Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The financial condition of the association is important. You'll want to see the most recent engineer's inspection of the building and condition of its major systems.
Also, be aware a condo in a building with a high ratio of renters to owner occupants can be difficult or impossible to buy or sell, because banks won't lend against them.
The renter thing is a myth. Old busy bodies on board tell you that. And the renter thing is hard to find out in some condos. My condo which I am on the board of we only once in last 7 years got a single questionnaire from a bank regarding renter vs owner occupancy. Now in a Fannie approved building they ask some questions but the renter vs owner however it only impacts a mortgage when an investor buys into the building to rent they would allow it if above threshold. A primary owner will still go through.
Also a lot of condos only issue financials once a year, my condo does it every May right after tax return. Not all buildings do a formal reserve study or engineers report. My state I own the condo not required and no condo lawyer in his right mind would
Allow it to be done unless required by law.
Also self management buildings means pretty much you will end up on board or helping out at some point. Also a lot of condos dont want conforming mortgages as it causes default risk
In my larger building, it is so not a myth (and something banks started to care about a whole lot during the financial crisis - but I think it migth be the difference between the self management building PP describes and my larger one. That said, you may want the larger, professionally managed one for your parents, as they also tend to come with more amenities, etc.
In addition to elevators, you might want to look for buildings with on site maintenance staff and easy visitor parking, which helps if they eventually want to use home health aids. A staffed front desk is nice for deliveries.
You may find there's a bit of tension between the type of building that's nice for retirees looking to age in place (other retires, lots of support services, quiet, convenient visitor parkign) and places that are easy to rent and have a lot of appreciation (i.e. millenial renters). Might want to focus on a place that suits their needs and with a relatively strong resale history, so that selling it, if that becomes sensible, is easier. That said, a lot of the large building 1960s condos on Connecticut Ave in DC seem to have a lot of older people and good numbers of rentals to younger ones.