keep or hand-off condo conversion

I have a good lead on some apartments in an area I know very well (lived there 10+ years and have good contacts there still) but current owner is suggesting condo-conversion.

Question: I’m still new to this. So do I keep them as apts for a few years, do the conversion myself or hand it off to someone for the conversion.

I’m avoiding commercial due to all the recommendations here, but this fell into my lap and I know the place like the back of my hand.

Thanks
:help

Condo conversions is a tricky business, you need to know your stuff to be successful. Not only do you have renovation, conversion and sales to deal with but handing off the homeowners association to the new tenants can be dicey at best. If you are inexperienced I would suggest keeping the apartment rentals as-is.

I’d also say keep it as it is for now, don’t put yourself in a position that you are selling something for at least another 4-5 yrs. Condo conversions, new condo construction, new home construction and a credit crunch have made for a flooded market. Rental demand will be up soon with many folks that were recently renters turned homeowners get foreclosed on. When things heat up again turn them into condos and sell them off. For now since you will have have them for a while make sure they cashflow.

What is the market like in the rest of the area for Condo’s. I have a friend that did this (apartment to condos) in Regina, Saskatchewan, and he lost his shirt.

On the west coast where he is from (Vancouver, BC) condo’s sell really well due to the high cost of detached homes. He figured he could transplant this concept to Saskatchewan really easily.

However, in Regina, you can purchase an entire house and land for a very reasonable price. People just couldn’t grasp the “Condo Concept”, and the units didn’t sell.

Sorry to be cynical, but has there ever been a listing for an apartment building that did not state the rents are below market value and also that the building could be converted to condos? This is just standard sales fluff.

Regardless of how well you know the back of your hand, if you want to see how easy it is to sell condos, look to Miami. To be less cynical, I’d consider the place if it met all of my criteria without the condo opportunity. If sometime in the future I could convert it, then that would be icing on the cake.

Please be careful.

And, who here recommends against commercial?

Thanks everyone. In many cases you’ve confirmed what I thought.

I don’t live in the area, but used to and know it is NOT condo conversion area. Very much rental.

Equity, another “opportunity” for condo conversion just came up in the same area. I’m believing this IS standard stuff/