What to Know Before Buying a Condo

Chicago Real Estate Podcast with Vergis Eiland

If you’re thinking of buying a condo, there are six things you need to know first.

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Did you know that between the South Loop, Downtown, Gold Coast, and the West Loop, there are almost 2,400 condos for sale? Before you buy one of these condos, here are six things you need to know:

1. How the condo association is being run. For example, who’s the president? Who’s the vice president? Who’s the treasurer?

2. How the condo association’s budget looks. It might look like it’s being run well, but you should ask to see a copy of the budget and its records for the past two years. You need to make sure they’re putting enough money away for reserves (normally, 10% of the budget should be cash reserves). If they don’t have enough, you have to pay a special assessment, which can be very expensive.

3. What the delinquency rate is. How many of the owners are behind on their dues? How many of the condos have foreclosed? Hopefully that number is close to zero.

To make sure the building is insured, you can ask for a copy of its insurance certificate.

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4. Whether the building is insured or not. To make sure the building is insured, you can ask for a copy of its insurance certificate.

5. Whether there are a lot of absentee owners in the building. How many renters live in the building versus actual owners?

6. Whether there are any lawsuits against the condo association.

If you have any other questions about this topic, don’t hesitate to call or email us anytime. We’d be glad to help you.