College Station Condos having challenges

For years condos have been a favorite of mine for parents investing in student properties. No maintenance on the exteriors, no mowing and community common areas such as pools are perks with condos. This year, however, condo financing has suffered.

FHA, long the leader in low downpayment mortgages all but pulled out of condo financing. The rational is basically that home owners association fees can be steep. People with condos could be foreclosed on just because they are behind in their home owners associaiton dues. This, in and of itself, could threaten other people in the condo complex with larger home owners association dues as the HOA struggles and has difficulty affording even basic services. Now that FHA has pulled back with condo financing many conventional investors are pulling back as well. One of our condo financing experts in College Station recently told me that only one company whe dealt with was financing condos and that they would make people just through quite a few hoops to get one.

Having no idea of how long this virtual moritorium on condos will last leaves me suggtesting alternatives to condos to everyone. After all, you don't want to be done with the condo in three years only to find it virtually unsalable. Resale should be a large focus when buying.

What is a parent wanting to invest in property here to do? A serious look needs to be made at townhomes. Some offer the same amenities as condos but are as easy to finance as single family homes. Do keep in mind though that some projects calling themselfves townhomes are actually condos.

Use an experienced Realtor for these transactions as there can be many pitfalls. By using an experienced agent and making excellent decisions you can have a great investment here in College Station.