Pros And Cons To Apt/condo Investing
I want to know the advantages and disadvantages of buying apartments,
(some call them condos) The two I am
looking at are in a nice area of the city,
both are one bedroom...tenants come
with the purchase. The apts. run from
50 to 60k, I qualify...just a little timid..
have done some research but have no
knowledge of real life experiences...
thanks to all who respond... 
About buying condos strictly as investment properties...
One disadvantage is, of course, the monthly association fee. That saves you from having to deal with maintenance but you'd be paying every month. If the monthly fee isn't paid (regardless of who's responsible in the lease), the condo owner is ultimately responsible. Condo associations in your area may have the right to slap a lien on the property for unpaid association feees.
Also in your situation, I would check out how well tenants are being qualified--good, bad, indifferent--and whether you'd be locked into paying some sort of tenant finding fee for every tenant, after the first one, who rents the property.
Before you buy any condo, I would suggest that you read the condo declaration, rules & regs very carefully to see what your and the association's rights and responsibilities/liabilities are.
thank you nancy...i will read all regulations thourougly...
The other thing to remember about the association fee is that you're not in control of setting it. If the condo association decides to add an assesment to the fee (because they're going to put new elevators in the building or whatever) then your monthly payments are going up. Could be another $100/month depending on the projects they're trying to fund. Unlike owning your own property, this fee is a variable that you cannot control.
Jason <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif"> [ Edited by jcstrang on Date 02/14/2004 ]