If you are in the market for a home and you've decided to purchase a condo, you may want to be mindful of some potential hidden charges. First, often lenders repossess a home where the monthly maintenance fees have not been paid for some period of time. Since the normal fees in our area typically run anywhere from $150 to $450 a month, the total outstanding fees could total several thousand dollars. Lenders often will bury that the seller is responsible for making up these fees, in the addenda that they require be signed as a part of the contract. If you or your agent don't notice these additional costs, you could be stuck learning about them on your copy of the "HUD-1" statement presented by the closing company during the last few days before close, or even at the closing table.
If enough homes in the same community have been foreclosed on and home owners association fees have been affected, it would be wise to make certain that the condo association doesn't plan an increase in these fees to make up shortages incurred.
If you're looking for a real estate professional to help you through the process of purchasing a foreclosed home, call me at 1-866-200-5332 x.2002. You need an buyer's representative experienced with foreclosures, pre-foreclosures and bank owned homes.