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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's not worth it. Condos, especially one bedrooms, don't appreciate as much as a house or townhouse does. DC isn't nyc or San Francisco. Unless you plan on living in it and never selling it and using it as a rental, it won't gain as much equity as a house will. I see too many people buying condos and being confused as to why it barely goes up in value in 5 years. Condos have their board that basically control everything and t[b]hey can dictate to raise the condo fees at any given month if the board agrees to it. [/b][/quote]

You don't seem to know exactly how a Condo works. Boards can't raise Condo fees any given month. Board approve budgets for the YEAR. Owners get at least 30 days to review a draft budget before the Board votes on it. The only time a Board can raise fees during a year is if the expenditure is more than 15% of the budget . The owners would have to approve that expenditure.[/quote]

New poster.  This post is a lie. I was living in a condo I owned. I was blocked by politics from renting my own unit. You really do get no say and they get away with [b]"enforcing" rules on you[/b], owners included. You can "vote", but most of the time, it doesn't matter. When you "own" a condo, you don't own anything unless you're directly on the condo board. [/quote]

Not sure what kind of condo you live in, but a condo board can't block you from renting your own unit if you are otherwise following the bylaws.

My old condo allowed rentals, so long as leases are at least 1 year long.  They couldn't veto any tenants.  Raising the condo fees, per the bylaws, could be done on a yearly basis (as with previous poster, our budget was decided for a year at a time).  But I believe it could be voted on by the tenants.  If there are repairs or that exceed the budget, the board can't just do what they want and raise your fee or give you a special assessment.  The special assessment route can only be pursued if the repair is an emergency and exceeds the repair budget for the year.

Condo boards can't change bylaws either, even if up for a vote.  Usually bylaws have to be approved by the mortgage holders.  (say a building can't vote to change the bylaws and not allow rentals, without mortgage holders' approval).[/quote]

You must've lived in one condo. That's cute. But that's not how all condo boards work. Some will use politics against you to persuade you. It happens all the time.

You shouldn't treat your one experience as the absolute one way things are to be done. It's not. They take advantage of people all the time, especially in the DMV area.[/quote]

I've lived in 2 different condos. Yes,[b] I get that bylaws vary from condo to condo and that there are real asshole condo boards.  [/b]

Please explain how your condo board has barred you from doing something explicitly allowed in the bylaws.

Based on the bolded above, I'm thinking you've tried to do something that is barred by the bylaws, and you are pissed off about that.  [/quote]

No. All I'm saying is that every condo board is different. They aren't one in the same. It's not worth it to live somewhere if people make the experience of living there a living hell.

But you're trying to say because you had your little 2 experiences,[b] all condo boards are the same when they're not. 
[/b]
Some condo boards are great, but some are full of power hungry maniacs who just want to nickel and dime their residences to death. You have to think why many condos in the area are so expensive yet still have amenities from the mid-90s.  My only point I'm making is to just be cautious and do your research before buying. [/quote]

I actually  said the opposite.  My point was that condo boards still have to follow rules in the bylaws.  What you said was the opposite - you have the right to rent your unit per the bylaws, but the condo board has somehow been blocking you.  Given that you won't provide details, I think you're full of shit.

I agree that many condos have overpriced fees, especially the older buildings.  Newsflash - they have amenities from the mid 90s because they are probably buildings built in the mid 90s.  The fee doesn't just cover the amenities - it also covers the maintenance, repairs, and insurance - the cost of which increase as the building gets older.

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