8% Maintenance increase? Normal?!?

What is normal? A co-op paying its bills?

Yup, that is normal.

Johnnyjai,

Read the boards of recent weeks- you will see at least a couple of others dealing with the same issue. If they only raised 4% last year- they underestimated fuel costs. Not to mention that taxes are supposed to increase. I think 8% might be a bit low.

Now that the Wall St cash cow has died, NYC will be squeezing each of us & RE tax, water & sewer will probably sky rocket.

10% insurance increase? Um, OK, but I wonder whether the insurance broker could do a better job placing insurance. Also, if the Board agreed to raise the deductible, perhaps the premium would decrease.

Homes that are in buildings with high maintenance will start to see property values plummet as more and more people rush to reduce monthly expenditures.

"Low Monthly Maintenance" - it's the new "Luxury"

My advice to you...get a seat on your co-op board and take action...go with a part-time doorman instead of full-time, have the residents volunteer for trash-duty, find an insurance person in your building who can reduce rates, get rid of the concierge and make people pay higher individual rates for playroom, and bike storage, etc. A lot of what's in your maintenance bill can be reduced - there was no need to do that during the past 12 years, because people weren't complaining. It needs to be addressed by a business-minded board. Accountants and CFO's are typically better at this than others.

Sounds like your building might not have stellar financials. Is there a decent reserve fund?

Mrsblogs - the problem with cutting services is that THAT also can bring down property values. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to purchase in a co-op that would ask him to volunteer for 'trash-duty'.

Case in point - we recently looked at a gorgeous classic 6 apartment that was in every way spectacular, except for the fact that not only was the maintenance unusually high BUT trash was only collected during a two-hour window on weekday mornings. Stinky fish for dinner Saturday night? Tough noogies. You'd have to schlep it down to the ground floor to be disposed of in the outside bins. We even ran into a tenant waiting patiently for the (exceedingly slow) elevator with a burgeoning bag of weekend refuse. Yeah, thanks but no thanks.

I take your point, Squid, so maybe trash-collection by residents may not be right for all buildings, but property values are already on the way down, and something needs to be done about run-away costs. If people who oppose cutting services are on the board, then you could have a scenario where maintenance of a 1BR unit could climb as high as $2,000/month, which would make that unit virtually impossible to sell at any price, and sadly, renting it out would be for a loss.

I just wonder if there's too much fat in the budget. Is RE tax being challenged annually via a certiori proceeding? What is the managing agent charging? Are water bills high due to leaks & non-low flow toilets? Are your heating bills high because windows leak air? Is your oil/gas supplier giving you the best price possible? And, is the insurance broker getting you the best deal possible?

If you can reduce expenses by addressing these points, you may be able to reduce maintenance charges.

What is the normal maintenance per sq. foot these days? Based on these increases, I'll be paying nearly $1.70 per sq. foot in maintenance!

Any good honest mgmt companies out there for small and/or large buildings?

$1.70/sq ft? Do you have an elevator and doorman? If so, it's probably not bad. If not, then, yeah, it's high.

johnnyjai, how are your maintenence fees compared with similar units in the area? If your monthlies are already on the low side, the increases might be justified. Also check out the building's reserve fund.

I agree with dwell's comments. There might be a cost management issue with your building. Maybe they're not shopping around for the best prices on certain supplies/services, or the super's a bit of a spendthrift.

You don't want to cut back services too much, but you also want costs to be reasonable.

1.50 - 1.75 is ok for doorman building.

Problem is the coop boards are filled with people that have lots of time on their hands and very little practical knowledge. My building is planning a renovation now!! Putting down marble floors, a new awning, redoing hallways, and building new handicap ramps. People on the board have no clue. They think that bc people agreed to this almost 2 years ago there is no reason to stop it.

I agree that there will be a big move to low maintenance buildings in the next few years. Most people don't use playrooms, gyms, bike rooms, etc. These can be money makers for the building, and keep costs down, if fees were charged. They would still make the building desireable bc those that want them would have them.

But no way am I collecting trash in the building, and I happen to think that a full time doorman is a necessity. Need to find ways to cut the fringe benefits w/o hurting QOL too much.

Agree w UESB. One idea: survey the use of playrooms, bike rooms, etc. If they're not being used as much as planned, consider converting to storage space and renting out to tenants.

And hold off on unecessary rennovations.

Another cost buster is rooftop decks. They're a nice to have, but in many buildings, tenants don't use them. Either too windy or too many rules (no alcohol, can't go up after 10, max 3 people per unit, no dogs/children/guests/food/laughing/jumping/burping), and sometimes disturbes the tenants in the penthouses. but once they're built, not sure how costly to maintain

8% this year is not out of the norm.

I am in a coop with a full time doorman and elevator building in the UES. With the 8% increase, I would be paying $1400 for an 820sqft 1-bedroom unit (high floor with no terrace) and the building has no amenities.

I'm feeling as if cost is spiraling out of control with these increases and feel that there's something more to it than how they explained it.

There may be some waste & ineptitude on the board, maybe not. Assuming Johnny wants to get involved with the board, how best to do that? I'd think finesse & politesse are important so as not to create an internal war in the building. Thoughts?

You should try and get on the board to actually be in a position to make a change.
They should have just done an assessment for the fuel costs last year rather than raise maintenance.
Fuel costs this winter are very low, so I don't get why they don't project a surplus. Something is not quite right. Look at at the books. You have a right to examine the expenses.
How much of the maint. is tax deductible?

You should always start out professionally when you approach the board. If they are nasty, it can always go to that level later, but he should really be proactive and try and get on the board to make some cost cutting changes. Lots of energy saving ideas out there. Changing all the lighting in the bldg to energy saving, getting a new heating system, refinancing the bldg now, etc.