Greetings Real Estate Investors!
We often get the question from new real estate investors “If condos are so much cheaper and require less maintenance why would you invest in a single-family home?”
To which the usual response is…”Have you ever been to a condo association meeting?” And if they say yes and they enjoyed it we immediately want to know where it is so we can invest in it ourselves. But that never really happens because I don’t think anyone has ever really enjoyed a condo meeting. Unless maybe they enjoy seeing stressed out people complaining and how other stressed out people try to manage the diverse needs of diverse people.
And that is what happens in the well managed ones!
It is actually much more dangerous if you go to a meeting and there is nobody there except the board and they are haphazardly making decisions that may been made in their best interest and not in the interest of the other unit owners.
If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. That old adage is true of course in many cases but in terms of delegation, time management and profits if you plan to do everything in your investment property you will probably end up going crazy and swearing to never own another one again. That of course is the reason why property management companies like us exist and it is also the reason people think that owning a condo will be less work.
The difference is that with a company like Real Property Management Miami you are dealing with professionals whose primary purpose is to make sure you make good decisions and save money. With a condo association on the other hand, many people have varying motivations. Most are looking to increase the value of the property but you also have some who want to control who is allowed in the condo (sometimes illegally), some who want to advance the interests of their individual businesses and some who just really want to hear themselves talk. Oh yeah then there are those who are literally looking to steal from the association’s funds. This happens more than you might think.
So if you plan to invest in a condo you must do everything in your power to make sure that the people who are running the board are qualified, honest and willing to listen. The other thing that seasoned investors do is to purchase multiple units in one building so that they can exert additional influence through additional votes. And this also enables the seasoned investor to more easily place themselves on the board which of course is the ultimate level of influence.
Of course if you find a building where the majority of the owners are using professional property management companies like Real Property Management Miami then you will have already made a major step towards success.
If you have any other questions about this please contact our office at 305-517-3900 and we will happy to help you.
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