Master Bath

Second Bathroom

Kitchen

We looked at several more condos on Sunday. First we revisited one we liked last weekend and after seeing it for a second time, although we like it alot, have decided against it. It is just a one bedroom, one bath unit with only 710 square feet. The cons with that unit are that to access the bathroom, you have to go into the bedroom and being on the fifth floor, the balcony overlooks apartment buildings in the back. With apartment buildings come renters and most likely the 'beep beep' of car horns as they lock the vehicle. There is no view to speak of except the tops of trees.

Moving on to another building and a brand new listing, we looked at a two bedroom, two bath unit, 1131 sq. feet on the 11th floor. That unit are the pictures above. Someone had gone in and completely renovated the unit, with granite counter tops, travertine floors in living, dining and hall, new appliances and all new bathrooms. The view from the balcony in this unit is very nice.

We didn't make an offer on it.....for only one reason. The HOA dues are astronomically high as they have just assessed a special assessment on all units in the building adding an additional $295 per month on this unit. The special assessment is to replace all windows and doors in the building which will be a great asset to the building (unlike the other building), however, when you add the monthly HOA's on top of a mortgage payment, you're looking at a pretty hefty payment, that we are not willing to take on. The seller says he's motivated and wants all offers, so we may see how serious he is. There are a lot of short sales and bank owned properties on the market, but unfortunately, the lenders sitting on the properties drag their feet in considering offers, sometimes taking 3-6 months in making a decision. My thought on that is, guess they don't mind sitting on the inventory, and therefore, I would just as soon not even consider a foreclosed property.  Their red tape and procedure is preventing the real estate market to move at all, which is certainly not good for the area, realtors or buyers, and especially the local economy. The same lenders responsible for the housing crisis are continuing the problem by not moving these properties.

As to our RV....we've got a couple flying in from Minneapolis on Friday to take a look at it, so that could be promising. We shall see what happens.