| Real Estate & Property Management Services

Shopping for a 4-BR condo in 22030? I get condos in Fairfax.

Featured Place in Great Oaks

$699,000 || 4 Bedroom Condo At Great Oaks || 22030

New or Previously-Owned?

If you’re in the market for a condo, one of the first decisions you need to make is whether to by a newly built condo, or to by a previously owned condominium. Both have advantages and both have pitfalls. Here are a few thoughts to consider. The majority of condos that are sold are existing condos. This is neither an advantage or a disadvantage—simply a fact. The majority of marketing materials and advertisements you will see for condos is for new construction. This means that it is easier to find ads, pretty pictures and floor plans for new condos. One of the advantages of buying an existing condo is what you see is what you get. There will be no surprises, good or bad. There will be no change orders. You won’t have to look at a model and a floorplan to get an idea of what you are buying. Instead, you can tour the property that you will actually buy. You can move into an existing condo as soon as your loan and title work are finished. There will be no construction delays. Construction delays can be sizable and in today’s market it is even possible for the builder to fold-up shop before the project is completed. All properties, condos included, have kinks. That is to say, there are unexpected problems with the construction, lay-out or plan. In an existing condo, the owners have already discovered, identified and usually solved those problems. In a new condo, you never know what the problems will be. If anyone could have predicted that unexpected problem it wouldn’t exist! Existing condos are in established neighborhoods. The traffic patterns are set. The views are what they will be. Established neighborhoods have a tendency to have “enough” shopping outlets. Established neighborhoods have very predictable values in the future. New neighborhoods can have unexpected increases or decreases in value. One of the disadvantages of buying an existing condo is that you might not have some of features you want. This can be simple things like have the cable wired on the wall where you prefer to put your TV. You might have to compromise on your laundry room and be forced to share a community laundry. You might find that the layout is not exactly as you would like it. A newly built condo always has the latest features and if it is brand new construction the builder can sometimes tailor the unit to your demands. Let’s face, brand new buildings are often more appealing than old condos.The materials, the stylings, even the smell of a new condo is enticing. New condos are fun and bright and designed to appeal to the latest notion in the buying public. A new condo will not require any special assessments or repairs. It’s in perfect shape.