Condo Buyers of Fort Lauderdale Ask more Questions

Posted by Eric Miller on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018 at 3:01pm.

More Questions from Buyers Looking at Fort Lauderdale Condos for Sale

The other day Fort Lauderdale Realtor, Eric Miller of Keller Williams Realty Fort Lauderdale, a realtor who has been working the market of Condos for Sale in Fort Lauderdale for years wrote a blog post answering some of the top questions often asked by people buying a Fort Lauderdale Condo. The post has lead to many additional questions something we certainly appreciate as your Ft Lauderdale Condo Experts.  Today we are going to answer 4 new questions from people buying a Fort Lauderdale Condo and hopefully answer something’s you may have been questioning. If we have not gotten to your question please feel free to reach out to Eric Miller, of FortLauderdaleGroup.com at Eric@FortLauderdaleGroup.com

Condo Maintnance Fees in Fort Lauderdale 

1-When buying a New Construction Condo in Fort Lauderdale new condo how confident can I be about the developers estimate of operating expenses and future maintenance increases?

Unfortunately, if history repeats itself you may wish to count on maintenance increases during the first few years of ownership after the owners take over management of the building. Some developers will include in their offering a thing called “deficit funding”. Deficit funding calls for the developer to fund any short falls in the operating budget. Overall it is a good thing, but buyers need to be aware that this deficit must be absorbed in future operating budgets, or the board will have to find ways to cut expenses. In addition, you can also count on additional maintenance expenses as the building starts to age and passes its warranty period.

Waterfront Condominiums in Fort Lauderdale

2- When I purchase a Fort Lauderdale Waterfront Condominium is the dock deeded to my unit?

The answer here is, maybe? This is an excellent place to understand why working with a Fort Lauderdale Condo Expert can help throughout the process of purchasing a Fort Lauderdale Waterfront Condominium.

Some docks belong to the individual owners of the unit and are in fact “deeded”. More often however, they are limited common element of the condo association, and unit owners receive the right to use, like the way they use a parking spot. Sometimes owners pay rent to the association for the dock. In some cases, the dock may actually be owned by a separate entity who rents the dock space and give no preference to unit owners. The rules of Fort Lauderdale Waterfront Condos can run the gambit and it is best to make sure that whichever Fort Lauderdale Realtor you choose to work with obtains the most current information on the availability of a dock for the unit you are buying.

Older Fort Lauderdale Condo Buildings

3- Many Fort Lauderdale Beachfront Condos are over 40 years old should it concern me to buy in an older Ft Lauderdale Condo building?

Buyers of older Fort Lauderdale Condos need to conscious that Broward County follows the following procedure. The 40 year and older Building Safety Inspection Program was created in 2005. Broward’s program calls for structural and electrical safety inspections for buildings 40 years old or older and every ten years thereafter. When buying in an older Fort Lauderdale Condominium it is important to know where they are in the 40-year inspection process. Buying after the 40-year inspection of the Fort Lauderdale Condo building has been done and all repairs complete and paid for, in a great time to purchase.

Mixed use Fort Lauderdale Condominium Buildings 

4- Some Fort Lauderdale Condos have commercial space within the property. Will being in a mixed-use building like this make my maintenance lower?

Unfortunately, this is usually not the case. Commercial space within the building is part of the overall square footage of the property and has a maintenance budget applied to it. In some cases, the commercial spaces are sold just like condominiums and have individual owners just like you. In other cases, the original developer remains the owner of the commercial space and collects rent. Occasionally the commercial space becomes the property of the association, but this is often more of a burden on the association than an asset. If you see a commercial element in a building which contains a Fort Lauderdale Condo for Sale that you are interested in it is imperative that you ask questions and understand exactly how the commercial space relates to your Fort Lauderdale Condo purchase.

 

Eric Miller is an award winning Florida Realtor, salesperson and broker. His website, FortLauderdaleGroup.com provides an up-to-date guide to Fort Lauderdale Condos for sale, and the most complete buyer, seller and investor information for the Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Market.

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