If you are buying a condo, please, even for investment, read the threads on here about HOAs and the threads on SDLookup.
As a quick recent example. My girlfriend and her husband bought a condo in a complex. They were told the balcony is their responsibility. Last year their neighbor redid their balcony.
Many balconys in this older complex are seeing wear and tear. The condo board decided to change the rules. Now it is part of the complex. They are contemplating assessing 10k to each owner to redo the balconies throughout the entire complex. (insanely, even the neighbor who redid theirs)
My friend pretty much told the HOA to file a lien. They don’t have 10k for a balcony.
The most disturbing part is originally the balcony was the owner’s premises. They change the rules along the way.
Paying the monthly HOAs are bad enough, but you can almost justify it if you are not the type of person that, for example, likes to do yard work, or if you enjoy a pool, etc.
But the CC&RS are the deal breaker for me. It is like living in a Nazi regime. They make up rules as they go along. I mentioned once about a lawsuit regarding a palm tree that was planted that did not conform w/the other palm trees in a community. Or the lawsuit over the color of a window trim.
If there are foreclosures in the complex, expect HOAs to be underfunded, hence special assessments.
If there are any lawsuits, expect special assessments. See Villa Vicenza, as an example. I could go on and on. Needless to say, do your homework.
I know some of the condos in UTC are seeing some major declines and it is tempting b/c they are easy rentals especially w/the proximity to UCSD.
