What is the point of buying a condo in NY with the HIGH HOA fees?

[Mario Mach]

Hey guys,

I've been considering buying a condo in NY for $<500K. There's a healthy supply of units but I noticed that each one generally comes with a monthly HOA/maintenance fee of $1000+.

So let's say you buy a studio for around $300K, the HOA is generally around $1500. With the mortgage, you're looking at paying $2000/mo after your 20% downpayment.

But once your unit is fully paid off (30 years), you're still paying the $1500 maintenance fee. Is there a point in even buying since you could just rent for a comparable place without the downpayment?

Or am I missing something here?