10 Questions to Ask Your Condo Board
Before you buy, contact the condo board with
the following questions. In the process, you’ll
learn how responsive—and organized—its
members are.
1. What percentage of units is owner-occupied?
What percentage is tenant-occupied? Generally,
the higher the percentage of owner-occupied
units, the more marketable the units will be
at resale.
2. What covenants, bylaws, and restrictions
govern the property? What grandfather clauses
are in place? You may find, for instance, that
those who buy a property after a certain date
can’t rent out their units, but buyers
who bought earlier can. Ask for a copy of the
bylaws to determine if you can live within them.
And have an attorney review property docs, including
the master deed, for you.
3. How much does the association keep in reserve?
How is that money being invested?
4. Are association assessments keeping pace
with the annual rate of inflation? Smart boards
raise assessments a certain percentage each
year to build reserves to fund future repairs.
To determine if the assessment is reasonable,
compare the rate to others in the area.
5. What does and doesn’t the assessment
cover—common area maintenance, recreational
facilities, trash collection, snow removal?
6. What special assessments have been mandated
in the past five years? How much was each owner
responsible for? Some special assessments are
unavoidable. But repeated, expensive assessments
could be a red flag about the condition of the
building or the board’s fiscal policy.
7. How much turnover occurs in the building?
8. Is the project in litigation? If the builders
or homeowners are involved in a lawsuit, reserves
can be depleted quickly.
9. Is the developer reputable? Find out what
other projects the developer has built and visit
one if you can. Ask residents about their perceptions.
Request an engineer’s report for developments
that have been reconverted from other uses to
determine what shape the building is in. If
the roof, windows, and bricks aren’t in
good repair, they become your problem once you
buy.
10. Are multiple associations involved in
the property? In very large developments, umbrella
associations, as well as the smaller association
into which you’re buying, may require
separate assessments.
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