3B Limo

Once you’ve decided that everything else about the condo is to your liking, how do you decide whether it’s worth what the seller or the developer is asking for it? As with any kind of real estate, the “fair market value” of a condo is whatever a willing buyer will pay a willing seller. But before you open your wallet, remember that there are some objective ways of measuring value. First, look at the prices of comparable units in the same building and in the same and similar neighborhoods. There are publications in some areas that report real-estate transactions on a regular basis, and these are good sources of information on comparable values. You can also obtain such information from the registry of deeds or the town clerk’s office, where all real-estate transactions are recorded. If the seller is asking $100,000 for the unit you’re considering and an identical unit across the hall sold the previous month for $80,000, then you have a serious problem with the price. A look at recent seffing prices of comparable units wifi give you at least a general sense of the market and a basis for deciding whether the price being asked for the unit you’re interested in is reasonable.
One way to compare the price of different condos is to look at the cost per square foot. Just take the selling price and divide it by the total number of square feet in the unit. But make sure you use only the figure for livable square feet, which is not necessarily the same as the total number of square feet. A 1,500- square-foot unit is not as spacious as it sounds if that area includes a 500-square-foot hallway. When you’re looking at condos, it’s not a bad idea to have a tape measure with you, since developers are sometimes imprecise about such distinctions. Suppose you’re looking at two comparably priced condos. Each has 2,000 square feet, but condo A has a 200-square-foot hallway and condo B doesn’t, so you’re getting more living space for your money with condo B. At $100 per square foot, you’re paying $20,000 for that hallway. You have to ask yourself whether it’s worth it.
You also have to consider that size is not the only determinant of value. A 3,000-square-foot unit will not usually cost twice as much as a 1,500-square-foot unit in the same building. This is because some basic costs (the building infrastructure, for example) will be the same for both units. On the other hand, a 1,500-square-foot luxury unit with a water view will undoubtedly cost more than a 3,000-square-foot unit in a renovated warehouse on the wrong side of town.
When you’re comparing one unit with another, you’re obviously going to have to consider factors other than simply the cost per square foot. Don’t mix apples and oranges when weighting the footage values of the dwellings you consider.
If you’re buying a unit in an existing building, you’re also going to want to have some idea of what the resale experience has been for other units in that complex. How rapidly have prices increased? When units go on the market, how quickly do they sell? Remember, you may want to sell your unit one day, so you’ll want to be sure that the appreciation rate for condos in this building has been in line with the general appreciation rate for condos in your market. You can check on recent sales by doing some research at the appropriate registry of deeds or town hail, wherever the property filings are recorded. You can ask other unit owners in the complex for a reading. Or if you’re really concerned, you can hire an appraiser to analyze the market for you. General economic conditions have everything to do with the rate of appreciation of real-estate values, but if condo values are soaring everywhere except in the development you’re considering, you need to wonder why. It’s possible that you’ve stumbled onto a big bargain, but it’s also possible that you’ve stumbled onto big problems.