What You Should Know About Owner-Occupancy Rates When Buying A Condo

If you are ready to downsize to a smaller home and are hoping to find one that requires less work and maintenance, looking at condominiums for sale might be the best route to take. A condo is a home located in a community, and condos offer maintenance-free living. As you search for a condo to buy, there are a lot of different factors to evaluate and consider, including the percentage of units that are currently owner-occupied. Here are several important things to know about this important factor when buying a condo.

What owner-occupied means

Condos are part of a homeowner's association (HOA), which is an organization that manages the homes within the community. If you find a condo you like, you can ask the HOA what the owner-occupied rate is of the community. This rate refers to the number of homes that are currently occupied by people that own the houses they live in, and this number is compared to the total number of homes in the community. Keep in mind that in order for a house to be considered owner-occupied, it cannot be vacant or have a tenant renting the unit.

Why a community might have a low percentage

Higher owner-occupied rates are always good signs when shopping for a condo. Higher rates mean that there are fewer unoccupied units right now and fewer units that are occupied by tenants. A community with a low rate of owner-occupied units can be a red flag to know about when shopping for a condo. A low rate could indicate that the HOA is not doing well at managing the property. It could also mean that people are moving out of the community for any reason, such as safety reasons.

When there are a lot of renters, the community might be more run-down than if the units were occupied with owners. Renters do not always view property the same way as people do when they own their homes.

If you discover that the ratio is low of owner-occupied units, you may want to investigate the community and its organization more so before you decide to buy a condo located there.

When a community full of condos is run well by the homeowner's association, you are likely to find that there is a higher percentage of owner-occupied units. This is something you should look into before buying a condo, and a real estate agent can help you locate a condo in a well-organized community.


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