Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If you want amenities and maintenance, then you have to pay for them.
Exactly. Most of the fees are going to cover the same expenses you'd be paying in a SFH anyway. In some units (like mine) the fees also cover luxuries most homes don't have (such as a swimming pool and a concierge and security staff).
$300 a month is still expensive. HOA's are a rip off, considering you can get a house with no HOA and save yourself the THOUSANDS of dollars you're spending on HOA's. An HOA that's $200 a YEAR is okay. Any more, and it better have slides on the community pool a free ice cream bar and fancy greeneries and shrubs everywhere that make it look better than a resort. The only time when they're okay are in specialized neighborhoods with really cool pools or a giant golf course or really wealthy neighborhoods, where you can tell they really do maintain the area cleanly and nicely.
Last edited by clearlevel; 05-10-2017 at 01:50 PM..
A few thoughts. Other things included in the fees are not just the current amenity issues but also saving for their future repair and updates. If enough is collected all along, there is not the shock of a large special assessment, which sometimes brings a person or two who just doesn't pay for whatever reason. If your HOA collected when the money was needed and some did not pay, the board would have to go around and get others to chip in for that person or get a loan and have that person pay it back.
Some amenities have a lot of little things that can go wrong. After a while, can be something going wrong annually.
The building may also have a staff. There may be HOA street lights. Elevators. Some HOAs are really upgrading to be as attractive as the others with a great community center with good workout rooms, nice pool, movie room, social area, etc.
Unfortunately, it really does depend on the people in charge of the HOA. I've been to some HOA's where under one management, nothing got done and the sevices were poorly provided, but the collections were still being made. Under the leadership by another group of people, the same neighborhood was able to quickly upgrade to brand new LED street lights, new park, new playground, new street pavement lines. Some HOA's really are good, but most of them are not and are mismanaged. At the end of the day, I'd say it's better not to have a powerful HOA. It's like having a big "government" in the neighborhood, with all the same failings that "big government" of any kind has. Yeah, it's possible you might get the really good HOA president, but it's just likely you might get a do-nothing HOA that practically pockets the HOA fees or spends it in non-essentials.
HOA fees cover a variety of things and have contingency budgets as required by law.
The law in most states does not obligate an HOA to use the monies it collects in any particular way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
HOA dues can cover property taxes, siding, roofs, fences, sidewalks, landscaping, snow removal, street maintenance including repaving, parking lot maintenance, maintenance of walkways, common area maintenance, street lights, pools, rec centers, mailings to the property owners, management fees, insurance, bank fees, legal fees, etc.
They might be used in such fashion but there is no obligation to do so typically. The homeowner has a blind obligation to pay assessments with no corresponding contractual obligation by the HOA to do anything. Typically the restrictive covenants for HOAs purport to authorize the HOA to do things - not require it to do anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
They are also required to have so much set aside in savings for issues that may come up - new roof emergency, lawsuits, etc. Far better to have funds set aside than give everyone a $5000 assessment and the owners all have to pay an additional $5K one month.
This is controlled by state law - which typically does not mandate reserves. Although it sounds like a good idea to have reserves there is little oversight or protection of these funds and the funds often disappear through embezzlement or spending for something other than what the reserve was created for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
How do you cut down HOA fees? Don't move to a property with an HOA or look for one with low fees. Keep in mind that fees increase pretty much every year. If you want amenities and maintenance, then you have to pay for them.
Most new housing built in the last 2-3 decades will be burdened with involuntary membership HOAs.
I don't think HOA fees have any negative impact on urban development. Most urban residential high rise buildings are relatively expensive. People that can afford to buy or rent a unit in such a building are not generally put off by a high HOA. As some posters have said already, there are expenses that need to be covered in a high rise urban building that you don't see in suburban condo developments. I don't think there is such a thing as inexpensive high rise living, unless you are referring to government run housing projects.
Although amenities can vary greatly, and costs vary by city, I do think $800 per month in HOA fees that you quoted is probably higher than most buildings.
High rise living will always be expensive and targeted to affluent buyers. The cost of elevators, garbage shuttles, water pumps, maintenance staff etc will always demand high maintenance fees. Most attempts at low income housing in high rise towers in the 60's and 70's are considered failures now since the cost of maintenance was too high and many towers became vertical slums in terrible shape. What you see now is a trend back to shorter smaller buildings that need less maintenance and more suitable for rentals.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
