What Are Condominium Maintenance Fees and How Much Do They Cost in Houston?

Maintenance fees in Houston condominiums can vary greatly. There are several reasons for differences in Home Owners Association fees (HOA fees). The fees often cover things like cleaning, landscaping and maintenance of the common areas. The difference in maintenance fees usually is based on the number of services. Some buildings are full service with a full staff of concierges, valets and porters as well as full amenities that can include pools, fitness centers, massage areas, dog walking areas, wine storage areas and golf simulators as well as putting greens.

The question you will need to ask to get the answer as to why the fee is higher is: how many services and amenities are there? In short, what do you get for your money? Some people want all the extras and are happy to pay the higher maintenance fees that come with it and some people want the lowest HOA fee possible and don’t care if there is someone at the desk to greet them.

HOA fees often are assessed on a per-square-foot basis. Since it’s based on size, that means the bigger your condo, the higher your maintenance fee. Houston condominium maintenance fees usually range from the 20 cent per square range to 80 cents per square foot and occasionally up to a dollar and more. If you have a 2000 square foot condominium and your monthly maintenance fee is 25 cents per square foot, you'll pay $500 a month in fees. If you have a 2000 square foot condo and your monthly maintenance fee is 50 cents per square foot, you’ll be paying $1000 a month for the maintenance fee. If your fee is a dollar per square foot, you’ll be paying twice that at $2000 a month. There also are some  buildings that have a flat fee for maintenance fees and it’s not based on square footage. In Houston, I find that most buildings charge a fee based upon size.

Many buildings follow a monthly maintenance fee schedule so you would pay the $500, $1000 or $2000 HOA fee every month. Some condos might assess fees quarterly and some might even assess it annually. It just depends on how the Homeowners Association covenants set up the fee schedule. Remember this is separate from your mortgage payment so you will pay the HOA fee in addition to your mortgage. 

Compare this to owning a house. If you live in a subdivision that has a homeowner’s association, you might have to pay a maintenance fee just as you would for a condominium. These often pay for the landscaping you see as you enter the subdivision and other common maintenance such as a clubhouse or a community pool.  But the fee often will be lower because not as much is covered.

Condo homeowners fees also pay for basic maintenance items like landscaping, fresh flowers in the lobby, the common areas in the building, maintenance of the outside of the building, landscaping etc. For example, if the roof of the building needs a repair, it’s not just your roof. It’s everybody’s roof and the entire homeowner’s association will pay for it. That could be covered by the HOA’s insurance. If you have roof damage in a house, you pay for repairs yourself through your own insurance. You also have to deal with the insurance company and the contractors in a private home. In a condominium, you often have a property manager to handle those headaches for the Home Owners Association.

Common insurance can be covered in the maintenance fees and the Home Owners Association likely would have to pay a deductible if insurance covers the entire cost of repair. If there is a cost that is not fully covered by insurance or not covered by insurance and the homeowner’s association does not have a reserve fund large enough to cover the cost, there could be a special assessment. That means the homeowners would have to pay an additional fee (often a one-time fee) to cover that additional cost.

You still need to carry your own private insurance in a condominium for your own space and for your own belongings.

These are all things to consider as you shop for a home. Many people like the convenience of a condo because they never want to mow a lawn again or wait for the lawn mower/landscaper to show up. They might also prefer the "lock and leave lifestyle" that  a condominium offers. 

Please keep in mind that condominium fees vary from building to building and sometimes are handled differently in different states and different cities. But I hope this gives you a basic understanding from which you can form a basis to ask questions as you search for that great new home!

Article and photo by Susan Speck.