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How much are you Condominium HOA Dues and where are from?

Started by PatriiciaR • 12 replies • 225 views

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PatriiciaR (Texas)
Posts: 32
Posted:
Hello -I am new to the forum.

I currently live in a 72 unit Condominium Community in Dallas, Texas. Our owners are always complaining about how expensive our dues are.

Total value in 2006 $34,990
Total value in 2024 $132.50

Current HOA dues are $415.00

pool
club house - not used
outside lighting, including front porch lighting
electric
water
boiler system
management fee
covered parking
trash
sprinklers
camera system
insurance

What do you currently pay and where do you live?

Have a great day and I appreciate your response.

Thanks
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062
Posted:
You can not compare Associations to Associations.

It's similar to comparing apples to oranges.
KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
Assume $415 is per month? How much per month does your HOA contribute to reserves???

Landscaping? Custodial, perhaps? And other. vendors like pool maintenance?
PatriiciaR (Texas)
Posts: 32
Posted:
Please explain. I'm comparing dues.
PatriiciaR (Texas)
Posts: 32
Posted:
internet 70.24
porter 1000.00
management 2389.00
pest control 253.31
pool 500.00
landscaping 1350.
insurance
electric 421.49
gas 2061.88
water 7256.85

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062
Posted:
Deposits to reserves would be considered an expense to the Association and is used to calculate dues/assessments.
KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
Agree with Tim as noted in my above. Reserves?
DeanJ
Posts: 1,786
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By PatriiciaR on 03/07/2025 9:53 AM
Hello -I am new to the forum.

I currently live in a 72 unit Condominium Community in Dallas, Texas. Our owners are always complaining about how expensive our dues are.

Total value in 2006 $34,990
Total value in 2024 $132.50

Current HOA dues are $415.00

pool
club house - not used
outside lighting, including front porch lighting
electric
water
boiler system
management fee
covered parking
trash
sprinklers
camera system
insurance

What do you currently pay and where do you live?

Have a great day and I appreciate your response.

Thanks

Lawn and landscaping and reserve account?

You fees for a condo with a pool and club house in Ohio would average.
CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
Two apparently identical communities can have very different assessments. Some "hidden" factors include:

* Weather or natural disaster, or location in a high-risk area

* History of neglected maintenance

* Inadequate reserves

* Paying off a loan

* Litigation (past or current)

* History of insurance claims that have resulted in high premiums or being forced to buy insurance on the secondary market

All of these things have to paid for on top of the routine obligations of an association. This is why comparing different assessment amounts can be misleading because it's likely that you're not comparing apples to apples.

That said, if a community's assessments are out of line with those of similar communities in the same area, a savvy buyer is going to want to know why and not assume that this community is a bargain. Unrealistically low assessments are not a bargain. They're going to result in higher expenses down the road - and the longer this goes on, the more financial pain the owners will experience when reality sets in.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
How old is your community? Older communities are going to have higher maintenance costs than younger ones.

That list also didn't include accounting and legal expenses, both of which are pretty routine. And an unused clubhouse still has to be maintained.

If owners are griping about the assessments, the board should be sharing the budget and monthly financials in detail so that people can see where the money is going. Complainers can be invited to suggest which expenses should be eliminated.

One obvious possibility is to remove utilities (eg. water and trash collection) from the assessments and let owners pay for these things on their own. In my area, individual accounts with the trash collection services are significantly more expensive than the group rate charged to associations. And we have a couple different service companies, so this would mean trash pickup two days per week instead of only one, which means added wear and tear to the property. Our owners save money by having this expense in the assessments.

What many owners don't understand is the most of an association's expenses are not discretionary. And when a person owns property, somebody has to pay for all of the upkeep. If the association isn't doing it, then the owners have to. Expenses don't just magically go away because people don't like them.

DeanJ
Posts: 1,786
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By CathyA3 on 03/08/2025 7:01 AM
How old is your community? Older communities are going to have higher maintenance costs than younger ones.

That list also didn't include accounting and legal expenses, both of which are pretty routine. And an unused clubhouse still has to be maintained.

If owners are griping about the assessments, the board should be sharing the budget and monthly financials in detail so that people can see where the money is going. Complainers can be invited to suggest which expenses should be eliminated.

One obvious possibility is to remove utilities (eg. water and trash collection) from the assessments and let owners pay for these things on their own. In my area, individual accounts with the trash collection services are significantly more expensive than the group rate charged to associations. And we have a couple different service companies, so this would mean trash pickup two days per week instead of only one, which means added wear and tear to the property. Our owners save money by having this expense in the assessments.

What many owners don't understand is the most of an association's expenses are not discretionary. And when a person owns property, somebody has to pay for all of the upkeep. If the association isn't doing it, then the owners have to. Expenses don't just magically go away because people don't like them.


Hold the phone, those expense can go magically away. You just have to find volunteers in your community that will do a lot of the work for free, find contractors who will work for 50% of the market rate and quit funding those pesky reserves because you already have plenty of money. And if that doesn’t work, go borrow the money. .
JulieH4
Posts: 75
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By PatriiciaR on 03/07/2025 12:11 PM
internet 70.24
porter 1000.00
management 2389.00
pest control 253.31
pool 500.00
landscaping 1350.
insurance
electric 421.49
gas 2061.88
water 7256.85


Are you in Dallas as well? I am in Houston and our prices are higher than this!
My personal condo/townhome HOA is $540 for 1900 sqft (I work where I live) and includes pool, maintaining clubhouse, landscaping, daily porter, pest control, insurance, water for entire community, gas for property, electric for property, playground, everything outside the studs of the 140 homes I manage, my salary, foundation repair, and roofs.
PatriiciaR (Texas)
Posts: 32
Posted:
Thank you all for your feedback. Much appreciated.

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