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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Just can't stay away
 
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JSQ- about 275 units. $6.50 p/sqft a year. 24 hr union doorman + security. Seasonal pool, parking, gym all extra. Includes hot water, water, heating/AC & cooking gas. Reserves need improvement. Downtown- more than 300 units. $9 p/sqft Luxury building. 24 hr concierge, gym, seasonal pool,hot water, water/sewer, gas, great common indoor/outdoor space, included. parking extra. Good reserves. Suggest start looking at cost cutting on utilities with multi-year low rate contracts for gas & electricity if not already done so. + LED bulbs, auto on/off bulbs etc. Add move-in out fees to offset wear/tear from renters. There was a talk from the board about changing the toilet flushes in the JSQ building to save water because it is a 50+ year old building with not all units updated. Nothing really came out of that idea considering old ones flush 5+ gallons vs some new ones only 1.5!
Posted on: 2016/6/27 3:39
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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Home away from home
 
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Concierge service - Accepts packages from the outside. Also gives packages to mailman from you. Accepts dry cleaning. Notify you when guests arrive. Monitors various cameras. Buzz you in when enter the building.
Posted on: 2016/6/21 17:31
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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Home away from home
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Agreed. I don't use our concierge for much of anything. But I do know that many times they are invaluable to other residents.
Posted on: 2016/6/21 16:24
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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Home away from home
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Ha ha ha! Agreed, Adonis. I don't normally call on them for much, or anything. But, I have seen residents ask them to arrange for all kinds of things, including calling for a car/taxi pickup. On a couple of occasions in which I have left my keys inside, they have always graciously handled that for me And, totally agreed on more or less the same list of tasks: accept/handle packages, dry cleaning, newspaper deliveries, etc. They are also the doormen for the building and do so graciously about 99% of the time. On one occasion, they really came in really handy, when PSEG decided to do some unannounced ("emergency") repair work on the street and they had the police tow away cars from the area, and the concierge took the time to track me down, and call me, and I was able to get the car moved without it getting towed somewhere.
Posted on: 2016/6/21 15:34
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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Home away from home
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Mine will accept and place your packages inside your unit, same with dry cleaning, plus do other sundry tasks within reason such as check on a pet or open unit door for somebody that's forgotten keys, facilitate move ins or move outs, etc. It never ceases to amaze me the endless list of possible things certain people need help with when it comes to the most mundane daily tasks that they otherwise would have to do themselves.
Posted on: 2016/6/21 15:05
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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Quite a regular
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Out of curiosity, what services do your concierges provide?
Posted on: 2016/6/20 21:01
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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Home away from home
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The maintenance fee from the OP does seem high based on the description provided. Just based on the numbers stated, it is 30% higher than neighboring buildings. As a point of comparison, consider this: luxury buildings with a ton of amenities are charging about 70 cents / sf / month ($8.40 / sf / year) and that includes things like 24-hr concierge / doorman, full-time superintendent and porter, as well as a gym, bike storage, pool, common areas for entertainment, etc.
Posted on: 2016/6/20 20:16
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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Home away from home
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I should have mentioned there is 24 hour concierge service in my building. So you need to compare the services with the fees.
Posted on: 2016/6/20 18:54
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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Home away from home
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My building is a 58-unit building in downtown that is almost 10 years old. The maintenance fee ranges from $4.74 per square foot per year to $5.32, depending upon what floor you are on. It's a 6 story building. The fee pays for a part-time concierge, a super and a porter for trash. The only real common amenity is a large roof deck with bbq grills, tables, chairs, landscaping, etc. Parking in the building is extra. We have a very healthy reserve fund which we have not had to tap into yet. One thing that has kept our finances pretty good is this: there is a policy written into the by-laws by the developer that requires a payment of 3-months common charges to be paid to our operating fund and a similar 3-months common charge payment to our reserve fund each time a unit is sold. The 2 separate payments are made by the new owner. These 2 payments are in addition the regular maintenance fees they are on the hook for once the sale closes. There are usually about 5 or 6 re-sales each year.
Posted on: 2016/6/20 18:46
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Re: Condo maintenance fee
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Home away from home
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My building is around $6.00 but there is parking, new gym, pool, laundry facility for large items (also laundry in each unit.) We also have a outdoor space. The Heights is really competing against new development with Journal Square. You need a good management company to control problems in your building.
Posted on: 2016/6/20 17:00
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Condo maintenance fee
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Home away from home
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I'm on my condo board (a mid-size elevator building in the Heights) and we recently raised the maintenance fee to $5.85/sf/year; similar buildings in the neighborhood have maintenance fees averaging $4.50/sf/year, so ours is clearly higher. We feel there is a real need for this - in addition to a woefully underfunded reserve, we have a lot of investor owners whose tenants trash the place and the wear and tear, and need for additional cleaning service is noticeable; and we have a number of owners who are behind on a small special assessment we had nearly a year ago to repaint and put new carpeting down in the halls, delaying this project.
My question, for readers who live in condos and/or are involved with managing them, is twofold - looking at Jersey City more widely, how does our maintenance fee compare? Our taxes are on the low side (we'll see what happens with the reval) so maybe the maintenance fee is a minor point with most people. Second - while building up our reserve is a big goal, should we consider other improvements - e.g., things that people see, such as renovating the laundry rooms or starting a proper weight room - to make the maintenance increase easier to sell?
Posted on: 2016/6/20 15:53
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