Arlington is a unique urban community filled with condos of all shapes and sizes. If you are considering buying a condo – please consider the infrastructure:
1. What’s nearby, next to, above or under the actual unit? Garage doors, elevator shafts, trash rooms, gyms can generate a ton of noise – so check where all of these things are and spend time in the unit listening for the sounds.
2. Where is the HVAC unit in the condo? Most of the condos in the popular Clarendon 1021 have HVAC units right in the living room – very noisy and it costs thousands to reduce the noise. Older HVAC units can also be very load as well- so just check and understand what you are buying.
3. Is there a pool above your unit? It is possible that the condo will maintain the roof top pool well and it will never leak, but what if?
4. If the building is only 4-5 stories – it’s probably wood construction – which means you probably will hear footsteps of your neighbors above. It’s always a good idea to see if someone is home upstairs and ask them to walk around – this way you know what you are getting yourself into.
5. Talk to neighbors – a few of them – and ask if there is anything that bothers them about the condos, if there are any noise issues, etc.
6. If there is a lot of commercial space blended with the condo – like Waterview in Rosslyn sitting above a fancy hotel – financing is scarce and limited – keep that in mind.
No condo is perfect, but if you do some due diligence – at least you will understand what you are getting yourself into. Also make sure to read the minutes for the last 6 months of Board meetings – that usually highlights the issues that the condo is dealing with.
I live in a condo myself and really enjoy maintenance free living, I also sold many condos and can usually tell if there are any potential issues – so if you’d like to work with someone with a ton of condo experience – please call me or email me! I will tell you like it is – it will be your decision if a condo is right for you or not.