Questions to Ask When Buying a Condo
A condo purchase is two purchases: the unit, and a share in an association with its own budget, repairs and rulebook. These are the important questions to ask before buying an apartment in any shared building, whatever the ownership is called locally. The 67 questions follow the purchase in order: what to ask when looking at condos and standing in the unit, what to put to your realtor about the building, then dues and reserves, the building itself, the rules, and resale and closing. Some go to the seller or the listing agent and some to the association or its manager. Ownership, disclosure and review rules change by country and state, so treat any answer about them as local.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
At the viewing
What are the monthly dues, and exactly which utilities and services do they cover?
Why ask it
Two buildings with identical dues can cost very different amounts to live in once you learn one includes water, heat and trash and the other includes none of it. Get the covered list in writing, then add every excluded item to your own budget before you compare prices.
What exactly would I own here: the unit alone, or a share of the building and the land as well?
Why ask it
Condo, co-op, strata and leasehold apartment are different kinds of ownership, and the word on the listing does not always settle which one this is. Ask what the deed or lease would say, whether a lease has a fixed number of years left to run, and how apartment ownership works where you are buying, because it changes what you can borrow against and what you can sell.
What do you hear in here on a normal evening, and where does it come from?
Why ask it
Put it to the seller, then test the answer by coming back once on a weekday evening and once on a weekend and standing still for a few minutes. Footsteps overhead, the elevator shaft, the trash room, equipment on the roof or a bar downstairs are the sort of thing people notice on the first night and live with for years.
What is directly above, below and beside this unit?
Why ask it
A floor plan shows your own walls and nothing past them. A gym overhead, a trash chute behind the bedroom, elevator machinery next door or a restaurant kitchen underneath will each shape how the place sounds and smells, so ask, then walk the corridor and look at the neighboring doors yourself.
Which way does the unit face, and could anything be built in front of the view?
Why ask it
Check the direction on your phone's compass and ask which rooms get sun at the hours you are home. A view across a parking lot or a low roof is only borrowed, so ask the agent what the lot next door is zoned for and whether anything has been proposed for it.
What is the parking arrangement for this unit: deeded, assigned, or first come?
Why ask it
In broad terms a deeded space is property you own and can sell with the unit, an assigned space can be reshuffled by a future board, and a leased space can be repriced. The deed and the association's declaration say which this one is, and the listing is neither of them.
Does a storage locker or bike space come with the unit, and is it written into the deed?
Why ask it
Storage that is merely assigned can be taken back or charged for when a board changes its policy. Have someone walk you down to the actual locker, since the one in the listing photos is not always the one that transfers.
How are utilities metered and billed?
Why ask it
Older buildings often have one meter for the whole structure, so heat and water are shared costs inside the fee regardless of how much you use. Individually metered units mean lower dues and a separate bill. A current owner's bills for a full year are the figure to get, because a single month hides the heating season.
Is the heating, cooling and hot water this unit's own equipment or the building's, and how old is it?
Why ask it
Equipment that serves one unit is usually that owner's to replace, and in a tower the job can involve a booked elevator, a permit and a contractor from the building's approved list. Read the date on the data plate while you are standing in front of it, and ask what a neighbor on the same floor paid to replace theirs.
How old are the elevators, and how often is one out of service?
Why ask it
On a high floor an elevator is part of your front door. The details that matter are how many there are, when they were last modernized, and whether one is locked off for hours every time somebody moves in.
Can I see the garage, the stairwells and the trash room before I go?
Why ask it
Lobbies get staged for buyers and back corridors do not. Stained concrete, exposed rebar, propped fire doors or an overflowing trash room say more about the maintenance budget than the brochure does.
Which amenities are open today, and which are closed, under repair or charged for separately?
Why ask it
A pool or gym is in the asking price whether or not it works. Ask how long anything closed has been closed, who is paying to reopen it, and whether guests, party room bookings or the roof deck carry fees of their own.
Why is the owner selling, and how long have they lived here?
Why ask it
A long stay that ends with a job in another city is an ordinary story. A sale after a year or two deserves a follow-up about the neighbors, the noise and the board, and it is worth asking whether the owner lived in the unit or rented it out.
What work has this owner done inside the unit, and did the board sign off on it?
Why ask it
A moved wall, a relocated washer or hardwood laid without approval can become the next owner's problem if the association later demands it be undone. Ask for the approval letter and any permits, and hold the floor plan on file against the rooms in front of you.
How many units in this building are for sale right now, and how long have they been listed?
Why ask it
Several units on the market at once, or one that has sat for months, is worth a direct question: is there a pending assessment, a lending problem or a dispute with the board behind it? Check the listing history of the unit you are viewing too, including any earlier sale that fell through.
Your realtor
How many condo purchases have you worked on, and have you sold in this building before?
Why ask it
A condo adds an association, its documents and a lender's review of the whole building to an ordinary home purchase. An agent who has closed here before already knows how fast the manager produces paperwork and which stack had the leaks. If yours has mostly sold houses, ask who in the office they would call.
Do you represent only me, or could you end up acting for the seller as well?
Why ask it
At a condo showing the person holding the door is often the listing agent, whose job is to get the seller a good price. What an agent may do for both sides, and what you have to sign first, differs by state and country, so ask how representation works where you are buying before you mention your budget.
What has sold in this building over the past year, and how long did those units take?
Why ask it
Sales inside the same building are the closest comparables a condo has, because the dues, the rules and the reserves travel with every unit. When units here take far longer to sell than similar ones a block away, the cause is often the association and not the units.
How do the dues here compare with similar buildings nearby, and what explains the gap?
Why ask it
An agent who works the neighborhood can usually name three comparable buildings and their fees from memory. Higher dues with a door attendant, heat included and full reserves can be the better deal, and unusually low ones should send you straight to the reserve study.
What are the property taxes on this unit, and could they change once it sells?
Why ask it
The seller's bill reflects the seller's situation: an older assessed value, or an exemption for age or owner occupancy that will not pass to you. How and when a sale resets the figure differs by state and country, so have your agent or attorney explain how it works there and budget from that answer, not from the listing.
Will mortgage lenders finance in this building, and has anyone been declined recently?
Why ask it
A lender usually reviews the building as well as the borrower, and thin reserves, a lawsuit, too many rentals, one owner holding many units or overdue structural repairs can each stop a loan on a unit that is otherwise fine. Ask your realtor whether recent buyers here had trouble, and give your lender the building's name and address before you make an offer.
What have you heard about this building from other agents and past clients?
Why ask it
Buildings have reputations among the agents who sell in them: the board that takes weeks to approve a buyer, the tower where deals collapse at the document stage, the one where units never last a weekend. It is hearsay, so use it to decide which questions to press and not as the answer.
What should my offer say about the association documents, and how long would I have to review them?
Why ask it
In some places the law gives a buyer a set number of days to read the documents and walk away, and in others that right exists only if the contract includes it. Ask your realtor or attorney how it works where you are buying, and count those days against how long this manager takes to send the package.
If I request the full document package today, how quickly can I have it?
Why ask it
The package is normally the bylaws and rules, the budget, the reserve study, recent minutes, the insurance certificate and the financial statements, and an organized association has most of it ready to send. A slow or partial delivery is itself an answer, and a reason to ask for a longer review period.
Which other buildings should I see before I decide on this one?
Why ask it
A good agent will name two or three at the same price, including one with higher dues and stronger finances. Walking through them is the quickest way to learn whether this building's fee, condition and rulebook are normal for the area or the exception.
Dues and reserves
How much is in the reserve fund, and when was the last reserve study done?
Why ask it
A reserve study prices out the roof, elevators, boiler and risers and states how much should be set aside each year. An association funded far below its own study is not a cheap place to own, it is putting off a bill, and that bill tends to come back as higher dues or an assessment.
How much have the dues gone up over the past five years?
Why ask it
Flat dues sound reassuring but can mean the board kept avoiding an unpopular vote while insurance and labor costs climbed. Small annual increases are the healthier answer, and five flat years followed by a sudden jump is the pattern to worry about.
Are any special assessments planned, under discussion, or recently completed?
Why ask it
Boards often debate a large project long before anything is formally planned, so the word planned alone lets a seller answer no honestly. That is why the question names discussion too, and why the answer is worth holding against the minutes, where talk of the facade or the parking deck is written down well ahead of a vote.
If an assessment is approved before closing but billed afterward, which of us pays it?
Why ask it
The answer comes from the purchase contract and local practice, not from fairness, and a seller has every reason to close before the first installment falls due. Ask your attorney or agent how it is usually handled where you are buying, and have the contract name any assessment already voted or raised in the minutes.
How many owners are behind on their dues right now?
Why ask it
Unpaid dues are made up by the owners who do pay, or they come out of reserves. Lenders look at this figure too, and past a certain share some will not lend in the building, so ask your own lender where its limit sits and remember that the same limit will apply to whoever buys from you.
Can I see this year's budget next to last year's actual spending?
Why ask it
Side by side, the two show whether the board budgets honestly or copies last year's numbers forward. Look for an operating shortfall covered by a transfer out of reserves, and for the lines that jumped, which in many buildings are insurance and utilities.
What did the building's insurance premium do at the last two renewals?
Why ask it
The master policy is often one of the largest lines in the budget, and a steep renewal goes straight into the dues or into an assessment. Ask as well whether the insurer changed, whether the deductible went up and whether any coverage was cut to hold the price down.
Does the association owe money on any loans, and what is being repaid each month?
Why ask it
Borrowing for a new roof or facade spreads the cost over years, which can be kinder than one large assessment. It also means part of your dues is already promised to a bank, so ask for the balance, the end date and what the loan paid for.
Does the developer or any single owner hold a large share of the units?
Why ask it
Someone with a block of votes can decide the budget, the board and the rules more or less alone. If that owner ever stops paying dues the hole in the budget is a large one, and in a new building it is worth knowing when control of the board passes from the developer to the people who live there.
Is anything the building uses leased instead of owned, such as the land, the parking or a recreation facility?
Why ask it
A ground lease or a recreation lease puts a payment inside your dues that the board cannot vote away, and some of them rise on a set schedule. Ask when each one ends and what happens to the building, and to your unit, on that date.
Once the mortgage, dues, taxes, insurance and utilities are added up, what does this unit cost me each month?
Why ask it
This one is yours to answer, on paper, before you offer. Dues never get paid off the way a mortgage does, so run the sum a second time with the fee a fifth higher and see whether the unit still beats a small house at the same monthly total.
The building
Can I read the board meeting minutes for the past two years?
Why ask it
Few buyers read them, and nothing else in the package says as much. Minutes reveal recurring leaks, disputes with neighbors, projects being deferred to keep fees down, and how the board makes decisions. If the minutes are thin, unavailable or clearly sanitized, treat that as information about how the place is run.
What major work has been completed in the last ten years, and what is next on the list?
Why ask it
Roof, elevators, boiler, windows, parking structure and plumbing risers all wear out on a rough schedule, and any one of them can be large enough to trigger an assessment. The answer tells you whether you are buying just before or just after the building's expensive decade.
Has the building had water intrusion, mold or pipe failures, and where?
Why ask it
Leaks tend to come back in the same stacks and the same corners instead of moving around, so where matters as much as whether. Ask the manager which units have filed claims, and search the minutes for the word leak.
Has the building had bed bugs, roaches or rodents, and how was the last case handled?
Why ask it
Pests travel between units through walls, pipe chases and trash chutes, so one unit's problem is rarely solved inside that unit alone. What counts is whether the association pays to treat the neighbors and can require access to do it. Whether a seller has to disclose a past infestation depends on where you are buying.
Has an engineer inspected the structure, the facade or the garage, and can I read the report?
Why ask it
Some cities and states require buildings past a certain age or height to be inspected on a schedule, so ask whether that applies here and when the next one is due. A report with repairs marked urgent and no contractor hired yet is the clearest preview of an assessment you will find.
Which repairs belong to the association and which belong to me?
Why ask it
The line usually runs somewhere near the drywall, but windows, balconies, sliding doors, in-unit plumbing branches and HVAC are assigned differently in every set of bylaws. A written maintenance responsibility chart settles it where the association has one, and a seller's verbal answer is not what a board will honor.
What does the master insurance policy cover, and what does my own policy need to fill in?
Why ask it
Wording varies, but a bare walls policy generally leaves cabinets, flooring and fixtures to you, while an all-in policy covers the original finishes. Get the master deductible too, because a large one can be charged back to the owner whose pipe failed, and check whether flood or earthquake is excluded if either is a risk where the building stands.
Should I have the unit inspected, and what will the inspector not look at?
Why ask it
A condo inspection normally stops at the unit: its plumbing, wiring, windows, appliances and any equipment that serves it alone. The roof, the risers and the boiler room are usually outside the job, which leaves the reserve study and the engineer's report to cover that half. Ask the inspector to look for old leak stains on ceilings and under every sink.
Who manages the building, how long have they been in place, and how do repair requests work?
Why ask it
Frequent management turnover often reflects either a difficult board or finances nobody wants to inherit. For the repair half, the seller will have a recent example: what they reported, how they reported it and how many days passed before someone came.
How many seats on the board are filled, and how often does it meet?
Why ask it
A board with empty seats and meetings that keep getting cancelled cannot approve a repair, a budget or your renovation. Ask how long the current members have served and whether the last election was contested, since constant turnover and none at all both deserve a second question.
Is the association involved in any lawsuits?
Why ask it
Pending litigation, particularly a construction defect claim, can make lenders unwilling to finance in the building, so tell your own lender as soon as you hear of one. Ask what the claim is about, the amount at issue, and whether an insurance carrier is paying for the defense.
What do owners complain about at meetings?
Why ask it
Ask the manager, and ask a resident in the lobby or the laundry if you can. The recurring complaints are the texture of daily life here: noise between floors, parking disputes, a slow response to repairs, one difficult board member. None of this appears in the listing.
How do people, packages and deliveries get into the building?
Why ask it
Fobs, a staffed desk, an intercom that rings your phone and a locked package room all work differently when you are the one waiting for a sofa. Ask what happened the last time packages went missing or a door was forced, and what the board changed afterward.
Rules
What share of the units are owner occupied versus rented?
Why ask it
Some lenders charge more, or decline, once the rented share of a building passes their own limit, so this number can narrow your financing and your eventual buyer's. It also tells you who votes: owners who live elsewhere may weigh a dues increase or a new lobby differently from the people who walk through it every day.
Can I rent my unit out, and are there caps, minimum lease terms or a waiting list?
Why ask it
Many associations cap rentals at a fixed percentage of units, require you to live there a year or two first, or run a queue. If renting it out is ever part of your plan, get both the written rule and the current count of rented units, because a cap already reached means no.
What are the rules on short term rentals, and are they in the bylaws or just the house rules?
Why ask it
Even if you never plan to list your own unit, a building full of weekend guests changes security, elevator wear and resale. Where the rule is written matters, because house rules can often be changed by a board vote while the bylaws usually need a vote of the owners. Ask what it would take to reverse it here.
What is the pet rule, including any weight limit, breed limit and number per unit?
Why ask it
Pet rules get amended often, and a new limit can bind incoming owners while the animals already in the building are allowed to stay. If your dog is anywhere near a stated limit, get written confirmation before you go under contract.
Is there a flooring or quiet hours rule, and what happens when a neighbor complains about noise?
Why ask it
Many buildings require a minimum underlayment or ban hard flooring above the ground floor, which restricts your renovation and also protects you from the unit above. A rule only helps if someone acts on it, so find out who takes a noise complaint and what the last one led to.
What needs board approval if I want to renovate?
Why ask it
Buildings vary from a simple written notice to full architectural review, a licensed contractor requirement, insurance certificates and a deposit. Permitted work hours, elevator bookings for materials and the time recent approvals took belong in the answer as well, since a committee that meets quarterly can delay a kitchen by a season.
Can I install an electric car charger at my parking space, and who pays for the wiring?
Why ask it
It depends on whether the space is yours, how much spare capacity the building's electrical service has and whether the board has written a policy yet. In some places the law limits how far an association can refuse, so ask how it works where you are buying and what the last owner who did it paid.
What are the rules for balconies, grills, window coverings and anything else visible from outside?
Why ask it
Exterior appearance is where many associations are strictest, down to the color of the blinds facing the street. If a grill, planters, a satellite dish or a bike on the balcony matters to you, find the sentence in the rules before you buy, because an exception asked for afterward is a favor and not a right.
Is smoking allowed inside units, on balconies or in the shared areas?
Why ask it
Smoke travels through hallways, vents and the gaps around pipes, so a neighbor's habit can become the smell of your living room. Ask whether the rule sits in the bylaws or only on a notice in the elevator, and whether anyone has actually been made to follow it.
How are the rules enforced, and what fines were actually issued in the past year?
Why ask it
A rulebook nobody enforces and one enforced by a single zealous board member are both hard to live with. The fine schedule, the warning that comes first and the way an owner appeals should all be written down, and the manager should be able to say roughly how many notices went out.
What does the move-in process involve, and are there fees, deposits or elevator reservations?
Why ask it
Move-in fees, refundable deposits, restricted hours and a single reservable elevator all shape what you pay movers and when you can book them. The strictness of the answer is also a fair preview of how the building is run day to day.
Resale and closing
What will I pay at closing beyond the usual costs?
Why ask it
Associations often charge a transfer fee and a document fee, and some collect a capital contribution from each new owner, set as a month or two of dues or as a flat sum. The manager can put the figures in writing, which matters because they rarely appear on a listing and go by different names from one building to the next.
Does the association have to approve me as a buyer, and how long does that take?
Why ask it
Co-ops and some condo associations want an application, references, financial statements or an interview before a sale can close. Get the checklist and the board's meeting dates early, because an approval that waits for next month's meeting can outlast a rate lock or the closing date in your contract.
Does the seller owe the association anything, and how is that cleared before I take the unit?
Why ask it
In many places unpaid dues, fines and assessment installments can attach to the unit itself, which would make them yours after closing. Ask your attorney or the title company how a payoff letter, or whatever the local equivalent is called, gets issued, and see it before you sign.
What does the seller hand over on closing day besides the door keys?
Why ask it
Entry fobs, garage remotes, the mailbox key, the storage locker key and the amenity cards are each cheap alone and tedious to replace through a management office. Put the count in the contract, and ask whether the building deactivates old fobs when a unit changes hands.
Is there a right of first refusal, or any restriction on who I can sell to?
Why ask it
Some associations reserve the right to match any offer an owner accepts, which can add weeks to a sale and put off some purchasers. How often the right has actually been exercised is the figure that matters. A restriction that is rarely used is a nuisance; one that is used often is a real cost to your exit.
What will the association charge me on the day I sell?
Why ask it
Resale certificates, document fees, transfer fees and move-out charges fall on the seller in many buildings, and you are the next seller. Ask for the current schedule now, along with any rule about signs, open houses or lockboxes that would make the unit harder to market.
If I had to sell in three years, who would the buyer be and what would hold the price back?
Why ask it
Condos with unusual layouts, high fees, restrictive rental rules or lending problems can sit for months in a market where houses move quickly. Being able to name your likely buyer, and what you would have to discount for, is a better test of the purchase than any general talk about appreciation.
Reading a Condo Association Before You Buy
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Using the List From First Viewing to Closing
Take the groups in the order you will need them
The groups follow the purchase. At the viewing is for the showing itself, Your realtor is for the conversation on the way home, Dues and reserves and The building are for the days when the association's documents arrive, Rules is for checking the life you plan to live against the bylaws, and Resale and closing is for the weeks before you sign.
Viewing an apartment to buy is not viewing one to rent
A renter asks about the unit and the lease. The questions to ask when viewing an apartment to buy add everything a landlord would otherwise carry: the roof, the elevators, the reserve fund and whether the neighbors pay their share. Spend half the visit outside the unit, in the garage, the stairwells and the lobby, and note the name of anyone who could tell you about the building later.
What to ask a realtor about a condo
Before the first showing, the questions to ask a realtor about a condo are about the building more than the agent: what has sold there, which lenders have closed there, how the dues compare with the block and how long the documents take to arrive. An agent who cannot answer yet should be willing to find out before you offer.
Send each question to the person who holds the answer
The seller knows the unit and the people on the other side of its walls. The listing agent knows the sale. The manager or the board knows the money, the repairs and the rules, and usually answers in writing through the document package. Your own realtor, your lender, your insurance agent and, where one is used, your attorney are the people to ask what those answers mean for you.
Ask how condo ownership works where you are buying
Condominium, co-op, strata and leasehold rules are local. Review periods, what a seller must disclose, who pays an assessment voted before closing and what an association may restrict all change by country, and often by state or city. Where a note says to ask how it works there, put the question to your agent or attorney before you make an offer and not in the middle of one.
Buying a condo in Chicago
The questions to ask before buying a Chicago condo are the same ones under local names. Monthly dues are usually called assessments there, many older buildings heat every unit from one boiler so the heat sits inside that figure, and attorneys handle most closings. Illinois condo law lets a buyer request a set of association disclosures through the seller, which agents call the 22.1, and the city has its own inspection rules for the facades of taller buildings. Have your attorney confirm what is current before you rely on any of it.
How to Read the Document Package
Start with the minutes, not the budget
Two years of board meeting minutes tell you what the building is actually arguing about: a leaking garage slab, an insurance renewal that doubled, an owner suing over a balcony. Budgets are forward looking and optimistic by nature, while minutes are a record of problems that already happened.
Compare the reserve balance against the study, not against a feeling
Find the reserve study's recommended annual contribution and the reserve balance, then compare both to what the budget actually collects. A building holding a fraction of what its own study recommends will have to find the money somewhere, through higher dues, a loan or an assessment. For a rough sense of your part, multiply the shortfall by the unit's percentage share of the common costs, which the declaration lists, since units rarely pay equal amounts.
Match the master policy to your own quote
Get the master insurance certificate and ask your own agent to read it before you buy the unit policy. You need to know whether original finishes are covered, what the master deductible is, whether loss assessment coverage is included, and whether the building carries enough to rebuild at today's construction costs.
Talk to two owners who are not selling
Knock on a door on the same floor or ask someone in the lobby how long repairs take, whether the board communicates, and what they wish they had known. Sellers and agents describe the building they want you to buy, and residents describe the one they live in.
Red Flags in a Condo Association
- A reserve balance far below the reserve study recommendation, or no recent study at all.
- Dues unchanged for years while insurance premiums in the region have climbed.
- A share of owners behind on dues large enough that lenders start declining the building, for the next buyer as well as for you.
- Pending construction defect litigation, or minutes referencing an engineer's report you are not shown.
- A rental cap that has already been reached, if you might ever want to lease the unit out.
- Repeated leak or mold entries in the minutes with no completed repair recorded afterward.
- A management company that changed twice in three years.
- Any request for the document package that gets answered slowly or partially.
Costs to Add Beyond the Purchase Price
- Utilities the dues do not cover, priced from the seller's actual bills rather than an estimate.
- A unit insurance policy sized to whatever the master policy leaves out, plus loss assessment coverage.
- Your share of any assessment currently under discussion, estimated from the project cost and the unit's percentage share of common costs.
- Move-in fees, deposits and any capital contribution the association charges new owners at closing.
- Parking or storage that is leased rather than deeded, and the risk that it gets repriced.
- The dues increase you should expect over the next few years based on the trend of the last five.