The Complete Guide to Purchasing a Condo, Townhouse, or Apartment: What Smart Investors Need to Know - Explained Simply [Paperback]

Susan Smith Alvis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 2007

While many of the steps in buying a home are the same as buying a condominium, townhouse, or apartment, there are many critical differences. This new book offers a complete overview of these special, usually smaller, residences. These units can be good options for first-time home buyers, for those who want a vacation getaway, investors, and those who want to downsize their living space. These housing units are usually less expensive than a single family home and can include attractive amenities. In purchasing one of these units there will be a lot of people to deal with, from realtors, condo boards, attorneys, to bankers. There is a ton of paperwork with terms and vocabulary that read like a foreign language. In this new book you will find vital information and great strategies for finding the home you want faster and feeling confident about the purchase. You will learn to avoid some of the most prevalent and potentially dangerous and expensive mistakes made by others. The book covers the entire, unique process of buying one of these shared living houses in an easy-to-understand way, pointing out dozens of hints and suggestion as to what to look for as well as demonstrating the many mistakes common with these types of investments. You will learn how to find the best opportunities, to negotiate, finance, budget, handle pre-construction issues, set values, and make the offer. You will be able to define what you are buying (and what you are not) issues on your right to sell, lease, or mortgage. You will be prepared for restrictions pertaining to children, pets, parking, vehicles, boats, music, maintenance of windows, doors, screens, air conditioners, plumbing, club memberships, recreation facility leases, use of recreational facilities, and common areas. In addition, you will learn the advantages of using credit reports, home warranties, insurance, creative financing, closing procedures, moving plans, closing and settlement inspections, and certain legal contracts. You will have instruction in obtaining mortgages which government agencies can help, considerations for veterans, IRA use, hiring an attorney, calculating monthly payments, and establishing an escrow account. The real estate and mortgage glossaries alone are invaluable resources, even for the old hand at property acquisition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susan Alvis has her Tennessee real estate license in retirement. She is the author of How to Creatively Finance Your Real Estate Investments and Build Your Personal Fortune: What Smart Investors Need to Know; How to Buy Real Estate Without a Down Payment in any Market: Insider Secrets From the Experts Who do it Everyday, and How to Become a Million Dollar Real Estate Agent in Your First Year. Currently, she is working on several non-fiction books on gambling related material as a ghost writer and under her own name. She has started writing romance novelettes under a pen name and is realizing success in fiction writing as well. Susan also speaks to teens and young adults in a gripping message every teenager in America should hear. She lives in Northeast Tennessee with her husband, Brent, and their two children, Matthew and Amber.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company (FL); illustrated edition (August 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601380364
• ISBN-13: 978-1601380364
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #531,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read, good info, but fairly short with a lot of fluff, December 12, 2008

By 

Brian Stepanek "flyfresno" (Fresno) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Purchasing a Condo, Townhouse, or Apartment: What Smart Investors Need to Know - Explained Simply (Paperback)

The good: This book was a very interesting read...I really liked the way that it was written, I couldn't put it down. All of the information was good, and while some of it was common sense knowledge, there were a lot of new points and questions the book brought up that really made me think. I'm really glad I read this book.
The bad: Almost half of the book's size is useless amortization tables that you can easily find online. I think they added these [...] pages with the sole purpose [...]. Because of that, I have to deduct two stars.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Guide to Purchasing a Condo, December 20, 2007

By 

Jennifer L. Flaten (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Purchasing a Condo, Townhouse, or Apartment: What Smart Investors Need to Know - Explained Simply (Paperback)

The author takes great pains to dispel those lingering myths about condo ownership. She does this in a light easy tone. The book has a good layout in an easy to read format. The chapters flow nicely into one another. The author has included some very interesting case studies and anecdotes provide by others in the Real Estate field.

The book is full of strong practical advice. It also pulls no punches, she makes it clear that condo townhome ownership is not for everyone. She makes sure to cover not only the good points but the bad ones as well, especially in the area of Homeowners Associations-she explains their importance and how to deal with them. All of this done in an easy friendly manner with a welcome touch of humor.

The book is an excellent checklist for anyone considering buying.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A jewel of a find!, January 17, 2008

By 

Kadene Porter "Kadene" (Woodland Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Purchasing a Condo, Townhouse, or Apartment: What Smart Investors Need to Know - Explained Simply (Paperback)

You would be surprised at the differences between purchasing a house and opting for a condo, apartment or townhouse! This guide totally demystifies the documents and the process, laying bare the restrictions (the plusses too!) associated with shared living. My own changing lifestyle necessitated a move from a house with all its trappings, to a townhouse complex, and at first my misgivings left me with an air of uncertainty as to what to expect. The invaluable information I found in this handy manual took me step by step through the process, covering areas I am sure would have been overlooked. Those important documents including clauses relating to disclosure statements and warranties, options and ordinances, became a lot less threatening after my virtual tour of the entire process through this exhaustive guide. I even found to my utter delight, a full amortization table based on 30 years, a glossary that simplified much of the industry terminology, sample condominium rules and regulations, and last but not least, a questionnaire that prompted me to think of issues which may have later resulted in pesky little problems. The Complete Guide was for me, a jewel of a find!