Is $620/month too much for a HOA fee?

[snoylekim]

^^ Very True . We had a reserve study done a few years ago that projected useful life and maintenance expenses on our major systems and structural areas . We have a pretty good idea of yearly predictable expenses and are contributing to our reserves based on this . Some investor owners don't like the idea of funding something they might not have a stake in, but 'thems the breaks' .

As far as our door /security , they're not unionized, but we cover their salary, benefits, workman comps costs, etc with the contracting agency . We do the same for our Condo manager. The Operating Engineer and Maintenance Engineer ( as is the case in most high rises) are unionized. I haven't looked at our budget , but I think personnel costs are about 25-30% of our budget .

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by jman07

Well you quoted "staff." I discussed cable and heat in an earlier post. Those probably account for $200 tops. All your doing is generalizing. Break down the costs line by line expert.

Trump tower..Aqua.....1000+?

Aqua is less than 500 units and trump is like 750 which includes 300 hotel rooms more or less.

How many Chicago condo high rises do you have experience with?

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by lycos679

Is $620/month too much for a HOA fee?

Seems reasonable to me-- if your home loan payment and taxes are $0.

[ToriaT]

It could be reasonable for a building that is comparable but if you go into a smaller building away from the lake, you can find cheaper HOA fees. A lot of buildings have HOA fees of 250 - 400 ish but may not offer a doorman, pool, etc. It depends on what you want.

[lycos679]

I appreciate all the responses, they have been pretty insightful!

[koctail]

I have seen some midrises that have no doorman, but a code you enter for the person you want to see. Then it buzzes them and lets you in. I wonder why more buildings don't have this?

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by koctail

I have seen some midrises that have no doorman, but a code you enter for the person you want to see. Then it buzzes them and lets you in. I wonder why more buildings don't have this?

Its not a secure as a doorman. People let strangers in all the time with these kinds of systems.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by koctail

I have seen some midrises that have no doorman, but a code you enter for the person you want to see. Then it buzzes them and lets you in. I wonder why more buildings don't have this?

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

Its not a secure as a doorman. People let strangers in all the time with these kinds of systems.

Well, that and doormen do a lot more than just act as a security guard. They receive packages and deliveries, they often act as the first line of response for tenant issues, they can do other things sometimes, too. In some areas they may primarily be a security presence, but for a place in the Gold Coast or most of downtown, they really are a luxury service.

[Carson9]

I think this is pretty normal. Pay $620 which covers almost everything in a high rise or pay $300 in HOA fees in a walk up that covers nothing (except for basics like exterior insurance, trash, etc).

Does this include parking? Sometimes when you add a garage spot to your condo purchase, pending on the building, they could also add a parking assessment to your HOA fees (sometimes it's included, sometimes, not).