New Tips for Buying a Condo in 2018

For many years, advice columns on condo buying and living didn’t change much. After all, condos tend to be similar regardless of what year it is. Now we know that this isn’t accurate, as too many things have changed in recent years. If you’re looking for condos for sale, consider the following tips that take the new real estate realities into account:

Opt for a Resale Condo

When you’re buying a condo, you generally have two options. You can buy a brand new one that’s still being built, or you can buy one from its owner after its already completed and lived in. Nowadays, you’re generally better off if you stick with the resale condos.

In the “old days,” new condos in their pre-construction phase didn’t cost as much as resale condos. That’s to be expected since resale condos allow you to move in right away. With pre-construction condos, you have to wait for a long while for the condo building to be completed.

These uncompleted condos tie up your money in the meantime, and you don’t get a return while you wait. On the other hand, with resale condos, you can rent them out right away for a couple of thousand dollars a month, and that’s just for a 1-bedroom unit.

Surprisingly, quite a few new pre-construction condos cost more than resale condos. That doesn’t make sense financially, so you should instead stick to resale condos to make full use of your investment.

Go with Older Buildings

Some people only prefer new condo buildings because old buildings can seem dated. But that will eventually happen to every condo building anyway. So it’s not necessarily true that older condo buildings are inferior to new buildings.

In fact, in some ways, older buildings are better. That’s because these older ones tend to have considerably larger floor plans, and the price per square foot is lower. Besides, there are easy and affordable ways to renovate an older unit than to buy a costly yet smaller unit in a new building.

Choose Buildings with Popular Amenities

These popular amenities will include swimming pools and gyms. These two amenities are great because they help keep you healthy, and at the same time it’s a convenient way to make new friends with your neighbors. Also, it makes condo life a lot more fun. While these add to your monthly rent, they’re worth every penny. Swimming and working out in a gym give you an opportunity to relax and work out. Having a gym in your building also keeps you from having to buy bulky gym equipment that your unit can hardly accommodate.

When it’s time to resell your unit, having a swimming pool and a gym can also attract more potential buyers and higher prices. These are two very popular amenities, and lots of people want them. It beats having to go too far to swim and work out. Who wants to waste time in traffic when you don’t have to?

Convert Large Dens to an Extra Bedroom

If you have a large den in your home, you should seriously consider using that space as an extra bedroom instead. Putting in a wall and door doesn’t have to be expensive. Meanwhile, you can add up to $50,000 to the price of your unit compared to selling a unit with two bedrooms and a den.

Condo living remains popular in 2018, but it’s a new year. By heeding these tips, you can make sure that you can maximize the returns on your condo investment.