When considering buying a home in the Ocean City real estate market, you need to be prepared. One, having a local real estate agent, can help you understand the market and make more informed decisions.
Buying a Condo or Home in Ocean City, MD?
I give you some helpful tips to be prepared!
It's a Prime Time to Buy in the Ocean City, MD real estate market. Here's some important tips to help you get starting searching homes for sale in Ocean City, MD and buying it.
Check out these two great blogs for more helpful tips
1. How Much Mortgage Can I Afford?
It's a question you should always ask yourself when buying a condo or home.
They will help you determine your price range. Always be sure to get a pre-approval letter before you begin looking at houses. Ocean City truly has something for everyone in almost every price range with over 1100+ properties for sale, so choosing a budget is necessary to narrow your options.
2. What's your Cost of Ownership in Ocean City, MD
Just remember when speaking with your lender to be sure to disclose all of the costs associated with purchasing the property of your interest.
If you are buying a condo, townhome, or a home in a community with a condo association, you'll need to pay attention to cost of ownership. You will need to add in the Condo Association fees. Anywhere in Ocean City is also subject to a State, County and City property tax so take that into account also.
3. Do you have a Local Ocean City, MD Realtor and Lender?
Your neighbor from home may be a Real Estate Agent or a lender with a house at the beach but that does not mean they understand our local market. Specifically, if you are purchasing a condominium, I highly recommend you work with a local lender.
Condominium Financing is very complicated and working with your lender from home may be detrimental to the process as they often times do not understand our resort market. Real Estate is local, local lenders and REALTORS® have local expertise and can get the transaction completed on time.
Many properties or condo building were built in different time periods and locations. Each could determine whether a property value is higher or lower from a comparable.
For example, If a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1200 square foot oceanfront condo for sale in Ocean City, MD was built in the 1970's, is a great buy. However, the building many be in need of repair.
4. Searching Ocean City, MD Homes for Sale Right?
Now, your interested in making an offer, so you, alone, do your own research on the property.
For the purpose of this example, let's say you're researching homes for sale in Ocean City, MD on the internet through a variety of real estate resources for a comparable price. Now, many real estate websites show you a guess or estimate of the market value using comparable sales from the past few years or tax assessments.
The problem is you could be getting a value based on comparable properties from the other side of the city that you are interested in buying a home. For this example, you may be interested in a property located on 130th street in OC, but the online resource may use a comparable in West OC with the same square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, and so on.
However, Ocean City real estate can be subject to a street specific value assessment, not a property across town.
You could:
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Prepare your own argument
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Research comparable properties
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Get web based data
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Use advice from a real estate agent friend from back home
5. Have someone that understands the local market?
The problem is that you may soon face a difficult counter part, your local agent.
The point I am trying to make is that you need local experience. Someone that has a past track record for evaluating properties in their local market.
Your agent should know the in's and outs the housing market that you are interested in perusing because one comparable property may in fact seem worth wild, but the facts of the matter reflect a different story altogether.
Websites that use zip code specific data and not local market data fail to provide a realistic view of the market.
6. What's Your Property Type?
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Condominiums
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Townhouses
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Single Family Homes
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Time-Shares
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Mobile Homes
Condominium's and Townhome's - Condominium's and Townhome's are turn-key with almost no maintenance actually being performed by the owner.
Single Family Homes - A Single Family Home however requires a lot more work on the homeowner’s behalf to ensure the property is properly maintained. Although some people prefer to own the land their home is on, you may prefer a Mobile Home so that you can pick up and leave at your convenience.
To Rent or Not to Rent - Often times vacationers look to rent their vacation home in order to offset your cost of ownership. If this is the case I recommend not only working with a local sales agent, but also working with a local rental agent as well. Rental Agents will be able to give you accurate information on what sort of income your property can produce, giving you an accurate financial picture of how much your cost of ownership will be. If you purchase a condo you want to make sure that the bylaws allow rentals, as some buildings are non-rental buildings.
7. What's your Location?
Different areas in Ocean City, MD offer different activities. Downtown starts at the inlet and goes to the 28th street area.
This includes locations such as the:
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Downtown Inlet
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Famous Ocean City Boardwalk
If your family frequents the boardwalk this may be the best location for you. You could look at a condo for sale at Belmont Towers or one of the many condominium units for sale overlooking the boardwalk and ocean.
If you prefer a beach that is not very crowded you may want to explore Mid-town which runs from 28th Street to 93rd Street. The majority of the low-density areas of town are located Mid-town, where the island is most narrow.
The oceanfront high-rises start around 94th street and offer a lot of activity during the summer. Uptown also features areas such as Montego Bay or quiet Caine Woods, neighborhoods that have more year-round residents.
8. Buying a Beach House for the View?
Most people come to OC to be near the water. You may enjoy going to the beach, or maybe you prefer to go out on the boat, but most people end up paying to have a specific view.
Direct Oceanfront is defined as a property with an due-east orientation, and an unobstructed 180 degree view of the ocean. Ocean View, would be any property located east of Coastal Highway, that has a view of the Ocean.
Ocean Block, is simply anything east of Coastal Highway. West of Coastal Highway lies all of the Bayside properties which are considered to be:
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Bayside Waterfront
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Bayside Interior (dry)
Bayside waterfront consists of properties on both Canals and directly on the Bay. Direct Bayfront condominium's are typically more expensive then those along the canals.
9. Does home or condo size matter?
Number of bedrooms and number of bathrooms is most important. This will be the determining factor in how many people can sleep in your property. In a condo or townhome square footage is not as important as how the space is used.
10. Want great amenities for the whole family?
For young children often times a pool can be easier (and less messy) than going to the beach. Often times a buyer may only look at locations with a pool.
Other amenities include:
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Fitness Rooms
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Club Houses
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Tennis Courts
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Basketball Courts
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Docks
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Parking Spaces
11. Have or want a boat? You may want a dock!
There are many options when it comes to boating in Ocean City. Deeded docks are the easiest way to ensure that you will have access to a space in the water as you would own the slip.
Often times, condo associations also own all of the docks and have a lottery system to gain access. This is a nice amenity, but it does not guarantee that every owner will have their own slip.
Additionally, it is very important to make sure that the size of the slip will accommodate the size of your boat. Often times, buyers will not even own a boat prior to purchasing a property with a slip, so make sure the slip is big enough for the boat you want to buy.
Let's Talk about Ocean City, MD Real Estate!
Contact Michael Nolen, Ocean City, MD Realtor
With a diverse background of mortgage, loan servicing and housing experience, Michael brings his clients and customers helpful resources, guides, tips, and real estate services making the buying and selling process in Ocean City, MD, a delightful and educational experience.
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