One question that A Vantage Properties receives, "What does the dues I pay cover?"

The monthly dues for The Townhomes at Red Hawk HOA include the following: water service, sewer service, trash service, insurance for common areas, snow removal, landscaping services, street maintenance within the community, electric for garage lights and street lights within the community, exterior maintenance, management company services, reserves for future repairs and replacements, and other miscellaneous items.

Did you know that if each homeowner needed to contract for their own trash and recycling services with a tote (trash can) the service would run anywhere from $15 to $20 per month?  So add that to the amount you would pay each month without an HOA including this as part of the dues.

If someone had a single family home the size and make up of each townhome, they would be paying an additional $25 a month (minimum) for insurance on the single family home.  So add that to the amount you would pay each month without an HOA including this as part of the dues.

Per Castle Rock's December newsletter, Town Talk, which was included with the water bills the HOA pays, the town of Castle Rock discusses the increases in their charges for service.  The charge for wastewater has increased by 14% for 2007 alone!  On their web site, the Town of Castle Rock discusses where their water rates are in regards to the entire Denver Metro Area stating that they are not the highest but in the top tier - Broomfield and Roxborough are higher than Castle Rock.  A base rate for Castle Rock single family homes in 2006 was $55 during non summer months and $100 during the summer months, making the average monthly water bill for a year $75 per month.  So add that to the amount you would pay each month without an HOA including this as part of the dues.

If you lived in a single family home and hired the "neighborhood teen" to mow the yard, the average charge is $25 per mow.  Over a course of a summer, bare bones minimum, you would be paying $500.  Divide that per month and at a minimum your average would be $42 per month paid towards lawn maintenance.  So add that to the amount you would pay each month without an HOA including this as part of the dues.

If you lived in a single family home and hired that "neighborhood teen" to now clear the drive and walkway for each snow fall, the average charge for an inch of snow would be $25 per clearing.  This one is a tough one to find an average as the season this year has not been average but per the television stations the average snow fall for the metro area is 35 inches.  With this average and a charge fo $25 per inch we would be looking at $875 total to clear snow, which divided over a year would be $73.  So add that to the amount you would pay each month without an HOA including this as part of the dues.

So far we are up to a total "cost" of $235 per month with dues as of this writing being only $150.  And we've not even talked about putting money away into savings for the roof that needs to be replaced every 15 years or so, or the exterior painting that will need to be completed every 5 to 10 years, or the replacement of trees and shrubs that didn't survive the winter, or the electrical for the garage lighting and street lights within the community, or someone to coordinate contracts and repairs, or tax preparation, or the repair and replacement of gutters, windows, and ...  If you were putting money away each month into reserves complete these items (capital improvement) you would be looking at another $144.50 per month.

Most people move into a townhome or condominium community for two reasons - the price to invest is usually lower (the price of the property) and the need to complete exterior maintenance is minimal.  I don't believe that people purchase a condo or townhome to loose their investment value because of neglect of the common areas or to get services for free.  With that in mind, currently, the owners of The Townhomes at Red Hawk are receiving a value worth $379.50 per month for only $150.  What a deal can be found in the dues at The Townhomes At Red Hawk Homeowner's Association!

As of April 1, 2007 dues for The Townhomes At Red Hawk increases to $175.  This is still a great deal!