Ten Tips to know before buying a Chicago condo

As part of my complete home buying consultation, some home buyers need to fully understanding if condo life is the right life. Complete transcript below video...questions? [email protected].

You want tips i've got tips this is 10 tips to know when buying a chicago condo and what better time to start right here see my information contact information i'm a local realtor helping people that are considering relocating to and within chicago and tip number 10 here is going to be agency this is the 10 tips to know when buying a chicago condo we're going to go top 10 style folks number one is really really critical so really stick around to the end of the video number 10 is agency agency in the simplest form is basically roles and responsibilities that i would have as your agent to you my client just like an accountant a lawyer a doctor the real estate agent i hope many elevate our profession we are up to that level as far as profession we not only just have a simple relationship is a fiduciary relationship which i take very seriously for example anything you say to me i keep in confidence i listen to you there's obedience so that is something of the agency disclosure that i sen sent out to all my prospective buyers now you may want to just simply hit that click that button and talk with redfin right it's simple we're getting in a one-click society but you don't have that person necessarily first of all that person is not necessarily a listing agent on the other side they they don't may have your self-interest at heart me as your agent i represent you your interests are my interest so that's number 10 agency where to live which is a little bit more important for a condo this is number nine because you may not have that car so do you want strictly appreciation in the areas where there's appreciating values are you looking for convenience and so it'll be a little bit trade-off of convenience and appreciation is this a transitional home where you're gonna live there for five to eight years and then move on to your forever home things to consider so look at each of those individually it's not just about appreciation it's very very important but no one knows what the the future will hold so those are kind of three things you need to look for is on where you want to live number eight the style a little bit more critical with condos versus the single-family homes but the style what type of home do you want do you want to live in the high rise with the all the amenities and the door staff do you want to live in a walk up which is three or four units where you have more responsibility versus the high rise with 200 units do you want a duplex which is multiple levels do you want what some people call a triplex here in chicago we call a town home which is three levels where you have a manageable hoa but you have responsibility of the roof which you may not have it's a shared responsibility if you have a walk-up or a high-rise so there's a lot to consider different styles of homes one of the most popular is a loft i actually lived in a loft for over 16 years i loved it do you want a brick loft do you want a concrete loft do you want a timber loft there's a lot of styles to choose from and that along with where it lives are kind of go hand in hand for example a wicker park which was one of my old neighborhoods traditionally has a ton of lofts there's condos there but you'd want to say okay i want a loft or not so okay i would then recommend bucktown wicker park there's some in south loop there's some in lakeview so really a lot of the style kind of drives where you're going to live and so actually in a way eight nine could be flipped but this is number eight style seven costs yes there are costs unfortunately a lot of buy related costs so you have of course move-in fees move out fees when you're dealing with condos you don't have those in single families and they could run 250 up to 500 or even a thousand dollars some are refundable some are non-refundable a lot of that drives that folks is what type of style you live in with the high rises having traditionally higher move in uh costs versus a walk-up where it's just you know self-managed you may have zero right with very low hoa fees so that's one type of cost transfer fees in the city of chicago total when you're purchasing property for every one thousand dollars purchased there is 750 seven dollars and fifty cents some referred to you a lot seven dollars and fifty cents per thousand purchased so you got to factor that in there so you know with the median price being 325 330 000 that's a couple thousand dollars right there just in transfer cost okay you may have lender fees lenders of course i'm more than happy to recommend you um a lender and there are associated fees i don't want to get specific with those because they could vary based on lender and what type of loan you have so you got to think about those right and we haven't even talked about inspection attorney appraisal right so you've got to really think about those costs and this is number seven costs number six hoa i just mentioned that hoa fees are very very critical so it also kind of jumps a little bit back to the style of home in your high rises that are older built in the 50s and 60s you're going to expect to pay a sizable hoa i'm talking 7 800 sometimes even 1100 just an hoa fee so if that if you're ho hoa fee sensitive you want that walk up i mentioned three to four walk up it is a share it shared only three or four people you usually probably paying 150 so and that uh walk up where you may have very low hoa fees right but then of course you're eventually going to have to fund for capital projects to handle any structural issues versus that higher hoa if you're in a high rise all that money there it goes into the reserves right and of course it's a shared cost so really just kind of balancing out it depends on your preference so if you don't mind paying the higher hoa and you want that doorman you want those amenities then you just have to justify it versus that walk-up where you don't have that added security but you have low hoas related to the hoa fees that association fees of course is understanding the association that you know of itself could take a little bit of time to get your kind of head around between the bylaws the meeting minutes how it's structured a lot of times you don't have to worry about it of course until it affects you so what usually happens is as i'm talking with you we are going to kind of go through um how that kind of works particularly it's not going to really mean much to you as you're searching for homes but when we do go under contract right my job along with your attorney partner it's our responsibility to kind of walk you through a lot of those there may be an upcoming assessment that the seller doesn't know about but it's stated in the minute so that attention to detail of course that's why you're you're hiring me as your realtor looking at that to make sure that there's no special assessments coming or any particular rules right they may change their rules on dogs for example right uh and banned dogs in the time we've gone under contract and those rules will say those very it's just something different versus your single family where really only the rule books maybe the manuals for the appliances um so it's just a different kind of mindset to have understanding those particular association rules uh is something that you need to consider storage probably something you don't really consider particularly if you're relocating a lot of my locals kind of understand that there's not really much storage mainly a cage when you're purchasing a condo in chicago but if you're relocating here and you're used to having a lot of space you're going to have to get your head around a lot of getting your head around right it's not necessarily bad but typically it's going to be about a three by six if you're lucky you may get an actual closet which a little bit higher but this is where this is what these they typically look like this is actually my my cage and my high rise but it's a storage cage and of course in the property you may have some closets for additional storage but make sure you understand is you really want to kind of be minimalistic particularly if you're kind of downsizing um from a big single family home into a condo and i'm assisting with that that there isn't going to be much storage right and not all condos have storage included so just be cognizant then that's important of course let me know neighbors love thy neighbor right well keep in mind right you know with a single family you have to deal with neighbors you have a little bit more space but in the condo you're living on the same floor and unfortunately we cannot ask due to fair housing we can't really ask about anything regarding the neighbors on your floor above you below you so there's a kind of a type of leap of faith right and you would think right we're all sensible human beings and i respect you you respect me unfortunately things happen of course depending on what style again of your home if you're a high-rise there's an appropriate kind of chain going through the association if you have any issues with your neighbors but something to think about you're gonna have neighbors you're gonna have neighbors across the hall from you down if you're lucky and you're on the top floor right or if it's it's in a walk-up then really you don't have to deal with neighbors below you if you have that top floor if you have a lower floor than people above right so then my job then is to make sure that that if you're worried about noise how much concrete is in between the floors right so you don't it gets buffered so something to think about neighbors that's just part of it these are 10 tips when you're when you are buying a condo

parking oh to park or not to park that is the question right indoor or outdoor so it's really going to depend mainly on your occupation i tell a lot of my clients to not have a car if all possible if you can do it let's find you a place with great public transportation a nice condo where you can walk you can walk to the grocery store you can walk to your local bar right but if you absolutely have one i strongly suggest getting a garage just for that added comfort it may be a little bit more expensive some are valet some are what are called deeded so basically you own it right and it's folded into the price purchase price of the condo sometimes it's separate it just really depends on the property and you do have to for those deeded folks just a kind of little little education you do have to pay an additional tax and there may be an additional assessment amount in that again i know a lot to kind of absorb but we can go through examples right of particular properties but my recommendation if you absolutely have to have that car and you can afford it is to try to get that garage spark spot if it's an outdoor spot try to get it secured and that's what we'll kind of talk about where i'm coming up here on this number one the most important i want to talk about right now that kind of encap encapsulates two through ten is the console this is where we're gonna go deep we're gonna talk about parking we're going to talk about storage where to live what type of style the most important thing agency which i mentioned in number 10 folks so consider scheduling this zoom which would be delivered via zoom right if you live here in the chicago in chicago i'm happy to meet you but delivery resume if you go below i have that buyer questionnaire that starts the process i would love to be able to talk with you regardless of where you're at in buying a chicago condo what stage and go through these steps and go through it we'll go through my website i'll answer all your questions i'm ananti orris a.d thanks for watching don't go i've got a couple more videos for you to look at stay on my channel any questions at all of course i always have my information below in the description or on the screen