Condos in Denver Metro - HOA fees paid by renter?

[Bill Coleman]

I am wondering if anyone else is seeing that some rents for condos are really high and some are really low for comparable units in the same complex and that these differences are driven by the concept that the renter will "pay" the HOA fee. I am not sure if the owners are having the renter pay the fee directly (sounds risky to me) or if they are providing a separate bill for the HOA fee or rolling that into their monthly rent.

Does anyone see this happening? If so, how is the landlord selling this concept to potential renters? Do renters push back on the fee? Is it customary in Denver?

I am evaluating a deal and it will make all the difference in terms of positive or negative cashflow.

[David T.]

For my rental property I do use the monies from rental income to pay for HOA fees. However I just add it on top of what I would normally charge for rent. If the HOA fee increases I'll simply increase the monthly rent once its up for renewal. This could be the wrong way of doing it but, it seems to work for me. I personally haven't had any issues with it. I disclose up front that a monthly HOA fee is added on to their rent.

Do you have to disclose that your are adding the fee? Couldn't you just figure out the cost for the fee and adjust your rent accordingly?