Thinking of buying a condo?

With all the great prices on condo units right now, I found this article timely:

Things Condo Buyers Should Consider
Buyers who are considering the purchase of a condominium should inspect the health of the home owner’s association before they close.

The seller should provide the buyer all financial documents relating to the association in time for an attorney for the buyer to review them before closing.

Here’s some advice from Leonard Baron, professor of finance at San Diego State University, about the information that the seller should consider:

Does the association budget include money for operating expenses such as water, lights, elevator maintenance, and landscaping?
Is there extra money set aside in a reserve fund for long-term maintenance? If there is an outside reserve study, that should be provided. If not, there should be adequate money in the reserves right now to cover 50 percent of the estimated cost of repairs over the next 30 years.
Do the condo’s expenses exceed revenues due to a high foreclosure rate or other reasons that owners’ debts go unpaid?
If there is a shortfall, does the association have a plan besides cutting back on services for making it up?

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (10/17/2009)

A Cool Wine Bar

This past Thursday, Valentines Day, my husband and I checked out a wine bar on Spring Street called 626 Reserve. It's an intimate spot with nice ambiance and some decent wine selections.

We were fortunate enough to be there to catch a blues singer, Charlie Jene perform. She's going to be there again tonight and definitely worth checking out. It seems as though they're going to be featuring blues/jazz music on the Thursday Artwalk nights and Saturday nights too. But don't quote me on that.

I'm definitely going to return and next time I'll tour some of the art galleries first.

My vote for 626 Reserve is a YES and I'd recommend it!