The 2009 Parade of Homes wrapped up Sunday — it’s an annual event of the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs.

Among the stacks of literature given to parade participants is a flier with a list of dues charged by Colorado Springs-area Homeowners Associations, or HOAs. 

I’ve always wondered how much it costs to live in a gated community, with 24-hour-a-day security in a little guard shack.

It can’t be cheap to get snowplows for your private streets and driveways. And maintenance for those fountains, lighted entrance monuments, ponds must cost a pretty penny, right?

OMG! The numbers blew me away.

The most expensive HOA dues on the list was a whopping $6,000 a year at Toscano at Flying Horse. Here’s a look at the area from FlashEarth.com:

That is NOT a typo. We’re talking $500 a month. Or $115 a week. Or $16.40 a day.

Then I got to thinking. Flying Horse is a beautiful new golf course community on the city’s northeastern corner. 

Those dues must include access to the Club with its dining room, fitness center, pool and spa. Maybe even get you on the golf course.

Wrong.

Michelle Green, the HOA community manager, says the dues only cover maintenance of the common areas, ponds, fountains, snow removal, the guardhouse and gates.

In fairness, Toscano at Flying Horse is envisioned as a neighborhood where homes will range from $1.4 million into the stratosphere. Today, Toscano only has one occupied home and the Parade home, which lists for $3.9 million.

So, $6,000 a year isn’t that much money. Apparently.

According to the Parade of Homes flier, the next highest HOA dues are $4,020 a year, charged to residents of Kissing Camels Estates, overlooking the Garden of the Gods.

Next is $3,600 charged by the Stratton Pines HOA, a neighborhood in the foothills north of The Broadmoor Resort Community, where dues are $3,360 a year.

Another foothills community is next on the dues list. Stonebridge at Cedar Heights charges $3,133 while Cedar Heights charges $2,408. Dues at Stratton Preserve Estates are $2,208 a year.

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