Questions To Ask When Buying A Condo| River North Real Estate| River North Condos

Questions To Ask When Buying A Condo| River North Real Estate| River North Condos

You have been looking at River North Condos for weeks with your real estate professional(hopefully me) and you finally found the one you want. Before you contract to purchase your River North Condo or a condo anywhere else in the city or burbs, you should try to obtain and review the condo declaration and by-laws of which I mentioned in my last post.

Keep in mind that many times sellers will not give buyers their condo declaration and by-law info until they have a signed contract. So generally buyers will get the condo declaration and by laws from the sellers when they have a signed contract.. You may also want to review minutes of recent board and unit owner meetings and newsletters to be better informed regarding the happenings of the association..

If you buy a condo unit from a developer, the developer MUST GIVE YOU a copy of the declaration, a floor plan of the unit, and a current condo association budget.  if these items are not given to you when you sign the purchase contract with teh developer, Ilinois law give ou 5 days from the date you recieve these items to cancel the contract

Other questions to ask when reviewing the above mentioned documents are:

1) Will you be guaranteed the use of a parking space? If so is it a seperate unit or a common element? Is the parking deeded? What costs are involved

2) Are there restrictions on owning a pet? Are there additional pet fees?

3) Are there any restrictions on use? i.e can i use my condo as a business office?

4) Does the association maintain Reserves to pay for unforeseen expenses or to provide for future maintenance and repairs?

5) How much money does the association have in reserves

6) Are there any current or pending Special Assessments that have been implemented

7) Does the association plan any increases in the Monthly Assessments as a result of major repairs or replacements?

8) Is the condo building Adequately Insured?

9) Are there any lawsuits or liens against the association?

10) Are there any restrictions imposed on the Sale or Leasing of Units?  

11) Does the association have a Right Of First Refusal?

12) What percentage of the condo building is Owner Occupied?  This is very crucial to getting financing for your condo unit.. If there is a large amount of renters in your building, your lender will not be able to get you financing for your condo

13) What do the Monthly Association Fees include?

Looking to Buy or Sell a River North Condo or home? Or just want to speak to an experienced Chicago River North Realtor? If so, please CONTACT ME any time day or night ! Let my

Jim Kontos
President--Broker--River North Real Estate Expert--River North Resident--River North Short Sales Expert
RE/MAX 1st Class
RE/MAX River North
Direct 630 327 9136
Office 847 674 9797
Office #2 312 643 2087
jpkontos@gmail.com
www.rivernorthhomes.com
www.mychicagoshortsalesite.com
www.jkontos.illinoisproperty.com 

 

 

 

Comments

[Vinny]

This site is like a classorom, except I don't hate it. lol

[condo Philippines]

Good post. I never thought of it that way. Thanks for this entry.

Andy

[Unitech New Residential Project Unihomes 3]

Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on this topic.