Buying a Condo: Now vs. Later
There are two major minefields to keep in mind when entering the world of new developments. The first is financial. What happens to your investment if the building doesn’t sell out? The second is bricks and mortar. How can you avoid buying in a place that was poorly constructed?
“You thought you were buying into this beautiful luxury building that was going to be owned by people of substance, and you wind up in a building owned by a bank or being rented out for extended periods of time,” said Steven R. Wagner, a real estate lawyer with Wagner Davis. “This creates problems with financing, refinancing, buying and selling, but it also creates issues in quality of life.”
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If a building has been standing for only few months, there’s very little history to judge from, so the reputation of the developer becomes extremely important.
“There are some developers who have excellent reputations, do excellent construction and are well funded — and there are some buildings I wouldn’t buy in if you paid for it,” Mr. Wagner of Wagner Davis said. “So would I buy? Yes. But I would be very careful.”