Comments on: What Does Fee Simple Mean? http://www.thechicago77.com/2009/01/what-does-fee-simple-mean/ Comprehensive Chicago Real Estate Information Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:18:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Why I Love Vintage Buildings | The Chicago 77 http://www.thechicago77.com/2009/01/what-does-fee-simple-mean/#comment-135 Why I Love Vintage Buildings | The Chicago 77 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:26:18 +0000 http://www.thechicago77.com/?p=253#comment-135 [...] and have the same monthly payment, but a greater tax deduction. She was right. So, when we found a fee simple townhouse with basically no assessment, my dreams of old wood and polished brass went flying out the [...] [...] and have the same monthly payment, but a greater tax deduction. She was right. So, when we found a fee simple townhouse with basically no assessment, my dreams of old wood and polished brass went flying out the [...]

]]> By: Lisa Gregg http://www.thechicago77.com/2009/01/what-does-fee-simple-mean/#comment-13 Lisa Gregg Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:50:20 +0000 http://www.thechicago77.com/?p=253#comment-13 Not as far as I'm aware of in Chicago. Although, I certainly understand why you are asking. :-) Fee simple is usually outright ownership, no association, no management, no assessments. Condos in Chicago, by & large, are managed by an elected board of members who live in the building & if it's a high-rise or a building with a large number of units, the building will additionally have a management company to oversee the daily business (assessment collections, common areas maintenance, janitorial staff, parking facility, etc). Each building differs though, based on their declarations (decs) and by-laws set-up at the time the building was erected. I should comment that it's important for a purchaser to review the decs/by-laws during their contract period so they are well-educated on the building policies. Knowledge is power. (It's law that the buyer is provided a complete set of condo documents after acceptance of a contract, per the contract terms). Chicago condos have a variety of styles, such as high-rise, mid-rise, 2 units +. The condos in a building with say 2-10 units are most likely self-managed by the unit owners and will typically have a lower assessment. This is in part because of the smaller common areas, no management company to pay or it's employees. There are still basic costs for any condo building though, such as water, heating and common area insurance. There may also be variable seasonal expenses like lawn care, scavenger removal, snow removal, etc. It's based on what the members want to pay for in their monthly assessments vs. just taking care of it themselves. Like I said, each building has different policies. The decs/by-laws are their governing documents. To add to the Fee-simple town home conversation, there are town homes in Chicago where the association takes care of the common areas, grass cutting, garbage removal & security. Again, each association differs in it's approach & is defined by its decs/-by-laws. For example, Kinzie Park is a gated community in River North at Kinzie/Canal by the East Bank Club. This community is unique. Within its gates is a high-rise, mid-rise & 30+ town homes. The high-rise, mid-rise & town homes have a master association that covers the entire premises & addresses how the grounds will look, be taken care of, be secured. This is done for conformity reasons so that someone doesn't hang their laundry out to dry on their front yard or paint their town home pink. You know what I mean. There's a beautiful asthetic at Kinzie Park and that's a positive selling point for the community and its owners. The town homes in Kinzie Park do pay assessments for the maintenance of the grounds, security & more. The owners are responsible however for all parts of their town home inside its walls. The association considers everything outside of the walls to be common elements, such as, but not limited to, gutters, downspouts, exterior walls, roofing, decking, fencing. The purpose of the assessments is for repairing, maintaining and replacing of these common elements for supporting the health, safety & welfare of the association (paraphrased straight from their decs/by-laws). Most would consider this a pro for Kinzie Park. Lisa Gregg Licensed Realtor (R) & Admin/Contract Specialist Not as far as I’m aware of in Chicago. Although, I certainly understand why you are asking. :-) Fee simple is usually outright ownership, no association, no management, no assessments. Condos in Chicago, by & large, are managed by an elected board of members who live in the building & if it’s a high-rise or a building with a large number of units, the building will additionally have a management company to oversee the daily business (assessment collections, common areas maintenance, janitorial staff, parking facility, etc). Each building differs though, based on their declarations (decs) and by-laws set-up at the time the building was erected. I should comment that it’s important for a purchaser to review the decs/by-laws during their contract period so they are well-educated on the building policies. Knowledge is power. (It’s law that the buyer is provided a complete set of condo documents after acceptance of a contract, per the contract terms).

Chicago condos have a variety of styles, such as high-rise, mid-rise, 2 units +. The condos in a building with say 2-10 units are most likely self-managed by the unit owners and will typically have a lower assessment. This is in part because of the smaller common areas, no management company to pay or it’s employees. There are still basic costs for any condo building though, such as water, heating and common area insurance. There may also be variable seasonal expenses like lawn care, scavenger removal, snow removal, etc. It’s based on what the members want to pay for in their monthly assessments vs. just taking care of it themselves. Like I said, each building has different policies. The decs/by-laws are their governing documents.

To add to the Fee-simple town home conversation, there are town homes in Chicago where the association takes care of the common areas, grass cutting, garbage removal & security. Again, each association differs in it’s approach & is defined by its decs/-by-laws. For example, Kinzie Park is a gated community in River North at Kinzie/Canal by the East Bank Club. This community is unique. Within its gates is a high-rise, mid-rise & 30+ town homes. The high-rise, mid-rise & town homes have a master association that covers the entire premises & addresses how the grounds will look, be taken care of, be secured. This is done for conformity reasons so that someone doesn’t hang their laundry out to dry on their front yard or paint their town home pink. You know what I mean. There’s a beautiful asthetic at Kinzie Park and that’s a positive selling point for the community and its owners. The town homes in Kinzie Park do pay assessments for the maintenance of the grounds, security & more. The owners are responsible however for all parts of their town home inside its walls. The association considers everything outside of the walls to be common elements, such as, but not limited to, gutters, downspouts, exterior walls, roofing, decking, fencing. The purpose of the assessments is for repairing, maintaining and replacing of these common elements for supporting the health, safety & welfare of the association (paraphrased straight from their decs/by-laws). Most would consider this a pro for Kinzie Park.

Lisa Gregg
Licensed Realtor (R) & Admin/Contract Specialist

]]> By: Rod Holmes http://www.thechicago77.com/2009/01/what-does-fee-simple-mean/#comment-9 Rod Holmes Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:49:40 +0000 http://www.thechicago77.com/?p=253#comment-9 The short answer is, "no." However, we're having one of our contributors write up the long answer...you will see it shortly! The short answer is, “no.” However, we’re having one of our contributors write up the long answer…you will see it shortly!

]]> By: Josh http://www.thechicago77.com/2009/01/what-does-fee-simple-mean/#comment-2 Josh Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:46:13 +0000 http://www.thechicago77.com/?p=253#comment-2 Are there fee simple condos at all? Are there fee simple condos at all?

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