Greg Rand, CEO of OwnAmerica hosts Rand on Real Estate on 770 WABC takes a call from Maggie from Fairfield, CT who is interested in purchasing in Florida for retirement but is not quite sure if it should be a year round rental for now or a seasonal rental until she is ready to retire. Greg explains to her the importance of planting a seed for her investment and for when she is ready to retire with maximizing her capitol.
theflip.tv D. Sidney Potter, writer of The Flip: The True Life Story of How a Successful New Tract Home Investor Went from Zero to Hero, Back to Zero, talks about real estate, finance and other related topics.
Perhaps you and your family prefer to live in the inner city and are considering buying a condominium instead of a house in the suburbs. Condominiums are of course very attractive choices when it comes to urban living. Sometimes they’re the only choice you’ve got on a budget.
The area inside of your condo you own privately, while the area outside your living space, but connected to the condo complex, is jointly owned with the other owners. You will be a member of an “Owners Association” which will be responsible for seeing to it that all the “common areas” and maintained.
There are a lot of things you must think about before buying a condominium, but in this article lets just talk about the top 5 things you need to look for before buying. Of course, as in many other things in life, you need to look underneath the surface. Things which may not readily be apparent on your first or second inspection.
When it comes to the good and the bad, it’s the owners who will know best, not the sales representative. Try your best to get a feel of the owner’s association. If it’s possible to look at the records, or talk to the officers. Ask them what are the biggest issues facing the condominium building right now. Ask them also what are the things they’d like to see changed. This will give you a very good idea of what it would feel like to be a condominium owner here.
You still need to consult the other homeowners even if everything’s fine generally. You’ll be surprised about the amount of information that the seller will intentionally or inadvertently leave out (after all, it’s sales talk). Buying a condominium is also a long-term investment so the more you know the better. And you’ll have more confidence in your decision to purchase.
You need to find out how much money is in the “Repair Fund”. Step right up and ask if the association has had a reserve-fund review within the last five years, and exactly when the last review was done. If you find that residents, or owners, brag about how little they pay in maintenance, you may be looking at a complex that is not being well maintained or it could be living beyond its means.
The older the condominium unit the higher the repair fund should be, not vice versa. And older building will require more repair costs than a new building. Try to get access to the records. If you see that through time the repair fund has been declining instead of increasing, then that might mean bad news in the years to come.
If the owners aren’t paying on time then that could mean that the homeowners association doesn’t have the spending power it’s supposed to have. That could also mean that on a general level the people in the condominium building aren’t generally enthusiastic about their collective welfare. Remember you don’t just want a good living environment, you want good neighbors too!
If you forget everything else, make sure you get a copy of the “Certificate of Insurance” which will show you a summary of the association’s insurance policy. If insurance lingo is over your head, take the certificate to a meeting with both a real estate attorney and an insurance agent, that you feel you can trust, and have them both look it over and explain what is in it, and what if anything should be in it that isn’t.
Finally, you have to double check the legal situation of the condominium. Are there any pending complaints against the present homeowners association? Are these major or minor legal troubles? Your best bet is to look for a lawyer who has experience in real estate matters. A good legal record is an indicator of the relative peace inside the building.
If you’ve considered all these things then congratulations, you’re now ready to make that offer to purchase the condominium for sale! May it be a great investment for you and your family!
LVNV Funding is a firm that collects bad debts. A few months ago we started getting letters demanding payment for a bedroom set we bought recently. Because of the bad economy compounded with the loss of my job we were unable to pay them. They called all the time and I tried to explain that we were presently unable to pay any money. They would hear none of it. All they wanted to know was when they would get ALL their money.
I didn’t really know why they were calling me in the first place. I did not borrow the money from them, I had borrowed it from a home finance company. What I did find out is that they operate under various names, one other being Resurgent Capital. What I discovered is that they buy other banks loans and then do their best to collect by whatever means they can.
LVNV would literally call all the time. I would be having friends over and they would be on the phone. A completely embarrasing situation. If I didn’t answer they would call and call until someone would pick the phone up. I didn’t know what to say, I had NO money and NO job. They wanted the cash as soon as possible.
What I did next was call an attorney that a friend recomended. He was certain that filing chapter 7 was my only way out. This was not a great option for me because it would effect my credit for a long time. I was hoping to buy a house some time in the future and I didn’t want my situation to prevent that.
A friend told me that by sending a letter of explanation you can get them to stop calling. I looked up on an online forum that confirms this. So I send the letter out and the calls stop for a week or so. They are back to calling me now anyway so this ended up being wasted time. My credit score has shown a decrease of 100 as of now.
So I finally do end up getting a job offer and perhaps I can finally start paying these folks but at the last second following a credit assessment I am turned down.. At this moment I am beside myself, virtually no leads to get a position, collectors harassing me…
I am told of an Attorney firm called Lexington Law. I had never heard of them before. I checked their references and was told of positive things. I call the toll free number and explained my situation. They were very understanding and seemed hopeful my situation can be fixed.
In less than a few months LVNV seems to have quit phoning and that bad notation on my own report is fully gone. I now know that I am able to get a position and possibly that family home at some point. Hooray!
Are YOU being bothered by collection bureaus? Before you talk with LVNV Funding or anyone on the phone you are entitled to legal represenation. Also be sure to go toFreedom Credit Review for lots of good credit repair information.
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