6 ms·

Typically, an HOA for a condo covers all maintenance interior and exterior, so that's not insane. And the ongoing cost for the HOA should be reflected in a low

Typically, an HOA for a condo covers all maintenance interior and exterior, so that's not insane. And the ongoing cost for the HOA should be reflected in a lower up-front price, if buyers are correctly evaluating the total cost of ownership. 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.

dleslie 4y ago
It's not insane?! 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?
- shmatt 4y ago
  Shared spaces need shared employees. Employees legal to work in the U.S, at the wages which are normal in SF (you don't want to keep hiring and have people quit after 1 month because someone is paying them more) 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
  - dleslie 4y ago
    > 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.
- rossover 4y ago
  Some properties will include electricity and/or other utilities in that fee. A condo on the beach may include property insurance, etc.
- skeeter2020 4y ago
  So your total investment was less than 12K and you got new counters, hot water tanks, flooring. landscaping and a roof? I'm calling BS.
  - MontyCarloHall 4y ago
    A new roof is in the ballpark of $10-$20k. Decent quality flooring is $10-20 per square foot; for a 2000 square foot house, this is $20-$40k in materials alone. Quartz countertops are $100 per square foot; for a typical kitchen, this usually comes out to $10-$20k (again, not counting installation).
    - mholm 4y ago
      How large is this kitchen? I had new quartz countertops put in for $4500 a few months ago, after labor. Kitchen is decently sized too.
    - dleslie 4y ago
      It was a teeny tiny house; 850sqft and two stories. 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.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    Yeah, even just a hot water heater and a furnace would set me back $100/mo. 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.
    - dleslie 4y ago
      I spent roughly a tenth of that on new water heaters; two half height to fit in the crawlspace. Electric, not gas. Is labour just that much more expensive in the USA?
      - bombcar 4y ago
- teeeg 4y ago
  I don’t have any source to quote — but I believe a driver if HOA costs is insurance premiums. Canada/Europe likely less exposed to liability law etc
  - dleslie 4y ago
    Ah right, that's a major scandal here in BC that I had forgotten about. Condo fees are soaring because insurance is going through the roof for that entire class of housing.
  - thatfrenchguy 4y ago
    I mean if you own a house without a HOA you pay that insurance instead…
SoftTalker 4y ago
I suppose it can vary but the condo HOAs I've had experience with only maintained the exterior and common areas. Anything inside the outer walls of the unit was the owner's responsibility. So leaking roof, the HOA would fix. Leaking pipe inside, or furnace or water heater problem, the owner would have to handle.
chimeracoder 4y ago
> Typically, an HOA for a condo covers all maintenance interior and exterior, so that's not insane 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).
- mantas 4y ago
  Interior as in shared spaces interior.

dleslie 4y ago

It's not insane?! 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?

shmatt 4y ago
Shared spaces need shared employees. Employees legal to work in the U.S, at the wages which are normal in SF (you don't want to keep hiring and have people quit after 1 month because someone is paying them more) 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
- dleslie 4y ago
  > 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.
rossover 4y ago
Some properties will include electricity and/or other utilities in that fee. A condo on the beach may include property insurance, etc.
skeeter2020 4y ago
So your total investment was less than 12K and you got new counters, hot water tanks, flooring. landscaping and a roof? I'm calling BS.
- MontyCarloHall 4y ago
  A new roof is in the ballpark of $10-$20k. Decent quality flooring is $10-20 per square foot; for a 2000 square foot house, this is $20-$40k in materials alone. Quartz countertops are $100 per square foot; for a typical kitchen, this usually comes out to $10-$20k (again, not counting installation).
  - mholm 4y ago
    How large is this kitchen? I had new quartz countertops put in for $4500 a few months ago, after labor. Kitchen is decently sized too.
  - dleslie 4y ago
    It was a teeny tiny house; 850sqft and two stories. 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.
- bombcar 4y ago
  Yeah, even just a hot water heater and a furnace would set me back $100/mo. 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.
  - dleslie 4y ago
    I spent roughly a tenth of that on new water heaters; two half height to fit in the crawlspace. Electric, not gas. Is labour just that much more expensive in the USA?
    - bombcar 4y ago
teeeg 4y ago
I don’t have any source to quote — but I believe a driver if HOA costs is insurance premiums. Canada/Europe likely less exposed to liability law etc
- dleslie 4y ago
  Ah right, that's a major scandal here in BC that I had forgotten about. Condo fees are soaring because insurance is going through the roof for that entire class of housing.
- thatfrenchguy 4y ago
  I mean if you own a house without a HOA you pay that insurance instead…

SoftTalker 4y ago

I suppose it can vary but the condo HOAs I've had experience with only maintained the exterior and common areas. Anything inside the outer walls of the unit was the owner's responsibility. So leaking roof, the HOA would fix. Leaking pipe inside, or furnace or water heater problem, the owner would have to handle.

chimeracoder 4y ago

> Typically, an HOA for a condo covers all maintenance interior and exterior, so that's not insane 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).

mantas 4y ago
Interior as in shared spaces interior.