Ask an Agent: What Are the Pros and Cons of a Self-Managed Condo Building?

• October 7th 2009

by Mark Wellborn

In this week's installment of Ask An Agent, a reader wonders about the pros and cons of buying a unit in a self-managed condo building. Keller Williams' Jason Martin offers up some insight.

Question: I am considering purchasing a condo in a small building (less than 10 units). The building is currently self-managed. Should this concern me? What are the pros and cons to living in a self-managed building versus one that is managed professionally?

Answer: This is a very good question, but is one that has to be answered on a case by case basis. The building is likely managing itself in an attempt to save on management fees. This should not concern you if the condo board is well organized and has a proven track record. In order to find out if this is the case, you should review the condo documents and find the operating budget as well as the current reserve amount. If the numbers seem to be reasonable and the reserve account is growing, then you should be fine. On the flip side, you must understand that self management is very time consuming and if you have a board that takes the task lightly, the overall quality of the building will likely suffer. Managing a building that has fewer than 10 units can still be very burdensome unless the members of the association fully understand the task at hand.

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This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/ask_an_agent_what_are_the_pros_and_cons_of_a_self-managed_condo_building/1387.