Don't Buy a Condo Without Knowing These Fees! #condofees #homebuying

25 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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1:08

In this segment, Scott Selleck narrates the experience of a condo buyer named Jay, who approached his purchase with an unusually thorough, data‑driven mindset. Jay and his wife asked detailed questions, examined the management office records, reviewed the association’s bylaws, capital‑improvement budgets, and financial statements. Their investigation revealed that an anticipated $30‑40k special assessment was actually a $100k assessment tied to an upcoming wave of capital work. Armed with this insight, Jay, together with his seasoned real‑estate attorney Charles (35+ years experience), negotiated a sizable seller‑paid credit at closing. The lender and the association agreed that the seller would fund the credit, effectively shielding Jay from any capital‑improvement assessments for the next five years. The story illustrates how deep due diligence, expert legal counsel, and strategic negotiation can protect condo buyers from hidden fees.

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Jay was not the average buyer. He's extremely information-oriented. Him and his wife asked great questions through the process. He went to the management office. He basically went through everything. And what he uncovered was fascinating. What we thought was a $30,000, $40,000 assessment turned out to be a $100,000 assessment over the time for the next wave of work that was coming to this complex. It was a game changer. Because what we ended up ultimately doing with his attorney, Charles— Charles has over 35 years experience in law and real estate. I bring 34 years together, close to 70 years. And then you have Jay coming in with his highly analytical, brilliant, going through all the financials, the bylaws, the capital improvements and a budget. And what he was able to do is basically negotiate a fair, large sum payment at the closing towards the assessment. He got his lender to agree and the association to agree that seller would pay that credit directly at the closing. So his next 5 years living there in that complex has no capital improvement assessment, which was huge.