$459 condo fee!

[demnan]

Yes that's right for a $178,000 condo outside of Alexandria, VA? Can you believe that?

No way!

This Real Estate market is nuts!

[tridim]

1. I thought my $120/month fee was outrageous

$460 is just insane, does it come with free massages or something?

[demnan]

2. I didn't ask . .

I thought the screwing was probably enough!!!!

[TrogL]

3. They must be doing a capital upgrade

Like fixing the roof or replacing all the faucets with gold

[Southpaw Bookworm]

4. Holy crap, which community is that?

They better offer a limo ride to the Metro station each morning, for that kind of dough.

[demnan]

5. Huntington Club

2 blocks from Huntington Metro.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

11. Crikey.

I guess being able to lock yourself away from the unwashed masses is worth that much to some people. :eyes:

[VOX]

6. Throw property taxes on top of this, and you might consider buying a house

My wife and I were looking at condos in SoCal last year and saw the same business -- outrageous homeowner's association dues piled on top of property taxes.

We went for a house instead. It was more $$$ overall, of course, but our monthly outlay is far less than it would be for a cheaper condo. The resale value will be better with a house, and the market for homes is far more stable than it is for condos.

[cjbuchanan]

7. Well my fee is $327.

That's for a condo in downtown Austin, Texas.

The actual condo value is a lot less then yours, but those fees cover all utilities. Do you still have to pay utilities? How many square feet do you have?

[demnan]

9. This condo

is 1069 square feet.

I don't live there - I live in an apartment in the heart of Arlington and I'm paying $931 a month rent. (Looks like I'm staying there for a while).

[northzax]

8. 178 gets you what? two bedrooms?

if so, that would explain the low cost of the unit, higher fees lead to lower prices. 178 won't buy you a box on the corner in the city anymore.

[demnan]

10. I know

I'm looking down in Woodbridge because I can't afford to buy a two bedroom condo up here.

[Mrs. Venation]

12. Come On Down To Southern Maryland

You can buy a nice house on a large lot for that amount of money. People are nice, it's quiet and Bertha and I just love living here!

[BiggJawn]

13. Is that total, or just the association fee?

I pay $425 a month for a crappy 2-bedroom 1/3 of a tri-plex. I know people who pay almost $900 to rent a 3-BR house, and my MORTGAGE on a 1800 sq-ft. Victorian was almost $700.

You must be talking about the association dues, right?

Otherwise, I'm moving. at that exchange rate, a 2-bedroom flat should cost me $3.87 a month....

[SoCalDem]

14. I think that's the "association fee"..added to the mortgage payment

:(

[bratcatinok]

15. A lot of condo fees

across the country will include taxes, maintenance on the association owned part of the building, hazard insurance (except for personal property), maintenance of common areas and the like.

I've seen condo association fees that were higher than the mortgage payment. The most I ever saw was a fee of just over 4,000 a month.

The reason I saw a lot of condo fees is because I was in mortgage banking for 20+ years before I became medically disabled.

[BiggJawn]

16. $4,000 a month....

Must be nice to be able to not lose sleep over having THAT stare you in the wallet every month, along with the mortgage...

That's more than I MAKE in a month!

Wow....Oh, to be in a place where 4 kilobux is chump change...