> with $1K+ per month maintenance fees.
wow! How are these itemized? Or is it just referred to as a single line-item "$1,000.00 Maintenance fee" ?
wow! How are these itemized? Or is it just referred to as a single line-item "$1,000.00 Maintenance fee" ?
I pay ~$900/month in fees for my 1 bedroom (charged based on the 113 shares i own) - and then I pay another 20-30 for electricity, which is billed on the same ticket. Then, come tax time, I get to deduct around ~35% of those maintenance fees as real estate tax.
it varies from building to building and borough to borough.
These consist largely of 19th century buildings. And even the "modern" apartment buildings are 1920s, 1930s, etc. These are also precisely the neighborhoods that zone-limit modern construction to avoid compromising their character.
So you have a bunch of old buildings that need serious maintenance, sometimes by firms with specialized and otherwise outdated skill sets (e.g. stoop rebuilding and iron fence work).
Many of these neighborhoods are also in historic districts, meaning they're landmark-protected to preserve traditional architectural character.
Brooklyn Heights is a prime example. Essentially the whole neighborhood is one big historic district. The housing stock is ancient. And it's a highly desirable neighborhood. Maintenance fees can easily waver between $1,000 and $2,000. There are very few modern condos (which basically avoid these problems). So their very scarcity inflates their purchase prices. All in all you get a very difficult place to live in and own property.