Greats Hints On Buying a Condo for Investment
When buying a condo, a copy of the CC&R's should be made available to you.  It should include a history of the building as well as any upcoming work that needs to be done.  If the work order is already in effect then it is not your financial responsibiity, however you should be aware of the amount of reserve funds available in that building and know whether they are in excess of the upcoming work with adequate reserves for future expenses. This information is required to be disclosed, but there are other precautions that you may want to pursue.  The first, of course is doing your own visual inspection of the common areas.  If the building itself appears to be run down, it is best to inquire as to why it is in that condition and what things, if any, do they plan to do in the future to correct these conditions. Whenever possible, talk to the neighbors!  If they have lived there for a period of time, they can tell you how ofen the board meets to evaluate the conditions and how they function to keep the building in good working order. It is also a good idea to find out the percentage of tenants living in the building who are renters.  That is often a big factor in the building's maintenance.  Sometimes when the building is predominately occupied by renters, it is indicative of an owner/investment situation and often the premises are not as well kept as a building where the occupants are primarly the owners.  The breakdown can also effect the type and amount of mortgage you will be able to obtain.  If over 50% of the tenants are renters, you are most often than not required to put up a much larger downpayment. Remember, when you are purchasing a condo, you are essentially responsible, in part, for all the common areas, so don't be afraid to ask questions!