A condo is a great opportunity for home and property ownership but without the requirements of a yard and landscaping to take care of. And with a condo, you don't have to worry about replacing the roofing or air conditioner when you own your own personal condo space; but you do need to make sure you understand some of the decisions around shopping for and selecting a condo to buy. Here are some recommendations to help you in your upcoming condominium home purchase.

Find Out Fee Inclusions

When you are buying a condo, there are going to be fees associated with the property that are part of the HOA costs for the homeowners association. You should look at what coverage the fees are going toward so you know what you are paying for. 

HOA fees within a condominium will be used to take care of the maintenance in the building and its common areas. For example, if the condominium is in a high rise building with multiple floors, the HOA fees are going to pay for the exterior maintenance, with window repair and roof repairs, and will pay for the hallway maintenance, with replacing the carpeting, painting the walls, and keeping up the elevators. Then, if there is a parking garage and a lobby, the HOA fees will pay for the maintenance costs. Many condo buildings will have a swimming pool and tennis courts, or a workout room, and the HOA fees go to pay for the upkeep and repair of the equipment, the swimming pool deck, and the pool interior. 

Look at the Parking Situation

In a condo building, you will need to have a place to park your vehicles as well as access to visitor parking if you have anyone over visiting you. And for this reason, you will need to look at the condo's parking situation and find out the location and size of the parking stall you will have. You can look to see if the parking stalls are each assigned to a specific condo unit, and how many visitor parking areas there are. 

Some questions you may ask about include: Is the parking area in the garage below the condo building? Or is it located surrounding the condo building? If you are buying a condo that has a parking lot located on adjacent property, do you need to walk far to get to your condo in the building or can you expect an easy walk each day to and from the parking lot to your condo unit? This can be a big factor in deciding if the condo is the right one for you.

For more information, reach out to a real estate agency and ask about available condominiums.