How To Buy A Condo In Virginia

Buying a condo can be a very big step and can get you on your way to owning your own home. But how do you buy a condo in Virginia?

When you’re ready to move on from renting, but aren’t quite ready to buy a home, buying a condo might be right for you. However, it’s important to recognize that buying a house and buying a condo are very different processes. Make sure that you understand the variety of concerns and considerations that should go into the decision to buy a condo. From Fox News, here are some important things to keep in mind:

Getting a loan. The Federal Housing Administration has specific regulations that they must follow when considering giving out a loan for a condo.

• The benefit of receiving a FHA loan is that you typically can have a lower down payment.
• Specifically, the FHA requires that at least 80% of the units in the condo complex are owner-occupied. That means that a condo in a complex that has a lot of investors or real estate speculators won’t be approved for a loan by the FHA.
• The FHA also has a list of approved condo buildings, and they’ll only approve you for a loan if you’re buying a condo on that list – check the list of approved condos in Virginia if you’re planning on applying for an FHA loan
• You can get a non-government backed loan from a private lender, but typically the cost is higher and private lenders require down payments of 20% or more.

Condos come with rules. When you own your own home, you don’t have to worry about some of the issues you might have when you own a condo. Many rules are in place to keep the peace and preserve the real estate value of the complex. For example, you should determine:

• Whether your condo complex allows pets
• Does it allow you to rent out your unit?
• Are there required ‘quite hours’?
• Are there any shared spaces (pool, yard, club house)?
• Be sure to get a clear list of all the rules that your condo complex has

Make sure you know what fees are associated with owning a condo. Condo fees can range anywhere from under a hundred dollars to 3 or 4 hundred – it’s important to know what you’re going to have to pay.

• Condo fees go toward maintaining common areas (parking areas, pool, park, clubhouse, etc.)
• Condo fees are also used to pay for insurance and repairs in the complex
• A good complex will set aside part of that fee for any emergency repairs that need to be made
• It’s a good idea to make sure you know what exactly you’re paying for with your condo fee – make sure that the association can afford to fix leaking roofs and take care of other necessities

Do research into the association.

• Many associates take minutes (notes) at their meetings, and looking over them can help you get a really good idea of the kind of community you are moving into.
• For instance, reading the minutes allows you to get a feel for the culture of the complex, make you aware of any troublemakers in the complex, and whether the association addresses the concerns of the tenants.
• Additionally, if the condo association is involved in any lawsuits, you’ll find that out by looking at the minutes.

Understand maintenance and upkeep procedures. Figure out who takes care of the building or complex before you move in.

• It’s important to know what to expect when you move into a condo – like whether or not you’re expected to do any maintenance
• For example, does the association hire someone to clean common areas and do regular maintenance? Or are the tenants supposed to help?
• A condo complex that doesn’t take care of maintenance can hurt the resale value of the condo as well
• What will you be responsible for if something goes wrong? Does the association cover repairs within your unit (pipes breaking and causing water damage), or does that responsibility fall on you?

These are just a few of the extra considerations that should go into your decision to purchase a condo. Talk to your local agent, someone who is familiar with Virginia real estate, to learn more about the process of buying a condo.

For more information, check out the original article from Fox News.