Posted by Guy on September 20, 2005 at 10:58:19:
Get friendly with a couple of Home Inspectors and they may very well share their checklist. Get as much information as the seller will give you and don’t be afraid to ask more questions.
inspection checklist for condo purchase - Posted by TD
Posted by TD on September 20, 2005 at 01:42:52:
I am going to view a few condos, one of which will be my first RE purchase. I was curious if there where any things that are typically missed when doing an inspection. Also if there are any particular questions i should ask i.e. average heating bill, condo fees,etc… thanks in advance. TD-chicago
Re: inspection checklist for condo purchase - Posted by list
Posted by list on September 20, 2005 at 18:33:52:
I suggest you read a book about condos before getting involved in them. Robert Irwin has a good one. They can be tricky if you are not aware of all the inherent pitfalls. There is a pretty long checklist to check.
Re: inspection checklist for condo purchase - Posted by SteveA (FL)
Posted by SteveA (FL) on September 20, 2005 at 14:08:43:
I just finished my first deal that was a condo. Make sure you get the last few months minutes of the Board’s association meetings BEFORE you close. Go over them well. In my case, there was a looming $23,000 assessment to re-side all of the buildings. Thankfully, it is being challenged by owners and was recalled by the State before I sold, so I didn’t have to pay it. The seller never disclosed any of this to me. She was a snake.
Another thing was the unit I bought had termite damage. My first reaction was “I don’t have to pay for it” and I didn’t. But the CAM drug his feet and it was 5 months from the day I first called until the repairs were actually finished. I was finished with my rehab before they ever started, so it cost me several mortgage payments waiting on them.
Still did ok. $16K in profit. In fact, I’m buying the unit upstairs on Friday. But now I know and I’ve built the potential assessment into my margins.
As for the inspection…it’s much easier for an inspector to do a condo and they may tell you they only need to inspect the interior since the assocaition is responsible for everything from the sheetrock out, but make sure they inspect it all, just like a house. You need to know if there’s roof damage in your building or whatever so you can expect additional time for the association to do repairs.
Good luck.