Why are HOA/maintenance fees in the Twin Cities so high?
I lived in St Cloud for many years before leaving MN for a job in California (wow, was that a mistake). I'm going to retire in a couple of years, and I want to move back to MN -- but to Minneapolis, St Paul, or one of the ring suburbs, not St Cloud. I want a condo or townhouse, not a house, and I've found some good ones in good neighborhoods, any of which I could buy outright with my savings.
But good grief, the HOA/maintenance fees are HIGH. I saw one lovely place, 2br2ba, in Edina, for $275K, but with $991/mo. for the HOA. Other places I've seen have similarly high HOA fees. Why? I've had folks tell me that snow removal adds a lot to costs, but I paid only $75/mo. in St Cloud for HOA/maintenance, and snow removal was pretty crucial then and there, too. What gives?