My mom is 55 but I do plan to look at condos to. I

My mom is 55 but I do plan to look at condos to. I know where they are building some very nice condos right now and am going to look at them. I just have to look into the fees that they charge from the condo association. I do not really understand the fees because a friend of mine has a condo and he has a crack in his foundation and he has to pay to fix that so I am wondering what good is paying the fees to the association if they do not fix things that go wrong. I am going to buy my mom a nice home and will not be in any rush because I want to find the perfect home.