The Truth About Condo Fees

The term condo association fee is also sometimes refereed to as the 'condo maintainance fee. These are the monthly fees or charges associated with living in a high-rise.

Common condo association fee charges are often used to maintain common areas and is used for typical expenses associated with the upkeep of community amenities as well as administrative cost. Cost can either include landscaping, repairing parking lots, keeping hallways or stairwells clean and well lit, paying for printing and mailing of condo association rules and other correspondents.

Condo association fees may also be used to pay wages or salaries for those employed by the condo association. Property taxes, legal fees, the association liability insurance, and in some cases certain utilities such as water, sewer, and trash removal are included in its scope. Security personnel or equipment may be included as well.

In a broader sense, condo association fees are determined by taking the total operating budget of the condominium, adding in a factor to fund any reserves that the association directors and owners believe they should be funding and dividing that amount by the ownership interest in the common elements of each unit. That annual sum is then usually collected in monthly payments, although some projects bill in quarterly or annual payments to minimize accounting effort.

Take note that no part of the fee is profit for the association. Condo association are non-profit corporations set up to administer the building on behalf of the owners.

In addition, it is important that you know exactly what is expected of the staff. It is always a smart idea to know exactly what your rights are but this should also include knowing your limitations.