http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Why_are_the_assessment_at_the_condo_so_high_in_the-144603en-ushttp://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Chicago_IL-341658/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Chicago_IL-341658/Marilyn, There are many factors that impact the assessments of a building - age, ammenities, maintenance, reserves, updates, remodeling, and location among other factors. If you are looking in the Gold Coast area - the dues may appear higher than most areas due to the fact that this area along with other areas near the Loop offer some of the best building ammenities relative to other condo units in other parts of the city and suburbs. In many building in the Gold Coast and surrounding areas, you have 24 hour doormen or some front desk staff for the majority of the day. In addition, there may be a pool, large workout rooms, common area party rooms, cable (may be included), etc... There are many reasons. However, if you are looking for lower dues - you may want to consider buildings that don't have door staff or many ammenities, this will cut down on the dues. If you are looking to buy in the Gold Coast, please let me know. I have helped many buyers and sellers throughout the state of Illinois and specifically in the Chicago area. Feel free to call me, if you are currently not working exclusively with an agent, I would be glad to represent you as your buyer's agent. I hope the response to your question helps. Thank you, Carmen Rodriguez Licensed IL Real Estate Broker Century 21 SGR Chicago, IL crealestateus@yahoo.com 312-656-5914Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:08:03 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Chicago_IL-220710/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Chicago_IL-220710/It's not just the gold coast, it's just about all older buildings which usually have a central heating system (gas). Few buildings allocate enough money in reserve to cover maintenance & updating issues so special assessments are common from time to time. Be sure to avoid any building with 'radiant' heat. The assessments are getting absurd and are impacting resale values. You might go to River North & North Pier and find a better deal.Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:25:24 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Oak_Brook_IL-172799/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Oak_Brook_IL-172799/Not only are the buildings older and require more deferred maintenance, but they usually have full time doormen and elevators as well, which are very expensive. Some also have party rooms, health clubs, pools or other amenities that impact on the assessments. Also not mentioned in the other answers is that the city of Chicago now requires all condominiums to have a 10% in reserves to compensate for additional costs not planned for.. All contracts that you might be signing should also have a clause in the contract requiring the seller to acknowledge if there are any special assessments levied and how much they are and for how long. This is a very important clause. Remember pick an agent that has a lot of experience and ask for references before utilizing any agent.Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:46:38 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-60067-87982/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-60067-87982/Yes, if you're talking about the high rises in Sandburg Village, they are older buildings that require a lot of maintenance. Also, most of those buildings have doormen, that's an added expense, plus the assessment covers water, garbage, TV/Cable, and heat (as most of those buildings are radiant heat). I believe it's an added assessment for the pools / tennis courts. If you don't want these ammenities, don't buy over there. If you go this route, pay close attention to the building's financials. Some haven't done much updating and some have done quite a bit (88 W Schiller I know did a bunch of work a couple of years ago). Good luck.Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:25:49 -0700http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Chicago_IL-319390/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Chicago_IL-319390/Hello Marilyn, The assessments are going to vary depending building. Many of the buildings in the Gold Coast are older so the assessments will be higher due to the higher costs associated with maintaning the building. Not all buildings in the area have these higher costs though. I'd be happy to email you buildings with lower assessments. How much are you looking to spend and how many bedrooms do you want. Sincerely, Laura lauralattin@atproperties.com 312-560-9691Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:43:23 -0700