IndependentlyPoor
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
It looks like we are going to have to move out of our tiny, funky, aerie-on-the-alley (recently sold and new owners unlikely to want strangers living in their back yard)
so we are thinking about buying a condo.
One of the new downtown towers recently reduced it prices 20%, from you-gotta-be-kidding to merely gasp inducing expensive. The salescritter claims that the place is 60% sold. Handover of the HOA would take place at 75%.
With the current economic environment, we are worried about the developer (or their bank) going broke. Is there any way to get some info on this? I don't even know where to start looking.
I know we should read the HOA agreement and bylaws, but what else should we check on? And what are the red flags to look for in the HOA docs?
I hate house/condo shopping more than anything. In addition, we are having a very hard time deciding how much is reasonable to spend. Converting liquid, dividend producing assets to illiquid real estate tax producing assets is unpleasant. Upping our withdrawal rate to pay a mortgage is not a comforting thought. OTOH, buying instead of renting could be a good inflation hedge.
A condo in a desirable location would mean a 3x increase in our housing costs. Presently, we have a very low withdrawal rate (see tiny apt above), so we could theoretically afford the increase - we would still be within the 4% rule; but we have a major case of cold feet.
Any advice would be appreciated.
so we are thinking about buying a condo.
One of the new downtown towers recently reduced it prices 20%, from you-gotta-be-kidding to merely gasp inducing expensive. The salescritter claims that the place is 60% sold. Handover of the HOA would take place at 75%.
With the current economic environment, we are worried about the developer (or their bank) going broke. Is there any way to get some info on this? I don't even know where to start looking.
I know we should read the HOA agreement and bylaws, but what else should we check on? And what are the red flags to look for in the HOA docs?
I hate house/condo shopping more than anything. In addition, we are having a very hard time deciding how much is reasonable to spend. Converting liquid, dividend producing assets to illiquid real estate tax producing assets is unpleasant. Upping our withdrawal rate to pay a mortgage is not a comforting thought. OTOH, buying instead of renting could be a good inflation hedge.
A condo in a desirable location would mean a 3x increase in our housing costs. Presently, we have a very low withdrawal rate (see tiny apt above), so we could theoretically afford the increase - we would still be within the 4% rule; but we have a major case of cold feet.
Any advice would be appreciated.