Share
90
New MemberNew Member
90

PostNov 07, 2005#51

JimJim15 wrote:Sure, it's a T-1 ... that's about $1000 a month. And considering a T-1 is only 24x (or 28x ... I'm forgetting at the moment) faster than dialup, splitting a T-1 over 50-100 lofts is NOT very fast. Half as fast as dialup if even half of the people in the building are doing something online at the time, which can certainly happen in the mornings and evenings. And since a dedicated cable modem (which IS faster considering it wouldn't be split) is only $35 a month, that $325 a month for a 1950 sqft loft isn't really lessened all that much when thinking about included internet access, which may or may not suffice. The apartments I'm in now advertised the same thing, and in the end, I had to go out and get a cable modem anyway because the provided T-1 internet was awful.



Sure, water is nice, and I know other places are only giving initial estimates that will probably rise ... but I worry that Dorsa will quote this price, and then raise it even more. Might try and get something written into the contract for a maximum monthly fee ...



Obviously, I'm just harping on an issue or two here, and I know that the fees do go to necessary places, but I hate the idea of buying a home, yet still paying rent.


Look at it this way. You are getting a fitness room, a rooftop deck and internet. You are also getting water, sewer, trash, gas and general exterior/interior common space maintenance. The only utility bill you will get is electric. Add all that other stuff up as you would pay if in a tradtitional home, and throw in things like lawnmower, yard tools, and the such and I think you will find you are coming out way ahead.
1,391
Veteran MemberVeteran Member
1,391

PostNov 07, 2005#52

Lucas is in the .10 per sq/ft range for HOA fees. It will include DISH/DirectTV, insurance, water, trash/sewer, high-speed internet.
173
Junior MemberJunior Member
173

PostNov 07, 2005#53

Again, I know I was harping. And I know it goes to good uses. And considering my wife and I will probably be buying a loft in Dorsa (and are very excited about it), I'll be biting the bullet and going with the fee.



I just wish they would include some of it in the actual price of the loft ... at least that way I could get my equity back out when I sell as opposed to losing it like rent. Obviously that wouldn't work for the utilities, but with the upkeep of the building, and a "membership" to the rooftop deck and the fitness center ... these could all be forward calculated and included in the cost of the unit, couldn't they?



That would keep the monthly rent-like payments down and let us get the equity back out while keeping overall monthly payments pretty consistent. That could be a savings of 10s of thousands.



Or am I wrong?
1,391
Veteran MemberVeteran Member
1,391

PostNov 07, 2005#54

Just be glad you get something for it. My fees for the condo I currently own are $128 a month and I get basic cable and just the rest. No bells and whistles.
419
Full MemberFull Member
419

PostNov 07, 2005#55

St.Louis UAB alumni wrote:Lucas is in the .10 per sq/ft range for HOA fees. It will include DISH/DirectTV, insurance, water, trash/sewer, high-speed internet.


I doubt that very much, unless you're talking per month vice per year. Typically, developers quote the HOA fees by sq ft per yr i.e. 1800 sq ft times 2 equals 3600 annually or 300 monthly. Cheers ...
1,391
Veteran MemberVeteran Member
1,391

PostNov 07, 2005#56

What I quoted is per month.
173
Junior MemberJunior Member
173

PostNov 07, 2005#57

I get the feeling that number is gonna go up ... from what I've heard about normal costs, at least.



If not, lets figure out what they're doing and do it.
1,493
Veteran MemberVeteran Member
1,493

PostNov 07, 2005#58

JimJim15 wrote:I get the feeling that number is gonna go up ... from what I've heard about normal costs, at least.



If not, lets figure out what they're doing and do it.


It will DEFINITELY go up, multiple times in the first year too I suspect. With that splash pool, they to will be around 275-300 a year...I'd be willing to put money on that. Remember it is in the developer's best interest to lowball HOA due figures to you.
419
Full MemberFull Member
419

PostNov 07, 2005#59

St.Louis UAB alumni wrote:What I quoted is per month.


If that includes anything more than the DISH basic package (when you'll almost have to upgrade), then that's a steal. Even w/o the DISH, the 10 cents per sq ft per month seems like a steal. Perhaps Pyramid is asking less per sq ft to purchase, but getting everyone who buys on the rear end when they pay their HOA fees? I can't see one building being that much more to carry than another on the same block!
1,391
Veteran MemberVeteran Member
1,391

PostNov 07, 2005#60

My fees per year will be around $800, which is fine by me compared to what I'm getting and paying now to what I'll be paying and getting next year.



Just DISH and high speed ALONE is worth more than what I'll be paying per month.
5,631
Life MemberLife Member
5,631

PostNov 07, 2005#61

I agree with a previous poster. A T1 pipe is 1.54 Mbs. Shared among the building, this speed will be slow as a snail. Both Charter and SBC offer unshared internet service from 1.5-3 Mbs. If you value internet like most people, you'll be paying for the building's T1 and your Charter / SBC internet connection.



$800/yr equates to $67/month. So that amount will pay for your satellite dish, the T1, and all other common area fees??? If your HOA rates are that low at the end of your first year and the services rendered are above par, that's great. It just sounds too good to be true. Sorry man...


St.Louis UAB alumni wrote:My fees per year will be around $800, which is fine by me compared to what I'm getting and paying now to what I'll be paying and getting next year.



Just DISH and high speed ALONE is worth more than what I'll be paying per month.
2,005
Life MemberLife Member
2,005

PostNov 07, 2005#62

I had T1 in my college dorm and with several students downloading mp3s at once there was no significant degradation in service. If everyone in the loft was downloaded video at once there may be some slowing down, but that isn't likely to happen. T1 is different in that it doesn't run along phone lines or cable, rather it has its own dedicated connection to a server.



Don't forget you have to get a land line if you want to use DSL or cable if you want to use cable modem. Having Dish and T1 included is a pretty good deal even compared to the additional fees paid.
1,493
Veteran MemberVeteran Member
1,493

PostNov 07, 2005#63

You know, Terra Cotta Lofts started at about 150 a month for dues(internet NOT included) Three years ago, today their dues are 275 a month, and they passed 200 in the first year...... DEVELOPERS LOWBALL HOA DUES!!!!!!



And some of these new lofts have pools and workout areas(which Terra Cotta doesn't). This is only one of the MANY examples of HOA fees rising, anyone else with a similar story feel free to chime in.



For all those buying lofts, be prepared to budget 1.75-2.00 per sq ft per year for you dues, because that's where they'll end up.
173
Junior MemberJunior Member
173

PostNov 08, 2005#64

brickandmortar wrote:I had T1 in my college dorm and with several students downloading mp3s at once there was no significant degradation in service. If everyone in the loft was downloaded video at once there may be some slowing down, but that isn't likely to happen. T1 is different in that it doesn't run along phone lines or cable, rather it has its own dedicated connection to a server.



Don't forget you have to get a land line if you want to use DSL or cable if you want to use cable modem. Having Dish and T1 included is a pretty good deal even compared to the additional fees paid.


Um, if you were in a college dorm, its highly unlikely that you had a T-1, unless it was a very small dorm. Typically, college dorms have T-3's (Basic review ... a phone is 56.6k, a T-1 is 28 phonelines together or 56.6*28 = 1.54M, and a T-3 is 24 T-1's). Simply put, if you have a T-1 and at least 25 people online at the same time using bandwidth, you're bandwidth will be about that of dialup.



But about the Dish thing ... is that normal for a loft? Or do most have cable?
1,493
Veteran MemberVeteran Member
1,493

PostNov 08, 2005#65

What can I say exept, He's right..., no dorms I've heard of have T-1, In my dorm freshman year (2001) we had T3. T1 is slower than almost all DSL lines nowadays, and they certainly don't supply internet to 50+ people with T1.



Also I think whether or not you have dish or cable, is building dependent. I've heard of ones with cable, and ones with dish, and some where you "fend for yourself", ie the building is wired but you pick and pay for you own provider and it isn't factored int the dues.
2,005
Life MemberLife Member
2,005

PostNov 08, 2005#66

Let's say I went to college back in the old days when T-1 was considered the best of the best. I never had any problems downloading videos and music nor did anyone else on my floor which had around 100 residents. T-1 certainly couldn't handle 100 large downloads at once, but 25 or so wouldn't be that bad. If there was a large surge of usage at once, then yes it would be slow.



T-1 is around the same speed as DSL, but you still need a phone line for DSL. All I was saying is the difference in price for internet/Dish vs association fees are negligible.
20
New MemberNew Member
20

PostNov 08, 2005#67

This has turned into a T1 discussion. Let me just say in my building we share a T1 with about 30 other units. The speed is great - remember 30+ people aren't going to be downloading large files at the same time and just surfing the web doesn't use that much bandwidth. Also, at my work we use a partial T1 with 100 employees and the download speeds are similar to what I get at home.



I pay a little over $2 per sq foot a year in HOA fees along with a "special assessment" about every 18 months.
173
Junior MemberJunior Member
173

PostNov 08, 2005#68

Does anyone have an upgrade price list for this building? My understanding is that Pyramid can be a little high on these, while their unit price is low.
425
Full MemberFull Member
425

PostNov 08, 2005#69

Hate to continue the off-topicness, but I've got a shared-Internet query. Anyone reading this have pointers for setting up an existing building for shared IP? Are there any of those specialist ISPs that survived the bubble burst?



We've got something like two dozen DSL lines running into our building and that's just ridiculous.
1,391
Veteran MemberVeteran Member
1,391

PostNov 08, 2005#70

$800/yr equates to $67/month. So that amount will pay for your satellite dish, the T1, and all other common area fees??? If your HOA rates are that low at the end of your first year and the services rendered are above par, that's great. It just sounds too good to be true. Sorry man...


That's what I've been told for the past 6 months. Either way, it's still a great bargain compared to what I'm paying now with my condo. Even if it goes up $20 a month, it's still a great bargain. I'm definitely satisfied with the numbers at this point.
419
Full MemberFull Member
419

PostNov 08, 2005#71

JimJim15 wrote:Again, does anyone have an upgrades/price list for the Dorsa?


Try Stirling Presson at Pyramid . . .



P: 314-446-2900



F: 314-621-2957



stirlingp@pyramidstl.com
173
Junior MemberJunior Member
173

PostNov 08, 2005#72

Yeah, I have a meeting with him in a week or two.



I'm just trying to compare Dorsa with other buildings in the area to see if there are others I should tour when I'm in town. I can't take delivery of a loft until the spring-summer of 2007, and I'm trying to find compatible lofts.



So far, all I know of for around that time are Dorsa, City Museum, Bogen (though those are selling fast) and maybe another one or two.

PostNov 19, 2005#73

Ok, today I went downtown and looked at the Dorsa, the Bogen, and the Ely Walker lofts. I have to say that Dorsa is lagging way behind ...



Bogen and Ely Walker are scheduled to be completed about the same time, yet Dorsa doesn't have any sort of a display unit while the other two do. You can't walk into the unfinished space to get a feel for the area (while the other 2 let us). They can't tell you anything about upgrade prices (while Ely Walker has an standard/upgrade price list).



How in the world can you put money down on a space in a building COMPLETELY sight unseen?



Dorsa tends to be around 140-150/sqft, while the other buildings are quite a bit higher ... and that's fantastic for Dorsa. But upgrades can completely negate that advantage. It just seems like they're really hurting themselves by not having ANY information besides floorplans. I need to put some money down and reserve a spot somewhere now, but I simply can't go with Dorsa if I know nothing about what I'm getting into ... even though I like the Dorsa more.
1,493
Veteran MemberVeteran Member
1,493

PostNov 19, 2005#74

Some places just don't do display units(saves them money, and they may pass that on to you), that doesn't mean they're shady. As for the upgrade sheet, I don't know what to tell you. If you like dorsa, I'd go with it, pyramid is a respectible loft builder. At worst, you come out even with the other two buildings.
218
Junior MemberJunior Member
218

PostNov 20, 2005#75

The units at Dorsa will be very similar to Bankers. There will be a display at Bankers for both buildings. However, since Bankers is nearly sold out it is really for Dorsa. All of the units at Bankers were sold sight-unseen (most in the first six weeks) based soley on the floor plans so if you want to live at Dorsa I would act now.
Read more posts (348 remaining)
Share