For my first house, I want to live in this one town. It’s considered a "vacation city".
Meaning, it has a boardwalk, tons of tourists, a beach that is along the whole coast, restaurants, shops, filled with hotels and resorts. You name it! Well over the past few years, condos are going up like crazy. There are permanent resident housing away from the beach (nice houses) but they are really expensive.
The condos there are getting pretty cheap and they are all brand new or under 5 years old.
Would you be allowed to buy a condo and use it as a permanent residence? I really like the design of the condos. But I don’t know if I would be allowed to live there all year round. Because I’ve seen a lot of like apartment like condos saying to "rent" but you have to buy a section.
Here is an example of the condos from that town…
http://www.weichert.com/search/realestate/PropertyListing.aspx?P=22598707&cityid=37078%2c56745%2c57461%2c57475%2c57476&ptypeid=32%2c28%2c21&minpr=300&maxpr=500&minbr=3&minba=1.5&pg=20
If I buy a condo like that, could I live in it as a permanent residence?
This is probably a stupid question but hey, I’m new to the housing market thing. 
Condos are definitely an attractive housing alternative for many home owners.
If you are interested in FHA financing to purchase, there is a requirement for a certain number of units to be owner occupied. Your lender can check on this for you.
Since many of the condo complexes you mentioned are new, it may be that they have not yet been approved for FHA financing.
This doesn’t mean the unit won’t qualify, just some hoops to jump through to get designation. Again, your lender can help you with this.
Also, make sure to factor in the monthly HOA fees as part of your monthly expenses. Sometimes the HOA fees can be rather steep. But depending on what is included, you may save on some utility costs. Certainly your home owner’s insurance should be less expensive.
Good luck, enjoy.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:09 am
Yes, if you are buying the condo and it is your permanent residence you can claim it as such, just as you would a single family dwelling.
References :
February 18th, 2010 at 2:43 am
Yes, of course you can live in a condo! A lot of people buy the condos on the beach as an investment and rent them out as they can make a lot of money that way.
Just be sure you can afford the condo payment and know that there will also be a monthly condo fee.
References :
February 18th, 2010 at 3:00 am
Condos are definitely an attractive housing alternative for many home owners.
If you are interested in FHA financing to purchase, there is a requirement for a certain number of units to be owner occupied. Your lender can check on this for you.
Since many of the condo complexes you mentioned are new, it may be that they have not yet been approved for FHA financing.
This doesn’t mean the unit won’t qualify, just some hoops to jump through to get designation. Again, your lender can help you with this.
Also, make sure to factor in the monthly HOA fees as part of your monthly expenses. Sometimes the HOA fees can be rather steep. But depending on what is included, you may save on some utility costs. Certainly your home owner’s insurance should be less expensive.
Good luck, enjoy.
References :
TX REALTOR