Average condo fees

[KD3]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a condo and I'm wondering what average condo fees in Edmonton are.

I realize that they vary, but if you could give me a ballpark for certain areas of town, that would be helpful.

I'm looking in the southwest (terwillegar) as well as downtown and the west end.

Thanks.

[IanO]

Typically I find them to range from 0.34-0.45 $/sqft.

My downtown condo fees are at the top end of that but include water and heat as well as an above average maintained building. (gym, landscaping)

[Alex.L]

$300/month in South Terwillegar, incl water, heat, party room, gym.

[Marcel Petrin]

Ian's ballpark makes sense. Condo fees are totally dependent on unit area, there's little point quoting what your fees are in absolute terms. Mine are about $0.39/ft, but as with Ian include heat/water and the association isn't afraid to spend money on fixing/maintaining things or padding the reserve fund.

[Alex.L]

$295/month for 887 square ft.

so $0.33/sqft

[jdk13]

the building i own a condo in is $.54/foot including heat and water but not electrical. I've also gone through a "special assessment" of $6000 for the roof and $15000 for elevators in the past 2 years. i'm even more aware of how much the management company and condo board has shafted us now...

[OilTastic/BigCityDude]

^ya, we recently had a "cash call" so to speak of $3500 lump sum and a condo fee raise of $20/month...at least they are padding the reserve and repaving our war zone parking lot.

[Marcel Petrin]

Originally Posted by jdk13

i'm even more aware of how much the management company and condo board has shafted us now...

How exactly do you think the condo board "shafted" the association? They may well have acted in good faith to clean up messes left from a previous board or management company.

[jdk13]

Originally Posted by Marcel Petrin

How exactly do you think the condo board "shafted" the association? They may well have acted in good faith to clean up messes left from a previous board or management company.

regardless of their intentions, $20 000 in 2 years is not a reasonable amount to pay for building maintenance. per my example it seems our condo has fees well above average, and if a previous board or management company did not complete due diligence for upkeep they should be liable for their negligence. in addition to the roof and elevators, there has been constant flooding from pipe leaks due to a water treatment system that was also paid for under a special assessment, and then improperly maintained

[eraserhead]

I pay $250.79 per month on a ~500 sq ft loft in the downtown/financial district. Includes water but not electricity.

[Gizmo]

I pay about $384 for 860sq feet, and my building is about 5 years old.
My buddy lives in the MacEwan condos in southwest and pays about $430 for pretty much same size as mine. Both of ours includes all utilities, I know some don't include power and you pay that on your own, so that could bring down condo fees a bit. And of course more amenities there are (gym, guest room, etc), could mean a bit more due to maintaining them. This is one reason I went with a condo without any extra things since I have a gym membership and wouldn't use a guest room or such.

So for an average size of 850-900sq feet I would say be prepared to pay from $280-400. That being said, make sure to get a reserve fund report, as well as a condo expense report. Having a condo with low condo fees isn't always the best thing because it can add up to a huge assessment down the road if major work need to be done. Case in point my sister's condo just had a 7 million dollars assessment due to the whole building envelope need to be repaired, so she has to pay a big $29,000 while others are paying $46,000! I've been lucky so far, with only a $540 assessment.

[Cal76]

I pay C$325.00 on a 615 sq ft 2BR in Queen Mary Park. 300-400 for a 2BR is typical for older walk-up bldgs. The Oliver high-rises are pricier, expect to pay 450-500 per month (on a 2BR) although this typically includes power, gym and swimming pool.

[ChrisD]

I pay $0.43psf and just got handed a 20k special assessment to redo the balconies. My advice to condo boards is to save your time and money trying to sue developers. You maybe have a chance if they have units remaining in the project, but if they don't, forget it. The legislation is NOT in your favour in general.

[River Valley Green]

Bottom line is if you don't want high condo fees, don't move downtown, especially in the highrise concrete buildings.

[Jess]

Rule of thumb... you pay now or you will pay later. Make sure the fees you are paying are high enough to fully fund what is indicated in the most recent reserve fund plan (Legislated to be done every 5 years). If the fees are lower and the reserve is not fully funded, expect you will get an assessment in the future. Fees can vary building to building based on what is required in the reserve fund and how the board has decided to fund it. Not by where they are located as some people on this thread have indicated. Fees in my building are on the high side, and owners complain, but I can guarantee you there will be no surprises down the road in terms of large assessments. I would be wary of low fees....

[GreenSPACE]

Mine work out to $0.48/sq.ft per month, include water and heat. We also have a very healthy reserve fund and operating fund balance with no fee increases or special assessments in the past few years or foreseeable future.

[ChrisD]

Mine also includes heat and water. And it doesn't matter if your condo is downtown or the burbs, or concrete or wood framed, high fees and special assessments can happen.

[IanO]

Originally Posted by River Valley Green

Bottom line is if you don't want high condo fees, don't move downtown, especially in the highrise concrete buildings.

A wonderfully ignorant statement bravo.

[McBoo]

Thanks Ian, did the math - mine works out to about 26 cents per square foot.

But that includes heat, water and a parking stall - indoors - heated. Electricity ($40 a month) extra.

Like you mentioned, incredibly ill-informed (there's another word for that, won't be pejorative) statement quoted in yours.

[manonaubry]

When you are looking at condos don't forget to read the reserve plan and the bylaws, these should be available to you before you put an offer in, every resident of the building has these docs and if someone tells you that you have to put in an offer to get them, the realtor is putting you on.The fewer amenities a building has the less the condo fees will be, underground parking and pools are money pits. You can also ask to see the minutes from the last several board meetings, which should also be available, look for area of possible conflict, ask about any pending or potential lawsuits and special assesments.

[barhonda]

I live in a building that is 1.5 years old downtown. Heat, water, natural gas & ammenities room included in condo fees.

200 dollars / 624 sqft = $0.32 per sqft.

[Alex.L]

Originally Posted by barhonda

I live in a building that is 1.5 years old downtown. Heat, water, natural gas & ammenities room included in condo fees.

200 dollars / 624 sqft = $0.32 per sqft.

Has your condo board formed? I know in our building it was like 2yrs before we even had a general meeting, after which the board was formed and condo fees went up.

[MikeK]

I pay 319.90 for 614 sq. ft, so that's $0.52/sq. ft - that is high compared to others in this thread, but there is no foreseeable increase in the condo fee over the next several years. This includes heat and water, but not electricity. But because there are problems with roof and parkade leakages and some other structural problems, an assessment in the near future is not out of the question. The building I live in is over 33 years old and is in the Oliver area.

[Sonic Death Monkey]

My condo fees are $427/month for a 740 sqft suite in a concrete highrise. We also had a special assessment that was paid in monthly for 3 years (mine was $91/month), which covered replacement of the boiler, elevators and other aging infrastructure.

[KC]

Very interesting on the area based measure. (Like the misleading natureof always talking about the price of oil in $US.)

Anyway, is there a website that compiles such information? Just the other day someone commented to me how their condo fees are on the rise, doubling over eight years... Partly due to what I'd call the all for one and one for all approach to repairs. Their example was that a few suites had problems/flaws so the condo committee decided every unit in the building needed to be upgraded.

[IanO]

Keep in mind that the rule of thumb is to increase condo fees with inflation or about 2% a year so over 20-30 years...

[whynow99]

Some very good comments and ideas stated.....understanding the Reserve Fund numbers and seeing the Minutes for at least the last year will give a good understanding of the complex. But it still comes down to how has an older complex been maintained or how has the quality of construction been on a new complex? I hate to hear the details of someone buying a brand new condo, usually paid more then they wanted to or could really afford, then getting slapped with a cash call for inferior construction and resulting repairs. The Alberta Builders warranty coverage is really just an insult to reality.

[EveB]

^ Following on that, be careful that high maintenance items are something you want to use. The prime example is an indoor swimming pool. I currently live in a complex with one. I've never used it. Of course, I've never used the gym either (though I may some day).

The swimming pool is high maintenance in both the sense of needing constant work (monthly fees) and in being expensive to fix if anything starts to crack or need updating (potential special assessment). For this reason, if I were in the market for a condo, I would avoid any place with a swimming pool because I don't want to help pay for it. Of course, you would do your calculations differently if you loved having a swimming pool in your building. If I swam, I would enjoy being able to change and shower in my own apartment.

Other amenities, like the gym, are basically just a room with miscellaneous equipment in it. I can't see it would require much more maintenance (if not less) than the entrance way and elevators. I wouldn't mind paying fees on it even though I don't use it because the amount would be small compared to things I care about (like the elevators).

Eve

[Gord Lacey]

Except there's always someone who mistreats the equipment, it breaks, and has to be replaced. That happened a few times when I lived in a condo.

[IanO]

Happens in a condo, apartment or community unfortunately.

[barhonda]

Originally Posted by Ander

Has your condo board formed? I know in our building it was like 2yrs before we even had a general meeting, after which the board was formed and condo fees went up.

Yup, we had our first AGM meeting last September. They had a maintenance fee before the board was formed and it was around 150 dollars per month. I am expecting the condo fees to go up as the vacant suites get filled though.

[manonaubry]

I don't know if fees usually go up as a building fills up. All condo are divided into 10,000 unit shares and these are assigned on the basis of sq footage. In an avarage sized building with 40 suites you might have app. 250 'unit factors' per suite. If this is your situation it means that for every $10,000 budgeted/spent a suite owner would be responsable for $250.00( $1 per unit factor) The unhabitated units are owned by the developer and those fees are paid by him. If the budget was done properly, there shouldn't be any surprises. In an older building if the reserve fund study is done properly you shouldn't have any surprises either. The study is a list of all building components (watch some don't include foundations) along with the components' expected life span and it's age. If you are in a building that is 20 years old and the window type has a 30 year life span then you are expected to have 20/30th of the inflated replacement value in your fund at that moment. Since this law only came into effect in 2000 some older buildings are still playing catch-up.

[GreenSPACE]

^Condo board forms after 75% of units are sold. Unsold units condo fees paid by developer.

Condo fees usually go up after a year or two because developers always underestimate costs and reserve fund allocation.

[IanO]

Not to mention the fact that budgets are often done 2-3 years prior to completion...

[xiii]

$303/month for 935sqft in Icon II. Plus a small special assesment to pad our reserve fund this year.