Condo Fees?
Hi all,
Just starting out and stumbled on to this site and have a question...... One of my rentals is a condo I inherited and it has association fees of $170 a month. I feel like I am getting ripped off but I'm probably not.. I get $620 a month and remaining mort is only about $250 so it is a pos. cash flow unit eve with the fee but I am just curious about what others think....I guess it goes towards outside maintenance insurance garbage etc....I have options with this property because I almost own it outright but kinda feel like the $170 a month should be mine........
Thanks
Brian
You can look at you association fees as covering some of the maintenance expenses you would have with another investment. That being said I have walked away from purchases where the association fees were punitive.
In simple words--if you can't deal with the condo fee then sell the unit. I know how you feel but the condo fee is important. There needs to be someone runing the complex. A big deal of that is insurance. Insurance for somone owning a condo is only 20% of that of a full policy. The other 80% is included in your association fee. You also have to pay someone for lawn care, snow removal, garbage maybe, and management.
Depending on what you get for your $170, it is not unreasonable. I have a rental condo that is at the beach. In the complex there is an indoor pool and spa, a gym, a park with basketball and volleyball courts. I would be tickled if my HOA fees were only $170 / month. The HOA fees include trash, water, plus maintaining the outside of the building and all of the above facilities. The fees also include the hazard insurance. So... as I said at the beginning of this, it all depends on what you get for your $$.
Good luck,
Kevin
I've had a number of condos over the years...just bought one this summer, $500 rent, $120 HOA (incl. insurance), $900 taxes...but my pmt. is $130...your deal sounds a little lean to me for a condo...when your lien is clear, try seller-financing it...I've had great exp. carrying paper on condos...25-35% ROI...and with prepayment penalties and selected credit buyers, you could keep collecting for 30 yrs...condos can be great.
Yeah it is a little lean but only owe about 9k left it is probably worth about 60k and so far it hasnt cost me much more than rehab costs as it was an inherited property... I will probably hold onto it for a while pay off the note and just be hapy to et the $450 a month out of it while the area it is in continues to gain in value.....Thanks for the thoughts and perspective.........................