Renting out a Condo

[Eric Fichera]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get the ball rolling with possibly investing in a condo to rent out in the Hudson county area and was curious if anyone can give me some guidance or maybe talk about a few things they learned from their experience with this. I was thinking that things will probably continue to appreciate and the area will continue to grow and was looking at the investment leaning towards more value increase overtime and not something that's a hardcore cash flowing investment. I am green to this and definitely open to opinions and any advice. 

[Mike D.]

Quote from @Dominic Rosato:

Hi Eric- I bought a condo in Jersey City last year, with plans to rent it out in a year or two after I move out. There's lots of good advice above me. However, in many cases you likely won't be able to obtain by-laws until you are under contract.

I would have your attorney include a specific "HOA" rider in the contract for this exact reason- It basically would require that you have ample time to review the governing docs of the HOA, such as master deed, current by-laws, current year's budget, and last two years of audited financial statements, association meeting minutes, etc. If you're not satisfied, you can cancel the contract.

I highly recommend doing this, as it provides an easy out. I'm a realtor in Hudson County, and would be happy to answer any more questions you might have!

Good catch. I had my realtor write in the contract that I wanted a week to review the HOA bylaws and financials. As a side note in my county we are able to find the HOA declarations and amendments on the county recorder website. You can learn a lot if that is available before even making an offer.

Also if you can figure out the name of the HOA a lot of times you can find the HOA website online by googling it. If it is a bigger one.