They almost always include:
(1) Heat
(2) Hot water
(3) Gas
(4) Water
They sometimes include electricity, especially in older buildings built with no electrical submetering. There are much fewer buildings with doormen, elevators, and live-in supers in SD than NYC.
Co-op dues also include property taxes, which are unfortunately higher than those for single-family up to three-family brownstones. Tax on apartments ends to be about 1% of value as opposed to 1/5 that for brownstones, though the formula is based on rental price and other factors, not sale price.
Lastly … you’re dealing with much older buildings which require more upkeep than your typical 1970s condo development in San Diego. Maybe the most apt comparison would be the El-Cortez Hotel Condos in San Diego, which also has pretty high HOA dues. Co-op boards can also take their own mortgages, so some of the dues can be underlying debt service.
Interestingly, if you get the right building, you can end up with very low dues including taxes. Like under $600/mo for a two-bedroom, or $250-400 for a 1/1.
