Things to keep in mind while buying a Condo in Myrtle Beach

Planning for a vacation in South Carolina? And in a condo? Excellent idea, no doubt.

But wait!

Don’t fall for whatever the slick owners offer you with lots of advantages. Please consider the following points we discuss here and then make your decision.

Decide from the two

You buy a condo for two reasons. The first one is to live there after your retirement. The second reason some people try to own one is to make some extra income. Both the objectives cannot have the same course of action.

But we’ll keep it simple and try to give you some ideas that should help you in both cases.

Get a Realtor

This is most probably the first and the most important thing that could make your plan a success.

You need a realtor for the following reasons:

1. The first thing about buying a condo is that you need pre-approval, and a realtor will assist you in doing it.
2. Once you have the pre-approval, the realtor is going to start sending listings from their local multiple listing service (LMLS).
3. Once you’ve decided on a particular home, the realtor will write an offer for you. This write-up involves many formalities, and they know these very well.
4. Generally, they will attend your inspections on the property making you satisfied.
5. They will take initiative and negotiate in case you find any issues, such as faulty doorknobs, leakage of water through the roof, mold or spongy wooden floor during your inspection.
6. A lot of paperwork is involved in buying and selling of any sort of real estate. A realtor is responsible for monitoring and processing any necessary paperwork.
7. In addition to handling the paperwork, your agent will communicate with the persons involved in this deal.
8. After that, your agent will finally ensure that the house is in the same state as it was when you started the negotiation. They will also see if the repairs that were proposed have been done.
9. Once the agreement is settled, the realtor leads you through the final process of monetary transactions and handing over the ownership papers.

Things Change

There is no point in relying on any older information. Things are always on the change, and you need to be up to date. Some buildings have litigations and slip and fall issues and other sorts of construction defects.

The internet is full of a lot of information, some of which are not correct. So you need to be careful where you are getting information from. This, again, necessitates a realtor who is there to provide you right, accurate, reliable, and up-to-date information for you to keep you tension-free.

Here is a place where you can get impressive Myrtle Beach SC real estate information.

A Condo or a Condotel

So many people mess up condos and condotels. Condos or condominiums are something that you own and you are responsible for all the maintenance, renovation, and even remodeling them. A condo is your second home— a retirement home.

The condotels, on the other hand, are hotels (condo + hotel = condotel), rented for a limited time (a night, a week, or even a month), but you live there as if it’s your own home. They have rental desks, a room service system, and other facilities just like a hotel.

Banks finance a condo, but they do not finance a condotel.

Oceanfront condos are almost always known and operated as condotels.

HOA Budget

This is an important issue because if you see that you’ll have to pay an HOA fee of $500 a month, that’s great. However, it may not mean that you’re going to pay that amount each month. Sometimes, the home owner’s insurance is included in the HOA fee, and other times, it doesn’t.

Sometimes, your water, internet, sewerage, and electric bills are included but sometimes they are not covered. You can tell your agent to obtain clarity regarding all these issues and make them simple to understand for you.

Limited Review and Full Review

If you do a limited review, it won’t answer all those questions. In a full review, the questionnaire is long and detailed. It’s got tons of questions, many pages, and criteria to be filled out correctly.

Taxes

Taxes vary for an investment owner and one who lives there for at least 6 months. If you use it as a primary residence, the tax rate is always less. For more information, you might like to see this page.

Lending Issues

Nowadays, condos at the oceanfront are all operated as condotels. This makes them a high-risk and non-warrantable property. Being an investment property, you need to pay a down payment of at least 20% and a higher interest rate.

Lending History

This is something you must consider. It’s not so easy to get a good lending history, but your realtor can help you with that. They are experts at digging out at least the last 3 years’ rental history and occupancy rate.

Overview

The bottom line is that you don’t decide in a hurry, and you don’t move alone. First, select a reliable realtor and leave the formal and technical processing jobs to them. All you need to do is to have an understanding of general concepts. For clarification of any technical terms and complexities, your agent should be enough.

Then you can talk to people who have been there or, on the spot, talk to people living there. They can provide you with realistic information and advice that no other outsider could have access to. For acquiring any unofficial information, they are always the best. You can ask the HOA as well, who has the ready answers for all the statistical queries.

Please don’t leave any possibility for you to be caught by surprise. It is the question of your vacation or your retirement home where you’d find peace and relaxation with all your beloved people. Don’t let something ruin it.

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