Condo owners: what's your HOA fee like?

[Mimosa]

I'm trying to see if in ATL GA at a fee of $295 a month including water, garbage collection, grounds maintenance, outside units is too much. There are 95 units in our N. ATL community.

We contract with a services company. The HOA keeps it sort of secret what they get paid. But they want to do a special assessment because a few building's roofs need replacement.

[taught_me_patience]

1. $530/mo in Long Beach, CA - 1,500sf

Includes water,garbage, maintenence. The building has 80 units. Other buildings in the area run $300-$1000 depending on unit size and building amenities.

$1000 2bd usually gets weight room, pool, 24 hour security,conceirge service
$600-$800 3bd same as $1000 w/o the conceirge. Might have earthquake insurance for the building
$450-$600 usually no security or less amenities. Or 1b in building w/amenities. Buildings might have 1-3 employees.
$300-$450 older buildings with no security, employees, or amenities.

Almost all HOAs include water, garbage, maintenence.

[woo me with science]

2. Per MONTH?

My god, I'm glad we don't have an HOA.

[CoffeeCat]

3. Wow our fee was $78 per month!

We lived in a condo that charged $78 fee per month. That included all landscaping
and outside maintenance of the bldg, driveway, etc. We had 200 units in the condo
development.

These were not luxury units. They were nice. 2BR-- plus an open loft area for an office
or playroom, 2 bath, pantry, gas fireplace, nice stone patio, 2 levels, 2-car garage...around $1,300 sq ft.
Built in 1995.

Priced around 100k.

I guess our fees were relatively low!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

10. But how long ago was that?

Mine USED to be 103/month here in chicago but the assessment is now 235/month (2br 1200sf in a six-flat vintage walk-up self managed).

IIRC, ours jumped quite a bit when our bldg. insurance shot up. I think 9/11 was the excuse for the insurance gouging us.

[CoffeeCat]

14. This was five years ago...

...we move out of the condo in 2006, and the fees were low.

It could have gone up since then, tho.

[cordelia]

4. $320/month in Decatur GA

Includes what you listed plus cable. 47 units. New exterior paint every 5 years, immaculate grounds, pool etc.

Roof replacement is included in the fee. Also new fences around the patios.

[JuniperLea]

5. $143... in Lakewood, CA...

Just north of Seal Beach. Fifty units, no pool. This covers trash and landscaping and the water for the common areas and basic insurance. I pay for my own water.

Not sure what the rules are in your area, but we get a financial summary once a year.

[lunatica]

6. $459 a month in Oakland, CA

But it's in a very nice location, has a swimming pool and nicely kept greenery and right next to a State Park. The outside has been painted this year.

[truebrit71]

8. For $5500 a year I'd do it myself...

...that's just mental...

[lunatica]

11. I'm 63 and work full time so it isn't something I can do.

[truebrit71]

7. A month? Holy crap!!!

Bugger that...

[Angry Dragon]

9. I believe HOA's are subject to public record laws

Nothing should be secret.... do a google search

[Mimosa]

13. In GA I don't think fees are public information

Georgia Property Owners' Association Act would apply.

I think fees depend on many different factors including the varying rates for maintenance and services in different areas.

The problems with our HOA is we have a tiny clique of well off older people (in their 60s and up) who exclude younger members or anybody new. They are secretive, bossy and hidebound. Money is no problem for them, for example. They say one thing and do another. This is in Buckhead, but most of the residents aren't rich. They know the dissatisfied younger people (younger is anybody under 60) don't have the means to compel transparency by hiring lawyers. So they can use covenants to harass people. LOL

Oh, can y'all guess that these people are Republicans? I went to a dinner held by one of them and she had an autographed copy of Sarah Palin's Going Rogue book back when it came out.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

12. I chickened out, but it would have been $448 in Avalon California

And it wasn't the condo fee that scared us off, it was the seemingly endless supply of special assessments the late 1970's vintage buildings seemed to require that put us off.