybe you can settle for an ottoman.

An ottoman is a sofa type (without a backrest) wherein you could put things inside. The lid of the sofa can be opened, so you can stack things inside. The ottoman can serve as sofa for entertaining guests and a storage room for your stuff! Talk about double purpose!

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Last tip to make sure you are getting your penny’s worth is to take a peek at the condo’s owner’s association. They are the ones who are making the rules of the condo, so you should familiarize yourself with the ones on top. A condo’s owner’s association will do its very best to maintain the exterior as well as the interior of the condo. Inspecting the condo’s ins and outs can be very helpful in determining how good the owner’s association is. The sight of a small crack at the corner of the hallway is not a good sign. You might want to look for another one.

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Fourth, is for you to weigh in the pros and cons of buying an old one and a new one. Not all old condos are bad; in fact a lot of them are maintained well. Make sure to give the condo you are about to buy an ocular. Photos of the unit on the internet are not enough. Remember, photo editing today is evolving every minute. The condo in the picture might be the same condo you are about to buy, but who knows? Maybe the owner did some color retouches of the photos. Before buying an old condo, make sure that it is well maintained and the environment of the condo building is nice.

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Aside from the previous mentioned guidelines before buying a condo, you should also consider the name of the condo you are buying. The name of the developers is the key here. Have you heard of the man named Donald Trump? Oh yes, the ever so famous Donald Trump. Just before he ventured show business, he was a very successful real estate developer. He has this Trump International Hotel & Towers, a first class condominium with branches located in some of the high-end cities in the United States such as New York, Chicago and Las Vegas. His condominiums tend to attract foreign, and local investors as well, because of his name in the real estate world.

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Now, let’s say you are really interested in buying a condo and have looked for one that’s situated in a good location. What’s next?

Next step is to make sure that the condo that you are buying has this “something different” among other condos in the area. Perhaps, you can look for one that has a veranda overlooking the sea or the skyline. Maybe buying a condo with more rooms is something good for future resale. According Prudential Douglas Elliman NY, most of the condo searchers today look for condos with granite tops and hardwood floors. Try looking for condos that have these two features so that when the time comes that you would want to sell it, you can hike the price double the original (in a legal manner, of course).

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