Northern Virginia Condos for Sale
Condominiums for Sale

YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE NUMBER OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA CONDOS LISTINGS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THIS SITE - A COMPLETE PRESENTATION OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA AREA CONDO LISTINGS

The Earl of Real Estate Team gives you options - Use option A or B to see Northern Virginia Condos Listings.

A.) Click on an Area Name to see a list of Condo Communities. Once you see the list of communities you can then view Condos for Sale or can request more information.

B.) Click on the word for Sale next to an area name to view the Condos for Sale in that area, regardless of community.

SELECT AN AREA OR CLICK ON FOR SALE TO VIEW CONDO LISTINGS
Arlington Condos for Sale	Alexandria Condos for Sale		Ashburn Condos for Sale
Annandale Condos for Sale	Burke Condos for Sale		Chantilly Condos for Sale
Centreville Condos for Sale	Falls Church Condos for Sale		Leesburg Condos for Sale
Herndon Condos for Sale	McLean Condos for Sale		Sterling Condos for Sale
Oakton Condos for Sale	Reston Condos for Sale		Springfield Condos for Sale
Fairfax Condos for Sale	Vienna Condos for Sale

So, What exactly is a condo and is condo living right for me?

Websters defines a condominium as:
Pronunciation: "kän-d&-'mi-nE-&m
Function: noun
a : individual ownership of a unit in a multiunit structure (as an apartment building) or on land owned in common (as a town house complex); also : a unit so owned b : a building containing condominiums

While all of this looks good in a dictionary, truly, what is a condo? How does it differ from other types of properties? What do you really own when you purchase a condo?

First off, let's get a true, understandable definition of what a condominium is.

A condo is actually a term that describes the actual ownership of the unit or property. It has absolutely nothing to do with the actual architecture of the property itself. When you purchase and own a condo, you own title to the individual unit along with a partial interest in the common community areas of the condominium community. You are responsible for your own taxes that are assessed by the county or city in which the property is located. When working with a potential condo buyer I like to describe the ownership as being that you own what you see, from wall to wall and ceiling to floor. Everything within those walls is yours and therefore yours to decorate and maintain. (We will cover a bit more about the decorate portion in a moment) You also pay toward a portion of the common area maintenance and building. This is in the form of condo fees.

So, Let's talk about some the items and issues that are brought up in our definition of what a condo is.

Condo Fees: What are they? How much are they? and what do they usually cover?

- All condos communities charge some form of Condo Dues or Condo Fees. It is a fact of condo ownership and at first look they can really make a condo look unattractive. But when you peel back the layers you see that there can be some distinct advantage to the condo dues.

The foundation of all condo dues is the Master Insurance Policy.
Compared to a townhouse or a single family home. when you own a condo you do not have to have a separate insurance policy to cover the unit itself. (It would be advised that you obtain a policy for your possessions and to protect the inside of the unit and in some cases a mortgage company with require you to have a policy) Here is the example that I like to give. A thunderstorm comes through the area as they are known to do during the summer months in the Northern Virginia area. The storm causes a tree to fall through roof of the condo complex that you live in. You own a top floor unit in a 4 story Garden Style complex. (Heaven forbid that this ever happens to any of you, but stay with me, I am just giving an example). The roof is damaged and a hole is poked in the ceiling of your unit. You are at work, thankfully no one is hurt. That being said, the inch of rain that fell in the storm ended up in your living room, in your carpet, in your walls and in your brand new flat screen and surround sound system. So, because you have been paying your condo dues, there is a master insurance policy maintained by the condo community to cover the building and the roof and part of the damage to your unit. Face it, you can't afford to pay for the entire roof of a condo building, so you are thankful that part of your condo dues went to a reserve fund and towards that master insurance policy of the building. (This is a generalization, and your individual details pertaining to each individual building will vary. Just another reason why you need a professional real estate agent like The Earl to assist you in the condo buying process, I know, a shameless plug, but I couldn't resist.) Back to the storm and the condo. The reason you would want a individual policy for your unit and its contents is to cover the damage to your own possessions and potentially the carpeting and decorating. Your condo dues would be then well spent for the peace of mind that the insurance offers.

Reserves funds:
All building need maintenance of some sort. A condo community sets up a reserve fund to anticipate these regular repairs and upgrades. Whether it be a remodeling of a entrance foyer or lobby to the repaving of the parking areas, these major projects are a necessary part of protecting the overall value of a condo community and thus the investment of the individual owners.

Per Virginia Law, purchaser of condos are given an period to review the current condominium associations documents. Part of condo document review is an opportunity to review the latest financial statements of the complex/community to include the amount in the reserve accounts along with outlines or details of any upcoming or future maintenance projects and any planned special assessments. If a community does not have an active or established reserve fund of some sort then you need to ask yourself if this is a place that you want to invest your hard earned dollars into. A special assessment is sometimes approved by a condo board to cover unforeseen maintenance expenses or for approved upgrades that the owners and board have approved. In my experience I have seen special assessments applied to each unit to cover the installation of energy efficient windows in every unit or in another case, the community was able to negotiate a better rate with a roofing company if all 12 roofs in the community were replaced at one time vs. being done over a period of years. The special assessment amount was applied to each and every unit, usually on a similar calculation to the application of condo dues for a set period of time.

Another key to the condo review period is the specific determination of what I like to call the particular do's and don'ts for a community. These items include the allowance of pets, all of the parking regulations, the allowance of commercial vehicles. Some building also restrict certain items of the decor of the home, color of the blinds facing the exterior, what percentage of the floors can be carpeted vs. hardwood or tile, what can be stored on the deck.

Common area maintenance, Landscaping, Hallways, Foyer & Lobby upkeep
Some condo buildings are inviting from the very moment that you pull up to the complex. You can tell that extra care and attention is given to the little things. The Landscaping is kept up, lawns are mowed and flowers and trees are tended to. As you actually enter the buildings the Foyers and Lobbies are freshly painted and free of debris and refuse. All of this is paid for as part of the condo dues. No matter haw much you may spend on upgrading or decorating the decor of your own individual unit, if the exterior of the building is not up to the same standard then the value of your own individual unit will suffer.

Parking
One of the biggest issues facing condo association is the assignment and management of parking. In a few cases condo building have indoor or under ground parking that is purchased as part of the unit or other parking spots that are available for separate purchase. With the majority of units an assigned parking system is in place with open unassigned parking for overflow and visitor parking. In these communities, parking may be at a premium, especially when one is considering inviting guest over to visit. Parking rules vary from building to building and community to community. (Finding out about parking is another invaluable service provided by The Earl when working as your agent.)

Snow Removal
Speaking of parking, those majority of units that have some form of assigned parking are all outdoor parking. On the occasions where the Northern Virginia Area experiences a snow event, having a community that is on the ball when it comes to snow removal in the streets and parking lots of the complex is critical. It doesn't matter how the main roads may be cleared if you can't get out our your own community. And no one wants to have to deal with a layer of packed snow and ice for days following a storm, you just want for it to be gone. Again, this is part of your monthly condo dues, even in the month of July and even in years when it doesn't snow.

Trash Collection & Removal
Having regular trash service is critical to keeping a community fresh and clean. It is just one of those thing that you don't really think of, but it truly is part of your daily and weekly life.

Some of the Variable Condo Dues Fees include but are not limited to:

Utilities
Some communities include the cost of utilities in the overall condo dues. Most of the time this is because the building was built with a common metering system, thus preventing the building or the power, water or gas company from billing individual customers. When that is the case then the overall charge to the community is considered and assessed to each unit, usually based on a square footage or number of bedroom calculation. For some, having a fixed utility bill may be a great thing, while other may not be at home as much or feel that their overall usage will not be worth the overall fixed cost. Something that you need to consider. Another factor to consider when a building has utilities included, especially water. These complexes usually do not have and do not allow individual units to have clothes washers and dryers within the units, mainly due to the overall water usage of the machines. These communities are served by common laundry rooms that mostly contain coin operated machines for occupants usage.

Amenities
Pools, community centers, game rooms, etc... Some communities, especially those built and opened in the recent years have gone over the top when it comes to this category. Over the top, maybe a bit strong, but consider the inclusion of roof top pools, community centers or party rooms, in house screening rooms and fitness centers to compare with any gym. All of this is included and all of this can be that final determining factor that makes one community feel more like home to you. You have to weigh the cost vs. the usage and lifestyle factors that you are going to be comfortable with.

Security
This are varies drastically from building to building and community to community. Some building feel like you need a secret handshake and a written invitation to get into the front door while others greet you with an unlocked door to the main foyer of your particular building. Some communities pride themselves on being gated with controlled access points manned by guards while others feature a locked door with an intercom system. Others are truly a garden style apartment where the public has access to each individual units front door. Again, all of this is a factor that goes into the determination of the overall condo dues and more importantly the lifestyle that you want to buy into.

Speaking of Garden Style, You will see the listings on this site broken into 3 main categories of condos. While they are fairly self explanatory, let me take a moment to point them out. They are: Garden 1-4, Mid Rise 5-8 and High Rise 9+. The category applies to the overall building or complex and not the particular unit or unit level.

Last but not least regarding condos and condo dues. Some community have an additional monthly or quarterly Home Owners Association fee that covers that amenities of the overall community that the complex is located in. Some units in Ashburn and Reston come to mind regarding these dues.

So you see, condos are not just a description of ownership or a type of architecture, condo living in Northern Virginia is really and truly a way of life. We look forward to having an opportunity to work with you in determining whether or not condo living is right for you.

Find out about active listings and be the first to know about future listing as they come on the market.  And, as an added bonus, Robert Earl will let you know what homes have sold for in the past.  Just complete the form.

Robert Earl will do an analysis to answer your questions. All you have to do is fill out the form below and hit the "Send" button at the bottom of the page.

As soon as he has the results, he will contact you so he can set up an appointment to review the results with you!