Entering into a real estate transaction can be a rather intimidating proposition for anyone who is doing it for the first time. But even those who have owned, bought, and sold homes many times and are seasoned veterans when it comes to real estate can be baffled or uneducated when it comes to the purchase of their first condo. That’s because condominium ownership is different from “ordinary” home ownership in ways that are significant and can affect your rights as an owner, as well as the resell value and long term outlook for your condo development or building.
Condos are Shared Ownership Properties
The major difference between condo ownership and that of conventional single family homes is that – unlike ordinary home ownership – you share part of the condo community with the other residents, and each of you has a portion of the ownership rights over those shared areas or assets. You might, for example, have full ownership of your two-bedroom condo – but you only own a percentage of the roof above it and the plumbing system that services it because these items are also owned in part by other homeowners in your condo complex.
Shared Ownership Has Specific Limitations and Guidelines
What becomes particularly important is that partial ownership conveys only partial rights and control. If you don’t own the landscaping outright – but instead share its ownership with other residents – then you don’t have to assume full responsibility for taking care of cutting the grass and trimming the hedges. The responsibility is shared. At the same time, you don’t have the right to go and put in a cactus garden or cut down a tree without getting permission from a majority of the other owners, because the landscape doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to everyone who shares in the condo community.
Inspections
Because of shared ownership, any inspectors you hire prior to purchase should check your unit but also give you a written report on the condition of assets that are outside of your unit. These include any shared amenities or mechanical components like the building’s heating, plumbing, and electrical system; roof, foundation, parking lot, or basement.
Review the Association Bylaws and Deed Restrictions
The rules and regulations that govern such things as landscape maintenance, painting the outside of the building, sharing the swimming pool, and whether or not you can rent out your condo are all covered by covenants or condominium association bylaws. Before you buy, you should review all of these with a real estate attorney, to ensure that you know exactly what your rights and responsibilities entail.
For instance, you may want to buy a condo so that you can use it as a vacation rental for extra income. But the other residents may have already voted to make their condo development an owners-only project, with no rental units. Or you may have monthly condo maintenance fees of $150 to cover things like repairs, but the city requires that your building upgrade its sprinkler system and fire escapes, and those renovations will cost $150,000. In order to pay for everything, the individual owners need to divide the costs or take them from reserves. But if your condo association is well managed and professionally organized, it may have a large reserve fund for such capital expenditures. If that is the case, then you’ll get the benefit of those assets that have been set aside over the years to take care of unexpected expenses.
Condo Associations and Management
In other words, by buying into a good condo community you can automatically inherit some extremely valuable perks or assets. In fact, the covenants and management of a condo association may be the best selling feature because they add value to the quality of life for each owner. There might be rules against changing the valuable historical architectural features of the building you’re in, or the maintenance fees might entitle you to have full access to an exclusive club house and golf course. The point is that condo ownership is governed in part by regulations that should be understood before you sign on the dotted line, to avoid any unexpected surprises.
Condo Association Fees
Assessments or maintenance fees are usually mandatory and collected monthly, quarterly or annually. Failing to pay them could result in a lien being placed against your property. Find out what your fees cover and don’t cover, and then compare them to the fees for similar condo associations in the vicinity. Then talk to current owners to find out how satisfied they are with their condo management and quality of life at the particular project.
A condo can be a dream come true, because it allows you to eliminate all the routine headaches normally associated with home ownership. But at the same time it may let you enjoy luxurious or unique amenities you could not afford if you were to buy a conventional, traditional single family house.

Apartment to a Condo: Tips for Success

So you want to leave apartment life behind and move into a condo? If this sounds like you, you have probably done all of your homework. You know the benefits of moving to a condo as well as what you will be leaving behind. But with that being said, you may want to learn a bit more about condo living before you make the final leap. After all, anytime that you change the way that you live it is a big decision. You need to make sure that your move to a condo is the right one.

For those who want to move from an apartment to a condo, here are three tips for success.

1. The most important thing that you can do is make sure that you look at more than one condo before you buy. Condo developments are on the rise, and you will want to make sure that you move into a complex that is going to suit your needs. Make sure you check and see how much the HOA fees are a month and what all is included in the HOA fees.  Some HOA’s include some to the utility bills! The only way to ensure yourself of this is to check out several units, and then decide on what is best from there.

2. Set a budget for your move, and then stick with it. Not only do you want to have a budget for the actual cost of the condo, but you will want to do the same when you are furnishing your unit. When most people move they decide they want new furniture to go with the new house.  That is great but you should never spend more money than you have, and by setting a budget you should be able to avoid this problem without any issues arising.  Money does not grow on trees and you still have to have money to pay the bills.  It is very important that you do not become house poor.  Be house comfortable.

3. Not all condos are created the same. Make a list of what you would like to see in your new condo, and then search for units that meet this criteria. This could include things such as parking spots, a swimming pool, or basic amenities.  Some condos have a contempary looks while others have the more modern look.  Some condos even use the orginial structure and you get to see lots of chartacter. The fact of the matter is that you should get what you want when you move into a condo. When you have a checklist of features and amenities it will make it much easier on you.  Condo living is not for all people so you need to find what you want and what will make you enjoy your new home to its fullest.

These three tips should allow you to move from your apartment to a condo with a high level of success. The most important thing to remember is that rushing is not going to get you anywhere. You should follow the three tips above while taking your time all the while. This will allow you to get the most out of your condo buying experience.

Remember that Nu Home Source Realty gives a 20% rebate to our clients who use our services.  Please see the website for all the details.

The recent boom in the Mississauga Condo market can be attributed to exceptional city planning, and an excellent local infrastructure.This in turn has attracted some of the top Canadian builders to construct attractive, and affordable high-density projects. Much of the parcels of land were purchase over a decade ago, and with the current annual growth, it has been a great time to launch their much anticipated projects.Top builders such as Tridel, Conservatory Group, the Daniels Corporation, Davies Smith, Fernbrook, and Amacon have embraced the city of Mississauga as the next phase of major urban development in the Greater Toronto Area.The Mississauga Condo market has experienced tremendous growth in the past four years since the boom in new condo development began in 2001. Mississauga Condo prices have appreciated *(11.93%) since April 2006 in only three years.In other words mississauga condos have appreciated approximately 3.9% each year for the past four years, which is equivalent to earning $7470.33 every year on your condos market value. This represents incredible value to the average condo purchaser in Mississauga, and proves to the buying public that buying a new Mississauga condo is in fact a great investment.See below for the average price of a Square One Condo year over year for the past four years. Square One Condos •April 2006 = $187,856 •April 2007 = $197,305 •April 2008 = $215,880 •April 2009 = $210,267 The most incredible statistic is when you take a closer look at the appreciation that the Mississauga Condos have experienced over the past decade.Ten years ago, the average price of a Mississauga Condo was $128,823. This represents a 63.22% appreciation in value in just ten years. It is equivalent to receiving a cheque valued at $8144.40 every year for the past ten years. The great news for investors and Mississauga Condominium purchasers is that because Mississauga condos are still very affordable, there is still an incredible amount of room for growth and possibility to experience appreciation year over year. Mississauga Condominiums Tridel has built such prestigious projects as ‘Skymark West’ phase 1 and 2, Ovation 1 and 2, Grand Ovation, and their most recent development ‘Ultra Ovation’ has been well received by the condo buying public. Recognized 3 years in a row by J.D. Power and Associates for customer satisfaction, the new Tridel condominiums have been a welcome addition to the Mississauga Condominium market. Conservatory Group has recently completed the ‘Universal Condo Mississauga’ tower on the Rathburn and Confederation intersection.With high-end finishes and an attractive price per square foot of approximately $278/square foot, this condominium provides exceptional value for investors that are looking to command an exceptional lease rate. Widesuites is the latest development by Conservatory Group, and this project introduces a new concept in Mississauga Condo design.The builder has inverted the floor plans so that the suites become wider, which in turn offers purchasers more window surface, and more natural light.The floor plans are open concept and very functional.Construction has begun, and Conservatory Group is still offering pre-construction prices. The WS Sky lounge will boast some of the best views in the city, coupled with exceptional amenities. The Daniels Corporation has certainly left the imprint in the Mississauga skyline with their master planed community at Mississauga City Centre.This five phase development includes the ‘Capital Condos Mississauga’, the ‘Garden Suites’, award wining ‘One Park Tower Mississauga’ and the newest addition to the master planed community ‘Chicago Condo Mississauga.’ With standard high-end finishes such as granite, engineered hardwood, and stainless steel appliances, Daniels condominium projects have retained exceptional resale value in the Mississauga condos market. Developer Davies Smith has been very active in the Mississauga luxury condo market in creating their 4 phase development directly across Square One shopping centre. Introducing the first series of modern loft units in the Square One condo market, the development has been attracting young professionals, and first time buyers into the growing Mississauga condo market.’Citygate Condos Mississauga’ set the precedent for modern, trendy development in the community, and the award winning ‘Solstice’ condo has since defined the modern condo lifestyle young urbanites have been seeking. Their latest addition ‘ONYX’ will take the loft lifestyle to the next level by devoting the entire North side of the building to 2-story lofts. The loft alternative will pose an exceptional opportunity for investors because of the shortage of available lofts, and the increasing demand amongst the Mississauga condo market.’Absolute Condos Mississauga’ has been dubbed the Landmark condominiums in Mississauga, and has created quite a buzz in the investor market, attracting many foreign investors from the Middle East, Europe, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Back in 2005 an International Design competition was launched to design a revolutionary landmark condominium in downtown Mississauga. Hundreds of architects from over 70 countries entered the design competition, and the public decided the vote on the 6 finalists for the design competition.With Tower 1, 2, and 3 complete, tower 4 and 5 are set for construction and will take Mississauga’s condo skyline to the next level. The most prestigious development out of all the Mississauga condos is ‘Parkside Village’ by West Coast developer Amacon. With approximately 6000 new units and 17 point towers slated for future development, a city within a city will emerge.Comprised of residential units and ground floor commercial retail units, Parkside Village will be a reminiscent of Montreal development where residents will be able to walk to entertainment, shopping, parks, and work in this new vibrant community.3 acres of parkland will wrap around the village, and the entire development will span 11 blocks.The suites will have all the luxurious appointments that Amacon usually provides the buying public, and with flexible deposit schedules, condo purchasers and investors have an exceptional opportunity to be a part of something special in downtown Mississauga. For Mississauga condo listings, condo descriptions, pricing information, interactive videos of condos in Mississauga, mortgage calculator, and valuable articles about the Toronto Real Estate market.Whether you are looking to buy a condo in Mississauga, or looking for mississauga condos for rent, visit Mississauga-Condos.ca your Mississauga Condos Source!