Buying a Condo - What do I need to know?

[Motex2011]

[Motex2011]

[Big Block Power]

Very cool. Exciting. So how long can a boat stay at that dock in frt of your place.

[Motex2011]

Not sure. It’s first come first serve courtesy dock. I doubt that many people keep their boats there very long since there is no lift. Plus, it is on the main channel which is great about the view but hard on boats at the dock. I’ve never seen a boat in a slip there

[Big Block Power]

Not sure. It’s first come first serve courtesy dock. I doubt that many people keep their boats there very long since there is no lift. I’ve never seen a boat in a slip there

I'm just wondering while you're out doing water sports or when you come back for lunch or what ever can you park there for a hour or more or less so you don't have to go all the way to your slips.

[Motex2011]

Not sure. It’s first come first serve courtesy dock. I doubt that many people keep their boats there very long since there is no lift. I’ve never seen a boat in a slip there

I'm just wondering while you're out doing water sports or when you come back for lunch or what ever can you park there for a hour or more or less so you don't have to go all the way to your slips.

Yes. That is the most common use but you could park there overnight for the weekend or a week while vacationing there if needed. Just not for weeks and months on end.

[Big Block Power]

Not sure. It’s first come first serve courtesy dock. I doubt that many people keep their boats there very long since there is no lift. I’ve never seen a boat in a slip there

I'm just wondering while you're out doing water sports or when you come back for lunch or what ever can you park there for a hour or more or less so you don't have to go all the way to your slips.

Yes. That is the most common use but you could park there overnight for the weekend or a week while vacationing there if needed. Just not for weeks and months on end.

Man if it's not used much I would be all over that. It's in such a cool spot.

[Motex2011]

Well, the deal died on the vine. Long story, longer....

We are going through BofA because we moved some 401K money there a few years ago and it qualified us as "Wealth Management" clients (Translated: we want to manage your 401k, but it isn't enough that we aren't going to offer you tickets to any ball games or send you gifts on the holidays.) The program has been good and they have a lot of our information already, so we applied through the BofA mortgage. All was going well, we reported the renovation first thing and the Condo Review department looked it over and "approved" it. Then we started the process. The financial piece was pretty much approved from the start, so it all came down to the full condo review and the appraisal. It passed through the condo review and then the appraisal came back after a long delay and it was almost $60K under sale price ($195,000 vs. $252,500, AND it was valued as completed. There were a few problems with the value that I learned about after doing some research which may help others in Texas and possibly other states.

First, were the comps which were not good comps. The appraiser did a good job, they just didn't have anything to work with. Secondly as I found out through my research, Texas is a non-disclosure state, so the home buyer does not have to report to the county taxing authority what they paid. The county can pick up some information from filed mortgages and MLS listings and they send out a survey to the buyer, but the buyer doesn't have to tell them anything. So, how does this kill our deal? This is west Texas and there is a lot of oil money plus this is a premier lake in the state, so it draws people from DFW and a lot of those people have money, so they can buy little condos like this with cash which eliminates the need to file a mortgage. Add to that the fact that these condos tend to sell by word of mouth, so there are rarely any MLS listings for this complex and the county Appraisal District has very little information on sales. Of course, the people who live there like lower taxes, so they keep the details of their transaction to themselves as they are allowed to do and it keeps the RE taxes low for the condo. I was able to talk to several people who paid with cash in the last 2 years and I was comfortable that the sale price was not terribly overstated and it was right by our boat and it was on the best part of the lake and the most convenient location for driving and shopping. So, it had numerous intangibles that we were able to justify the sale price.

Things were going along and then the folks at BofA decided that regardless of value, they didn’t want to finance the condo while it was under construction due to liability risk. I totally get that; I just wish they would have told us that from the beginning. We looked at a number of options, but decided in the end that it just wasn’t going to work out.

However, the saga continues. We looked at 3 units on Saturday and think we may have found a great unit and with the virus and oil prices crashing, people are more motivated to sell.

Stay tuned…..

[Big Block Power]

That sucks. I think. Well I how you find the one! Keep the updates coming and sounds like we all need a new career in oil. I think they are doing pretty good right now.

[tgrace98]

That sucks MoTex! a lot of that happens down on Table Rock as well. Condo's in the high market sell way over value as investors come and gobble them up and a lot come carrying cash. On site rental programs change the way the home it titled so that also changes the way you can do a mortgage on one. I found this out when buying our condo and almost lost it due to this. Luckily I had enough cash down to make it work and we got our condo under market value because it was in need of renovations.

[akorcovelos]

What a gut punch, sorry to hear that.

[Motex2011]

Yea, When I started this thread, I was trying to learn about assessments, association fees, and stuff like that. In the end, I'm learning more about Texas real estate and the culture of the lake than I ever wanted to know. We put an offer in today on a different condo that includes furniture, but it is 500sf larger and has three bedrooms and needs no major renovation. If they accept, we will just want to paint the walls to lighten up the space and bring in our personal stuff and we should be in good shape. I'll post the listing and some pics if they accept. If we can’t come to an agreement, there is another unit right next to it that isn’t furnished, and would not require any immediate renovation. It is a two bedroom and has the same great views. So, it would be a good second option if the price were right.

The offer has been given to the seller, so I’m sure this will be unnecessarily difficult, but we will find something eventually.

[Motex2011]

Oh what the hell, I'll post a video my wife took off the balcony on Saturday. This gives you a good idea of the view.

[cmattj]

Sorry to read the news, as understandably disappointed you must be.

Yes great locations can exceed appraisals In most places that are destinations. I’ve heard property taxes in Texas could make anyone secret squirrel about it.

But hey that balcony view is beyond amazing! Considering your morning coffee and evenings will be there my fingers are crossed for you guys!

[Motex2011]

Good Sunday Morning Chatters. We are heading back to church this morning after a long layoff and that has put a pep in my step, so I thought I would give an update. As of today, we close Wednesday morning, May 20th and actually drive over to the lake to begin moving in Thursday night or Friday morning. Now, I say that cautiously because we were supposed to close this past Friday, but due to illnesses, the paperwork could not get done. The good news is that it did not involve C19, but it did push us back to our original close date of the 20th. I went over on Friday to move my boat to the new slip and I can already tell that I do not like it as much. There is just a lot more wave action, so pulling in can be more sporting. I can’t imagine landing a plane in a crosswind, but I would compare the feeling to what I think it might be like based on the videos I have seen of those amazing pilots doing that.
I took some new pics of the new slip and I went up to check out the view again. I am really in love with that view. Some of the residents mentioned that on really busy weekends, they will sometimes just avoid the lake and just watch the show from the condo. I think I understand what they are talking about. The view is amazing and I am looking forward to breaks when we are moving so I can sit on the deck and watch boats go by. That reminds me, we need a good blender. Wish me luck that nothing blows up again and we are able to get things signed. I’ll be posting some pics and the listing in the next few days.

https://www.zillow.com/myzillow/SavedHomes#231901772 Here is the listing of the Condo. I will post more pics later