I know places in Austin where (and this was years ago), HOA fees were $1100 for a condo in the $1.2 million range.

And, to be clear, I'm not saying 941 is "cheap" on an absolute basis, just that it is for a condo that is already that expensive.

So 11 * 40 * 52 / 12 = 1906$/month + SS.

$15.40 for employers with 21 or more employees (including all domestic workers, regardless of the number employed) $14.50 for employers with 4-20 employees

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/supp_info/minimum...

2k plus a room.

Sounds like it could have been a co-op which would include taxes in the HOA.

Condo HOAs usually cover the maintenance of the shared building parts (HVAC, roof, plumbing outside the units, etc). One danger sign is a condo with a HOA that is too low - it likely means maintenance is being put off or done incorrectly or you're going to get hit with a special assessment soon.

Older buildings start getting hit with the "every 20/50 years" maintenance, and also get hit with lawsuits against the building/HOA itself. Those can start to add up over time.

And the size of the building can also affect it; a smaller building with the same amenities would have higher HOA fees.

I personally wouldn't touch them with a fifty state pole, but some people like it.

Unfortunately all the newer homes have HOAs in my area. I am stuck with older homes or I have to buy a lot and build to get something modern.

HOAs are also a breeding ground for petty arguments.

And, unlike you're principle payment (which at least is an asset), HOA payments are something you will never see any return of value on, especially since they reduce the desirability of the property in question. If you doubt this, Just ask anyone who's had an HOA, whether or not they'd rather buy a property with an HOA or one without.

Living with other people is annoying, but you can work to mitigate the biggest issues, and sometimes the right answer might be a HOA. Investigate the HOA before buying and talk to your potential neighbors. Many people will gladly go out to dinner/drinks if you ask and bitch about any problems there may be.

And there will always be problems; the key is determining if they'll be annoying enough for you to bypass it.

One friend years ago pointed out that he could buy a much nicer house if he spent the HOA payment on mortgage instead; and so went that way.

And yeah, the elections can change everything - and sometimes nobody cares and you can run for the HOA board and effectively take control muahahahahah.

Er, I wouldn't know anyone who would do that. Ever.

You can't live with 200 other families in a shared building without some sort of structure. What's allowed and what isn't, Can dogs swim in the shared pool? Can you ask the doorman to go find a parking spot around the block?

The HOA in question is a shared building. Which is more like a corporation, with 20-30 employees.

That's a thing???

Part of the challenge is determining the quality of the HOA before buying, and that quality can change over time. And you may have minimal influence over it.

Hate to break it to you, but the maintenance costs for a house over the lifetime of the property are astronomical. True, if you are a do-it-yourselfer and want to do all the maintenance work yourself you can save money. But the comparable cost to pay someone for things like yard work, internal repairs and upkeep is, in my experience, much higher in a house than a condo because you don't get the benefit of scale and good, defined supplier relationships. E.g. in a condo building you're paying a landscaping company to do the yard work, but that work is split amongst 50 or whatever condo owners.

Just because the land is more expensive doesn't mean your elevator maintenance contract should be.

The premise for the HOA to do this is that it's better for occupants to report problems for professional remediation, rather than to DIY or neglect them until it becomes worse for someone else in the building.

I just sold a house in Vancouver after living in it for over a decade. The amortized cost of maintenance was less than 100 CAD/mo; and that included new quartz counters, a new roof, new hot water tanks, a whole yard remodel, new flooring, and so on.

What the hell are they burning nearly a grand USD per month per suite on?

I also find elevators to add a decent amount to the overhead

Not everyone is fit for condo living, but those who do prefer to have a building manager full time on site they can talk to. They also want amenities, a gym or even a pool (which means paying a lifeguard), a rooftop or shared working space. And trust me the condo owners aren't going to go and mop that rooftop or gym, they're going to need even more employees to do that

This is probably the meat of the cost.

When I demo'd the floors the labour cost was my own time; rather than the market rate.

People are very bad at working out total cost of ownership, but it could work if the prices were very low and much of the labor was done by the owner.

Is labour just that much more expensive in the USA?

The roof only hit me back about 5k.

Flooring was only about 3k, I did cheap laminate because carpet gives me allergies and I have kids.

It depends a bit on where you live, but that's typically not true. For a condo, the owners are responsible for interior maintenance (for example, plumbing issues within the unit, as opposed to plumbing issues within the walls).

https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/611-Washington-St-94...

> Fees Include: Common Area Electricity, Door Person, Insurance (Common Area), Landscaping/Gardening, Management Fee, Pools, Spa, or Tennis, Reserves, Security Service, Water

> HOA Amenities: Community Pool, Door Person, Elevator, Gym/ Exercise Facility

That stuff costs money; if you don't want it then that isn't the building for you! Having recently moved from a condo to a non-HOA house, I am realizing how much extra time it takes to maintain a house (plus all the little extra costs here and there that add up). Condo HOAs are a mandatory convenience fee, and if you are a busy person they might really be worth it.

Single-family detached house subdivisions with HOAs are a different world. Stay far far away.

* A lot of amenities (pool and gym) are provided with the HOA.

* The reason 1200 sqf in a tall building is so cheap ($860k) is probably because the high HOA is discouraging buyers.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2111-Hyde-St-401-San-Fran...