What do HOA fees get you in NYC?

[Guest]

Although I plan to retire in WeHo, probably above the Sunset Strip, I've been looking at NYC housing, just for kicks. This place has MONTHLY homeowners' association dues of $4000 per month! Considering that it's a 2 bedroom apartment, what could the $4000 a month possibly be going for? Do you get escort visits on demand? Seriously, any of you living in the NYC area have any understanding of what the money is going towards? I pay under $400/month for my place in California, and that covers the roof, outside paint, pools, tennis courts, exterior landscaping, and paving for private streets. Is $4000/month just a big scam?

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1140-5th-Ave-7B-New-York-NY-10128/72531078_zpid/

Edited June 9, 2019 by Unicorn

[Guest]

And this one's not much better, with HOA dues of $3000/month. WTF?

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1255-5th-Ave-7JK-New-York-NY-10029/2096047610_zpid/

[+ purplekow]

Usual expected maintenance, doorman services and utilities and probably not much else.

[Guest]

I guess if I wanted to live in NYC, the Bronx seems to have much better deals. And no HOA!

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/27-Sigma-Pl-Bronx-NY-10471/29854580_zpid/

[KeepItReal]

If it is a Co-op, it could be the underlying mortgage. Co-op shareholders make payments on a building's mortgage and the size of the building's underlying mortgage affects the monthly maintenance fee. It could include taxes, which can be high in NYC. It could also include some high end amenities like a pet spa, heated floors, heated and air conditioned parking garage, or salt water swimming pool.

[Guest]

If it is a Co-op, it could be the underlying mortgage. Co-op shareholders make payments on a building's mortgage and the size of the building's underlying mortgage affects the monthly maintenance fee. It could include taxes....

Well, it doesn't include taxes, according to that listing. I would think that a pet spa would be paid for only by those who have pets. What do these doormen make? Yikes!

[+ azdr0710]

Most large buildings in large cities need to do huge maintenance projects at times. Many of these HOAs have millions in the bank ready to spend on these projects when needed. I'm sure a huge chunk of that $4K goes toward replacement reserves like this.

[Kevin Slater]

I think it's an error in the listing. The same apartment shows on streeteasy without mentioning the property taxes, which would be appropriate as those are part of your HOA fee in a NYC co-op. So to answer your question, I suspect the $4k covers property taxes, staff, underlying mortgage, utilities, upkeep, etc. That doesn't strike me as high on a $3M apartment.

 

Kevin Slater

[samhexum]

What do HOA fees get you in NYC?

 

bupkis

[studchaser]

Although I plan to retire in WeHo, probably above the Sunset Strip, I've been looking at NYC housing, just for kicks. This place has MONTHLY homeowners' association dues of $4000 per month! Considering that it's a 2 bedroom apartment, what could the $4000 a month possibly be going for? Do you get escort visits on demand? Seriously, any of you living in the NYC area have any understanding of what the money is going towards? I pay under $400/month for my place in California, and that covers the roof, outside paint, pools, tennis courts, exterior landscaping, and paving for private streets. If $4000/month just a big scam?

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1140-5th-Ave-7B-New-York-NY-10128/72531078_zpid/

 

Union doorman, boiler, snow removal, elevators, amenities like gamerooms or gyms. All in all its a scam because none of those things should add up to 4k. Id advise you to not buy any property in manhattan unless you are well off. Consider parts of hudson county in nj or bergen county if you dont mind suburban living while not being so far from nyc. Astoria Queens and parts of Harlem are still affordable but honestly NYC is ridiculous and as long as ppl keep paying these crazy prices they can justify the price is the demand is there. Nyc is an awesome city but its the same dirt on the sidewalk just alot more ppl walking in it.

[studchaser]

I think it's an error in the listing. The same apartment shows on streeteasy without mentioning the property taxes, which would be appropriate as those are part of your HOA fee in a NYC co-op. So to answer your question, I suspect the $4k covers property taxes, staff, underlying mortgage, utilities, upkeep, etc. That doesn't strike me as high on a $3M apartment.

 

Kevin Slater

 

Hoa should never include the mortgage

[Kevin Slater]

Hoa should never include the mortgage

 

The underlying mortgage on the building (if the co-op has one, which most do), not on your individual unit.

 

Kevin Slater

[+ WilliamM]

The property is not far from the Guggenheim Museum. Of course, it is expensive

[studchaser]

Well, it doesn't include taxes, according to that listing. I would think that a pet spa would be paid for only by those who have pets. What do these doormen make? Yikes!

 

It could be a building in financial trouble or that is not being managed well. If the building is older it should not have an underlying mortgage on the structure but sometimes they lease the land the structure sits on for 99 years. When that lease is restructured it can be extremely expensive as well. Alot of the charges are pure nonsense and inflated by union costs. If i wasnt in ny i woukdnt fight to live here.

[cany10011]

I guess if I wanted to live in NYC, the Bronx seems to have much better deals. And no HOA!

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/27-Sigma-Pl-Bronx-NY-10471/29854580_zpid/

 

 

Apparently some gays are moving to SoBro nowadays...probably good investment now

[studchaser]

The underlying mortgage on the building (if the co-op has one, which most do), not on your individual unit.

 

Kevin Slater

 

I dunno about most having them. NY has some old buildings.However alot of commercial mortgages have large balloon payments at the end. Very often your reaktor or lawyer would know that and in many cases banks wont even write new mortgages making the financial situation of the building worse.

[+ sniper]

Hoa should never include the mortgage

 

When you own a condominium, you literally own only the airspace of the unit, though you have rights to make alterations to the interior within some specified limits. The HOA owns the actual building. It's the morgage for THAT that comes out of the HOA.

 

My property taxes on a house assessed under $500k are $10k/year so it doesn't seem outlandish that a property listing for $3m has property taxes that result in dues being close to $50k/year.

[studchaser]

Apparently some gays are moving to SoBro nowadays...probably good investment now

 

Lol stay where your at. Living in nyc is not a human right.

[studchaser]

When you own a condominium, you literally own only the airspace of the unit, though you have rights to make alterations to the interior within some specified limits. The HOA owns the actual building. It's the morgage for THAT that comes out of the HOA.

 

My property taxes on a house assessed under $500k are $10k/year so it doesn't seem outlandish that a property listing for $3m has property taxes that result in dues being close to $50k/year.

 

Thats true. However unless the building is fairly new construction or there is a upcoming balloon payment it shouldnt create that dramatic of an increase. 4000 for an hoa separate from the lessees actual mortgage is quite high but iit could well be taxes if property is 3 million.

[studchaser]

When you own a condominium, you literally own only the airspace of the unit, though you have rights to make alterations to the interior within some specified limits. The HOA owns the actual building. It's the morgage for THAT that comes out of the HOA.

 

My property taxes on a house assessed under $500k are $10k/year so it doesn't seem outlandish that a property listing for $3m has property taxes that result in dues being close to $50k/year.

 

 

 

Enough air rights to stick your head thru the window and breathe the polluted air. There is prob very little you can do with air rights as a coop shareholder lessee or a condo owner in nyc tho.

[gallahadesquire]

My Membership in the Disney Vacation Club has "dues" of somewhere between $120 and $150 a month. For this, they have completely remodeled the resort (Old Key West, their original resort) and done other amazing things. Worth every penny,. considering the rack-rate for a two bedroom can be over $1000 a night for >1,000 sq ft, and I pay nothing.

I love Disney,

[studchaser]

My Membership in the Disney Vacation Club has "dues" of somewhere between $120 and $150 a month. For this, they have completely remodeled the resort (Old Key West, their original resort) and done other amazing things. Worth every penny,. considering the rack-rate for a two bedroom can be over $1000 a night for >1,000 sq ft, and I pay nothing.

I love Disney,

 

Nyc sold us out to the chinese. We will never see anything like thst again unless there is an earthquake or another terrorist attack.

[cany10011]

My colleague has a place on CPW in the 70s. She pays about 10K per month in HOA. Not worth it, but i think the doormen are unionized.

[marylander1940]

If they're asking for so much money is because there are folks out there willing to pay it.

 

I have a friend here in DC who pays for his co-op 4k a month... I'd rather put that money into something else and not throwing it away but is his choice to do it.

[+ Charlie]

I think one would have to know a lot more about the history of the building to decide how reasonable or unreasonable the HOA fee is. I lived in a rental building near Lincoln Center that was converted to a co-op in the 1980s, and we new owners were shocked to find out all the things that had to be included in the HOA fee once we had bought our units. I sold it as soon as I legally could. I used to think I would like to retire in Manhattan, but that no longer holds any appeal for me.