Salt Lake City Condos
There are quite a few differences between Salt Lake City condos
and single family homes in Salt Lake City.
Ownership of Condos
The ownership of a condo is usually just the inside of the unit. Everything outside of the unit is owned equally or proportionately to the size of the unit, by all the owners in the condominium complex.
Condos typically have a Home Owners Association (HOA) which is similar to a board of directors.
The HOA manages operations, maintenance for the common areas, the finances and the money collected from HOA fees. They also make critical decisions about when to make major improvements like roof replacements and sometimes deal with the city and county .
With condos, you usually pay a home owners association (HOA) fee which pays for maintenance and improvements of the exterior and common areas. Lawns, landscaping, roofs, elevators and roads are typically maintained by the HOA. Some other items the HOA fee may include are water and sewer. Sometimes they even include basic cable. And if the heating and cooling system is centralized like in a big high rise, this too might be in the HOA. All of this varies and it's very important to determine what's included in the HOA fee. As your real estate agent, I can determine this for you. Then, when you put a condo under contract I can get you a copy of the condos CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions) so you can review them to confirm.
The HOA of some condos are managed better than others. Check on how much money the HOA has in reserves and if that’s an adequate amount considering what needs to be done. If it's not you could get stuck with a one time assessment for a large amount of money or experience a major increase in your monthly HOA fee. Look around at the grounds, the roads and the exterior of the buildings. Is everything well kept?
What About Pets in Condos?
Condos sometimes don't allow pets or limit them by size or type of pet. For example, some condos only allow dogs below 20 or 40 lbs, or only allow cats, fish or birds, or might not allow any pets at all. Check with your Realtor and confirm with the Condos CC&Rs or House Rules for that condo project.
When buying Salt Lake City condos always:
- Check the finances (budget and savings) of the condo project.
- Determine if there are any one time assessments (past, present or future).
- Read over the CC&R’s, bylaws, amendments, and house rules.
- Ask about the HOA fee, has it been stable, are there any future increases planned?
- Review the minutes of at least the last 2 HOA meetings.
- Ask if their is any pending litigation against the condos HOA
- You may also want to talk to the people involved in the HOA.
- There might be other things you would investigate, it depends on the property.
- Always have a Home Inspection done.
Condos are a great way to go. Salt Lake City condos typically cost less than a house and don’t require you to work in the yard. Some of them have amenities you could not afford if you purchased a house, like a pool, hot tub, tennis courts, club house or fitness center. The bottom line,
condos can be a low cost alternative to owning a home in Salt Lake City Utah. |
