Condo shopping can be a lot of fun but it’s risky without a plan. And it can be even harder if you’re considering buying new where you can’t actually see the finished product yet.
Smart buyers consider each property with a clear vision for what they want, and they will not compromise until they’ve found it exactly. This is a great approach whether you’re thinking of buying an existing apartment or a brand new condo.
Priority might be for sweeping city views, access to a beach, an easy commute or great facilities. Whatever the goals, it is important to be focused and patient, or you risk making an expensive wrong choice.
As your real estate agent, I can show you a wide range of apartments and condos that are currently on the market. In the meantime, here are 10 tips:
- Identify your ideal neighborhoods: One of the benefits to choosing a condo can be it’s affordability compared with the cost of a house. Don’t compromise on the location or you’ll miss some of the assumed benefits, such as convenient commuting or proximity to a city or urban center.
- Plan for the future: Whether buying an existing apartment or off-the-plan, be sure that it will provide sufficient room for your needs in the years ahead.
- List your must-have features: Obvious focus falls on the kitchen and bathrooms, but you are unlikely to be able to change the floor plan if the apartment is new, so you must be satisfied with the space and layout of the condo.
- Identify the benefits over living in a house: If you are choosing to buy a condo rather than a house for specific reasons, make sure your purchase delivers what you want. That could be less maintenance, secure parking or an on-site gym.
- Quality assessment: If you investigate new condos, then check the credentials of the development company. This will provide you with a general assessment of the quality of the building and the fixtures of your new property.
- Check the vibe: Spend time walking around the complex if that’s possible. Notice the noise insulation, and whether you can hear heels on tiles in the flat above, or the flushing from next door’s bathroom. Make sure there are no peculiar smells or signs of vermin. Notice the quality of landscaping, the security lighting, and upkeep of any external amenities, such as a swimming pool. Ask if the building has handicap access. These are all signs that indicate the quality of the condo and whether you would easily resell it in the future.
- Let the sunshine in: Apartment living can be bleak if access to natural light is poor. Worse, it will be detrimental to your own efforts to resell the property when the time comes.
- Better get a lawyer, Part 1: This sounds obvious, but too many buyers skate over complex issues. Hire an experienced attorney to assess the contracts. You must be clear on what you will own individually, your collective ownership with others in the complex, and the status of communal facilities. Be clear on what fees will be charged to you for maintenance. Never take anyone’s guidance on this other than your own legal adviser.
- Better get a lawyer, Part 2: If you are buying off-the-plan, double-check the plan has actually been approved by the appropriate authorities. Putting a down payment on an unapproved plan is crazy. Even if the plan looks good, there is no way to know if the city will not insist on changes that might affect either the floor plan or communal facilities that you will part-own.
- Them’s the rules: Experienced condo owners talk about the 3 Ps – pets, parties, parking. It’s a useful euphemism for remembering to ask exactly what you can and cannot do in and around your new property.