House to Townhouse or condo

[YAZ]

Originally Posted by Phxrider

I went condo shopping and looked at some of the maintenance fees. 200 to 316 a month. I have been in my house for four years and if I paid those fees for the last four years, I could have put a new roof on and then some

How true.

While some HOA's are run quite well, they tend to raise my eyebrows with some of their fiscal decisions.

That's why I attended as many meetings as I could, and ended up as VP for one of the communities I lived in.

Our rental property has a fairly decent HOA, with a $175 per month maintenance fee. This includes water, trash pickup, landscaping, and upkeep around the "common areas".

Not too shabby.

Everyone's different though. We plan on keeping our 'lil condo in case we become part time residents of Phoenix. Also, with aging parents, ya just never know....

There has been a strong push in our neighborhood of single family detached homes to form an HOA. With no community pool, park, etc. it's been shot down consistently. There's no need.

I'm just wonderin'....

What happened to the days when neighbors helped each other out?

Ya know, helpin' the older couple next door with some yard work, politely tellin' your neighbor with the washing machine in his front yard that it's an eyesore, then offering to help haul it to the dump, etc.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Phxrider

I went condo shopping and looked at some of the maintenance fees. 200 to 316 a month. I have been in my house for four years and if I paid those fees for the last four years, I could have put a new roof on and then some

Tough to dispute this statement without knowing exactly what those $200 to $316 a month fees covered.

In my case, the $113 HOA Fees include Water, Trash Pick Up, Landscapers for Common Areas, Pool Maintenance plus Dwelling Insurance.