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Some people might be thinking about buying a condo in Texas.  If this is the case, Austin condominiums are a good way to get the best of your Austin living experience.  If you are planning to rent your Austin Texas condo unit, you need to understand the rental policies of the association.    If the rental population is over about ten percent, there should be clear rental policies in either the by laws or as an amendment.  You should make sure that you ask other tenants about their rental experiences.   

Keep in mind, however, that condo associations can, usually by a majority or super-majority vote, change its rules and/or bylaws to prohibit or restrict rentals.  Make sure that you check out your condominium association as carefully as you would any other major component of an Austin Texas family home.   

Also, keep in mind that you can avoid a lot of grief downstream by fully understanding the situation while there's still time to either decide not to make an offer or make adjustments in the amount of your offer to compensate for what you've learned.  Don't forget that if you think that you have found exactly the right Austin Texas condominium property; one that meets your needs and desires and its priced right, what questions should you demand to have answered before you make the offer official.   

These are the most important things you need to understand before buying a condo. Do not forget that you can learn more in a personal meeting, but even a phone conversation will give you a sense of how responsive and communicative the property manager is. If you review the reserves fund, it will give you an indication of whether the association fees have been kept at levels that create a slow build-up of reserve funds to cover replacing the roof, periodic work on the tennis courts or pools, or repaving the parking lot. 

  Also, a balance in the Reserve fund may be explainable, but it does deserve an explanation.  You can ask if the Reserve fund has been subjected to a reality check in the past five years.  Otherwise, there is no way to judge whether the Reserves account is being kept at a level sufficient to cover future costs.  Ask the property manager what the delinquency rate is on condo fees. If people aren't paying their association fees in a timely fashion, something may be muddled and you want to know what that "something" is before you buy into that condo association.  Does the property manager expect, or do the Board meeting minutes anticipate any "special assessments" in the near term. 

You should be wary of a condo association without a "professional" property manager.  Though many Austin Texas condos are run very well by residents, themselves, such an arrangement can lead to more hassles for owners.  Condos managed by the residents, themselves, are subject to all the foibles of businesses being run by "amateurs."  That's worth thinking about.   

There is a national certification board for Community Association Managers. Review copies of the minutes of recent condo association board meetings.   Consequently, you will have an indication of the kinds of issues and concerns, if any, that the board has been dealing with.  It will give you some clues to what may be wrong with either the physical construction or any behavioral issues among the residents.  There are some people who are chronic complainers and no property manager or Board could ever keep them happy at a monthly condo fee they might be willing to pay.  If there are no issues or concerns, a review of the minutes will reveal the sorts of projects under way at the complex.  If the complex is professionally managed, ask some of the residents about their satisfaction with the property management firm.  It is also good to know that a condominium with a high percentage of renters as residents may make it harder for you to resell the unit at another time.