1st time buyer advice

[Trin_Prince]

What is the name of your state? New York

Hello,

I'm currently living in New York (borough is Queens). I'm interested in purchasing a condo or moving to a co-op.

I currently don't feel safe @ present location (drug dealers, crime) and don't want to leave my mother/father here when I leave to Florida to purchase a house much later.

I understand fairly about the condo and the advantages/disadvantages.

Can anyone give me some keen advice regarding what to expect when going out to purchase a condo:

Price range?
Qualifications?

I've read some of the pro's and cons already but I will purchase some books on the subject before making a purchase:

condo association fee:
[url]http://www.ricedelman.com/planning/home/rule14.asp[/url]

3 questions you must ask before buying a condo or co-op:
[url]http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/re...do-sidebar1.asp[/url]

7 Questions You Must Ask Before Buying a Condo
[url]http://loan.yahoo.com/m/primer14.html[/url]

A guide to buying a condominium
[url]http://www.ourfamilyplace.com/homebuyer/condo.html[/url]

How to Buy a Condominium
[url]http://www.ehow.com/how_111174_buy-condominium.html[/url]
[url]http://doityourself.com/resale/singlefamilycondo.htm[/url]

Thanks for any direction
Regards

I congratulate you on trying to be an informed buyer!

I do not know if anyone could add any more advice, except to say read the threads in this forum.

Condos seem to generate more problems than any other form of land ownership. I wouldn't live in one for nothin'....

[JETX]

Originally Posted by Trin_Prince

Can anyone give me some keen advice regarding what to expect when going out to purchase a condo

Yep. Talk with a local real estate attorney or agent.

[Trin_Prince]

Thanks for responding...

I'll looking real estate agents....

I'm just concerned about what kind of credit history is need to make a purchase.

Regards

Originally Posted by Trin_Prince

...I'm just concerned about what kind of credit history is need to make a purchase....

Trin [you don't mind if I call you by your first name, do you?]: Again, I am very impressed with your investigation of all this.

You will need an excellent credit history for a real estate purchase.

If you do not have a good credit history, you can still get a loan but you will pay a higher interest rate and the terms will not be as favorable as if you had excellent credit.

Regardless of your credit, get several different quotes and get (if you can) a loan commitment. Literally. Lots of places will tell you that you can have a loan qualification (or some such term), but that is not what you want.

You want a promise from a lender to loan you so much money at so much interest for so long a time, etc.

If a lender will not give you a loan commitment, thank them nicely then hang up on them and cross them off your list.

[BlondiePB]

Originally Posted by seniorjudge

Trin [you don't mind if I call you by your first name, do you?]: Again, I am very impressed with your investigation of all this.

You will need an excellent credit history for a real estate purchase.

If you do not have a good credit history, you can still get a loan but you will pay a higher interest rate and the terms will not be as favorable as if you had excellent credit.

Regardless of your credit, get several different quotes and get (if you can) a loan commitment. Literally. Lots of places will tell you that you can have a loan qualification (or some such term), but that is not what you want.

You want a promise from a lender to loan you so much money at so much interest for so long a time, etc.

If a lender will not give you a loan commitment, thank them nicely then hang up on them and cross them off your list.

It would be a really good idea for Trin to obtain his own credit report on-line. Last I knew one needed a FICO score of 620 to acquire the best mortgage interest rate. There was a list of things those moving to FL needed to know that was published not too long ago. Should I find it later on, I'll post it for Trin. The BEST time to look at property in FL is immediately after lots of rain has fallen. Then you can see whether or not the property floods even when the property is not in a flood zone - which is where most flooding problems occur in FL.

[nusias9]

Here is some advise based on our mistakes.

We bought a condo and failed to really investigate the building and the association. Now we are stuck with a $400k unit that still continues to be damaged and the association refuses to take action (5mths now). Damage is so bad that one room of our unit cannot be entered, floor collapsed, and mold is at extreme levels. Needless to say this has turned into a law suit.

Advise:

1) Make sure you have a good home inspector. Pay the extra money for additional services. Look at the list of extra services they offer. This will save you in the long run. Make sure the inspector is insured. House Master services Queen and will do a decent job. They have a 90 day liability clause in their contract. If you discover any damage, to areas they inspected, within that time frame their insurance covers a portion of the damage. Note home inspectors are not engineers...

2) I would pay the to have an engineer inspect your property/entire building. This is not required, but had we completed this step it we would not be in our position. The purpose of this is to catch possible issues ahead of time and inquire about the repair: repair date, cost, etc etc. You could also have the seller deducted future assessment, if not covered by condo association master insurance, for those repairs(not always possible but worth a try) If you identify major structural issues and the seller refuses deduct an estimated future assessment BACK OUT THE DEAL!!! You do not have buy anything, even after signing the sales contract, that has structural damage! I wish we had known this and we never asked our attorney. We thought we had to buy if the seller made reasonable repairs, because we signed a contract, as stated by our sales agent. Well, that's not always the case. Protect yourself.

3) If any repairs are required to the unit make sure you have your own contractor inspect the work. You need to have your closing attorney request this as soon as problems are identified. Also, request all information regarding the contractor(s) that repaired the work. Demand a warranty on their work, which includes labor and materials. GET THIS IN WRITING!!!!!

4) Meet the association. Ask questions!!!! Make sure to ask about the average time needed to make repairs. Ask to review the by-laws. READ THE BY LAWS!!!!!!!!! Ask about any/all changes made to by-laws!!!!

5) Understand that NO ONE and I mean NO ONE will care what happens to your unit as long as it is not affecting them directly. And when something happens that requires them to pay out money, they will do everything to delay and avoid completing the repairs until they are forced to make those repairs. Always be ready to hire an attorney. Do allow the association a reasonable period to make repairs. In some cases, there may be things like permits that actually delay the process. However, if they do repair your unit after 5 months like in my case, it's time to sue.

6) Do not believe your sales agent and or the sellers agent. They are only in it for the money. Best to get everything in writing, ask questions via email so you can maintain a record. Avoid having them answer via phone. They do lie and will say anything to make that money. If you have writen documentation and they fraudulently misrepresented the property you can hold them liable and have their license suspended. We are doing this now!!!

7) Demand disclosure!!! Demand them to disclose everything from the past five years. This played a major role in our being screwed. FYI- the C.A. has to disclose information as well. Don't be afraid to request that from them. Just have your attorney demand FULL disclosure.

My opinion is based on a VERY bad experience. However, if I had known half of what I know now, I would not be in this position.

GOOD LUCK!!! Just buy a small single family row house!! They will cost you the roughly the same amount in Queens.

Jersey City

[Trin_Prince]

get several different quotes and get (if you can) a loan commitment.
You want a promise from a lender to loan you so much money at so much interest for so long a time, etc.

seniorjudge, I'll be sure to look into this advice. Thank you very much...

The BEST time to look at property in FL is immediately after lots of rain has fallen. Then you can see whether or not the property floods even when the property is not in a flood zone - which is where most flooding problems occur in FL

LOL, never thought of that. I'll file that tip away for my mission to FL. Thanks


nusias9....
Thank for the local advice. Sorry to hear of your ordeal. I hope slowly but surely, things workout.

Its seems a massive effort to aquire a condo successfully.

I'll follow everyone's advice here during my search. Will post a update if successful.

Thank You
Happy New Year
TP

[DrewfromCA]

Also, don't forget neighbors. You might have noisy ones above or next door which could ruin your day... top floors eliminate them from above, but we have people below us that stomp around on hardwood floors, and we certainly hear it.... and I don't even think they know they are noisy...