Why are condo HOA fees so expensive in Hawaii? (to live, property)

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

the cost of the new required smart meters for a home owner were in excess of 30k in kauai when i was there last year. the hoa fees where i stayed which indeed had a pool were over 750 a month and i was told that was low end. the fees of the hoa are reflected in the fees the city charges not the property taxes the city charges.

I'm unclear on what you mean. What "city" on Kauai, or the OP's Maui, charges a fee of any sort?

[MauiPartTimer]

Our condo HOA/AOAO fees are a little under $500 for our condo in Kihei. That covers, insurance, landscaping, common area electrity/water and the human cost of security, adminstration and maintenence/groundskeeping.

We also own a condo in a smaller complex in California and I feel like we get more bang for our buck in our Maui place since there's a lot more to maintain.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by KonaKat

If you think our wages here in Hawaii are high, (especially compared to our cost of living) you are sadly misinformed. It may be "price gouging" but the wages of everyone is certainly not a main reason.

Wages are high in Hawaii. What the employee takes home is not what it costs the business to keep the employee on the payroll.

Hawaiian law requires a lot of expenses be paid for each employee. In other states, take home pay might be only half of what the employee is costing the employer and I suspect in Hawaii, the cost per employee is even higher.

Condo insurance would be high, and gardening would be expensive for the places with lavish gardening. But I see a lot of condos that don't have much more than a parking lot and that have very high condo fees. Those look to me like they are price gouging.

Some of the condos include electricity, garbage, and water in the association fee, and considering the price of electricity, those fees look rather like a bargain.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Wages are high in Hawaii.

Wages aren't high in Hawaii. Although overhead per employee can be (office space cost, electricity, etc)

[WaikikiBoy]

I don't really get the "price gouging" rationale for high HOA fees. Condo complexes are governed by a board of directors, elected by the owners of the condos. Most complexes require the directors to also be unit owners themselves. HOA fees are set each yr by the board of directors based on an annual fiscal budget in order to cover immediate operating and capital expenses as well as build reserves for projected future major expenses (like re-roofing the complex).

There is no incentive for a condo association to gouge themselves.

The cost of everything is high in HI so that impacts HOA fees as well. But complexes could have higher than normal fees due to past mismanagement, failure to have build adequate reserves over time, too much deferred maintanence, etc., in addition to other things mentioned.

In my condo complex, everyone receive a copy of the annual budget complete with actual and projected expenses as well as reserve contribution for future expenses. There would be no place to hide gouging and owners would quickly protest and vote out gouging directors if any was found.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

I'm unclear on what you mean. What "city" on Kauai, or the OP's Maui, charges a fee of any sort?

Yes, please explain... are any of the towns on ANY of the neighbor islands even authorized to assess taxes or fees? They aren't on the Big Island.

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Yes, please explain... are any of the towns on ANY of the neighbor islands even authorized to assess taxes or fees? They aren't on the Big Island.

Exactly

[tdr22]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Property tax is among the lowest in the nation in Hawaii and HOA fees are set by the condo association not the local government. Associations with a pool are especially higher due to maintenance and insurance.

So true! Those pools really cost, our condos don't have pools, the HOA's are less than $200 a month, gotta love the steel & concrete construction even if we are within 1000 feet of the high tide, but wait-Opps---

Uninsurable!!!! Consider that in your purchase!!!! Not even Renter's insurance available

[KonaKat]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Yes, please explain... are any of the towns on ANY of the neighbor islands even authorized to assess taxes or fees? They aren't on the Big Island.

There are no municipal government entities in Hawaii. It's either State or it's County, that is all there is here.

Most association fees cover insurance for the project (which does not cover the units' interior except for any common element that may pass through it), water, mailboxes, pool/gate/fencing (if applicable), trash removal, landscaping, maintenance costs of common elements and the salary of the resident manager. Some of the older properties have standard cable "built in", and a few have a centralized boiler for hot water and a centralized AC system where the electricity for AC is paid by the association but individual condos are separately metered for the rest of the electric use inside that unit.

[Ellwood]

A large part of condo fees is insurance. The nearer you are to water, the higher the insurance cost, due to hurricanes, etc. Other states have the same high fees for insurance for those living within a specific distance from ocean, bay, etc. This applies to separate homes also. We have friends in the FL Keys who e don't insure their homes as the cost is prohibitive.