Is $700 a month for HOA fees reasonable for a condo in NW Dallas?
Posted by Texas_Inspire@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 139 comments
No, this isn’t a joke, it’s a genuine question. I live in a 2 bed, 2 bath 700 square foot condo/townhouse in NW Dallas, a few blocks away from Harry Hines. It’s in a very old neighborhood, but safe and quiet for the most part. I bought the house in 2020 with a somewhat expensive $250 monthly HOA fee. I knew the HOA fee was higher than normal for condos in Dallas at the time but that 3% interest rate on a sub $100,000 house was TOO damn good to turn down.
Four years later and my monthly HOA fee has skyrocketed to nearly $800 a month! The price has more than tripled in less than 4 years! Like WTF is this normal??? At this rate I’m literally paying MORE in monthly HOA fees than my freaking mortgage!!! I tell my friends and family how much I pay per month and literally no one believes me (until I show them my bank statements).
Are these fees normal for an HOA somewhat near downtown Dallas or are all the residents here being scammed? Is there anything we can do to lower these costs, maybe take legal action??? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.
migs_003@reddit
No... cause HOAs are dumb
cluelessinlove753@reddit
You can't have a condo with an HOA
migs_003@reddit
With or without?
Also the concept of hoa is dumb to me as a whole.
I would never pay more than what I have to just to be told what not to do with my stuff.
cluelessinlove753@reddit
"Telling you what to do with your stuff" isn't the main reason for an HOA. The main purpose of an HOA is to equitably split expenses for shared costs.
With single fam homes, you don't need an HOA unless there are private roads, private security, or a club house/pool to pay for.
With condos, the parking, roof, landscaping, and communal spaces need to be paid for. Thus... you need an HOA.
migs_003@reddit
Nah... Apts do fine without that added cost.
cluelessinlove753@reddit
Apartments are rentals. Condos and homes are typically owned by their occupants. At an apartment, your rent covers those things. In a condo, there is no rent. How do you think condo owners pay for the pool, roof, gardener?
migs_003@reddit
What kinda garden a condo got?
And I don't know nothing about condos... just apts in my eyes.
NoPianist25@reddit
So I manage HOA’s around Dallas, and given your small square footage this does sound higher than normal, but not really that crazy for a condo.
Just giving you an idea of some things that could be driving this up: Insurance has skyrocketed for condos over the last few years. Some places spend over half of their income on insurance. Also, does your HOA pay for gas, water or electric? This is another huge cost. Deferred maintenance is also extremely common.
Request to see the budget and financials. You have a right as a homeowner to see them. This will tell you fairly quickly where money is going. If your HOA has a management company / manager these should be prepared and posted somewhere monthly.
Check the governing docs and make sure dues haven’t been raised more than is allowed. Some places have rules that won’t allow dues to be raised more than 10% every year without approval from a majority of owners.
Hope you get answers soon!
DaimokuDog@reddit
Audit
shulkjin@reddit
Heck no. I smell someone taking money and stealing it
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
That was my suspicion for a long time too. We pay so much more in fees every month (compared to similarly priced condos in Dallas) and don’t really see any major differences to the overall complex, very fishy…
playballer@reddit
Go to an hoa meeting and ask. You’re a member there has to be a reason you just need to ask. My guess is that there was some big unplanned capital expenditure that is needing to be bought.
The hoa I lived on for a while had a park, and they wanted the current homeowners to fork over $5000 each because the pond needed some massive erosion control upgrades. They just let people coast for 30 years not paying enough to cover it, then the month I bought in they decided it was an urgent issue. Anyways you just have to ask, and if you don’t go they usually post meeting minutes you can read.
cosmicwheel13@reddit
I'm just curious, how did that go? Did your fellow homeowners hate you for bringing that up or anything?
playballer@reddit
Turned out the cheapskates had been voting not to pay for the repairs for over a decade and a city engineer was giving the hoa a “final” warning that the pond was going to breach and cause some spillover / further erode some banks and take out a small but important bridge. Anyway, the HOA voted to to not pay for the repairs for the entire 4 years I owned the property. I think there was a small fix we paid for that was only a couple hundred bucks but solved the city engineers immediate concerns. Meanwhile, you walk around the pond and it was pulling in trees and the effects of all the erosion was stark.
Smoothsinger3179@reddit
Mmmm I smell a future lawsuit. My torts professor did warn me I'd start seeing negligence everywhere after law school lol
texasusa@reddit
That's a major issue in Florida now. Buildings over 30 years old and X miles from the beach need fully funded reserves. I read about a new condo owner with manageable mortgage payments that has received notice of a special assessment of $ 28k that is payable in total within 100 days. Prior HOA just coasted on the reserves, not to anger owners
FailDependent@reddit
After the Surfside collapse 😔
britches08@reddit
Isn’t there a budget document somewhere? That states where the money is being allocated to?
If you’ve got some spare time- find out where the bogus spending is going. Like, does the presidents cousin run the landscaping business contract that you’re paying 4x what you should be.
Look at the expenditures and figure out why everything is so high.
Report the HOA for misuse of funds if stuff doesn’t add up.
revengeofsollasollew@reddit
Go to r/fuckhoa and learn how you can get access to financials.
naazzttyy@reddit
I managed a couple of single family master planned HOAs from 2008-2015. Annual dues were only half that. And those dues included access to clubhouses, community pools, fitness centers, a skatepark (at one), athletic fields, playgrounds, community events, and membership to the private golf club one was built around.
Condos to single family isn’t an apples-to-apples comparisons due to the number of homes versus rooftops, but it’s not a hard stretch to state that your COA is massively overpriced for what you are probably getting. You should have receive an annual operating budget. Take a look at it and it should at the very least break down what buckets your $700/month or $8400/year goes towards.
Do you have off site garage parking? Is there an elevator, or elevators in the building? How much staff does the COA employ? Have there been recent improvements or repairs done, or are any planned for the near future? Is the COA trying to build up a reserve account? Have there been any large insurance claims in the last 2 years, requiring the Board to get a new policy, or any active or concluded lawsuits?
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
As far as amenities go, we have covered parking, a pool that’s NEVER opened (except for a couple of weeks during Summer time), and on-site laundry with non-working washers/dryers. Oh and our HOA doesn’t have payed staff, only volunteers. We had a maintenance guy but they let him go (he was getting payed $30 an hour and residents got understandably mad since one guy was taking care of the ENTIRE complex, so a lot of maintenance requests were left unanswered).
arlenroy@reddit
That's not good, especially for the cost. I pay $350 a month and it's actually worth it, they have maintenance guys, gardeners, it's not perfect but it's worth $350. I did see a few near Turtle Creek with a $750-$1,000 HOA fee, but they were pretty nice. This one had a $900 a month HOA, didn't look like much until you got in the gate. Had a courtyard water fountain, this really nice ivy growth on the walls. It was beautiful. So going by your description this place sounds like a sham.
Chasqui@reddit
Yeah, you’re getting ripped off. Sounds like (as others stated above) you’re paying for some big expense you’re not benefiting from. Maybe they had to redo a roof or re-line the pool.
1CryptographerFree@reddit
I live in a condo and am in a similar situation. For us it was the insurance on 50 year old condo’s that skyrocketed, we shopped around for over a year but every single quote was approximately the same. It’s just pure greed in the end.
Madmod@reddit
I’m going to say from my experience it can be normal. It depends on how old the building is, the types of features requiring maintenance, and if it was properly maintained over the years. Condos HOAs in Texas and Florida also are having trouble getting insured due to the increase in strong storms. Our premiums went from 150,000 a year to 300,000 in the last 4 years.
Dark-Vader-1310@reddit
I’d seriously consider running to be on the HOA board. Or at least auditing their ass.
earthworm_fan@reddit
Mine is $29/month in the burbs and it has been the same since 2021. And we have a massive surplus, because they are transparent with use of funds.
biggersjw@reddit
My partner has a condo he bought in 2021 and his HOA fee was- and remains - $543 a month. He too has a 2/2 plan with 1,128 sf.
Sounds like whoever is running your HOA is skimming off the top. Ask for 3-5 years of financials. If they balk, run for President of the HOA, win and see what fuckery has been going on. Fire anyone who is involved as well.
It’s off Meadow and 75, about 1/2 mile north of Trader Joe’s off Walnut Hill. Nice, quiet and safe neighborhood.
Swdannycactus@reddit
no
brandymidd@reddit
I don't sell a lot of condos/townhouses because of they have high HOA fees. I feel like its very high but I also don't know what your amenities are. However, the last two condos I sold one in an upscale area of North Dallas near SMU the other one was Near UTD and I believe the HOA was a little less than $600 a month for both.
femalepop_fan@reddit
I need a detail financial report of why the fees are so damn high. Someone is pocketing it
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
Yeah I wish I could help you with that but any communication with the HOA regarding finances is nearly impossible. We recently switched management companies (out of the blue for some reason) and now all of the HOA’s finances are inaccessible to us members until further notice. We can’t even access our personal records or past statements…
Matzah_Rella@reddit
Refusal of access to the HOA's finances, no access to your own personal records or past statements, lack of communication of anything relating to their finances. You've got your answer right there. I don't gamble, but if I did, I'd bet the farm that some major fuckery is happening.
terivia@reddit
Honest recommendation, talk to a lawyer. That sounds SUS as all hell
femalepop_fan@reddit
Oof
Wild-Carpenter-1726@reddit
Time for an external Audit
DistinctAd3865@reddit
I bought my townhouse in 2020 as well. I started at 270/month. Then went to 325 now it’s at 450/month. Our numbers come out next week to hear about increases. I’m expecting it to fall between 500-550.
RubAnADUB@reddit
drain it. problem solved.
jhrogers32@reddit
The most likely scenario here is the dues were critically low for decades and they are now playing catch up. If you want to post the financials on r/HOA there are a lot of people who can look a them and tell you if there are any glaring errors.
Grand-Astronaut-5814@reddit
Back 8 years ago or so when I was looking for a condo in Dallas area most of the HOA fees were under 300. Anything even close to 300 we thought was ridiculous.
2manyfelines@reddit
I live in a 2200 square foot home in gated community with an Olympic swimming pool, a gymnasium, walking trails and a creek. When my daughter comes home alone at night, the guard follows her from the gate to our front door.
And my HOA is $200 a month.
Something isn't right in your HOA fee structure.
inkydeeps@reddit
Condos are very different from single family home HOAs because so much of the building is shared costs and maintenance. Insurance is often a very large portion of the budget.
2manyfelines@reddit
Yes, but an home warranty insurance policy is only $1,000 a year.
Also, it all depends on what the HOA does. One retirement condo here charges $2,000 a month as an HOA, but it includes all the usual amenities of pools and work out facilities, plus a transportation shuttle and on premises, 24 kitchen.
inkydeeps@reddit
Most condos fully fund their repairs through HOA dues. It’s extremely different from single family homes.
The condo replacement insurance is not $1000 a year. My single family home insurance isn’t even that low.
Have you owned a condo or been on a condo board?
2manyfelines@reddit
Yes
FlyNSubaruWRX@reddit
You’re a fool for paying that much.
Tyforde6@reddit
I saw a 350k condo for sale this week I was interested in until I saw HOA fees were $2100/month.
Unfortunately for Condos $700 seems on the lower side of HOA fees. Highway robbery in my opinion.
verybadassery@reddit
Jesus Christ no. We pay $900/year in Collin County
BlackStarCorona@reddit
That’s cray. My parents pay about $100 a month. But one of my clients complained that his fees went up to $600 a month this year. So stupid.
Fronterizo09@reddit
Do y'all have a concierge, valet parking , on site security , events every month or new landscape every season? If not , it's way too much.
Humble_Rush_9358@reddit
Hoa fees in general are unreasonable and hoa’s should be illegal.
plumedsnake@reddit
That seems excessive. But it depends on the specific area.
Any bylaws to prohibit this?
Look into the HOA budget and if the bylaws allow you should be able to get enough folks to vote against some line items to effectively reduce the HOA budget.
VoldemortsHorcrux@reddit
Yeah my hoa bylaws say it can't be raised more than 10% a year. Of course they're raising it 10% a year every year and it's now at $300, but that's better than no limit
inkydeeps@reddit
Don’t you need a majority to vote this way? If this HOA is anything like the ones I’ve had, the majority of the members are apathetic and it’s hard to get enough people to show up to do any change that big.
StingraySurfer@reddit
Is your HOA run by associa? They will ruin your HOA funds and leave when they realize they have depleted your funds. I live close to Richardson and pay 540$. It was 350 in April. So much mismanagement by associa they'll only approve the most expensive repairs and fixes, because they get a percentage on all projects managed by them, so it's financially smart for them to make 10% off a million dollar roof replacement noone asked for, than actually fucking fix things like sprinkler heads that are broken or a hot tub that's been sketchy for atleast a year. These dipshits inherited the HOA from the previous management company in 2022 with over a million in reserves and 300k in operating funds. Guess how much they left us with when they said we can't afford to run your HOA, fucking 12000$. They sneaked away over a million dollars in two years by greenlighting bullshit noone needed and the stupid fucking HOA board of Karen's love to complain about trash cans but apparently didn't give a shit about finances, guess what they did? They all fucking sold and left. Fucking asshats.
xsnyder@reddit
Holy hell, I pay $350 / YEAR for my HOA dues in Fort Worth!
QualiaRedux@reddit
Condo associations have the long-term problem of nobody wanting to raise prices as the cost of living goes up, so it's cheep for a long time, and then, as the place goes broke, the costs skyrocket. It sounds like they went broke.
haughtshot7@reddit
uhhh, NO. east dallas here and we pay $25 per year. you're being totally ripped off
Party_Head9521@reddit
It’s fairly accurate, I was paying over $650 a month for a 985 sq ft 2 bedroom in a real sketchy part if Dallas. By far my biggest expense and the complex looked like shit. I end up selling after they were posing another increase for 2024.
jakabo27@reddit
How many buildings are in the HOA? I have a single building (townhome) with 5 residents and our HOA is stupid like $400/mo with no amenities, but it's mostly because insurance and admin fees are a ton split between just 5 people
El_Chingon214@reddit
That’s crazy. What kind of amenities? I pay $1700 for the year in my suburb hoa but have tons of amenities and HOA isn’t strict. $700+ a month they better be offering some primo stuff.
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
Let’s see, we have a non-working laundry room, covered parking spaces, free utilities, oh and a pool that’s shutdown like 95% of the year. Pretty primo stuff lol
tojiy@reddit
So utilities (water power gas), laundry, covered parking, community pool, grounds keeping, security gates?
If they work or are accessible or not is a different issue.
In general, my advice:
Read your bylaws first! Know what the rules and expectations are for your HOA. Know the boundaries of responsibility and accountability. These are all spelled out in the bylaws and should be held with high regard since they are legally binding I think.
The meetings and reviewing the budgets is super important as well as knowing the elected board members and the management company. As a contributing member of an HOA, it is important to treat this like a job, cause it is since it is your money. Board members serve the community so should be available to answer questions.
If community meetings with the board members, budgets and projections are not available, I would get a bunch of people together and call for an emergency board meeting with a member from the management company to go over these things. I would starting with establishing a meetings cadence and current budget allocations and future outlays and projections. You should be aware of or have access to these things as an owner.
Don't think about the 3% interest, ask yourself, does it make sense to live there, financially, emotionally, health wise? This should be the deicing factors of should you stay or sell. The interest is nice but if the place is not working for you, it is not working for you.
Living in a HOA that manages residence amenities mean the HOA will only go up. The best thing you can hope for in living in a HOA is stabilization of the dues meaning everything is taken care of and no big expenses expected, since they will never go down.
If is not a bad thing to
In regards to issues, you said there are plumbing issues. Water damage and having to reroute pipes is very expensive, this all circles back to the budgets. Another thing to consider with the budges is some people living there in arrears and for how long in arrears, and how they plan to collect. By arrears, I mean yes you are floating some of your neighbors not chipping in. This all goes back to the budgets which should show how many people are paying and not and how much is coming in and where all the money is going as well as big budget expenses coming up.
Finally you need the management company rep at the meeting to go over the other amenities not working.
If you were wondering how bad an HOA can get, not in Dallas, but I heard about people living in high rises paying 50k in emergency dues to the HOA due to broken elevators 250k each, water boilers 100k, foundation and water leaks, and other things. These were broken into payments.
Good luck!
Icy_Huckleberry_8049@reddit
you need to ask to see the financial statements to see where all that money is going.
Also, start talking to neighbors and then vote different people onto the board.
TraderDave63@reddit
You do have a security guard at the front of your house ?
NoriNatsu@reddit
I found a way to get away form my Last home due to the HoA. someone is definitely pocketing cash thats not normal at all.
Hozay_La15@reddit
The HOA probably includes insurance for the exterior of your house, meaning you only need to have an HO6 condo policy that offers “walls-in” coverage. With insurance rates skyrocketing and your HOA leaders probably not shopping that master community policy around, that’s probably why your dues went up so much.
jay_in_the_park@reddit
Current inflation with any type of major loss (hail damage, water damage, fire, etc) will have an absolutely devastating impact on the insurance premium. It can easily 3-5x under those circumstances. If it is an older unsprinklered frame building that has not been maintained then it becomes borderline uninsurable.
dopplestranger@reddit
I live downtown Dallas in a 1000 sqft loft and my HOA is $600/mo. I was shocked but after researching I found similar lofts/condos in the area have $1500/mo HOAs.
$700 is probably reasonable depending on what you get and the location.
pqcracker@reddit
Maybe this has already been suggested, but are your electricity costs included in your HOA dues? I own and live in a 1 bedroom + den, 1 bathroom condo in a mid-rise building on Turtle Creek, total square footage is just over 1,000 square feet and my dues are right around $1k a month. On the surface it seems steep, but that $1k covers insurance premiums for everything except the contents of my unit. It also includes electricity and water/sewer/trash pickup, plus there's a concierge staff and an on-site manager. The building I live in is nice, but it is not luxurious by any means. All of the high rises that were built prior to 1980 have utility costs included in their monthly assessments. I like not having to worry how much the electric bill is going to be every month. The best part about it is that our actual cost of electricity is dirt cheap when compared to typical consumer/residential rates available. Granted, utilities have not escaped inflation increases and insurance has skyrocketed because severe weather causes more claims. Since I bought my unit 4 years ago, my monthly assessments have increased by about 7% each year. It hurts, but it could definitely be worse.
As others have suggested, you should get a copy of your associations budget and see where every dollar of your dues are being used for. Older buildings often have underfunded reserve funds, which sucks because you end up paying for stuff that should have been paid for by property owners who came before you, but you can either deal with or sell your property to someone who is willing to pay the hight dues. Condos, especially high rises, have a ton of shared systems, like boilers, chillers, etc., that are expensive as hell to replace, but with good management your association can fund reserve funds sufficiently so that when something breaks, funding the repair doesn't result in a ungodly special assessment.
kientran@reddit
One of two things sounds like or both.
Insurance is way up (which it has been last four years)
They are under capitalized by a lot from years of kicking the can down the road and now you’re holding the rusted out can.
Demand the budget docs and see what this $800 is being used for
txchiefsfan02@reddit
Sounds like you bought into a complex with an undercapitalized HOA. If reserves are not sufficient to keep up with capital costs, and too much maintenance is deferred, the catch up can be ugly. Check out some of the high rises along Turtle Creek, the monthly HOA can be more than the mortgage.
Wonderful_Horror7315@reddit
My friend bought an apartment in a high rise on Turtle Creek around 2005. Right after she moved in, they started with raising her HOA fees for new balconies, elevators, A/C units. It was a nightmare not only because of the costs and none of this was mentioned before she bought it, but she couldn’t use her balcony for 9 months, the a/c was off for long periods of time, they only had one elevator for residents at a time while they replaced them. If I remember correctly, she was paying $800/mo in fees by the end. She couldn’t keep up and was foreclosed on. So fucked up.
melnotmichelle@reddit
That’s awful! Like, that is legitimately unfair and scary because it sounds like a series of events that could happen to anyone. I’m sorry that happened to your friend.
halfuser10@reddit
This is what I thought as well. Older buildings… HOA probs all inclusive of utilities… was underpaid for years and now it’s time to pay the piper
Kahedhros@reddit
Kept the hoa low to sell em then jacked it up lmao. Evil genius 😈
cosmicwheel13@reddit
How old is the condo/townhome? Many older ones have high fees due to maintenance etc.
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
The townhouse was built in 1969 according to Zillow. There’s definitely a lot of maintenance going on every week, mainly relating to broken underground pipes. Our hot water gets shut off at LEAST once a week for repairs. But I don’t think that justifies an $800 monthly fee, still seems incredibly high.
RichardPainusDM@reddit
Hey there, I am an HOA board member for a condo building in Dallas. I have recently had to go through our books and am rallying the residents to vote on during our property management company as we speak.
The reason is not because the property manager mismanages our money (although they have). The reason is because we have become financially insolvent and need to increase the amount of money coming in.
I bought at end of 2021 and the dues were $250. We increased it to $350 and hired the property manager right away. Then we had to increase it to $450 because inflation. We pass assessments for everything that comes up, so far I think everyone has paid around 3-5k individually this year in assessments for maintenance (not really deferred as much as wasn’t pressing so might as well do it now before it becomes pressing)
I went through our books to see where our money was going and it turns out that our operational costs are literally more than the dues if $450/month. If one member doesn’t pay, we end up in red and everyone gets hurt by it.
If your building is built 55 years ago, you’re probably looking at an extra $200-300/ month just for repairs on top of an operational cost of $450/month. You should be able to petition your board for some kind of statement that breaks down where your dues go, and you can always lobby locally for residents to rally behind your cause.
Good luck.
MsMo999@reddit
That’s slightly higher than many but not crazy.
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
Yeah, if you consider covered parking spaces and an old swimming pool that’s almost never open as “super amenities” 😂
playballer@reddit
You might be surprised then. Underground plumbing repairs are often expensive af
LTOTR@reddit
I strongly suspect that a good chunk of this is going to insurance. Your HOA carries insurance on the structure just like you carry insurance on your individual unit. Are you going to the HOA meetings? They discuss budgets at those.
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
We rarely have our monthly meetings and when they’re scheduled a lot of people aren’t even notified until only a few days before, which results in like 20 out of 200 people showing up. It’s been like that since 2020. Communication with our HOA has been non-existent for a while now.
inkydeeps@reddit
Is there a management company involved?
SkiFun123@reddit
Yep. The money has to come from somewhere. Barring fraud or ridiculous amenities, the money is going to something reasonable in all likelihood.
Jakedrake5@reddit
Or some major deferred maintenance. A friend of mine had a condo here in Dallas that came with a special assessment to the tune of $100k because the entire exterior brick facade was pulling way from the structure and had to be replaced.
Xelrash@reddit
🤬
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
I know… it sucks. And I’m afraid it’s gonna get even worse.
Kahedhros@reddit
Has the value of it gone up? Maybe they are trying to price people out so they can foreclose and sell it again 🤔
dan1361@reddit
I will throw in my two cents as someone who is in a more expensive HOA building... You are getting fleeced if you do not know where every dime of your money is going and cannot get ahold of who is in charge. Which resident can you go to their door to discuss community happenings with the HOA?
I pay $1,850 a month right now and receive the following -
A 24-hour concierge, fitness center, conference room, sauna, media-movie room, massage room, a large rooftop pool, numerous lounging areas and private conference rooms, a valet for my guests, a private underground garage, all utilities except 30% of my water usage, and I am ALWAYS able to get ahold of who is in charge. I know where EVERY dime goes. I know who is on the board, where to submit complaints, what our working capital looks like as well as expected incoming repairs.
Any repair worth more than 10% of our lowest valued unit is voted on.
YOU NEED TO LOOK INTO THE BULLSHIT. Highly likely there is a simple explanation for the increase. Insurance alone probably covers 80% of the added cost, but that doesn't answer why the communication has been so poor or why your amenities are not taken care of. Raise hell. Make this an issue. This is your home.
old_jeans_new_books@reddit
You can rent a 2B2B fornaround $2k to $3K
Kahedhros@reddit
Friend of mine pays about 750 in north dallas. That includes maintenance, electricity, and water too. They have done a lot of work on the outside lately
pcamera1@reddit
Lol he'll no man
TardisTexan@reddit
My hoa is getting close to that on my condo. Older buildings and money was mismanaged for years. So there is no money now and so they are jacking up rates.
DontThrowAKrissyFit@reddit
This^. If the dues were too low earlier, there was no rainy day fund so when big repairs come up you gotta pay for them instead of them being saved for. And likely the residents couldn't pay for them up front so then you all are on the hook for finance charges too
wutcooldown@reddit
Sounds very high for your area, however i have seen higher in other parts of downtown dallas
Sturdily5092@reddit
Ah, the other not govt entity that can take you property away if you don't pay their extortion money.
I world never ever knowingly get a place with an HOA.
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
As a first time homeowner, I definitely learned my lesson. Never buying property with an HOA ever again.
Sam-I-Aint@reddit
r/fuckHOA also my HOA fee is $400 a year. That is insane $700/month that better include all utilities and have a gym a pool a spa sauna golf course tennis courts bowling alley private movie theater etc etc etc...
Fahwright@reddit
HOA's are never reasonable.
Celcius_87@reddit
Yikes, run OP
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
I wish I could but if I sell I would have to give up my sweet, sweet 3% interest rate and potentially move back in with my parents. Don’t see that as an option any time soon.
Fu_Q_imimaginary@reddit
They also publish quarterly and yearly financial statements. It’s in every HOA bylaw. Just ask for the financial reports for this year and last. The management company has them. They are required to conduct an annual meeting to discuss whatever is on your agenda.
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
We constantly switch management companies and every time we do they always seem to mishandle transferring financial documents from one management company to another. Just last month, we switched to yet ANOTHER management company and since then us residents are not able to view ANY of the HOA financial documents or even our own past statements. It’s a shit show and we’re the ones getting screwed over.
la-fours@reddit
Comparing HOAs on fees is mostly a useless activity. A lot of things impact fees, namely how they spend the money, what sort of assessments they’re doing, major repairs or upkeep that’s happening. Insurance has a major impact too.
Luka_Dunks_on_Bums@reddit
See if you can try to get on the HOA board to see why and if it can be changed
A214Guy@reddit
That’s nuts - I pay $360 a YEAR for the HOA for my house in Frisco!
Petty-Penelope@reddit
Fixing a main sewer line for a single family home ran us around 25k...with the complex being so old I wouldn't be surprised to find out there's some old cast iron finally giving up the ghost and a bunch of other deferred maintenance. I also know for our commercial real estate insurance has doubled and tripled.
You are, unfortunately, learning the hard way why people like me avoid HOA like the plague, especially in TX, where they have entirely too much power and little oversight.
pilot333@reddit
you will own nothing and be happy
EquipmentUnique526@reddit
hell no
Total_Possession_950@reddit
I had a one story condo I bought brand new in 2021 and sold last year. Dues have about doubled between now and the time I bought it. I believe they are $435 a month now. That’s one of the many reasons I sold. Condo fees are a huge ripoff …
kittenclowder@reddit
Do they clean your place once a month for that too? Because that’s the only way
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
I wish lol. We have a lawnscaping company come and clean up the outside area but they’re definitely NOT worth $800 a month.
Unusual-Tangerine-95@reddit
Things were getting fixed better when Robert and Lucy were at the helm. Thus new group offers little maintenance.
Skinnieguy@reddit
The HOA should be send financial statement at the end of the year. And you should definitely be attending the next meeting. Cus it sounds like they won’t stop. You going to have a hard time selling the property or take a big loss if HOA fees continues to get out of hand.
RedOverLord7@reddit
Shoot me a message. Sounds like we’re in similar situations.
BikerCow@reddit
Probably like that condo that collapsed in Florida. They didn’t do enough maintenance and then, when things got bad, they suddenly needed millions to do repairs.
frontrow2023@reddit
That’s $1 sq ft, unless you have amazing amenities, that is quite high
tacmed85@reddit
No, that's insane
davis214512@reddit
They have a P&L you can review to see cash out and cash in. It is likely repairs for old buildings and insurance.
TXWayne@reddit
How the heck do you get 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in 700sf and have room left for anything else???
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
The bottom floor is around 700sf. Upstairs bedroom and bathroom is like 300sq, so a total of around 1000 square feet, that was my mistake.
TXWayne@reddit
That makes sense, but to your question….you are getting screwed by your HOA.
Nearby-Oil-8227@reddit
Reasonable is relative. If you say it was $250 when you bought, that means the board has increased dues exponentially in a short time.
This should be concerning in that it impacts the property’s marketability and resale value and deters many potential buyers.
Unfortunately, unless something is being misappropriated, the increases are likely legal, as HoAs have a lot of leeway to enact these increases.
Best you can do is request a copy of the budget as an owner and see if you can speak to the board or management company about where the increases are coming from.
I do expect given the age of the building and weather than a lot of it likely does have to do with the insurance premiums.
Looking at the budget, however, will also help you understand if there were other capital expenses they had to cover. It’s concerning as it means they likely are financially underfunded and don’t have an appropriate reserve study to properly contain costs, so they have to do due increases to address.
wannabetmore@reddit
Absolutely not! I thought 125/month was expensive!
embarrevu@reddit
Does this include free groceries?
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
God I wish that were true lol
Rio_ola@reddit
Is your HOA in debt or building a shopping complex and movie theater in your neighborhood?
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
Not that I know of lol. They did mention they were trying to pay off high interest rates for a variety of projects, they weren’t very specific though. A lot of us think we’re literally just paying off their previous debts.
Lobito6@reddit
Didn't have to read your post, that HOA is too high.
Impossible-Praline61@reddit
We sold our townhome when the HOA jumped to $420 a month. We all got new roofs, but I just couldn't see it ever coming back down, only going way up from there. I'd prefer to put that money towards a nicer house without an HOA, or an HOA that's $168 for the whole entire year which is what we did. Good luck ever selling that place! That's a car payment plus a phone bill.
Unusual-Tangerine-95@reddit
Sounds like Park Lane Townhomes.
halfuser10@reddit
Man, I always saw those listings and was tempted. Those look so cool. But the reviews are ghastly.
Texas_Inspire@reddit (OP)
😉
MNGraySquirrel@reddit
That’s a car payment.
JrodRiga13@reddit
Post this to the r/HOA and see what they say also.
sarahs911@reddit
For that area, that is ridiculously high. What reasons does your association give you every year for raising it so much? Do they give special assessments too? I’d rather pay a special assessment than a higher monthly fee which is going to make selling that condo very difficult. Do yall have monthly or quarterly meetings where this can be addressed?
OleDirtMcGirt901@reddit
Not sure about reasonable but I have heard of condos jacking up HOA dues to 2 or 3 times what they were. This was mainly in Florida but I wouldn't be surprised if the company that manages the HOA manages condos all over the country.