Boston real estate
What Are Boston Condo Fees?
Most common questions about Boston condo fees. (The answers are here). Boston condo fees are paid to maintain the common areas and shared spaces in a Boston condo building. Being part of a homeowners association makes it a lot simpler to live in than having a home where you are responsible for all the maintenance.
So, if you have an expensive emergency in your house, you have to find the money to fix it. Where in a Boston condo building, expenses are shared amongst everyone in the community through your condo fees.
An elected committee governs the condominium fees in your building. All of the expenses should be approved by the elected committee.
In Boston high rise condo buildings, there is often a paid property management team for paying bills.
Boston condo fees costs depend on the building size. It is not uncommon for condo fees to range anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to thousand plus in some luxury high rise condos buildings.
Boston condominiums fees are influenced heavily by what kind of perks are offered for living within the building. For example, downtown Boston high rise buildings that offer pools or gyms, naturally would cost more to maintain and operate.
Boston condo fees in expenses in a high-rise buildings may include concierge, spa, and gym, making them much more expensive to live in. You could potentially see fees as high as $3-$4 thousand per month. Think of the rich and famous.
How Are Boston Condo Fee Expenses Distributed?
If you live in a Boston high rise condo complex, you may have underground parking, with a car space allocated to every apartment in the building. Part of the maintenance with this living style is security, as we all feel safer in a secure building.
Rubbish collection is another cost, as rubbish has to be taken down to the basement and removed from the building. Companies are often hired to fill this role.
The pool must be maintained, the ground manicured, plants pruned, and the gym equipment is cleaned. While these perks are probably the reasons you bought in, the cost can be a bit high for some retirees. Perks such as these are often standard in retirement communities. It is often a significant reason seniors downsize into a neighborhood that has an HOA.
Do Boston Condo Fees Go Up?
Of course, everything rises with inflation, and there will always be new projects or remedial work to be carried out on the homes and neighborhood.
Some condo fee schedule increments annually, so if you are preparing a five-year budget, you may want to factor in the cost. Doing so will be helpful to work out what your expenses will be projected at in the future.
It will be vital before buying to take a look at the homeowners association bylaws, rules, and regs, along with the latest financial state. You should make sure to have a contingency for document review in your offer.
What If You Can’t Pay Your Boston Condo Fees?
You can be fined or taken to court, and a lien could be placed on your Boston downtown condo. It can also be embarrassing not to pay because, in committee meetings, they often have nonpaying homes as agenda items and discuss strategies to recover the funds.
Boston condo fee expenses are very much worth paying, as in most cases, you do get your money’s worth. Because there is power in numbers, you often get better value for money with more people paying to get the best deal for your condo association.
Before you move into a Boston Seaport condo or downtown high rise condo, check how your how your condo fees will be apportioned, and make sure no special assessments are pending.
Special assessments would mean that you will have to come up with an extra lump sum to fix an unexpected expense. Nobody likes financial surprises, so it is essential to research any significant expenditures on the horizon.
How Do I Choose The Right Boston Condo Association?
Form a working relationship with a high-profile local agent. Once they know what you are looking for, they will help you to find your perfect condo association.
The best buyer’s agents will know most communities in the town or area. Real Estate agents have their ears to the ground and often hear positive or negative things about a particular neighborhood and the accompanying homeowners association.
Moving into an Boston condo complex is a terrific idea when it is a well-oiled machine. Living within a homeowners association can make your life more simple, especially from a maintenance standpoint. If you’re the kind of person, who travels a lot, it really makes a lot of sense.
First-time home buyers who do business travel could find living in a Boston condo building to be the perfect situation.
Boston Real Estate and the Bottom Line
In the Boston downtown neighborhood you are planning to live in, there hopefully will be a wide range of suitable Boston condo associations to choose from. As long as you pick a Boston condo building that does not have strange bylaws or overbearing rules, you’ll probably enjoy the living situation.
The key is doing the proper due diligence. Without that, you could make a bad mistake that you’ll regret. Take the time and do the proper research. Hopefully, you have found this guide to Boston condo fees to be useful. You should now know a bit more about what Boston downtown condominium fees cover
