Buying a Condo Means Buying Into a Homeowner Association

The worst thing a condo buyer can do is to neglect to inspect the homeowner association documents and meeting minutes.

With declining sale prices and falling inventory, many home buyers are hitting the streets this spring. It's a hot market in many areas for first-time home buyers. As a result of falling homes prices, many condo and townhome prices have slipped even further. Owners desperate to sell a condo affect the sales prices in the entire complex. So, if one condo sells at a lower price, the others follow suit. Which is why some condo neighbors carry feelings of animosity toward their departing neighbors.

In today's market, increasing numbers of home buyers are turning away from single-family homes and looking at lower-priced condominiums and townhomes, because they can buy more home for less money. However, along with that apartment, co-op or condo comes a homeowner's association (HOA), which governs the units and complex.

Some HOA regulations, to put it mildly, are downright oppressive and restrictive. Some can't afford to pay for deferred maintenance. Others are caught up in costly court battles. That's why it's crucial to ask about homeowner associations to determine if you're buying into a gold mine or a money pit . . . read more about Homeowner Associations.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub, click below:

• Questions to Ask a Real Estate Agent
  
• Questions to Ask a Mortgage Broker
  
• How to Write Purchase Offers

_{©Elizabeth Weintraub}

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