The uncontrollable costs with a condominium are a pain! When I first bought my rental condos I was banking on at least $500 cash flow between the two of them. I purchased one at 55K and one at 69K. I rent them out for $850 each. Do the numbers. It sounds pretty good right? Well I thought that was pretty good in the intown market of Atlanta. Now at best I cash flow about $100 per month on both properties. Why? After the first month, the condo association decided that everyone should have a part in paying for the common element utilities on top of the association fees. Who knew that paying for lights in the interior hallway would cost $100-$150 per unit per month.
Yikes. That has eaten up all my cash flow. In the next 5 years we are expecting to replace the roof. That will be another cost I will have to incur. In my own building where I live, the association will have to decide this year to replace all the windows in the building. At 5K per window that could result in an assessment to pay the over 500K in replacements costs. I have four windows, that is 20K for my unit. Why we have to replace the windows in an 8 year old building is another article in itself. I will start by saying...the incompetence of our trusted city officials.
The inspectors of Fulton County...well in their haste to put up a condo building.
Hiya. I'm feelin' your blog. I have been reading it but just haven't commented on it. I like this blog. It's value-packed. Thanks.
Posted by: Baby Please | January 24, 2008 at 08:43 PM
This is interesting. I thought that one day I might buy a condo for rental. But I never considered all the unforseen problems.
Posted by: RE's The Thing | January 30, 2008 at 01:20 PM