Quote:
Originally Posted by jtown,man
At my age I don't want to move anymore. So eventually(saving up now) I would like to buy. But I will be renting first, yes. My concerns, from the start, have been where is Chicago heading, not necessarily where it is(when it comes to taxes anyways). Currently, the taxes are high, but the value certainly is still there. I just don't know what it will look like in 5 years.
Yeah, we've been looking all over the city. Condos(not in 3-flats) seem to have really high HOA fees(stunned us) so we would like a smaller building in a safe, yet not entirely gentrified hood. Of course thats at least 2 years away, so we'll see.
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A "positive" aspect of high HOAs (aside from the obvious ones like having your utilities bundled in and front-loading major maintenance expenses) is that they hold down the value of the unit, making you less exposed to property tax increases.
If city property owners are indeed staring down the barrel of a further 25%+ of property tax increases in the next few years, the $200k unit with a $1000 HO assessment looks a bit less troubling than the $400k unit with $500 HO assessment. And really, don't forget utilities costs - heat and cable/internet (almost always included in higher assessment buildings) can be the equivalent of $250+ dollars a month, especially once you're no longer getting that sweet promo rate from Comcast.
Note that maintaining highrise infrastructure and full-time staffing are inherently expensive, so be wary of a building with very low assessments. A minimum wage security guard watching videos on their phone is not the same as a professional union doorman, though staffing the latter round the clock is not something everyone wants or needs. A low-rise walkup building has a lot less that can go wrong physically and even when it does, it is less complicated and less expensive to fix. But high-rises with actual doormen also almost never have burglaries, missing packages, persistent nuisance neighbors, or other such funny business that often comes with cramming lots of humans in one place.