All About Condo Living

How to Buy a Condo

Rene — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:00:07 +0000

1. Ponder on the thoughts when preparing to buy a condo. Is it the right move? Will it fit my budget? Will it fit my Lifestyle?

2. Check the advantages and disadvantages of an urban lifestyle. Check out various Condos and note their strengths and weaknesses and also take note of the price range.

3. Get pre-qualified for a mortgage.

4. Inspect the building complex of your desired condo location. See my article on how to inspect for a condo unit.

5. Make an offer and close on the deal.

Before you buy a Condo Unit

Rene — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:35:27 +0000

Before buying a condo unit, you should first check if the condo management has rules about the maximum number of condo rental units that will be allowed. This is because living beside a unit that is strictly occupied by the owner is very different from living with a rental unit as your next door neighbor.

Simple Ideas Before You Move In To Your Condo

Rene — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:35:47 +0000

Many young couples and single professionals prefer to live in a condo than to stay in a house nowadays. Aside from the convenience that it brings, it also makes your living lifestyle simple and uncomplicated.

However, many face the problem of choosing the correct furniture for their unit. There are many condo units available in the market today. There are studio types, one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom units. Your furniture will depend on the kind of unit you have. The key here is to properly examine your unit before you purchase anything. But if your condo space seems to be small and lack of storage space seems to be a problem, then it is suggested that you have some of your furniture custom made.

The benefits of having a garbage chute.

editor — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:33:24 +0000

The garbage chute is probably the most forgotten part of the condominium—yet the most important. Without it, the condominium will be good for nothing but a dumping site. Condo occupants are living the convenient life, and nobody would want to go down the stairs just to throw trash. The difference between a house and condo when it comes to garbage disposal is that, people living in condos have a “tidier” and “organized” way of throwing stuff, while people living in houses normally put their trash in one area (communal) for the germs and flies to feast on. Uh-oh! Watch out for the neighbor’s cat!

Photo taken from http://www.dakotavalleyrecycling.org

Parking Issues

Rene — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:00:04 +0000

Buying a parking space is usually an extra expense at condominiums. Also, there are certain conditions which contribute to the price of the parking spot.

1. The number of people staying in the area versus the available space for parking. This usually brings the price higher.

2. The parking area itself. The spacing and the number of cars the parking lot can accommodate greatly affects the pricing for a parking slot.

3. Security. The kind of security they have definitely contributes to the pricing. After all, you trust them to make sure that it stays where it is.

Things to consider when moving in

Rene — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:00:59 +0000

When selecting that residential area, you also need to consider a number of things regarding the neighborhood:

1. The buildings within the area: check the proximity of schools, hospitals and other buildings to your chosen area, so that you know where to go in times of emergency and also so you can estimate whether your area is a passing-thru area for other people who have to go to these places.

2. Traffic situation: The closer you are to business establishments and other major institutions, the greater the chances that your neighborhood will be exposed to noise and to heavy traffic.

3. History. What was the area before they put up your house? It pays to know what was once there.

Healthy Air

Rene — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:48:19 +0000

This is a very rare occurrence in many cities the world over due to the pollution we have from cars and the many industrial plants that may bring more than the normal pollution sources. There is however a lot of products that can not only filter air but kill viruses and bacteria that used to cause the musky smell of old air conditioning units. Old AC units, get them cleaned frequently so they stay efficient and eat less electricity.
Get hold of some after-market filters that trap better than the original built-in filters, some form 3M are dipped in special anti-bacterial solutions that kills contaminants and have better filtering abilities. Space filters that act like large vacuum cleaners are also available and they normally come with activated carbon filters that gets odors out of the contaminated air of such and enclosed space as a condo.

Glass Balconies

Rene — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:45:22 +0000

This is one of the rages that is sweeping the nation of condo dwellers and has many people afraid of heights screaming, glass patios that seemingly has you hanging in mid-air and allowing unimpeded views of the floors and grounds below. There may be some privacy issues but it is indeed a novelty and kids love them. They are normally made up of laminated glasses that has alternating layers of glass and tempered glass that makes them quite tough and shatter proof.
They have been installed on some of the newest properties but your stomach for heights may have to be tested, to the extreme. You may have to change your habits in terms of clothing for your neighbors would surely be looking up to you, for the wrong reasons.

A Windy Situation

Rene — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:04:27 +0000

Condo’s being of height can be quite challenging when it comes to issues regarding the weather such as rain and high winds during stormy weather, warm and hot air when it’s sunny. A simple fix can be to use special window films if the windows are not treated with them to shield you from the hot sun keeping you cool and saving on power with the AC. Wind seeping into your unit can constitute quite a headache for dust and other contaminants can easily get into your unit and even water if the winds are strong enough. They can damage hardwood floors and even furniture so be sure to draft check the unit from time to time. Glass panes on patio’s should be either tempered or strengthened glass which is tougher than normal glass with the addition of several layers of polycarbonate plastic making them similar to bullet-resistant glass used on armored vehicles.
Special lighting that is adaptive meaning you set the desired level of light you need, thanks to LED lamps that are now replacing incandescent and florescent bulbs. They are cheaper to operate and last many times over compared to other lamp types. They can be prohibitively expensive but their cost is quickly recovered in therms of savings on electrical power consumption. Want automatic lights, sensors can be placed on the patio to turn on the light automatically giving the impression of occupancy deterring threats such as break-ins that can still happen even with already tight security in condo’s. Live high up on the upper floors, get a wind turbine to generate some green power lowering the power you need to run appliances and many other stuff.

Green Condo, Classy Condo

Rene — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:04:14 +0000

There is a notion in today’s environmentally conscious world that green is in which is mostly a very good choice yet not always the best for old condos that were built when caring for mother earth wasn’t always the norm of the time. But this doesn’t mean you can’t do your own little part in the greening of your particular unit for the simple act of changing all your lighting with CFL’s or energy saving lamps may be a good start. Old buildings also had a menagerie of appliances that were not too good for the environment, these appliances can be replaced by better newer ones that are more efficient and thus saving you more in terms of electrical consumption.
Adding plants such as bamboo in containers can greatly add to the amount of good oxygen in such housing units such as condo’s for they are normally closed up most of the time with heavy use of climate control in terms of heating and cooling. Just be sure to check for allergies before getting them for there are some unseemingly dangerous plants you may not know of. Turn off or unplug appliances opting not to use the sleep mode which consumes vampire power when they go into standby.