Condos pose opportunities, risks for local home buyers

Stacey Lewis and Jill Edwards took advantage of an open house to tour 17 Gaston Street, a condo-converted three-family with a two-bedroom unit listed for $293,500.

Jill Edwards likes her three-bedroom apartment on Munroe Street well enough. But with real estate prices inching up in the Roxbury neighborhood she’s called home most of her life, she’s looking for something more permanent.

“I want to get in the market before it gets crazy,” she says.

Sunday, she was among dozens of prospective buyers perusing condominiums in Roxbury and Dorchester, looking for the right mix of affordability and space.

At 17 Gaston Street, she and friend Stacey Lewis toured a 1,375 square foot, five-room unit split between the first floor and basement of a condo-converted triple decker.

Priced at $293,500, the condo is one of several listed in Roxbury priced below $300,000. And with mortgage payments the real estate website Trulia estimates to be $1,400 a month, the Gaston Street property is well below the $2,403 average rent for an apartment in Boston last year, and lower even than the average rent of $1,654 for a two-bedroom in Roxbury.

With many landlords requesting first month, last month and a security deposit, a down payment on a condo may seem like less of a hurdle.

Broker Radhy Pena says many people priced out of the Jamaica Plain rental market are finding better deals in Roxbury and Dorchester.

“They want to stay in the area, but the rents in Jamaica Plain are crazy,” he said.

In addition to their relative affordability, condominiums appeal to buyers because of the ease of ownership, Pena notes.

“It’s easier to own a condo,” he said. “You don’t have to deal with maintenance. It’s like living in an apartment.”

But, Pena notes, therein lies the down side.

“You have less privacy and less space,” he said. “You have to know what you’re getting into and who your neighbors will be.”

Jorge Casas, Homesafe Program Manager for the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, urges buyers to do their homework before buying a condominium.

“It’s all about the condo association,” he said. “You want to look into the financial health of the association. When you buy into a condo, it’s like buying into a business with people you don’t know.”

Casas, who runs workshops for condo owners and buyers, says he counsels prospective buyers to review the financial health of a condominium association before closing on a condo.

“When you’re buying, make the offer contingent on reviewing the condominium documents, their budget,” he said. “It’s always good to work with an attorney who works with condos. Reading those documents can put you to sleep.”

In general, larger condominium complexes cause less stress on residents than smaller ones. If one resident stops paying condo fees, there’s less strain on a 12-unit association than there would be on a three-unit association, Casas notes. And with more people paying condo fees, larger associations are better able to hire professionals to manage maintenance than smaller associations.

Sellers’ market

With relative deals to be had in Roxbury, competition can be tough for condo units.

“It’s very competitive,” said Broker Amy Prosper, who was showing the Gaston Street condo. “It can be like an auction. People will show up and bid.”

The seller of the Gaston Street condo certainly contributed to the competitive air, requesting that prospective buyers at the Sunday open house submit bids by Tuesday.

“Sellers are able to make that request and compel buyers to put in their offers,” Prosper said.

With investors, tech sector workers and other well-resourced buyers in the market, indigenous Roxbury residents, whose incomes are below Boston’s median family income of $63,000, often are at a disadvantage.

“Most condos I sell are going to younger couples coming from outside the community with substantial down payments gifted by their parents,” said broker Kobe Evans.

At several Sunday open houses, indigenous Roxbury home buyers stood shoulder-to-shoulder with graduate students, suburban-dwelling investors and others looking to gain a foothold in the Roxbury market.

Standing on the back porch at 17 Gaston Street, Edwards and Lewis spoke about the merits of buying in Roxbury from an insider’s perspective.

“I love the neighborhood — the convenience,” Edwards said. “I can walk down the street, hop on the bus and catch a train.”

“Roxbury is a hidden gem,” Lewis cut in. “It has some of the most historic houses.”