5 Ways to Help Pick the Right Condo for You

Whether it’s just you or your entire family buying a condominium, you want the right one. Maybe your daughter once a swimming pool; maybe your son wants and arcade; maybe you just want a quiet place to relax. Whatever your needs are, finding that right condominium does take a little bit of research, but, I want to make that as easy as possible for you. Here are five ways to help choose the right condominium for your needs.

#1. Start with your budget.

You can afford a $100,000-$200,000 condominium that can really narrow things down quite extensively. If you can afford up to $500,000, the skies the limit when it comes to condos in Panama City Beach. There are lots of different options but let’s start with the price and then we can narrow things down to your needs and what you’re looking for.

#2. Location.

Do you want to be on the beach or on the other side of the road? How close do you want to be to the beach and how close do you want to be to certain amenities? Do you want to be within walking distance to one of your favorite restaurants? Maybe you want to be within walking distance or bike riding distance to shops and restaurants. Find out the location you want and the amenities you want close by. This can also narrow down your search to the right condo building.

#3. Look at the amenities.

Is security a huge thing for you? Then you might want a condo building that doesn’t have external access. You have to have a secure lobby to go through, up the elevator, and then get to your condo front door. Do you want more immediate access such as a one or two story condo building that has external access to the great outdoors?

Then comes the amenities; do you want to swimming pool, spa, fitness room, do you need meeting rooms or business centers? Do you are more activities for the kids? Do you want arcade? Do you want an in-house coffee shop? Make a list of everything your family would like to see in a condominium and the narrow those things down to the buildings that offer them.

#4. Talk to neighbors.

If you’ve narrowed it down using the first three points, talk to neighbors or the concierge in the building. You might be able to browse the grounds, ask questions, and ask potential neighbors about how much they like the building. Is there anything they would change? Do they like the condo association? Are there too many rules and restrictions? Can you bring pets along? All of these things can make a difference in choosing the right condo. If you talk to several neighbors and they all are frustrated with the Association or feel that amenities are not cared for, this could be a big deal on whether or not you want to live there.

#5. Find out the rules.

Every condo building has an association that manages tenants, owners and regulations and rules. Make sure you get a copy of the covenants and restrictions and go over them before deciding to buy a condo in that building. Maybe there’s something you just don’t agree with. Maybe you don’t like the way the association is managed. Mainly have litigations against them you’re not going to get into that mess. Talk to the board and the Association; find out if you’re allowed to rent out your condo or if there’s a percentage of occupancy that the building requires.

These five things should help you figure out what building works for your needs and your budget. If you have specific questions please talk to your local real estate expert at anytime. We can help you make the right decision an offer answers to any of your questions in these five points.

Thank you to Bob Jamison of Tuscana Properties for this article. Find out more about if a Realtor can represent both the buyer and seller here.