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How much would you want in escrow?
We're in the process of buying a condo in west loop, and we just found out that the association is considering bids for work to repair the roofs above the terraces. The cost of this would be split amongst all the units, so we want to ask the sellers to put money in escrow, but we wont know what the bids are until the day before our close date.
I'd rather not push back our date, and I'm assuming a day is not enough notice. So, we're trying to estimate a number that would cover our share of the expense. There are 100 units, and it's not all the roofing, just the parts above the terraces.
I think they're just planning to tar the roofs right now. So, have any of you had to deal with something similar? Do you know what the cost per sqft was? It's an escrow account, so would it be okay to ask for a lot more than what we think it will cost, since the sellers would get the unused portion back?
Thanks!
Re: How much would you want in escrow?
Oh, is that very common? I kind of like that idea.
I'm so excited about moving to West Loop. We've been in the Southport Corridor area for about 4 years, which we also love, but West Loop will be much more convenient for us.
If you have a good real estate attorney, they should be able to help you out on this; most likely, like the previous poster mentioned, you'll probably just have to write in an open-ended clause that says the seller will cover whatever the special assessment might be. BUT, you might run into a problem where the seller doesn't have the funds to cover the cost down the road, which is where, I'm assuming, it would be more valuable to have X amount of $$ placed into escrow. Then again, you might run into a problem where you have to place a time limit on the amount of time the $$ can stay in escrow, and what happens if the special assessment isn't levied within that time frame? Like I said, a good RE attorney should be able to guide you.
The biggest pitfalls of condo living are the assesments, the board, special assessments, etc. If I had known when we bought (also near the WL) seven years ago what I know now, I would've avoided condo buildings like the plague. But, in Chicago, condos are the most prevalent form of housing in a certain economic bracket, so they're kind of a necessary evil IMO. Just make sure your attorney researches the condo board you're moving into to make sure it's run properly.
Good luck! You'll love the WL - great bars, restaurants, and of course, the commute to the Loop is worth its weight in gold.