HABITAT
Subscribe for Daily Updates!
Our management company has just negotiated a bulk resident contract for the individual heating/cooling units in our condo building. Their price is $352 per year per unit. Would appreciate any feedback on whether this sounds reasonable to you. Also, should the fee be adjusted for the size of the unit, or is it usually the same fee for all units?
Thanks for your questions.
The fee would be for a yearly maintenance contract that each condo unit owner would pay for their heating/ central air system.
Also, residential units vary widely in size, and therefore also electricity use. Additionally, half the owners are not using their apts,. full-time.
Hope this helps
In our NJ coop (not condo, we have heating/cooling units (essentially fans and fins) beneath each window in each apartment supplied through a water loop (hot or cold) depending on the season via our central heating and cooling plants.
As part of the maintenance, our staff cleans the units, cleans the condensate pipe, replaces filters and performs any necessary maintenance, e.g. fan replacement. This is baked into the monthly maintenance each unit pays which in turn is based on the number of shares. Thus, our costs are based and bundled on a shares per unit basis, regardless of the number of service calls or the number of units in the apartment.
When we convert to condo as we expect we shall, we will continue the same maintenance program.
From my brief reading of the dialogue herein, your building is engaging an outside contractor rather than employ in house staff as we do to perform the tasks above. Perhaps there is no in house staff available.
Using your $352 / unit times our 500 units, I can say that our in house costs are significantly less.
I also think this should be included in the monthly charges and based upon the % shares of each condo unit.
It also seems rather expensive to me - a little like highway robbery, in fact.
Introduce yourself to other members of Board Talk! Log in below or register here.
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.
Habitat u
visit habitat uHabitat U: learn about how to manage a building, and what you should know as a co-op or condo board member.
Archives
search
Search, by word or phrase, all magazine articles from January 2002 to present. You may print or email your results. Print subscribers receive free access to the Habitat Article Archive.
Ask the Experts
learn moreLearn all the basics of NYC co-op and condo management, with straight talk from heavy hitters in the field of co-op or condo apartments
Professionals in some of the key fields of co-op and condo board governance and building management answer common questions in their areas of expertise
Subscribe
join nowGot elected? Are you on your co-op/condo board?
Then don’t miss a beat! Stories you can use to make your building better, keep it out of trouble, save money, enhance market value, and make your board life a whole lot easier!
What is the fee for?
When you say "adjusted for the size of the unit," are you referring to the residential unit, or the HVAC unit?
Do some units use much more electricity than others?
Need more information....
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thank you for rating!
You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!
Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.