Q for condo/townhouse owners

So I have started to let myself think about the possibility that we could actually buy a home in some of the cities on our rank list. This still seems unbelievable after so long renting!
We are pretty sure that it will be a townhouse or condo though, and were wondering how much typical association fees/condo fees are? I'm sure they vary a lot but would any of you mind sharing? And what is included?

Hi Bugs,

The best answer is that it is impossible to say what they generally run. All fees vary according to the covenants set in place by the particular association. For instance, you may find a townhouse that has a fee of $10 per month that might only cover keeping the street lamps in the neighborhood lit. Or at the other extreme, in larger cities I've looked at condos where the monthly fees are $600 a month SANS parking or utilities.

If you end up using a realtor, s/he will let you know what the monthly fee is. But in addition to that, you and your realtor should explore the covenants / docs that govern the rules of the community (including fees). In addition, you should have your realtor do some detective work and see if the community has a history of assessments or a pending assessment.

For instance, does the community often have a suprise assessment for its members? That is, you may want to steer clear of communities where it seems every other year there is a huge fee in the middle of the fiscal year to pay for an otherwise unbudgeted repair. I.E. Residents find out in March that in addition to their monthly fees they're going to have to come up with $700 to pay for re-roofing the clubhouse.

In a community where assessments are common and/or pending you'll end up with expensive suprises and it also speaks of mismanagement i.e. why isn't the board planning ahead for major expenses and being upfront about their need. Another tough thing is lump sum assessments is that they are inequitable in a sense. For instance, the residents who pay for the new parking lot in a lump sum and then move out leave a newly paved parking lot for future residents who have contributed nothing towards it. Of course, there is no way for every fee paid (whether monthly or in an assessment to be completely equitable) but an association that budgets well, plans ahead and doesn't include a lot of suprise assessments is more equitable.

I'm on the board of my community and we budget pretty well and have not had assessments in the time that I've lived here. Our monthly fees are higher than one might expect because years ago (before new management and board members), it was run poorly. So, we're making up for lost time as it were. We pay over $200 / month and that includes water, pool and all roof repairs.

The association covering the exterior (roof included) reduces our homeowner's insurance premiums. Of course, none of that money is going to our mortgage so you have to decide given your budget and other options available does it make more economic sense for you to be putting that monthly fee towards your mortgage -- sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't and sometimes it does and you would but you can't.

One more tip. If you plan to buy a condo or townhome that covers things like the exterior and roof, make sure that anything that needs repair is done by the current homeowner and association before you move in. That way it not only gets done but you have the seller do all the legwork to get the association to do their part. And if they don't take care of it, that is your answer about what it would be like to live in that particular community (and pay them to do things that they don't do).

Sorry for :chat: .

[DCJenn]

Our condo fees in SW DC (an area that is primarily condos and co-ops) was $324 a month which included water, security, landscaping, snow removal, exterior maintenance (we were socked with a 14k assessment for a new roof that we're now paying over the next 10 years) and one parking spot.

Jenn

Kevins so right that they vary. The town we are looking that we would buy a condo at say $155-165K the fees vary from $10-$280. That makes a BIG differance in our monthly fees. But I've found each town we've looked at you can find what you want at the price you can afford (but we are not looking on the coasts, so that's a huge differance.)


Btw, Kevin should we buy a condo, do I contact the condo association prior to purchasing to find these things out, or will the realtor have this information. So far regarding HOA all I've gotten is what that includes for the price, but since we aren't buying yet hadn't pushed to find out more.

Thanks

[DCJenn]

Julie-

At least for DC it's part of the purchase contract that they must give you all of the condo docs and then you have three days to review them. If you find anything that bothers you about the condo docs you can negate the contract. People actually use that as the 'out' if they get buyer's remorse.

The asshat who backed out of our contract tried to say that we provided her illegible condo docs but since her three days were long since over she had to go a different route to get out of the contract (ye olde "poltergiest in the kitchen" routine)

Jenn

What Jenn said.

A realtor whose experienced with the area should give you some scoops in addition to the docs themselves i.e. often problems with roofs at such and such. One negative heads up our agent gave us here at our current place was to spend a few bucks on the "sewage" rider on our homeowner's as the place has had some pipe issues.

We did and nothing bad has happened. But I can tell you from being on the board that our pipes are old and many others have had issues.

The sewage / insurance issue underscores the point that you want to know where the community's insurance and covenants leave off so you can decide where your homeowner's should pick up.

Much appreciated thanks! We have a lot to learn. I have printed off Kevin's response for future reference!