Goods and Bads of Condo Fees

Please let me know if this is the wrong spot or if there is a better place to put this.

My Wife and I are starting our search for a new home we will probably have a 20% down-payment (with help from family) and I expect that we will be looking at a few properties with Condo fees. Can anyone tell me more about these fees? Are there other responsibilities associated besides just the fee? If I calculate the fee over 25 years it is a ton of money do they ever decrease?

Thanks!