Are HOA Fees Scaring You Off A Property?

HOA fees can be quite steep for some properties. $150-300 is not uncommon for Central Phoenix condo and town-home complexes while high-rise properties such as Portland Place or Lexington one range from $300's to $600.00+ based on square footage.  These are due month after month and you really don't have much control over them. 

Most often then include quite a bit of things including reserves.

Either way the number can be scary and often higher then the mortgage payment for the lower priced condos.

But the comparison is not HOA fee and no expense. A single family home has ongoing expenses as well.

Consider that in many communities the HOA includes water, insurance and common area maintenance if not additional capital improvements then the true difference is much smaller.

In a home you have to pay for water, for insurance, regular maintenance and some hire out yard maintenance, but there is a cost even if you do it yourself: opportunity cost.

The difference is that you are more in control in your own home, but also many people don't put away funds for capital  improvements so when big items are due they are often disregarded.

The best way to compare would be to simply write down the respective cost for each property side by side to arrive at a much more comparable expense.