SF Condo Common Charges (San Jose, Oakland: HOA, mortgage, how much)

[Lurker]

What common charges would I expect to pay for a relatively new SF condo? Is it a typical percentage of purchase price? If not, I will probably be looking in the $800,000-900,000 range, and probably in South Beach or Marina. Also, what is the normal rate of increase every year? Thanks.

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by Lurker

What common charges would I expect to pay for a relatively new SF condo? Is it a typical percentage of purchase price? If not, I will probably be looking in the $800,000-900,000 range, and probably in South Beach or Marina. Also, what is the normal rate of increase every year? Thanks.

I'm not sure but why would you spend that much for a condo?

[scotts0725]

Lurker,

Expect to pay HOA of between $650-$800 per month. It is out of control. I am actually looking in the same price range as you in South Beach only, both at new construction and almost new. This is the range they all fall in. When I was at the Metropolitan, the agent had said that in 4 years they only had 1 price increase, and actually had a price decrease in that time. The price increase was a one-time adjustment to help with some problem (I forget what).

The HOA is a killer, because it is not tax deductible. An $800 dollar a month HOA is equivalent to almost 100K extra on the mortgage (which is tax deductible - but you would have to pay higher property tax).

Cityboy - I am looking both on the peninsula and in South Beach. If you want anything decent (FOR A CONDO), that is what you need to spend. Prices have gotten to be completely outrageous. To look at a 750K condo - and it is a real dump - is a little depressing.

I am currently selling a place I have in San Jose and moving up the peninsula. These ridiculous prices are making me wonder if I should buy or rent. How much more can a 2 bedroom, 1200 sq foot condo go up over 900K???

[City Boy]

You can easily get a pretty nice house for that price outside of the city. Unless you just absolutely have to be in SF I think paying that much for a condo is crazy basically because the HOA fee's will be outrageous and the square footage will be minimal compared to a house. I have a 400k brand new condo I purchased in Downtown Oakland and my HOA's are $340 which is bad enough.

[Lurker]

Originally Posted by scotts0725

Expect to pay HOA of between $650-$800 per month. It is out of control.

Thanks, scotts0725. High but I'm not shocked. I really don't need much in the way of building amenities so maybe I can be on the low end of the range.

I'm currently only poking around online, and it's difficult because SF listings rarely include floorplans. If you can tell me anything about the pros/cons of South Beach vs. other upscale areas of SF I'd appreciate it.