Lauretta Kaechele, vice-president of the Canadian Condominium Institute and vice-president of Emerald Management, says when it comes to assessing condo fees, knowing what you get for your green is crucial, especially for first-time condo shoppers.

“Most people I run into that have never owned a home think condo fees will cover everything ... If you’re paying $95 a month and you want your deck painted every year, for example, most likely that's not going to happen,” says Kaechele. “Things just don’t happen for free out there.”

Where condo fees go is multi-faceted and includes operations, utilities and insurance for a building, as well as a portion devoted to maintenance, says Kaechele. One bright spot is condo buyers now have the peace of mind in knowing reserve funds are a mandatory component, to prevent cash calls down the road when “capital” repairs — such as a roof — are needed.

“It’s like rainy-day money, so you don’t have someone saying ‘I need $1200 for a new hot water tank’ which you might have if you had your own home,” says Kaechele.

Evelyn Thompson, president of the Canadian Condominium Institute urges buyers to remember owning a condo is like owning part of a small company.

“There are certain responsibilities a corporation has to maintain — whether it’s the exterior of the building, amenity rooms and, in some cases, betterment to the property and (condo fees) can also include paying a management company looking after things.”

Housekeeping issues the fees cover include landscaping, waste removal and any auditing “to make sure things are being properly run” or legal fees incurred by a board of a condominium, says Thompson.

An individual condo owner’s share of the monthly fees is usually, but not always, determined by his or her “unit factor” — or the amount of the corporation they own, often combined with factors such as style of the unit, and any views or special services.

If not calculated this way, says Thompson, boards must provide an explanation of how fees are assigned. The individual condo plans are outlined and created by the developer and fees are reviewed and accounted for in annual budgets.

Condo fees also help provide “perks” condo residents might not otherwise have. “There are often extra amenities one might not otherwise have or be able to afford — there are (condominiums with) workshops, billiards and games rooms, pools and saunas as well as weight rooms,” says Thompson. “You pay for those amenities, true, but often at a cost less than it may be to join a club.”

Also lower is the amount of cash and time residents are on the hook for to enjoy conveniences such as expert landscaping, or professional waste and snow removal. “It covers landscaping and upkeep, so everything is sort of looked after. You can dabble in a few plants but you don’t have the whole yard to worry about,” says Thompson.

But lower is not always better when it comes to monthly condo contributions. “An owner should always be wary of low fees because there’s a good chance there will be a need for a special assessment or even costly repairs down the road,” warns Thompson.

Gerald Rotering, a Calgary condominium-specialist realtor, says while predetermined fees can be too low to cover what needs to be done, high monthly condo dues can potentially prevent future resale.

He says a good benchmark for “housing fees” or operating costs for any home is about 30 cents per month per square foot of private property. In apartment-style condos and sometimes townhomes, that excludes common property such as balconies or greenspaces.

Rotering says the best advice he can give condo shoppers is to check whether fees adequately cover what needs to be done in and around a building — including contributions to a reserve fund.

While amenities may add to the attraction of an address — such as the prestige of a concierge in the building to open doors for residents, or swimming pool some residents may never dip into — maintaining these perks comes at a elevated cost to condo owners. “Having someone at the front door is a very expensive service which you may find important but the person you are selling to later may not,” says Rotering.

For more helpful hints about buying and owning a condominium in Calgary, watch Shaw TV's Condo Living with Barb Mitchell each Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.  

Want more information? Visit the Condo Living TV website at http://www.condolivingtv.com