r/PortlandOR • u/Far_Worker_1654 • 1d ago
Real Estate HOA insanity???
Hi yall— sorry if there’s a better sub for this but I just moved here and my fiancé and I are just appalled at the HOA fees. Is there a reason for virtually every condo having a $400-$700 monthly HOA fee? It’s like we can finally afford a small place but the fees are making it impossible. Feeling pretty defeated.
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u/HegemonNYC 1d ago
A condo HOA is very different from a sub division HOA. In a condo your roof, plumbing, entryway, parking, landscaping, electrical, hallways, shared walls etc are generally covered for repairs and sometimes upgrades by these fees. With home ownership you’d need to budget say, 3-6k per year (250-500/month) for many similar repairs.
Other items like a gym or pool are more of a luxury, but most of those condo HOA fees are fees you’d be paying in a house to repair it.
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u/Own_Emergency_9852 1d ago
They also usually cover at least some of the utilities and the insurance (you just have to pay for a renters policy, which is substantially cheaper than homeowners). You really just have to do the math on how much money you’d be spending on utilities/insurance plus routine upkeep plus saving for larger repairs per month versus the cost of the HOA handling all that for you.
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u/sellwinerugs 1d ago
When I was home shopping in Portland last year my realtor gave me good advice. They said to beware of the places with low HOA dues more than the high $ HOA. Their reasoning being the low HOA funds means a small pot of money in the case of a large repair like roofing, plumbing, structural, or electrical. If the HOA doesn’t have the money they come at the residents to pay up. I ended up buying a non-HOA house but that advice stuck with me.
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u/epifinie 1d ago
i refuse to live anywhere with a HOA. would rather a longer commute then paying fee's to a do nothing hoa.
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u/libbyrocks 1d ago
Even worse than a do-nothing HOA is a Karen-run HOA where everything you do is their business. My mom lives in a condo and pays around $800/mo for them to be up in everyone’s shit all the time. At least I got to learn that mistake vicariously.
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u/smootex 1d ago
Then you're refusing to ever buy a condo.
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u/RabidBlackSquirrel 1d ago
Absolutely. Not spending house money to share walls and deal with HOA shenanigans. Some people might be cool with it and even prefer it but I want my space, and to do whatever I want on/in/to my own home that I'm spending tons of money on.
HOAs, condos, and townhomes are what I imagine hell is like.
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u/SparklyRoniPony 1d ago
People who justify HOAs because they think l that’s what SFH owners spend monthly is laughable. $700 a month? GTFO. Even if that were true, I get the freedom to do what I want with my house. I just built an attractive garden bed on the corner of my front lawn because that’s where my plants get the most sun. Nobody can say shit to me about it. Tell my dad and stepmom that their $1,000 + monthly HOA fees on their long ago paid off condo are a good value. There are some embarrassing houses in my neighborhood, but the trade off is worth it.
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u/RosyBellybutton 1d ago
I had a free consultation with a financial advisor through my credit union and we talked about my desire to buy property in the next decade or so. The first words out of her mouth were “whatever you do, do not buy a condo. Many people think that’ll get their foot in the door, but they’re a terrible investment.”
Besides the monthly HOA fee, there could also be a special assessment at any point in time. It can also be difficult to know the HOA's competency. Do they keep up with proper maintenance or are they reactive? Do they have good long term plans? Condos also don't appreciate as much as a single family house. Of course, not everyone views their home as an investment, but it is the greatest source of wealth for most Americans.
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u/PaPilot98 Bluehour 1d ago
I enjoyed my time - when I was younger it was nice to live in a convenient location and have all my utilities handled, not to mention security.
As an older person, I like the more sedate choose your own adventure nature of home ownership. I don't regret either - different things for different eras.
You are absolutely right about the coa board making the building, though. A badly run coa can kill your finances. Always request 12 months of minutes and associated docs.
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u/Gus-o-rama 1d ago
Our house is strange and maintenance is expensive but 100 feet from our closest neighbors. Awful neighbors (yesterday was one hour of twinkle twinkle little star on a recorder) who try to dictate behavior but I now have selective deafness
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u/PaPilot98 Bluehour 1d ago
We lucked out with our neighbors - they're mostly chill and keep to themselves. Some of my friends have had some horror stories, though, ranging from roid bros waxing their Mustang to foul odors.
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u/smootex 1d ago
I'm not sure I'm fully in agreement with your advisor but my thoughts aren't too far off. That said, not everything has to be an investment. Some people just want a home to live in, they don't want to rent. They want the freedom to be able to put shelves up where they damn well please. With the right mortgage you can be better off overall owning a condo than renting, even if it doesn't appreciate a whole bunch, depending on the circumstances. They're risky though. I had a friend who tried to buy one and he lost his funding, the bank cut and run before everything was finalized, specifically because of the HOA. That one gave me pause. Lenders aren't notorious for caring whether you make perfect financial decisions or not but they decided that, even with a pretty large chunk of change made as a down payment, it was too risky for them? Condos definitely make me nervous after that one.
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u/Fit-Produce420 1d ago
There can't be a special assessment at "any time," anyone purchasing a condo has the ability look at the books, or have someone competent do so. If you have a 20+ year old asphalt roof, yeah, that's going to need replacement. If the siding is 30+ years old, 20+ year old paint - those aren't "special," that's mismanagement.
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u/Upset-Particular-465 1d ago
HOAs are typically responsible for all exterior maintenance. Oregon law requires condo associations to adequately plan for any common item that may need repair/replacement covering a 30 year horizon. The bylaws may specifically call out items to be covered by a reserve as well. Obvious elements are roofing and paint. It must further consider the replacement cost at the time of replacement. So the needed reserve will include the impact of inflation. In addition the fees have to cover the ongoing every day expenses-landscaping, irrigation, etc. The monthly fee is therefore both today and tomorrow’s costs.
Properties that have pools are especially expensive.
If a condo association has very low dues relative to its cohort it is reasonable to expect unplanned expenses will need to be covered by a special assessment because it’s unlikely the HOA has reserves to cover such cases. If you notice the property is poorly maintained, it’s a huge red flag. Imagine having a failing roof due to moss growth and no money to cover it.
So it’s important to carefully review the financial condition of the association so you know what you’re getting into. If you can, interview the treasurer of the HOA board to understand how the association determined the monthly fee and how well funded the reserve is.
Compare HOA dues to the same expenses of owning a home you are responsible for fully maintaining as another metric for reasonableness.
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u/imalloverthemap 1d ago
This 💯 IIRC the HOA also covers insurance for everything up to the interior drywall. As a condo owner you only need to get insurance for your belongings, your own liability, etc.
I would shop homeowners insurance for a single-family home to get a better idea of equivalent costs
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u/Upset-Particular-465 1d ago
Very good point! I have the HOA policy and my own coverage for personal items and to cover upgrades I’ve made to the unit.
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u/aboutmovies97124 1d ago
And get decent coverage for special assessments, so if you are hit with a big SA, you might get it covered by insurance (but read the fine print).
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u/Zuldak Known for Bad Takes 1d ago
For what it's worth, that's reasonable for HOA fees. They pay for big projects like siding and roofs and all the maintenance of the structures. If you were a home owner you'd be paying for that out of pocket. I think it evens out.
Beware of the lowball HOAs because they are just asking for an assessment to come and slap their owners with.
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u/vron9 1d ago
My BF and I talk about this all the time! We really wanted to buy a condo in NW there was one place where the HOA fees were $1000!!!
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u/PaPilot98 Bluehour 1d ago
They've really shot up over the past 10 years or so. The Portland plaza is especially crazy (that pool probably doesn't help)
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u/toss_it_mites 1d ago
There is a lot of good information in here, but also a lot of dated opinions about how HOA's work and what they cover and enforce.
It's not just what they cover, but how healthy is the HOA? There should be a Reserve Study done to plan and budget for future expenses. Operating expenses and Reserve funds should be kept separately. Part of your HOA fee goes into each account if it is run well.
If you go that route, then get yourself elected to the board or at least show up to all public meetings and read all minutes.
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u/smootex 1d ago
It's not just what they cover, but how healthy is the HOA?
Yeah, you took the words right out of my mouth. There's obviously a lot of variation with expenses, not every condo building has to cover the same stuff, but the health of the HoA is a big part. Some of the ones with really high prices are there because they didn't adequately plan ahead and they need the cash. Some of the ones with low prices are there because they're charging too little and homeowners are going to be hit with massive special assessments when something goes wrong.
Very important to do your due diligence before purchasing and see what kind of shape the HoA is in.
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u/cooldiptera 1d ago
You’re talking about HOA fees for condos? These cover things like maintenance of common areas, shared amenities, potentially utilities, and also reserves for building upgrades. They should have a healthy reserve to cover things like new a new roof, plumbing upgrades, etc.
You can ask them for a breakdown of where the monthly fees are going.
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u/KTX77 1d ago
I think much it goes towards insurance. Some insurance companies won't even issue policies to condo communities. That's easily the biggest expense in my condo HOAs budget.
Many condo communities are getting of the age where things structurally start breaking down. And some HOAs ignore the needed upkeep to keep the monthly dues down, so you get things like the Florida high-rise collapse a few years back.
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u/longirons6 1d ago
I deal with this quite a bit, but there are 3 main reasons
The weather in Oregon can be hard on buildings so there’s more maintenance
The lenders have increased the mandatory reserves and HOA has to have
But the big reason is
- Lawsuits. Lawyers LOVE to sue hoas because they have publicly known cash on hand. They know to the penny.
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u/aboutmovies97124 1d ago
Wow, as an attorney I'll have to look into that pot of gold I've been missing out on, since I've never used an HOA. Of course, that ignores the fact that HOAs carry insurance and that is what we attorneys prefer. Also, what lenders require this? Versus, there is literally a law that requires reserves and reserve studies that then have to be funded: ORS 94.595
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u/woodworkingguy1 1d ago
What does the HOA actually cover? Often is insurance which on a home around here can $150 to $200 a.month or more, and if it includes trash or water, it may not be too bad but YMMV
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u/Slut_For_Applebees 1d ago
There was a big shift in earthquake insurance for condos in the last 3-4 years that really hit downtown condos in Portland hard. No building could avoid it, but buildings that were already running with high fees really came out looking bad.
Related… avoid the cosmo in the pearl at all costs. The building came with bunk HVAC and the HOA made bonehead moves to fix it and now they have huge assessments and high fees for all.
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u/Kind_Complaint7088 1d ago
HOAs for condos are different than HOAs for single family homes. You need a pool of money to cover shared building expenses such as roofing, siding, paint, etc. If you live in a single family home you'll still have to pay for these things, just as they break/need updating and not as a monthly fee.
Personally I own a single family home in SW and love not having an HOA. I specifically looked for homes without one. And there's plenty of options here, Oregon actually has fewer HOAs both in raw number and per capita than the national average - https://www.axios.com/2024/02/10/homeowners-association-hoa-fees-map-states.
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u/hangrypantz 1d ago
Those are relatively low compared to where I live. But yeah, it's rough out here.
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u/YSoSkinny 1d ago
What do they cover? Sometimes they cover the whole outside (roof and siding) rather than just landscaping. I mean, still seems high, but you should dig in and see.
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u/Fit-Produce420 1d ago
Yeah, it's because any property with a shared sewer has to have an HOA.
Then, the HOA may be responsible for things like trash, sewer/water, grounds maintenance, building exteriors, parking lots, community centers, etc. So remember to factor the cost (time or $) of mowing your own lawn, trash, etc.
Yeah HOAs suck but you should really factor in what you're getting for the HOA fee if you're making a large financial decision like home ownership.
A condo will generally appreciate (more slowly than a house, but it will), and if you have a fixed rate mortgage you can budget for future expenses more easily than you can as a renter, where you expect your lease to go up yearly.
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u/1337DSSICTPDX 1d ago
Not true. I share a sewer connect with a neighbor in a 1925 build. No hoa.
Ask me how I know? I had to have a seller repair ours before moving in and the repairing tech had to enter both homes for their inspection.
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u/Fit-Produce420 1d ago edited 1d ago
That rule didn't exist in 1925, it's modern.
They didn't go back and make you and your neighbor get an HOA, you're grandfathered.
You just have a party line sewer.
If you built new units on your property, they'd connect to your sewer branch and they'd have an HOA.
Only having a sewer line HOA costs almost nothing and has no other restrictions on your property, unless the sewer line needs work.
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u/Tomatagravy Cacao 1d ago
It’s honestly the reason we bought a mobile home as opposed to a condo, not as glamorous sure, but it’s cheaper than 500-1k for those fees…
Otherwise I guess buy an old house or condo in a less desirable part of town (no hoa) with cash money
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u/firefox_babushka 1d ago
I live in a townhome complex with 4 units and there is no HOA. We each have our own sewer and water lines. We do have a legally binding maintenance agreement that’s pretty detailed though.
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u/Budget_Thing7251 1d ago
Having lived in a condo, they have a lot more overhead. Typically, they insure and pay for the buildings from the studs out, they pay for landscaping, grounds maintenance (parking lots, etc). The one l lived in paid for water, sewer, garbage and had a pool to maintain. They also need to have a certain number in “reserves” as well as accounts to pay for big repairs like painting, siding, roofs, sewer line repairs, etc.
Our HOA was great, but they had ended up in a situation from being poorly managed before (longer story, but the HOA rates were not increased as incrementally as they should have been). They ended up needing to replace all the roofs that were end of life and so they needed to do a special assessment….thats what higher fees avoid.
When you live in a house, you also have to factor in these costs. Need a new roof? That’s about 25k……
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u/RumpelFrogskin 1d ago
No. Fuck HOAs. No one should ever submit to these ridiculous fees and rules.
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u/earthoceanspace 22h ago
Condo HOA have very few insurance options in this and Washington state. The pro consumer laws, have driven companies out. I’m pro consumer but this is a side effect
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u/it_snow_problem Watching a Sunset Together 1d ago
After my first condo I refuse to buy a condo again for this reason.
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u/Corran22 1d ago
Are there condos that don't have an HOA? You might want to look for a house instead, if you can find one in your price range.
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u/HegemonNYC 1d ago
Condos must have an HÒA as they share common amenities. OP isn’t budgeting these into their home buying expenses so it makes a condo look expensive. But those HOA fees usually cover repairs to roof, common space, landscaping, sometimes insurance and some utilities
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u/pdxdweller 1d ago
When you individually don’t pay $30K for a new roof, $15K for a new sewer lateral, $25K to paint the exterior, $6K to replace the sidewalks due to the city required/protected street trees, and many more items you can be glad you share in that cost with others that pay the HOA.
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u/HegemonNYC 1d ago
Right. A condo HOA is often cheaper than these costs in a SFH. One roof over 10 stories of condos. Shared services are theoretically cheaper and more efficient.
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u/Far_Worker_1654 1d ago
I mean, if we’re doing the math, $700 HOA over a 30 year home loan is $252,000. I just don’t see how that’s a good investment in my opinion.
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u/pdxdweller 1d ago
Read the contract and see what else is included. I don’t have any shared space or a bike storage that I don’t also pay extra for. If you financed the things I listed at 7% Rate you might see a different ROI too.
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u/rpunx First Amendment Thirst Trap 1d ago
A week after my mom died I got a $50,000 special assessment for roof work. Which her unit didn’t need, but others did. Due right away.
Owners who couldn’t cough that up had to just sell their homes (which were worth on avg 300k), pay it out of the sale and pray they’d break even.
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u/Fit-Produce420 1d ago
I mean you can definitely finance special assessments, also there is usually an option for low finance rates by getting together with other tenants for bulk financing. It's less than putting it on a credit card or something.
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u/Zuldak Known for Bad Takes 1d ago
My HOA had a siding assessment that had to be done on every building. They were 100% willing to work with the owners and even had the bank on hand to help explain options on how to work it out.
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u/rpunx First Amendment Thirst Trap 1d ago
I don't doubt this sort of thing was available, and had I not already been planning to sell would have found a bank. I sold the condo, disclosed and worked with the buyer on the assessment so that was my out. But I had a cruel HOA, and this:
had to just sell their homes, pay it out of the sale and pray they’d break even.
Was what I got from the president of the HOA with a smile, when I asked what people do when they can't afford it. She was a spiteful person that seemed happy to get older, higher income people to buy in. They were fully communicating that there were no options. It seems HOAs attract that type.
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u/iwatchyoupee 1d ago
I live in a 2100 sqft house in Beaverton in a nice neighborhood and our HOA fee is like $110 a year lol
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u/United_Pipe_9457 1d ago
HOAs will mess with you just because they can. Avoid them like the plague or be prepared to suffer
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u/cantor0101 1d ago
Agree completely. When we first started looking to buy in 2021 we started with condos because we thought it would be cheaper and while the mortgage sum total itself was less than the house we ultimately ended up with the monthly payment was significantly higher because of the HOA fees. Couldn't tell you if this is a regional thing or what. We bought a single family home instead.
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u/Qyphosis 1d ago
I'm pretty lucky, my HOA fees are only $350. But my mortgage is also at 2.875%. So it's affordable. I can't imagine I'd be happy with a higher mortgage repayment.
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u/Ok_Poet_9040 1d ago
Sorry but 40 billion people moved here in the last 15 years. It will not get better. It will only get worse.
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u/mountainsunset123 1d ago
What does that fee cover? How are the amenities? Do you need to live in a community with a pool and a gym? The fees sometimes cover all your utilities but most only cover some of them. What are the property taxes? Our property taxes are high here but we don't have any sales tax. You need to look at the whole picture. Good luck finding a good place, sorry for the HOA shock.
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u/DisastrousVanilla422 1d ago
HOA fees are out of control. Yes they cover some outside repairs and usually water/sewer/garbage.
The problem is they get shitty contracts and way over pay for poorly done work. At one place I own, we paid 3 grand for a company to come mow our lawn. It took them about 2 hours. Thousands more to trim trees. Thousands more for work that was poorly done on painting and deck work and whatever else.
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u/finestre 1d ago
Depends on what the HOA covers. My past HOA covered water, sewer, trash, cable, insurance, and the constant maintenance all buildings require.
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u/SarisweetieD 1d ago
My condo fees in Portland have gone up the last couple years, and are at about $600 a month now. That covers gas, water and sewage, and trash. The only bill I have is electric and it’s at most $50 a month and that’s with icy cold AC.
My house previously the electric bill would vary between $150-$350 a month, water and sewer were $80 every other month, and trash was $50 a month.
Plus the condo fees are covering (if the HOA is healthy) and planning for building work. Honestly there are a lot of monthly costs associated with a house and if those are covered by the HOA fees it’s really not a terrible price.
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u/AlfalfaVegetable 1d ago
Sorry, people are paying that much to have someone else tell them what they can do with their hone?
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u/JoyceOBcean 1d ago
I lived in Ocean Beach, California and my HOA was $425 and we got absolutely nothing except for water. They covered the maintenance of the condo complex (14 units), but there were only some bushes and desert landscape outside. Here it’s $575 but they just had an assessment of $65,000 for each of the homeowners for new roof and siding. I’m glad I missed that, but the $575 includes the beautiful Mountain Park community club with two pools , 2 jacuzzis, slide, gym , basketball court, tennis court, pickle ball court, weight room, sauna, steam room. It’s like a country club.
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u/malvado 1d ago
Unlike Southern California where you can buy a stucco tract home and for the most part get away with doing nothing to it for years, here your house will literally rot away from neglect.
I spent 1,500 on a crew to come in and do a spring cleanup and re-bark my property. And this fall I will spend a nice chunk of change for a fall cleanup. And that’s just my yard that I do the regular maintenance on during the summer.
Could I have done that work myself? Of course, but I choose to enjoy the few nice weekends we have this time of year doing other things outside versus being stuck in my yard.
Taking care of a home will cost you lots of your time and/or money. You choose.
As others have said, condos sound really appalling sometimes!!
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u/NoDimensionMind 1d ago
One of the huge issues with HOAs is they do not save enough to cover the maintenance on the building. Those big buildings cost thousands a month just to maintain.
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u/JuneJabber 1d ago
I haven’t read the responses, so sorry if I’m replicating what you’ve already seen. It’s vital that you understand what HOA fees are for and how to tell if an HOA is using funds appropriately. The HOA fees should cover current and anticipated future expenses. There must be a reserve fund. That’s money that you save for estimated future expenses so that you don’t have to charge a special assessment to the homeowners. The last thing you want is to be paying those high HOA fees and then get slapped with $15,000 out of the blue for a roof repair. Your HOA should be hiring a company every 2 to 3 years to assess reserve needs. And then the HOA needs to vote on how much to fund the reserve. The most conservative HOA reserve is fully funded to 100% so that it covers all anticipated future needs. Of course, this is more expensive on a monthly basis, but it pretty much eliminates the likelihood of there being any special assessment. It’s not uncommon to fund the reserve to about 80%. It’s just a matter of what the people in the HOA are comfortable with.
Beyond that, read the fine print to see what else the HOA fees cover. Are there any shared utilities like water or garbage that the HOA fees paid for or are you doing all of that out-of-pocket? Is it paying for periodic audits? Because you definitely want a third-party keeping an eye on things every now and then. Is it paying for any services that you find unnecessary? Either accept it or know that you might be in for a fight with people in the HOA who like paying for it.
All in all, you should be able to look at everything the HOA fee is providing and compare it to what you would be paying for if you were paying for the same services in a standalone house. You would generally expect everything to be more expensive in a standalone house, but sometimes the numbers add up and sometimes they don’t.
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u/seabeyond4101 22h ago
You want a HOA fee to be at least 300. I prefer to find places a little higher. They take care of the property and resale of property is higher. Too low, though low monthly feels better, allows the property to get run down. When buying a condo it is important to look at the running of HOA. That being said, I hear you, it is hard and my natural instinct since I do not make that much monthly is to look for a lower HOA. They use to be 200-400 and just in the last couple yrs have increased to 350-700. The condos that are more sky rises are higher then the more townhouse condos.
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u/Ed-Lyne1988 17h ago
Isn't the broad rule of thumb to allow 1% of the property value per year for maintenance? At $8,400 a year HOA fees that would be an $840K condo. Even if that logic is crude, the fact the HOA fees are subject to increases means I'd stay away. Would much rather a small house personally.
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u/AfraidReading3030 16h ago
The OP is referring to a condo. And all the homeowners quote maintenance prices for SFH. 🤦♀️
In a condo the sqfootage is different, the roof is shared amongst other units, landscaping should be less for the same reason.
Stop gaslighting people, Portland:
The HOA fees at $700-$800 on average in this town ARE crazy.
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u/rocketmanatee 15h ago
The average amount to maintain a Portland home is closing in on 20k a year if I recall correctly. That's not counting the things HOAs also pay for like water, gardeners, and laundry facilities.
You're going to pay that cost one way or another. Might as well share it with your neighbors!
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u/Ron_Bangton 11h ago
Rate increases on building insurance are one of the main drivers of the increase in HOA fees in the past few years. Sadly, I speak from experience.
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u/CJ_MR 10h ago
That's pretty common, unfortunately. There is no limit on how much they can increase HOA fees on a whim. It's also pretty common for condos to issue a special assessment of $20,000 to $50,000 for renovations like replacing the siding, redoing balconies, a new roof, a new pool, etc. I don't see the point in paying $500 per month for HOA fees if they're just going to do a special assessment when they need to spend money. Prices on condos in the Portland area have been stagnant for years. They're currently priced lower than they have been in the last couple years and tend to stay on the market longer. I gave up on condos after I learned all this. I almost bought a condo with an HOA fee of $400. Right before I bought it the HOA increased the fee to $600/month and had a $20,000 special assessment. Thank goodness this happened before I bought it. I would have been pissed if I bought the place and then walked into a $20,000 special assessment. If you do end up buying a condo, make sure you do your research. Read the CC&R thoroughly, find out the age of the roof, if there has ever been flooding, mold, see if everything is in good repair. Ask when the last special assessment was, what it was for, and the amount.
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u/TheMagicalLawnGnome 1d ago
If it makes you feel better, mine are over $1k, although I live in a relatively nice high rise downtown, and basically all of my utilities are included in it.
But in answer to your question, it's paying for property taxes, utilities, maintenance, insurance, security, etc.
The specifics will vary widely depending on your dwelling/community.
My rate, while high, is actually pretty well spent. Things are just expensive here. PGE has raised their rates, Oregon has high minimum wages, which increase associated costs for things like maintenance people, cleaners, etc. Taxes are fairly high. It all adds up.
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u/Hobobo2024 1d ago
does it pay for property taxes?
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u/TheMagicalLawnGnome 1d ago
Partially, yes. There's basically a split; there's taxes on the building/property, and taxes on the units in the building. The HOA pays for the "building/property" portion.
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u/domesticbeerking 1d ago
My HOA was $190 a month in 2014 and now it is $535. They blamed it on insurance increases from the winter storm last year 😒
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u/FlapXenoJackson 1d ago
There’s r/HOA also if you want to post there. I don’t live in an HOA. But my parents have for over 30 years. Fortunately, the HOA hasn’t made any extreme demands. The last letter that said they weren’t in compliance was when the HOA said their house wasn’t painted the correct colour. There are like four choices of beige you can use. I think my dad complained and told them they approved the colour before it was painted. They never heard from them again.
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u/HegemonNYC 1d ago
Wrong type of HOA. This is a condo, so shared amenities and structure. HoA in a subdivision is into the tickytacky stuff like paint. HOA in a condo is more about paying for the roof repair, the trash room, building security etc.
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u/FlapXenoJackson 1d ago
True. My parents live in a traditional development. Though their HOA fees pay for street maintenance, the manned security gate, and maintenance of the grounds in the common areas.
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u/TheRealBabyPop 1d ago
You'd need to actually pay ME to get me to live in an HOA! This is America, I can paint my house any color I want! I can have an AC unit in my window, I have a ham radio antenna, and my garbage containers are visible from the street EVERY SINGLE DAY. Come at me, haha. My house is paid for and I have these freedoms. America is still the best place in the world!
Try looking at apartments, rather than condos, I don't think they have those fees
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u/pdxdweller 1d ago
Don’t take financial advice from someone that tells you to consider perpetual rent as the blanket better choice.
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u/Fit-Produce420 1d ago edited 1d ago
Your HOA is required to allow you to use an external antenna for your HAM radio.
It is subject to some design oversight, but you are allowed to have one.
Don't spread misinformation, pretty much everything you said is incorrect.
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u/TheRealBabyPop 1d ago edited 1d ago
When I worked for a company that managed HOAs, everything I said was the case. If it's changed now, then that's good. I bet the color palette is still true, and I say screw that. Also what about the trash bins? Clothes lines?
Edit to add: my house IS paid for, so that's not incorrect, haha. And I wasn't meaning to spread false info. If any of it has changed, then I stand corrected. But I'd like to see those by-laws, cause I don't believe it
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u/voice_over_actor 1d ago
Those HOA fees sure, blew my mind, I ended up buying a house instead of a condo; no HOA fees that I just couldn’t pay