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Home Inspection for Co-ops or Condos

By
Real Estate Agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Preferred Real Estate, Inc.; www.AuburnOpelikaALRealEstate.com

Home Inspection for Co-ops or Condos

Do you need a home inspection when you buy a condominium or a co-op? A housing inspection is the homebuyer’s right, but only for the unit and the major systems that the homebuyer is responsible for. Have questions? Read this #GoodToKnow article and reach out to me with any questions so I can assist you. 

Condo and co-op owners share common spaces such as elevators, lobbies, parking, and grounds, but where they differ is who’s responsible for maintenance and what the inspection can cover.  

Condos are privately-owned units within a community of other privately-owned units, explains Bankrate.com. Owners share common areas, but inside their apartments, they own the air space and interior walls of their units plus the structural components of the exterior walls. Condos are managed by a homeowner’s association that collects monthly or annual dues to pay for common area maintenance, repairs and replacement. These services are typically provided by a third-party property management company.

In a co-operative, or co-op, a corporation owns the building, common areas and all apartment units. Instead of buying an apartment, homebuyers buy a share of the corporation, according to Amfam.com. The corporation holds the title to the property, and homebuyers build equity when future buyers pay more for their “share.” The board of directors is responsible for maintenance inside each unit and the building as a whole.

A housing inspection is the homebuyer’s right, but only for the unit and the major systems that the homebuyer is responsible for, including plumbing, electrical and heat and air systems, patio or balcony, kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, appliances, walls, doors, windows and flooring, advises AllAspectsInspections.com.

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Posted by

 

Laura Sellers

Associate Broker, Realtor, GRI

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices 

Preferred Real Estate, Inc.

1810 E. Glenn Avenue, Suite 130

Auburn, AL 36830

Phone: 334-332-7263

Fax: 1-888-217-3682w

 

www.AuburnOpelikaALRealEstate.com 

 

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Comments (4)

Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Good morning Laura. Yep, I suggest a home inspection for a condo or coop. In addition a buyer should perform their own due diligence with regard to financial statements and governing documents. Enjoy your day.

Jul 22, 2022 04:47 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

This is good information to share with prospective home buyers.

Have a great day and an outstanding weekend.

Jul 22, 2022 04:47 AM
Bill Salvatore - East Valley
Arizona Elite Properties - Chandler, AZ
Realtor - 602-999-0952 / em: golfArizona@cox.net

Condo inspections, so important.  Especially with that tragic collapse in So Florida. 

 Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend.  

Jul 22, 2022 06:09 AM
Adam Feinberg
Elegran - Manhattan, NY
NYC Condo, Co-op, and Townhouse Advisor

Do you have co-op's in your market? They are pretty rare outside of the NYC Metro Area. I know that DC and parts of Maryland have some, and a few scattered throughout the rest of the country.

About 70% of the housing inventory for purchase in Manhattan is co-op's and about 30% is condos. These numbers can be adjusted slightly for the roughly 2% of the market that are townhouses. All purchases in NYC are done through attorney's- and the role of the attorney here largely replaces the need to perform a seperate home inspection. There are instances where I do suggest that buyers have a home inspection done- such as in the case of where we find a problem in the apartment, if it's a small building (10 units or less), or inspections should always be standard in the case of townhouses. The attorney's are reviewing the building financials and budget, offering plan, meeting minutes, alteration agreement, amendments,  and are submitting their own questionaire to ensure that buyers have a robust understanding of what has been and is occuring in the building. The other reason why I don't generally recommend an inspection in most condos and co-op's- the seller and/or the building doesn't need to provide access to the inspector of all of the building systems and they might only permit the inspector access to the confines of the apartment itself. A lot of building supers are protective of these building systems and don't want to provide this access. The seller side will also let the buyer know that because the buyer's attorney is provided with all of the information they need to make a decision via the attorney's due diligence.

I would esitmate only about 15% of my deals involve an inspection and I suspect in Manhattan that is a high percentage- and in every instance for condos and co-op's- the attorney due diligence matched what the inspector found. Having an inspector generally makes the deal more difficult as the inspector too often tries to justify their cost by going to the extreme- and too often then the buyers start arguing over small petty items that the super can take care of if you tip them well.

 

While I might suggest an inspection to buyers of condos and co-op's in limited situations- I don't suggest it to most in my market.

Jul 22, 2022 06:29 AM