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Interested in an FHA loan and a condo? Don't miss this!
Not all condos are created equally... at least according to HUD/FHA guidelines. If you're shopping for a condo using an FHA loan, here's what you need to know.
If you're looking to take advantage of an FHA Loan and are considering a condo, you should be aware that not all condos are eligible for FHA Loans.
A condo can be a great choice for a first-time buyer. Also great for first-time buyers? FHA Loans. Many FHA Loans require down payments as small as 3.5% of the purchase price of the property. They also create loan opportunities for people with less-than-perfect credit or other financial challenges.
The low down payment comes with some strings attached, of course, mostly in the form of an upfront mortgage insurance premium as well as an annual mortgage insurance premium charged monthly. (Full details about FHA Loans can be found on the HUD website, here: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/fharesourcectr.)
In addition to this catch, FHA Loans are only available for FHA-approved condos. The FHA wants to help buyers invest in assets which are worthy of investment in the first place. FHA requirements for condos are fairly stringent, and by some estimates upwards of 50% of condo associations fail to meet FHA guidelines.
Knowing this up front can save you a lot of time and hassle condo shopping. While you should consult with condo associations to determine whether or not they're approved for FHA loans, you can also use an online resource to help you with your search. Here is a link to an online database of FHA-approved condos:
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) FHA Condo Search:
https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm
Hopefully, this will help you in your pursuit to find an FHA-approved condo!
I'd love to help you locate the perfect FHA-approved condo. Get in touch with me today to start your search: bit.ly/laurakeyinfo
Condominiums – Should You Consider Purchasing One
Condominiums tend fall into the love them or hate them position for buyers
Condominiums are all about communal living, which can be good or bad depending upon your personal views. This type of communal living doesn’t refer to the failed experiments of the sixties wherein hippies packed into a structure and shared everything. Instead, the modern condominium community is all about sharing common spaces as well as rules, rules and more rules.
Condominiums come in all shapes and forms. Condos can be found in a single high rise building in a downtown area or in an apartment complex type of layout in a planned community. The structure isn’t the determining point. Instead, the issue is how the properties are owned.
Unlike a stand alone home, the property lines on a condominium are the walls of the structure. Essentially, you own everything inside the condominium as your individual property. Everything outside the condominium is owned jointly with the people who own the other units. These areas are known as common areas and are subject to group rule.
Every condominium has a homeowners association in one form or another. The association has rules set out by the original developer regarding landscaping and so on. Members of the community are then elected to the board of the association, whereupon the immediately become a focal point of aggravation from individual owners and often wonder why they took the thankless job.
The problem with the association and condos in general is the issue of uniformity. If you desire to change the exterior of your condominium in some way, you must comply with the rules of the association. This means you cannot paint your property a different color, do landscaping and so on. For some people, this isn’t a problem, but others are frustrated they can’t express themselves.
When deciding whether a condominium is a good option for your next purchase, you need to carefully weigh the restrictions of a particular association. If you consider yourself an individual and want to show it, a condominium is probably a very poor choice for you.
