Real Estate markets - what would $XXX get you in your area?

Inkdancer

I live just outside of Raleigh, NC. In my town, you can get:

$150k: A townhouse with two bedrooms. They will be small. You can also get a LOT of foreclosed houses in this price range. You have to go up to $175k for detached homes. 

$300k: A very nice house. 4+ bedrooms with a bathroom for each, multiple-car garage, etc. But you will be close to your neighbors. 

$500k: Previous level, but with more land or in a slightly nicer neighborhood.

$1m: Whatever the heck you want. You want a pool made of marble and gold? Done. You want a 16-car garage? Done. No neighbors for a mile? Done. Unless you want to live in one of the country club neighborhoods. Then, you will pay $1m for a $500k house. 

RosieC18

I'm not seeing anything for DC so I'll chime in. Suburbs vary a lot, but since I don't usually look outside the city limits I'll stick to DC proper.

Buying:
$150k - maybe a studio in a scary part of town far from metro? Maybe? I have never seen a listing this cheap, including teardowns.

$300k - a 1-2 bed condo in a bad area or far from metro. Would be very small and/or in bad shape. Or a small (500-600sqft) studio in a middle neighborhood.

$500k - a 2-3 bedroom house or townhouse in a scary neighborhood. A one or maybe two bedroom (possibly a basement) close to metro, not a luxurious area, but safe and relatively interesting - around 800sqft. A bit more for your money further out. We've seen some nice, but not new or updated houses in the 500s right on the border with MD. Unlikely to have a yard.

750k - 2-3 bedrooms in a townhouse or standalone in an up and coming area, close to metro and with nice finishes. 1500-2000sqrt. might be able to get a rundown townhouse in a more established area. Probably a small yard (like 5x10).

$1mil - 2000sqft+ townhouse or condo with 3-4 bedrooms in a desireable area. Recently remodeled and high end. Probably a small yard.

$2-5 mil - a big, 4+ bedroom house or townhouse in the fanciest areas (Georgetown, DuPont Circle, Chevy Chase). Not quite "Sky's the limit" but very nice houses. Some may have yards, or small patios.

We're hoping to buy next year with a budget around 600k and feel pretty squeezed to find something within a mile of metro with enough room for a family. It will be doable, but not easy and we certainly don't expect something high end at that price. One thing that drives me nuts is that condo fees are exorbitant. Sometimes you'll see as low as $300-500/month, but most buildings are more like $1300-1500. They don't even include that much, it's bizarre. Also, the schools are mostly terrible.

For rentals:

$500 - Maybe you could find a room in a house for this much? Far from metro? Maybe if you shared bedrooms so you have 4 people in a 2 bedroom apartment?

$1000 - studio or maybe a one-bedroom in a really shady area, far from transit. Most listings I see to rent a room in a 2+ bedroom house or apartment are at least $1200, but you could make $1000 work in a small space and/or bad area.

$2000 - nice 1 bed (maybe 800 sqft), but not luxury and not the hottest neighborhood. Comfortable, but not flashy. For example, our last place was $1930/month in an old building next to the zoo. No dishwasher and small kitchen, window units. 1 bedroom and 675 sqft.

$3000 - nice 2 bedroom apartment in a desirable area. Now you'll have have a dishwasher and maybe even laundry, probably granite etc. May still not have a dining space. In a less nice area - you could rent a townhouse with 2-3 bedrooms and still feel comfortable.

$4000 - a lot of space, great finishes and fantastic area - pick two of three. Not the very top of the market, but close enough.

Parking will pretty much always be extra, probably $150-200/month.

DC is pretty damn expensive, but it isn't Manhattan or SF. I stay because it's the best place for my work and very good for my husband's work. Sometimes I dream about moving to a small city and buying a house with a big yard and generally raising a family like I was raised, but I like not needing a car and DC has a ton of great free stuff to do. It's a great place to be young, and we'll see as we get older.

ETF: autocorrect

PrettyGirlLost

O.o at the DC info.

This has been a very interesting thread.  And a bit depressing.

I'm bookmarking this because I have a friend who is talking about moving from OK to Boston and I think she might be in for a huge shock. . . she keeps talking about buying houses and I know she has no idea what she'd be getting into and just how $$$$ it is there.

[Deleted User]

mrsk616 said:

AlisonM23 said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

mrsk616 said:

I decided to do a comparison of a neighborhood we like up in ohio to one in Texas. I am doing the numbers we are 140k-200k maybe 220k tops

Ohio: You would be lucky to get a new construction or a house period. There are condos and smaller older houses but nothing we want. we want a build year of 2000 or newer. 

Texas: 190k will get you 4 bedrooms 1.5/2 bathrooms but a small yard. 

Really?  That's odd to me.  I had no idea the housing market was that booming in Ohio.

@mrsk616 I'm not sure what neighborhood/city you're looking at, but there are definitely nice houses in those ranges around the Columbus area and suburbs.

we were looking in lorain county up on the lake to be specific. my sister is cbus and i love it down there. we fell in love with a development but the houses are to close together and its a golf course development. 

depends on the area. some areas you are able to get 150k and it be a decent newer construction house but other areas (older areas that have been around for ages) you will get older homes. We have a house in one of those areas and its full of problems with the house and neighborhood. we had a neighbor actually punch one of our cars (no idea why and police cant do anything because we didnt catch him doing it and same neighbor who used our driveway to cut across our grass and his to get into his driveway turfing it) 

Ah gotcha! That makes more sense for those prices.

mikenberger

Rentals in my area:

$500 - will get you a one bedroom apartment with no utilities included

$750- will get you a two bedroom apartment with all utilities included (including cable/internet/gym membership) or a one/two bedroom house with no utilities.

$1000- will get you a 3 bedroom apartment, same amenities as the 2 bedroom or a two/three bedroom house. Or a townhouse/condo.

If you're renting anything over $1300, you're out of your mind. Just buy something. 

ETA: If you're over $1300, chances you're a professor visiting from out of town to teach for a few months/years and you're not a long term resident. We have a lot of those around here.

KatieinBkln

I'm having so much fun learning about all these different places!

Chances are I will end up buying property in one of two places: Out in the "country"/upstate NY where I can have a ton of land and a garden and tons of room to hike and play, or back in Wisconsin, specifically Madison, because I would have to kill myself if I lived anywhere else in that state.

As shitty as it sounds, I'm pretty sure NY might have ruined other cities for me. I think I'd always be comparing (sometimes favorably, but mostly not) and no perfectly good city deserves to be shit on by a less than enthusiastic resident. My next move will probably be to the sticks (but not more than driving distance to an international airport. I like nature, but I want to be able to fly across the globe to see it, too).

jenna8984

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

RosieC18

jenna8984 said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I know, I can't figure out where it all goes! Lobby remodeled? Extravagant insurance? Massive underlying mortgages? Some include a couple utilities or a gym but it still seems extreme.

Maybe I'm way underestimating the cost of a front desk or on staff maintenance/cleaning but given how many units these buildings have, it's crazy. It's usually the big buildings too. I much prefer the rowhouses that have been split into 2-3 units because they tend to be much more reasonable and I know we'll have a much bigger say when the association votes on things.

PrettyGirlLost

jenna8984 said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.

Cookie Pusher

I'm trying to think of what you could rent in my area for $500/month and am drawing a blank. You couldn't even share an apartment or rent a room in a house for that little. This is rather depressing.

theartistformerlyknownas

PrettyGirlLost said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.


Same. Unless it's paying for like professional landscapers and private snow removal, bug off. I don't want to pay someone for the privilege telling me what color Christmas lights I'm allowed to use.

RosieC18

PrettyGirlLost said:

jenna8984 said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.

Well, I only hear about HOAs in the context of condo buildings, where you have to have one. I mean, maybe there are condos that don't? But how would you manage the common spaces/exterior?

Anyway, there is an interesting conversation about HOAs on the nest's money matters board recently - someone asked just that question and got a number of responses.

Kahlyla

lovegood90 said:

I'm in Toronto and not looking to buy, so my answers are just based on what I've seen. So I could be totally wrong; any other Torontonians out there feel free to correct me!

$150,000- A shoebox? Haha. Or maybe a bachelor condo really far out.

$300,000- Very small one bedroom condo, probably not in a desirable area. Or maybe a starter home farther out in the GTA?

$500,000- Decent sized one bedroom, depends on the area though. I've been finding if you want a decent sized condo, in a central area, that's also a newer/nicer building, the price range seems to be around 600,000-750,000.

$1,000,000+- I think you could get a house/townhouse in a central area, or a bigger 2+ bedroom condo.

We left Toronto in 2008 but in 2005 we bought a 2+1 bedroom house on the Danforth (but far east) for $210,000. in 2009 or so (we rented it out for a while) we sold it for around $270,000. But in that entire time, there were always tons of gorgeous homes in the Beaches, Greektown and similar for under $500,000. Often semi-detached or with, you know, two feet of space between the houses, lol. Skinny but deep, Victorian detailing, two storeys plus basement, tiny-ass powder room on the main floor, nice front porches, small closets, you probably know the type.

Right in the heart of downtown, though, you'd probably know better than I. We only ever rented at Spadina and Bloor, which we left just before they wanted to raise the rent from $1200 to $1800 a month. We did look at some townhouses at the time but no condos. I was offended at the fees people were asking for literally nothing in return.

I know the market there has only continued to boom; it was basically never affected by any downturns.

PrettyGirlLost

RosieC18 said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

jenna8984 said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.

Well, I only hear about HOAs in the context of condo buildings, where you have to have one. I mean, maybe there are condos that don't? But how would you manage the common spaces/exterior?

Anyway, there is an interesting conversation about HOAs on the nest's money matters board recently - someone asked just that question and got a number of responses.

In reading that thread, IMO there are no perks that are worth giving an HOA control over my wallet and property, just so they can keep up the outer appearances of the neighborhood.  I mean really, that's what most HOA rules boil down to.  Superficial shit to make sure the neighborhood doesn't look like a trailer park by a check cashing joint, so that everyone's home maintain their value.

Which is logical- no one wants a home to depreciate.  But at the same time, who wants to be told the HOA voted to change all of the perfectly functional and new siding from Cape Cod Blue to Pier Periwinkle, so be prepared to pay $20K out of your own pocket for a useless and superficial upgrade to your own house.

I guess the trick is to find an HOA that isn't that insane, as many poster said in that thread their rules all vary greatly.

theartistformerlyknownas

PrettyGirlLost said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

jenna8984 said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.

Well, I only hear about HOAs in the context of condo buildings, where you have to have one. I mean, maybe there are condos that don't? But how would you manage the common spaces/exterior?

Anyway, there is an interesting conversation about HOAs on the nest's money matters board recently - someone asked just that question and got a number of responses.

In reading that thread, IMO there are no perks that are worth giving an HOA control over my wallet and property, just so they can keep up the outer appearances of the neighborhood.  I mean really, that's what most HOA rules boil down to.  Superficial shit to make sure the neighborhood doesn't look like a trailer park by a check cashing joint, so that everyone's home maintain their value.

Which is logical- no one wants a home to depreciate.  But at the same time, who wants to be told the HOA voted to change all of the perfectly functional and new siding from Cape Cod Blue to Pier Periwinkle, so be prepared to pay $20K out of your own pocket for a useless and superficial upgrade to your own house.

I guess the trick is to find an HOA that isn't that insane, as many poster said in that thread their rules all vary greatly.


This will never stop being funny.

lovegood90

Kahlyla said:

lovegood90 said:

I'm in Toronto and not looking to buy, so my answers are just based on what I've seen. So I could be totally wrong; any other Torontonians out there feel free to correct me!

$150,000- A shoebox? Haha. Or maybe a bachelor condo really far out.

$300,000- Very small one bedroom condo, probably not in a desirable area. Or maybe a starter home farther out in the GTA?

$500,000- Decent sized one bedroom, depends on the area though. I've been finding if you want a decent sized condo, in a central area, that's also a newer/nicer building, the price range seems to be around 600,000-750,000.

$1,000,000+- I think you could get a house/townhouse in a central area, or a bigger 2+ bedroom condo.

We left Toronto in 2008 but in 2005 we bought a 2+1 bedroom house on the Danforth (but far east) for $210,000. in 2009 or so (we rented it out for a while) we sold it for around $270,000. But in that entire time, there were always tons of gorgeous homes in the Beaches, Greektown and similar for under $500,000. Often semi-detached or with, you know, two feet of space between the houses, lol. Skinny but deep, Victorian detailing, two storeys plus basement, tiny-ass powder room on the main floor, nice front porches, small closets, you probably know the type.

Right in the heart of downtown, though, you'd probably know better than I. We only ever rented at Spadina and Bloor, which we left just before they wanted to raise the rent from $1200 to $1800 a month. We did look at some townhouses at the time but no condos. I was offended at the fees people were asking for literally nothing in return.

Oh wow, that's interesting! Yeah I only have limited knowledge of the very small parameters of downtown, haha. I've also browsed around High Park and holy moly you definitely need a million dollars to buy there! That's good to know about the Danforth/beaches though.

We're approaching the year mark of being in our apartment so I'm crossing my fingers that our landlord doesn't raise the rent on us!

theartistformerlyknownas

$599 a month in rent will getcha this 1BR apartment a few miles from me.

Although a few miles further into Detroit you can buy this whole house for $500. Copper plumbing not included. 

RosieC18

PrettyGirlLost said:

RosieC18 said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

jenna8984 said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.

Well, I only hear about HOAs in the context of condo buildings, where you have to have one. I mean, maybe there are condos that don't? But how would you manage the common spaces/exterior?

Anyway, there is an interesting conversation about HOAs on the nest's money matters board recently - someone asked just that question and got a number of responses.

In reading that thread, IMO there are no perks that are worth giving an HOA control over my wallet and property, just so they can keep up the outer appearances of the neighborhood.  I mean really, that's what most HOA rules boil down to.  Superficial shit to make sure the neighborhood doesn't look like a trailer park by a check cashing joint, so that everyone's home maintain their value.

Which is logical- no one wants a home to depreciate.  But at the same time, who wants to be told the HOA voted to change all of the perfectly functional and new siding from Cape Cod Blue to Pier Periwinkle, so be prepared to pay $20K out of your own pocket for a useless and superficial upgrade to your own house.

I guess the trick is to find an HOA that isn't that insane, as many poster said in that thread their rules all vary greatly.

Right, but someone has to pay for the lobby to get mopped and the elevator working or the joint laundry-room fixed. I don't think you can count on the people in your building to just volunteer in an orderly fashion to make sure the snow is shoveled. I don't like them either and I don't think I would want one for a house, but I guess my point is that they're a necessary evil in a condo association. I agree that you need to read the agreement very carefully and stay active so that things don't get voted in without you getting a chance to weigh in.

KatieinBkln

lolo883 said:

$599 a month in rent will getcha this 1BR apartment a few miles from me.

Although a few miles further into Detroit you can buy this whole house for $500. Copper plumbing not included. 

LOL.

Kind of.

Ugh. I'm rooting for you, Detroit.

mrsk616

AlisonM23 said:

mrsk616 said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

mrsk616 said:

I decided to do a comparison of a neighborhood we like up in ohio to one in Texas. I am doing the numbers we are 140k-200k maybe 220k tops

Ohio: You would be lucky to get a new construction or a house period. There are condos and smaller older houses but nothing we want. we want a build year of 2000 or newer. 

Texas: 190k will get you 4 bedrooms 1.5/2 bathrooms but a small yard. 

Really?  That's odd to me.  I had no idea the housing market was that booming in Ohio.

@mrsk616 I'm not sure what neighborhood/city you're looking at, but there are definitely nice houses in those ranges around the Columbus area and suburbs.

we were looking in lorain county up on the lake to be specific. my sister is cbus and i love it down there. we fell in love with a development but the houses are to close together and its a golf course development. 

depends on the area. some areas you are able to get 150k and it be a decent newer construction house but other areas (older areas that have been around for ages) you will get older homes. We have a house in one of those areas and its full of problems with the house and neighborhood. we had a neighbor actually punch one of our cars (no idea why and police cant do anything because we didnt catch him doing it and same neighbor who used our driveway to cut across our grass and his to get into his driveway turfing it) 

Ah gotcha! That makes more sense for those prices.

older neighborhoods are usually older people (nice and quiet) or younger people (loud and rather annoying see above for example of annoying) 

Kahlyla

Greater Moncton area: economically thriving yet renowned for having incredibly affordable real estate:

$150,000- This is what we paid for the first house we bought here. Technically a duplex, upstairs/downstairs, could easily convert back to single-family. So let's call it three + two bedrooms, two bath, 2-car garage plus another old garage that we made into a cottage plus two sheds, two driveways with room for about five to park comfortably, 1.5 acres of land right on the river, apple, pear and cherry trees, gardens, deck, balcony, unfinished basement but high and (relatively) dry and could be finished.

$300,000- Really nice houses, anything from new builds to restored farmhouses, 3 - 5 bedrooms, 3 or 4 baths, either a great city location or a fantastic yard. Attached double garages, finished basements, probably new roofs and cladding (siding, most likely), new windows, fireplaces and decks.

$500,000- Similar to above but more new builds and golf course locations.

$1,000,000+ Anything over $500K is pretty much mansions with land and pools. I'm seeing homes in excess of 8000 square METRES. There really aren't very many, possibly because the city isn't physically that big and you very quickly get out into the country or the oceanfront. You can buy a guest ranch for just over a million: http://realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?PropertyId=12532564 and there was a private island with some basketball coach's mansion on it in the Bay of Fundy for just over a mil as well but I don't know if that's still for sale.

sal2015

lolo883 said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.

Same. Unless it's paying for like professional landscapers and private snow removal, bug off. I don't want to pay someone for the privilege telling me what color Christmas lights I'm allowed to use.

We live in a townhome and have an HOA. Our's takes care of snow removal and landscaping, upkeep of the outside of the home (siding, roof, sidewalks), insurance, and the streetlights (I guess the city doesn't do our development for that). I've seen people with all kinds of Christmas lights and decor, so we're pretty flexible about that sort of thing. I love the snow removal and no mowing, but when we're eventually able to move to a single-family home with a yard, I would not want an HOA with any potential restrictions. Those don't seem to be common in my area for single-family homes anyway.

ETA: my HOA would never mandate a change in the color of the buildings just for the heck of it. If they did, that would come out of the HOA's money and would only be done when the building actually needs to be re-painted and was showing wear. The board would never vote to increase the monthly dues just for a color change or superficial stuff that isn't related to upkeep and maintaining the units.

jenna8984

@prettygirllost I also would never live in a single family home with an HOA. But those crazy expensive ones are more condos where it pays for umbrella insurance, roofing, landscaping, sometimes a pool or gym or doorman.

My parent's one in SC for their single family home is pretty funny- it's like $175 per YEAR and the only thing it really states is the mailboxes must be the same.

kvruns

lolo883 said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.

Same. Unless it's paying for like professional landscapers and private snow removal, bug off. I don't want to pay someone for the privilege telling me what color Christmas lights I'm allowed to use.

That's what it was at my old house, the majority of the money went to snow removal.  The city only did neighborhood snow removal if it snowed 6 inches or more, and even then could take a few days to hit all of the neighborhoods. With the HOA we had private snow removal at 2-3 inches which was nice. Management fees when you go with an HOA management firm drive the price up too.

Where I am now the biggest perk we have is the neighborhood pool although we don't use it though, but at least our HOA doesn't use a management company so fees are lower

lyndausvi

PrettyGirlLost said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

jenna8984 said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.

Well, I only hear about HOAs in the context of condo buildings, where you have to have one. I mean, maybe there are condos that don't? But how would you manage the common spaces/exterior?

Anyway, there is an interesting conversation about HOAs on the nest's money matters board recently - someone asked just that question and got a number of responses.

In reading that thread, IMO there are no perks that are worth giving an HOA control over my wallet and property, just so they can keep up the outer appearances of the neighborhood.  I mean really, that's what most HOA rules boil down to.  Superficial shit to make sure the neighborhood doesn't look like a trailer park by a check cashing joint, so that everyone's home maintain their value.

Which is logical- no one wants a home to depreciate.  But at the same time, who wants to be told the HOA voted to change all of the perfectly functional and new siding from Cape Cod Blue to Pier Periwinkle, so be prepared to pay $20K out of your own pocket for a useless and superficial upgrade to your own house.

I guess the trick is to find an HOA that isn't that insane, as many poster said in that thread their rules all vary greatly.


That stuff just does not normally happen. 

Generally those types of assessments and rules are voted on by ALL the owners.  Not just the board members.     At my condo in St Thomas you needed 66 2/3 vote for such expenses.    There are monthly meetings and yearly meetings that owners are able to express their opinions.  The minutes of those meetings are sent out to everyone.

A lot of new planned neighborhoods include open areas like parks.   Those need to be keep up, electricity for the lights need to paid.   Your HOA dues help pay for those types of things.  

The neighborhood I live in has a park,  playground and a rugby field with bathrooms.  Street lights lining the couple of miles worth of bike/walking paths.  HOAs pay to maintain all of those things. 

I find HOAs are more in newer neighborhoods that popped up in farm land.  They are less likely to be withing a town limits.  Meaning some resources like street lighting or park maintenance or snow removal might not be available.  Someone needs to pay for that stuff.   They would not also be subjected to some town laws that you would see in other places.

Of course, some HOAs take it to an extreme.  One dog? Please.   Oh the horrors of having a clothes line in the yard.     You just have to look around.

On another note if you buy in some historically section you will have to deal with even stricter laws about how you in make improvements to your home.  So it's not just HOAs that can make restrictions.

amelisha

Yeah, condo fees in our building (we rent from an owner, there are no rentals unless by suite owner) are $750/month and upwards but that gets our sidewalks shovelled, all the common areas cleaned, building manager and after-hours guy, maintenance of the pools, fitness centre, parkade, tennis courts, and bbq area, access to the "party room" and guest suite, and the building otherwise maintained incl. landscaping. For a condo building, it's a necessary evil, even when everyone's annoyed because they're paying for new hallway carpet or repaving the driveway or patio doors or whatever.

For a single-family home though, I'd never see the value.

mrsk616

lolo883 said:

jenna8984 said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

a development that we liked but cant afford they have HOA and you have to spend 150-200 a month at the club house. like seriously and from what we heard the food sucks there. 

PrettyGirlLost

lyndausvi said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

jenna8984 said:

@rosiec18 I am always completely stunned to see/ hear people paying up to $1200 in HOA fees. I see them a lot on like House Hunters San Fran and I just die at how expensive that is.

I'm amazed that ppl want to live in a house that's part of an HOA.  I think it's bullshit that you buy your house and own it outright, but then the HOA can arbitrarily decide that everyone has to change their siding to a new color and you, the homeowner, have to pay for it.

Yeah, no.

There must be some sort of benefits to living as part of an HOA, so I'm open to hear them.  But I can't see much that would outweigh other people being able to spend my money and dictate what I do with my house and property.

Well, I only hear about HOAs in the context of condo buildings, where you have to have one. I mean, maybe there are condos that don't? But how would you manage the common spaces/exterior?

Anyway, there is an interesting conversation about HOAs on the nest's money matters board recently - someone asked just that question and got a number of responses.

In reading that thread, IMO there are no perks that are worth giving an HOA control over my wallet and property, just so they can keep up the outer appearances of the neighborhood.  I mean really, that's what most HOA rules boil down to.  Superficial shit to make sure the neighborhood doesn't look like a trailer park by a check cashing joint, so that everyone's home maintain their value.

Which is logical- no one wants a home to depreciate.  But at the same time, who wants to be told the HOA voted to change all of the perfectly functional and new siding from Cape Cod Blue to Pier Periwinkle, so be prepared to pay $20K out of your own pocket for a useless and superficial upgrade to your own house.

I guess the trick is to find an HOA that isn't that insane, as many poster said in that thread their rules all vary greatly.

That stuff just does not normally happen. 

Generally those types of assessments and rules are voted on by ALL the owners.  Not just the board members.     At my condo in St Thomas you needed 66 2/3 vote for such expenses.    There are monthly meetings and yearly meetings that owners are able to express their opinions.  The minutes of those meetings are sent out to everyone.

A lot of new planned neighborhoods include open areas like parks.   Those need to be keep up, electricity for the lights need to paid.   Your HOA dues help pay for those types of things.  

The neighborhood I live in has a park,  playground and a rugby field with bathrooms.  Street lights lining the couple of miles worth of bike/walking paths.  HOAs pay to maintain all of those things. 

I find HOAs are more in newer neighborhoods that popped up in farm land.  They are less likely to be withing a town limits.  Meaning some resources like street lighting or park maintenance or snow removal might not be available.  Someone needs to pay for that stuff.   They would not also be subjected to some town laws that you would see in other places.

Of course, some HOAs take it to an extreme.  One dog? Please.   Oh the horrors of having a clothes line in the yard.     You just have to look around.

On another note if you buy in some historically section you will have to deal with even stricter laws about how you in make improvements to your home.  So it's not just HOAs that can make restrictions.

I'd be willing to put up with that if I lived in a historic home, which I prefer over modern ones anyways, but that makes more sense there as you are trying to maintain the aesthetic that leads to the historic designation in the 1st place.  So you can't just add on a 3 car garage willy nilly, or throw pink flamingos in the front lawn of your colonial.

katiekessler123

My parents are looking to move from the suburbans back to the city and they are looking at basically only places with HOA fees.  I see the appeal for them. They are both in their early 60s and basically want to stay in their new city home/condo for as long as they possibly can.  It would be really good for them, as they get older, to not have to worry so much about shoveling the snow, or certain repairs.  In their case, I get it.

badbnagdway

Real estate in our area is really and truly interesting and variable. I live in a fast growing Tennessee city (not Nashville or Memphis) . We live within two miles of the main downtown area, walkable to restaurants, less than a mile to the best grocery store in a 10 mile radius, and in stellar school zone. We paid $390k for a house that was built within the last 10 years. It's got a 2 car garage, a beautiful deck, 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. We do not have a lot of land, and a lot of our yard is on a severe slope. A lot of the houses in our area do not have a garage or even a driveway just because of how high a premium there is on space and the age of a lot of the houses. I would say, staying within that same school zone, which is only 2-3 square miles in size:

$150k - A very small house that is likely not fit for habitation on a less desirable street and a small lot (like, less than .05 acres small). 

$300k - An older 3 bed 2 bath that could use some love with a very small yard. Probably no garage or driveway. 

$500k - A new built (within 10 years) house with at least 4 beds and three baths. Some kind of yard, but probably not very big. A garage and driveway, probably. 

$1,000,000 - A big old house that has been fully restored on a good sized lot. 

All of the above is for the areas not right near the waterfront and most desirable streets. In those areas you'd be hard pressed to find something under $1,000,000.

Meanwhile, we have friends who live about 5.5 miles away from us. They are further out from downtown, are not walkable anywhere, and have not very good schools. They paid about $170k for a 3 bed 3 bath ranch with a well-updated kitchen, two car garage and a big yard. For what we paid for our house we could probably buy a mcmansion in that area.