What kind of HOA fees do the "High-Rises" command? (Atlanta: lofts, condos)

[xayePR5T]

Just so the "general population" knows, what are some of the HOA fees out there for high-rises like the Ritz, St. Regis, W etc.

I'm enamored by the idea of staying in a high rise and needed to know. Before anyone thinks about flaming this with stuff like you shouldn't if you have to ask the question, at least you can have fun checking out some of the outrageous fees out there.

Thanks.

[testa50]

Originally Posted by xayePR5T

Just so the "general population" knows, what are some of the HOA fees out there for high-rises like the Ritz, St. Regis, W etc.

I'm enamored by the idea of staying in a high rise and needed to know. Before anyone thinks about flaming this with stuff like you shouldn't if you have to ask the question, at least you can have fun checking out some of the outrageous fees out there.

Thanks.

Standard is $300-$500/mo

[ATLTJL]

Depends heavily on the square footage you have.

In your typical Novare property, think $250 or so for a 1 bedroom, probably getting closer to $350 for most 2 bedrooms.

I have no idea about premium places like the St. Regis or W, but I assume they only go up.

I seem to recall at Luxe they are in the 400s for most floorplans.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but if anybody who owns in the city of Atlanta could answer this question, I'm interested: since Atlanta has its own schools and doesn't use the Fulton county system, do you get a break on Fulton county property taxes? Or do you pay taxes to Atlanta for schools and also to Fulton county for their schools that you aren't using?

[ecuresident]

Originally Posted by testa50

Standard is $300-$500/mo

That is for a normal condo such as the Spire, Metropolis. etc, not for the end end condos which are typically 2-4X the square footage of the lower ends ones. There also a lot more amenities offered which increases the Hoa fees. When I looked at the Condos above Atlantic Station (the lofts) the Hoa fees were $550. Im not sure if that was because hardly any had sold and you had to make that up or if they were set that way. According to the Keller William website, the Ritz Carlton Buckhead residences Hoa fees range from $1200-$1800 a month.

[GeorgiaLakeSearch]

ATLTJL,

I live in the city of Atlanta and we pay an Atlanta tax and a Fulton County tax. But our school tax is in the Atlanta tax. Basically most of my tax bill goes to Atlanta and just some of it to Fulton. I think it is basically 4/5 of the tax bill to the City of Atlanta and 1/5 to County of Fulton.



Now on the HOA fees in the luxury buildings.

My wife and I have looked at some of the luxury buildings out of curiosity, because we would love to sell our Buckhead home eventually. We want to wait though about two years when our youngest son will be in middle school. You do get less square footage and rooms in the luxury condos when comparing to homes in Buckhead. The real advantage to the buildings are the amenities and services. We travel a lot and love how with a condo we could just leave easier.

St. Regis:
.40 X Square Footage = HOA

Sovereign:
.58 X 100% Interior Square Footage + 25% Exterior Square Footage= HOA

The Mansion on Peachtree:
.41 X Square Footage = HOA

We really liked the St. Regis and Sovereign at first but we ruled out the Sovereign because on the units we were looking at the HOA at Sovereign would be around 10k-12k more a year! Oh and at the Sovereign the valet and doormen worked very limited hours and at that price the amenities did not match up. The reason the St. Regis HOA fees are less is because they split the cost with the hotel.

[ATLTJL]

That's great info!

I love, love, love the St. Regis! I could imagine wanting to be in the middle of everything on Peachtree and not tucked away on West Paces...though realistically speaking, it's probably a lot more convenient to not be on Peachtree given how congested it gets.

The Sovereign is my favorite building in Buckhead, from the exterior. Is it true, though, that everything in the Sovereign is unfinished and you have to finish it yourself? Or did they go ahead and finish some units to try to move them quickly?

Another thing I always wondered is if you live in a building with a valet, is tipping the valet customary? I can imagine how annoying it would get to have to tip someone where you live, but images of Ralph the doorman always wanting a tip from George Jefferson come to mind.

I always thought it was funny how all the condos that are also hotels always tell you that the hotel maid service is available to you. I would ask if you had to pay for it, and they would say yes. Then I would ask why that is such a huge advantage, anybody who lives anywhere can hire any maid service any time they want. I got a lot of blank stares, but that's the kind of a-hole I am!

I also loved to argue with building managers who told me their properties were "6 star" because I would ask them according to who? They had no answer because no agency awards stars to condo buildings. They would usually just say "according to the builder" to which I would reply, "so what's to stop any builder from opening a new place right next door and arbitrarily calling it a 7 star building?"

Yep, they loved me when I was looking for a place to buy! Maybe that has something to do with how I settled on a house. Hmmmmmm.......

[Febtober]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Another thing I always wondered is if you live in a building with a valet, is tipping the valet customary? I can imagine how annoying it would get to have to tip someone where you live, but images of Ralph the doorman always wanting a tip from George Jefferson come to mind.

Up here at least, you generally give the doormen/valet drivers and such one large tip once a year, rather a small one every time.

I'm sure it varies wildly, but $100 to a garage attendant, to be split up among the staff, would be fine I think.

[noah]

Keep in mind that with any highrise condo (lower or higher end) your fees also have to cover long term maintenance for the building so when its time for a new roof that is paid for. This is one item people don't factor when considering fees versus owning a SFH which will also need a new roof, HVAC etc one day.

[ATLTJL]

Keep in mind that with any highrise condo (lower or higher end) your fees also have to cover long term maintenance for the building so when its time for a new roof that is paid for. This is one item people don't factor when considering fees versus owning a SFH which will also need a new roof, HVAC etc one day.

It's true, but a lot of it depends on how responsible your HOA is. If they have not been fiscally responsible and something major goes.....SPECIAL ASSESSMENT!!!!! I know a few people who have been hit really hard by assessments.

In a house, you generally know about when your roof is going to go and other things so you can plan accordingly. In a building, you can just get a note one day that says the roof or parking deck has to be repaired, and here is your special assessment while you never knew there was a problem.

And even if you are in a condo, you are still responsible for your own HVAC.

I'm not saying a house is better than a condo, I'm just saying that having an association isn't a magic bullet against unforseen expenses unless you have a very well run association who understands how to build up appropriate reserves.

[testa50]

Checking out the amount of reserve built up is definitely smart. For instance, my building has $2-3k in reserves per unit built up, and adds to it every year. Definitely factor that sort of thing into a decision to buy a condo (although it is actually pretty small in the grand scheme).