Quote:
Originally Posted by moorhosj
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our association fee is $350/month, and ~50% of that is for the insurance bill, which SFH's have to pay as well. another 30% is for water, sewer, and garbage, which SFH owners have to pay as well.
so 20% of $350 is $70/month x 30 years = $25,000.
$25,000 is "new roof" money, which SFH homeowners also have to pay for periodically as well, so....................
i'm not saying that SFH's don't have their advantages, but the vast majority of them in the "in" neighborhoods on the northside are out of the price range of your typical middle class family (like mine), so if location is a top priority for you, thank Pizza God that chicago has a wealth of larger-unit, low-rise multi-family flat buildings. the ones with duplexed units offer a good deal of space to a family with children, but without the hot neighborhood SFH price tag.
would i like to have my own private yard and a garage? sure, but i wouldn't pay an extra $150K for it. if that stuff had been more of a priority for us than location and transit access, then we'd probably be living in portage or jeff park right now.
portage and jeff park are certainly fine enough places, but they don't scratch my urbanism itch nearly as well as a neighborhood like lincoln square does.