Illinois condo law operates under the principal of no surprises. When you sign the sales contract, the HOA must give you a big dump of their records. You and

Illinois condo law operates under the principal of no surprises. When you sign the sales contract, the HOA must give you a big dump of their records. You and your real estate attorney get a few days (I forget if it is 2 or 5) to look through it, ask questions, etc. You can cancel the contract and get your earnest money back if you don’t like anything at all. No joke - get a good real estate attorney. Buildings with a reputation for being well-run sell for a higher price per square foot. Buildings that are really poorly run sell for cash only - banks refuse to write mortgages on them. In between the two extremes is just about everything else. My advice is to look for a building that has lots of kids and lots of dogs. If the HOA is filled with crazy people that want to control every bit of your life, parents and dog owners will move out long before the single people will.