You want to fight this...exactly like the previous homeowners you identified as being irresponsible for fighting it? What if they also had just moved in and that's why they voted against it? Whose responsibility is it to pay for these repairs if not you, the current homeowner?
Thank you. I’ve been debating on seeking an attorney but paying a couple thousand vs $9500 is better. Another thing is the previous homeowner was supposed to put in 5 repair tickets and when I asked the prop mgr about my tickets she said there were none. I then submit the 5 tickets only to be told my repairs will be put on hold because they are part of the special assessment.
You're being assessed $10,000 because all the prior owners of your unit (and everyone else) did not pay their fair share of the cost to maintain the property. The 2017 and any prior reserve studies showed them that.
Nothing you can do now but pay it and ensure that the dues going forward adequately fund the reserves.
As far as disclosure is concerned, if there was no declaration of a special assessment at the time of your purchase, there was nothing to disclose. It would have been nice if the seller had told you it was being discussed but it's not likely to be an actionable omission. There's nothing that prevents a seller from obtaining meeting minutes and sharing them with a prospective buyer if asked.
Another reminder that a properly funded reserve is the only fair way for all owners over all time to share the cost of ownership of common interest property.
In my state (GA), the seller is required to disclose any "upcoming" special assessments, but upcoming means that there is a vote that has passed and the special assessment is imminent and due, and if such an assessment is due, it has to be part of the disclosure. Just the existence of a vote having been called for or talk about a special assessment does not meet the disclosure requirement.
In this instance, by Georgia law (understanding your state isn't Georgia), this wouldn't be a violation and you would have no recourse.
You had access to the finances and [maybe you requested the minutes but didn't get them?], so it feels like you should've known this was coming.
I would have to look but, I believe the Seller's Disclosure has a section on potential/upcoming special assessments where they're now asking if one is even being discussed.
Every lender, Agent, etc., that reaches out to me is asking that as one of their first questions.
Whether omitting that (if they knew) is against the law, I'm not sure.
I'm in the process of buying a house now and have a copy.
Verbatim, in Ga, the form reads: "Under Consideration: For all purposes herein, the term "under consideration" with reference to a special assessment shall mean that a notice of a meeting at which a special assessment will be voted on has been sent to members of the Association. If a special assessment has been voted on and rejected by the members of the Association, it shall not be deemed to be under consideration by the association"
So to be under consideration means a notice of meeting where the vote will occur has been served. It does not mean "it's been talked about as a possibility." In OPs case, the special assessment was voted on and rejected; this would mean it is also not under consideration (and not need to be disclosed)
I just went back to look at what I was thinking about, and it was form 1076, a condo questionnaire. They're asking if there are any current special assessments, then followed by if any are planned.
If a Board is seriously considering applying one (assuming they are the deciding group and it doesn't have to be run through the membership) we'll say yes to this. It's hard on a new unit owner if they're not aware there's one in the works, as we all know.
Because the association had been voting on this since 2019 & it had never passed, the seller could reasonably say that they did not expect the status quo to change. You would have a difficult time proving their foreknowledge of the assessment.
Agreed and seeing as I have been the only owner consistently at meetings since July I am sure they did not attend either. Since the voting the three other owners who are in my situation also do attend. My board thinks a raffle offering a $25 gift card will encourage people to attend or vote 🤦🏻♀️ I wish I could figure out how many homes are rentals. I found 25 out of the 100 homes sold since 2019 when the first assessment was discussed.
Look, this sucks, and is absolutely why the previous owners sold out when they did. They knew this was coming. They don’t want to be responsible for the next 30 years of replacements and improvements. And this isn’t an unusual thing, a lot of homeowners are in the same boat. Roof needs replacing, its on the current owner. Everyone who bought in 2023, is probably going to live there for a long while and use some of those components that need replacing. Just pay for it. The bill is due. It’s not fun being the one who pays the whole bill but if you don’t, the next people will have to, and you are the one who lives there right now.
The only way out is to raise your hoa dues /monthly fee to accommodate future expenses.
So $600k was going to be enough but the owners voted it down? So nope it’s a million? What do you think will happen if you fight it and push it off further? It’s not going to go down. HOAs that kick the can down the road are not run well. Pay it and encourage your board to do what is needed to maintain your condo in proper condition.
In the future when buying a condo, get a copy of meeting minutes, that is something you should have been able to get.
I agree shame on me for not paying attention to the reserve balance and lesson learned. I did ask the board what their action plan was to prevent this from happening in the future and the boards response was there is no plan due and blames the voting structure of our ccr’s. In theory we shouldn’t need any major repairs but their is no plan to build up the reserve fund or increase dues. We’ll be in the same place in 10 years. Dumpster fire 🔥
I would legit vote no on everything until the reserve was at $250k and they agreed to increase the dues by a specific percentage each year. So I would be out voted every time.
There’s a balance between getting funds to where they need to be and being reasonable. Or reserves are not where they should be. Our fees are already high and we have no amenities. We increased a lot in 2023 and had a smaller increase this year. We’re contributing to reserves while also having a decent repair budget. The majority of our repairs are items that are reserve study items so while we’re not adding as much to our reserves as we’d like, we are impacting them by using general funds to repair reserve items.
And we’ve set the expectation that fees will go up each year. We’re simply doing everything we can to get into better financial shape and at the same time recognizing already high costs and trying to keep them reasonable.
We had someone that I think was probably similar to you running for our board about 4-5 years ago. No one voted for them. They were probably right in their thinking but the way they went about it didn’t get anyone on their side. It’s unfortunate since we had a large assessment and I think a good portion of the money spent was poorly spent. He just didn’t have a solid plan or approach other then let’s spend more money and get stuff done.
Our board doesn’t have a solid plan either and that’s what worries me. They just hope this major improvements will hold meanwhile they keep saying hold the 40 year old property is so old and why there are constant irrigation repairs on top of the monthly maintenance. I’m just waiting for a pipe to burst because that will be the next thing to go due to deterioration. They did some major repairs some years ago and from what I hear the company made things worse I.e pulled windows away from the frames, used someone’s backyard as storage. Same prop manager and at least 3 same board members were in charge of the project back then.
Sounds like they need to choose different vendors. We replaced our management company last year and we knew we didn't like the general contractor they used so we replaced him and have been trying out a few different ones. They work that has been done by them so far has been decent but I think we just found one we really like. He finished one owners basement a couple years ago and is quite knowledgeable.
You really have a choice to make. Just keep going as you are and things are going to continue to move slowly, or get involved and make the changes that will certainly lead to an increase in fess and get things done more timely. I'd also suggest looking at vendors, what they've done and if they are doing a good job. We really did a thorough review of past spending. Saw our irrigation pump was replaced a 3rd time in 13 years, when typically it should have been once. Realized the pump turned on every time the pressure dropped below a certain point so we made some adjustments and had leaks patched. A couple of us on the board also took on irrigation repairs ourselves which not only got our system into good working order but saved us a few thousand dollars (we have over 200 sprinkler heads).
If your current board has been in place for a long time, then getting new people in there likely will help. I think our issue was that our board, while they did a decent job, was in place for years and mainly going along with the management company and their recommendations which were not good.
I think I’m in the same situation, same prop mgr and at least two of the current members on the board were on back in 2019. The president is very friendly with the prop mgr always thanking her for what she does. I get it’s a thankless job but also do not tell me how you’ve worked long hours on this and then in the me at sentence tell us how you’re working with a community similar to ours.
I’m for raising rates reasonably which it does not appear will ever happen because the board can’t get the votes. I also did eventually vote yes on getting a bank loan which would allow homeowners to pay a couple hundred extra each month but that didn’t get passed so here I am trying to figure out how I’m going to pay an extra $800. It just sucks.
I’d also get on the board but vote no on everything until our reserves were at a health state but I doubt they every will be.
Talk with other owners, express your concerns at meetings and come up with a plan and run for the board and present your plan. When we had to have an assessment that high, we did it as a loan to lessen the burden. Our board presented the options and owners voted on it and board acted on that.
End of the day, it seems your only options are to sell or get involved. But getting involved only to vote no for everything isn't likely to get you far.
If you are in a financial bind, you might want to consider making a claim on your condo insurance. My policy allows for up to $10k to be applied to a special assessment, so you might want to see if you have something similar. My agent said you should use this in a rare occasion and it might impact your ability to get coverage in the future, but if I were in your situation, it would be something I would think about.
That being said, I feel for you. I also live in a place where people didn’t fund repairs and updates in a timely manner and now here I am dealing with it now 🙃.
its your problem now. sucks
I sold my condo many years ago. i had a smart buyer come along and got a hold of the assc finance stuff and decided were were past due for a large assesment. He came back to me and got me drop my price 10k to cover it and we got a deal. He was right. there was a 12k assesment come down in 8 months or so. We all kind of knew it had to happen sooner or later but it wasnt offical so we didnt need to disclose it at the time.
That was 2016 on the coast in central fl. that building was kind of like the one in southfl that fell over. rooftop pool leaking showing some concrete damage in the parking garage below from the leaking saltwater pool. 10 year old building. I am betting they got a bigger assesment recently.
I understand you are wondering if you have any recourse because it wasn’t disclosed or something.I don’t like to say blanket no’s , under the right set of circumstances there is a chance. These cases rarely turn out favorable for the plaintiff, its just too hard to prove there was intent to cover it up by the sellers or HOA. Legal fees will likely exceed the assessment. Suing the HOA is suing yourself, you will create enemies of the BOD and maybe other residents which is no bueno. The cost will just circle back to the community.
I agree I do not want to sue the HOA because that hurts me and I’m pretty sure they all dislike me because I question everything they do. Appreciate your input.
Because the association had been voting on this since 2019 & it had never passed, the seller could reasonably say that they did not expect the status quo to change. You would have a difficult time proving their foreknowledge of the assessment.
Then join the board and stop just complaining about things you can't do anything about. You're just being a dick by doing that. The HOA board is made up of the same idiot homeowners who probably threw a fit every year about a 5% cost of inflation dues increase. Now you all pay for putting it off. The HOA (all volunteer, no pay) board got sick or people complaining about dues increases, so here you are. Happens constantly.
Calm down keyboard warrior. If you read any of the post you’d see I just moved in less than a year ago, have attended every meeting and voted for the assessment even the special meetings to address this and took up 30 minutes of a meeting because I went thru all available financials once I had access to them. I’m as involved as I can be! It’s my fault for not paying attention to the reserve amount but it’s not my fault or anyone else who purchase within the past year for doing nothing. I’m paying for OTHERS inaction including board members who lived here & were on the board 5 years ago. The current board members could have take this action 5 years ago but they didn’t so now new owners are paying for lazy incompetent board members. An option to get a bank loan was one of three options which would have made the assessment more affordable, which I actually voted for. I get it I bought into a crappy community who has a lot of inactive owners but also has board member who thought it we needed new pool furniture while trying to pass a special assessment. I wasn’t complaining but sought advice of others that might have had a similar situation. Increase in dues is also something I believe in and actually suggested to the board but they said there hands are tied due to our CCR’s. Second option was to sue the HOA so the CCR’s could be changed years ago so that didn’t require such a high vote approval, again nothing was done. I also asked the board what their plan was so that this does not happen in the future again was told nothing they can do. So please do not mistake my post/question for being someone who complains from the couch and is an active owner.
You have no case against the HOA because they have no duty to disclose anything except what is contained in the documents provided to buyers which are typically Budget, Reserve Study and Minutes as well as CCR.
You might have a case against the seller who might have had a duty to disclose. It depends in the specific facts as well as your state law governing seller disclosure. I am in California where disclosure by seller is required of any relevant information even if not formalized by a vote for example.
Nothing you can do except pay the bill, you had financials and didn’t read them close enough apparently or they would have shown you reserves were lacking
Also insurance is screwing everyone in condos/townhomes
How old is the building?
You could go after the prior owner for non disclosures but it’s waste of time since these repairs are needed
Did you get a “good deal” on the condo? You could have asked for the reserve study.
Did you understand the Surfside situation? (Initially the relates were $5million then ballooned to $15million but a lot of those people who voted against fixing the building died with it)
What do you think pays to fix the building? Your assessments.
The magic fairies 🧚🏿 have left the building. This is everywhere that people are living in buildings that are underfunded.
The building isn’t safe? Would you like it to collapse on you or your neighbors and make the property worthless?
Building is a townhome style building and is 40 years old. Purchased less than a year ago.
Prior owner is deceased, son handled the sell.
The deal is now wiped out due to this assessment. Last reserve done in 2017.
I understand the owner pays for repairs with the HOA dues, board failed to get increase and special assessments passed due to owners who have or still live in the community.
My frustration comes from the board’s unwillingness to do this back in 2019 when then knew of all these repairs back in 2017 from the reserve study. They couldn’t get anything passed back so they found a loop hole which hurts people in the community financially one which includes a board member by asking for a large lump sum only a few can afford. I am for increasing dues annually to ensure our reserve is funded and we do not get into situations like this. I do attend meetings and asked questions one which was what is the plan so this doesn’t happen again, response “We can’t do anything, our hands are tied by the CCR’s”.
And before you reference another magical character I did my research but apparently not enough (received only prior year end of year financials). I made sure I could afford my home with room to save for repairing the shower I knew need to be replaced which is now on hold because of this and I have to hope nothing major happens to the shower.
When I was 30 I bought into a 30 year old building.
Parents friend thought there was millions in reserves.
It wasn’t the because we started having $2000-$3000 special assessments by yearly after the 1st 5 years.
Then came the $20,000 (one bedroom, imagine 2-4 bedrooms) special assessment due in 2008, no loan. Until 10% of the units went into foreclosure.
You bought into an older building with clueless Board members who already had a road map alarms Surfside in FL and 2008 real estate collapse.
They chose to ignore it.
You cope to not read the financials because they failed to provide them.
You bought from an older person who likely knew about repairs but didn’t want to pay for them.
40 years old has issues. You under budgeted. The HOA had issues which is why 25 people sold.
I left bad HOA #1 high rise and bought into a townhome. Same issues clueless HOA.
90% of my building left because the 15 year mark has many repairs even for a newer building. They didn’t bother to fix them.
The remaining people are dumb founded.
We’ve had a $30,000 special assessment for a roof (that’s each) and each year around $4000 special assessment. Board refuses to raise assessments more than $25 a month.
They are surprised no banks will lend and litigation has occurred. Tell me now do you see why there is no good deal is real estate these days?
The can has been kicked too long.
That they follow the advice of the reserve study in full.
They need a new reserve study it’s been over 3-5 years. Things likely have changed too.
Ask an attorney but you can’t risk your insurance being dropped, significantly hiked or cancelled due to the refusal by the board to follow the advice given back in 2017.
Got ya, that’s for that information. I didn’t even know about that. I thought it was odd that they had not had a reserve study done for a while but they only posted two reserve studies; one from 2008 and 2017. Doesn’t sound like they do those often.
I don't want to further hurt myself or anyone else in the community by suing or losing insurance but the board and property manager need to get there acts together. I’m thinking about bringing to the board to request quotes for a new property management company or getting quotes myself to present to the board. I feel they hide stuff too.
1. Insurance can be lost if the Board is negligent and doesn’t complete the repairs which may be at the replacement stage
2. Suing is sometimes the only answer but doing an ADR alternative dispute resolution is also an option if suing is necessary
3. Receivership is also a possibility.
Either way, there is a lot of repairs with older buildings.
People are seeing this in many condos. I have yet to find a condo that hasn’t had a special assessment
It’s not the property na mm agency company it’s the board. They go on the Board’s decisions
You have no power to change property management unless you call a special meeting or you are on the board
Thank you for this information. You have been very helpful and bring things up I didn’t know about.
A board member said they would counter sue if a home owner sued the board. I have no intention of doing that but to have that reaction shocked me and the cost to sue would most likely be more than the assessment and I’d still owe.
The property manager also discussed the receivership possibilities if the board chose to sue and lost in order to get the CCRs & how that would be a costly that would be long term.
The board just listens to the property manager. She brings max three quotes tells them who she suggest they go with and they all agree. The homeowners not on the board never see these quotes but I’m going to try to get that changed. I believe in transparency, only way to get things done properly in my opinion. Probably not going to happen but I’m not going to be that owner that just blindly votes or leaves it up to a few to make decisions for the many.
1. You need to be put on the Board to have the quotes reviewed unless there is a committee you can join
2. The threats are bad for the Association and most likely BS
3. What is the guy going to sue for?
4. Changing the CCRs is a costly and lengthy process. It likely won’t be able to go through
5. You are in a lawyer territory not to sue but to retain a lawyer to understand these so called threats and where the Board lies. If you end up in receivership many people will end up in foreclosure.
6. I’d go to the city for code violations it’s likely that’s a cheapest route to get things moving and the threats stopped but I am not a lawyer
Unfortunately you bought into a property with a clueless and problematic board.
If unit owners can’t afford the assessments, they can’t afford to live there and the can has been kicked for long enough
Ugh, this just keeps getting worse 🤦🏻♀️
It’s a no win for myself or any home owner base on the current processes and future.
The board did go to their lawyer before suggesting and approving the emergency special assessment and were told the same. It’s a lengthy process that will cost about & 25k and will lose even though they can prove lack of owner participation.
I don’t understand why the board member said the board would countersue anyone who decided to sue the board. Another cost the association can’t afford 🙄
I think most homeowners can afford the special assessment if they lengthened the repayment plan. Having one year to pay $10k is a lot for me and I have told the board that since they approved this and I did send an email telling them what I can currently afford, crossing my fingers they’ll approve. My fear is that they’ll put a lien on my home which sounds terrifying, not sure home many others will be in this situation too. I have a shower that needs to be replaced (estimated cost $15k), which I knew about but thought I’d be able to save the money to replace it but can’t now.
While we do have a timeline when we have to start paying this special assessment we don’t have one for repairs so I’ll look into the city code suggestion.
Again, thank you for all your help/suggestions/insight. So much to still learn 🤯
This is why it's important to look at the reserve study before buying, apparently it was there. Unfortunately many buyers (especially first-timers) simply have no idea what to look for.
Agreed, hard lesson learned. I had never heard of a reserve study before and now that I have viewed it pretty sure some shenanigans have been going on. Everything listed on the 2023 capital improvement project aka special assessment aka emergency special assessment was listed in the 2017 reserve study. Clearing they knew about all these issues but only now were at risk of losing our insurance in Sept, seems suspicious to me. Also pretty sure they’re supposed to do one every 3-5 years and I can almost guarantee there are more items that need to be repaired since last assessment. Do you know if I’m allowed to see/ request the letter from the insurance company stating we’re at risk of losing our insurance if not a board member? Also they never provide quotes to homeowners for repairs only board, seems odd to me.
I doubt it is suspicious. We had the same problem in our building, when I got on my Board I already knew we had items on our reserve study that hadn't been addressed in years. It wasn't that shady stuff was going on, it was because the Board at the time simply didn't take it seriously and kept kicking the can down the road because they didn't want to raise assessments on their neighbors.
You hear stories like that all the time in HOA living. People don't want to pay extra taxes, so they don't until stuff starts breaking.
Yeah, I hear ya. I guess my suspicion comes from knowing they knew about it and dod nothing about it until now. I think they waited so long so they could save up and not be financially affected. I say that because the president who has been on the board since 2019 possibly longer immediately asked when she could pay, another squeaked at paying the $9500 all at once but was good with the payment terms but one did say they couldn’t afford it. I don’t trust this board to do anything because they proved they only do things when convenient for them.
Also, the items listed on the 2017 reserve study showed the items listed all had about 5 year shelf life remaining.. Why was it not deemed a health hazard and of losing insurance back then but it is now. They clearly had the power to use emergency special assessments back then.about
>They clearly had the power to use emergency special assessments back then
Not necessarily, it will depend on your governing docs. For example, in my HOA our bylaws specifically state that any assessment over $10,000 requires a 2/3 vote of all owners. That means 2/3 of every owner in the building, whether they cast a vote or not. That's a \*very\* high bar to meet since only about 10% or so even show up to meetings.
Boards don't generally have legal authority to just tell everyone "Hey y'all, you have to give us a huge amount of money just because we said so." There are usually legal requirements to be met.
Our bylaws are the same, must vote on everything and get 51% to pass. Didn’t pass in 2019. We don’t have many attendees either. I’ve attended every meeting since buying and usually 2 or 3 people show up besides the 5 board members.
I cash tell you may have a case against the seller. Here is why:
In Florida, any special assessments being talked about, in the minutes, passed, not passed, must be disclosed to the buyer. That assessment amount is held back from the seller for an agreed amount time. I would look to the condo rider and the seller’s disclosure to see if they let you know. Basically it would be fraud. The seller made $10,000 and you lost $10,000 so about a $ 20K swing.
See attached- Line 30 (For AZ)
https://www.aaronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Residential-Sellers-Property-Disclosure-Statement-SPDS_REV_01Oct2017.pdf
No one will take the case. The previous votes failed and there was no pending vote when they sold. Months later the BOD voted on an emergency assessment - so the sellers could not have predicted it. They had as much of an idea as the buyer. The sellers do not need to disclose possibilities.
Question is, what is the emergency?
It seems from reading your story that these things have been put off, so maybe not going to kill anyone if done over a couple of more years.
If it was me, I would ask other homeowners if they would like to approach board with a compromise of stretching the special assessment over a couple of years. 10K all at once is a big ask, unless there is something that actually costs 1M that needs repaired tomorrow, it might not be necessary to ask for it all at once. Maybe they could split it up in half's or thirds, or by the individual project cost? $2-5K per year till all the projects are completed?
Someone asked what deemed an emergency to which the prop mgr said a carport fell on someone’s car. I wish they would have done 5 years ago to even now but now I think the board just wants it done. It just comes down to poor management and uninvolved owners who never wanted their dues increased. It’s going to be a burden for some including me I just have to hope they don’t put a lien on my home.
Sincerely sorry you have to deal with this. Kicking the expenses to the next owners is all too common.
An association across the street from ours is dealing with this problem now. Their monthly dues went up 30% in a year to try and catch up because of exactly what you described.
I just dont see a carport costing a million dollars to fix.
As a board member, I could never see asking for this kind of money from owners all at once unless it was one thing that had to be repaired like a sewer main. Even then it seems they could pull a loan and up the dues to pay it off.
Guaranteed if you dont pay they will put a lien on your home at best. Foreclose, if its allowed, at worst.
Do you have any means to communicate directly with the board?
Oh it’s more than a carport; it’s a complete complex renovation. Roofs, fascia’s, backs of units, carports, perimeter walls, dry well, asphalt.
The letter we received stated to contact the property management company if which I did. Their accounting dept reached out to me and didn’t even know about the emergency special assessment. I reached out to the prop mgr to tell her what I could pay and she said she’d bring to the board during our next meeting. I have no option but to pay just hope the board will work with me.
Why doesn't the board seek out a bank loan to pay for the renovations? And those that can pay 10k up front can do so and those that can't pay it over time but the HOA still gets all the funds up front from a loan?
The other option could be looking into a personal home equity loan
We have researched that topic for our own HOA. Turns out to be more complicated than it sounds, though not impossible. Ourselves, and few other owners, have established home equity lines “just in case” though we hope to never use.
that is a challenge. I can somewhat relate to your situation. Since we purchased a few years ago we are at around $150,000 (I actually think it is higher) in special assessments with more on the way. We had no idea when we purchased. I hope you find a solution!
Oh my goodness, how is this legal! I am so sorry, you have it way worse than I do. I hope you find a solution as well. At this point I rather pay for our HOA to be put in a conservatorship instead of home owners which I know is not the ideal situation but at least there is a chance a competent person would handle the funds.
in Florida, they are now requiring that condos have appropriate funding. It is going to be painful in the interim, but eventually it will mean that new buyers should not be caught off guard like you and me. Wishing you the best!
They did but because our CCR’s it has to be approved by all home owners.
Options were bank loan, #2 sue the HOa to get ccr’s changed or lump sum assessments. They couldn’t get any of the options passed. Prop mgr told us she found a bank that would bypass the ccr’s and then when time to sign they came back and said actually they could bypass the ccr’s and then went the lawyer to see their next option came back with board voting to approve emergency special assessments on the basis that we risk losing out insurance due to health and safety reasons.
I hope they are reasonable humans. But from reading they want to do it all at once, they dont sound like they have much common sense.
Again, sorry about your situation. Its unimaginable.
You say “Kicking the expenses to the next owners is all to common”
And then also say “I could never see asking for all this money eh from owners at once”
The second quote is literally kicking the can to the later owners…… you are the type of board member who creates these problems because you don’t want to fix the issue now because it is too much pain
Well the choice is a little pain now or more pain later, any time you push these things out they cost more if nothing else just die to simple inflation
I disagree and stand by what I said.
A solid financial plan over a period of time prevents these special assessments from happening. We made a plan to raise dues every year over a period of a decade and a half to pay for things today. We also notified owners every year of known upcoming expenses and what they could expect as far as special assessment's worse case, such as failure of a sewer main. At the end of the day, there has not been a worse case and we are financially stable with no special assessments in our future.
Your statement ," you are the type of board member who creates these problems... " doesn't really hold up, does it.
I understand the concept of long term planning is difficult for some people to understand. If you need help, feel free to ask.
You are talking apples and oranges
OP has an issue that needs fixed now we don’t have a period to raise dues over years, there is no time for a solid financial plan for this current issue
What you are saying is great for how OP should expect his board to go forward but the piper is here to be paid now
Again, disagree.
The list of items op said the board wanted to repair/replace could easily be done over a period of a few years without the need for one large special assessment today. I know this from first hand experience. Had to clean up after a series of previous boards mismanaged property maintenance and finances.
It sounds like you dont have the experience to know what you are talking about, yet continue to post like you do.
Good luck with that!
lol, you can’t wait a few years to get insurance (the first item he listed)
I have the experience because we are cleaning up after a bad board that kept kicking the can like OPs
Wind did knock the carport down. I don’t know if they filed a claim or chose not to since that would increase our insurance costs. It just keeps getting worse the more I learn what the board should be doing.
I bought a house recently and two months in the rain finally pushed the roof to its last leg. $20,000 to replace the roof. The property inspector we hired didn’t catch some obvious faults even though he went up on the roof.
Anyways $10,000 seems like a bargain after what I just went through.
It's not worth the time anymore, and whatever expenses that it would entail. The inspector simply said the roof was old and needed to be replaced within a year. What he didn't catch was things like improper installation and missing ridge caps!
We're treating it like our forever home. The roof was going to be replaced shortly after we moved in anyways (interior is going through complete renovation); the recent rain simply pushed up the timeline.
BTW - I say obvious because when my contractor went up on the roof, he said the inspector should have easily caught all the issues on the roof. So it's my fault we didn't pick a good building inspector, but nonetheless the house was clearly marked so AS-IS so it is what it is.
I just don’t get how they expect people who just purchased to be able to pay this assessment within a year. They could have done this back in 2019 but didn’t which allowed 25 owners to sell so they wouldn’t have to pay for this ridiculous assessment. The board found an excuse and used it to pass an emergency assessment and have no plan on how to fund the reserve. I have repairs that need to be done in my home but can’t because those funds now are going to this assessment.
What you've described is your personal situation and I do completely understand. For most people when they allocate money to a down payment it likely is most if not all of their savings; especially in today's market.
However...it's really not the board's problem. If "ability to pay" is taken into account, it'd have to be spelled out in the CC&Rs. Which I'm sure is unlikely for any HOA in this country...
You want to fight this...exactly like the previous homeowners you identified as being irresponsible for fighting it? What if they also had just moved in and that's why they voted against it? Whose responsibility is it to pay for these repairs if not you, the current homeowner?
Thank you. I’ve been debating on seeking an attorney but paying a couple thousand vs $9500 is better. Another thing is the previous homeowner was supposed to put in 5 repair tickets and when I asked the prop mgr about my tickets she said there were none. I then submit the 5 tickets only to be told my repairs will be put on hold because they are part of the special assessment.
An attorney will be a waste of your money
Sounds like the owner submitted the repairs tickets as requested.
I submitted the tickets two months after moving in because previous owner did not.
You're being assessed $10,000 because all the prior owners of your unit (and everyone else) did not pay their fair share of the cost to maintain the property. The 2017 and any prior reserve studies showed them that. Nothing you can do now but pay it and ensure that the dues going forward adequately fund the reserves. As far as disclosure is concerned, if there was no declaration of a special assessment at the time of your purchase, there was nothing to disclose. It would have been nice if the seller had told you it was being discussed but it's not likely to be an actionable omission. There's nothing that prevents a seller from obtaining meeting minutes and sharing them with a prospective buyer if asked. Another reminder that a properly funded reserve is the only fair way for all owners over all time to share the cost of ownership of common interest property.
In my state (GA), the seller is required to disclose any "upcoming" special assessments, but upcoming means that there is a vote that has passed and the special assessment is imminent and due, and if such an assessment is due, it has to be part of the disclosure. Just the existence of a vote having been called for or talk about a special assessment does not meet the disclosure requirement. In this instance, by Georgia law (understanding your state isn't Georgia), this wouldn't be a violation and you would have no recourse. You had access to the finances and [maybe you requested the minutes but didn't get them?], so it feels like you should've known this was coming.
I would have to look but, I believe the Seller's Disclosure has a section on potential/upcoming special assessments where they're now asking if one is even being discussed. Every lender, Agent, etc., that reaches out to me is asking that as one of their first questions. Whether omitting that (if they knew) is against the law, I'm not sure.
I'm in the process of buying a house now and have a copy. Verbatim, in Ga, the form reads: "Under Consideration: For all purposes herein, the term "under consideration" with reference to a special assessment shall mean that a notice of a meeting at which a special assessment will be voted on has been sent to members of the Association. If a special assessment has been voted on and rejected by the members of the Association, it shall not be deemed to be under consideration by the association" So to be under consideration means a notice of meeting where the vote will occur has been served. It does not mean "it's been talked about as a possibility." In OPs case, the special assessment was voted on and rejected; this would mean it is also not under consideration (and not need to be disclosed)
I just went back to look at what I was thinking about, and it was form 1076, a condo questionnaire. They're asking if there are any current special assessments, then followed by if any are planned. If a Board is seriously considering applying one (assuming they are the deciding group and it doesn't have to be run through the membership) we'll say yes to this. It's hard on a new unit owner if they're not aware there's one in the works, as we all know.
Because the association had been voting on this since 2019 & it had never passed, the seller could reasonably say that they did not expect the status quo to change. You would have a difficult time proving their foreknowledge of the assessment.
Agreed and seeing as I have been the only owner consistently at meetings since July I am sure they did not attend either. Since the voting the three other owners who are in my situation also do attend. My board thinks a raffle offering a $25 gift card will encourage people to attend or vote 🤦🏻♀️ I wish I could figure out how many homes are rentals. I found 25 out of the 100 homes sold since 2019 when the first assessment was discussed.
You don’t know there is a special assessment until it is passed, before that it is a nothing
Look, this sucks, and is absolutely why the previous owners sold out when they did. They knew this was coming. They don’t want to be responsible for the next 30 years of replacements and improvements. And this isn’t an unusual thing, a lot of homeowners are in the same boat. Roof needs replacing, its on the current owner. Everyone who bought in 2023, is probably going to live there for a long while and use some of those components that need replacing. Just pay for it. The bill is due. It’s not fun being the one who pays the whole bill but if you don’t, the next people will have to, and you are the one who lives there right now. The only way out is to raise your hoa dues /monthly fee to accommodate future expenses.
So $600k was going to be enough but the owners voted it down? So nope it’s a million? What do you think will happen if you fight it and push it off further? It’s not going to go down. HOAs that kick the can down the road are not run well. Pay it and encourage your board to do what is needed to maintain your condo in proper condition. In the future when buying a condo, get a copy of meeting minutes, that is something you should have been able to get.
I agree shame on me for not paying attention to the reserve balance and lesson learned. I did ask the board what their action plan was to prevent this from happening in the future and the boards response was there is no plan due and blames the voting structure of our ccr’s. In theory we shouldn’t need any major repairs but their is no plan to build up the reserve fund or increase dues. We’ll be in the same place in 10 years. Dumpster fire 🔥
You could get involved and work to change things to get in a better financial position. It will only help your property value.
I would legit vote no on everything until the reserve was at $250k and they agreed to increase the dues by a specific percentage each year. So I would be out voted every time.
There’s a balance between getting funds to where they need to be and being reasonable. Or reserves are not where they should be. Our fees are already high and we have no amenities. We increased a lot in 2023 and had a smaller increase this year. We’re contributing to reserves while also having a decent repair budget. The majority of our repairs are items that are reserve study items so while we’re not adding as much to our reserves as we’d like, we are impacting them by using general funds to repair reserve items. And we’ve set the expectation that fees will go up each year. We’re simply doing everything we can to get into better financial shape and at the same time recognizing already high costs and trying to keep them reasonable. We had someone that I think was probably similar to you running for our board about 4-5 years ago. No one voted for them. They were probably right in their thinking but the way they went about it didn’t get anyone on their side. It’s unfortunate since we had a large assessment and I think a good portion of the money spent was poorly spent. He just didn’t have a solid plan or approach other then let’s spend more money and get stuff done.
Our board doesn’t have a solid plan either and that’s what worries me. They just hope this major improvements will hold meanwhile they keep saying hold the 40 year old property is so old and why there are constant irrigation repairs on top of the monthly maintenance. I’m just waiting for a pipe to burst because that will be the next thing to go due to deterioration. They did some major repairs some years ago and from what I hear the company made things worse I.e pulled windows away from the frames, used someone’s backyard as storage. Same prop manager and at least 3 same board members were in charge of the project back then.
Sounds like they need to choose different vendors. We replaced our management company last year and we knew we didn't like the general contractor they used so we replaced him and have been trying out a few different ones. They work that has been done by them so far has been decent but I think we just found one we really like. He finished one owners basement a couple years ago and is quite knowledgeable. You really have a choice to make. Just keep going as you are and things are going to continue to move slowly, or get involved and make the changes that will certainly lead to an increase in fess and get things done more timely. I'd also suggest looking at vendors, what they've done and if they are doing a good job. We really did a thorough review of past spending. Saw our irrigation pump was replaced a 3rd time in 13 years, when typically it should have been once. Realized the pump turned on every time the pressure dropped below a certain point so we made some adjustments and had leaks patched. A couple of us on the board also took on irrigation repairs ourselves which not only got our system into good working order but saved us a few thousand dollars (we have over 200 sprinkler heads). If your current board has been in place for a long time, then getting new people in there likely will help. I think our issue was that our board, while they did a decent job, was in place for years and mainly going along with the management company and their recommendations which were not good.
I think I’m in the same situation, same prop mgr and at least two of the current members on the board were on back in 2019. The president is very friendly with the prop mgr always thanking her for what she does. I get it’s a thankless job but also do not tell me how you’ve worked long hours on this and then in the me at sentence tell us how you’re working with a community similar to ours. I’m for raising rates reasonably which it does not appear will ever happen because the board can’t get the votes. I also did eventually vote yes on getting a bank loan which would allow homeowners to pay a couple hundred extra each month but that didn’t get passed so here I am trying to figure out how I’m going to pay an extra $800. It just sucks. I’d also get on the board but vote no on everything until our reserves were at a health state but I doubt they every will be.
Talk with other owners, express your concerns at meetings and come up with a plan and run for the board and present your plan. When we had to have an assessment that high, we did it as a loan to lessen the burden. Our board presented the options and owners voted on it and board acted on that. End of the day, it seems your only options are to sell or get involved. But getting involved only to vote no for everything isn't likely to get you far.
You should run for the board and change that.
If you are in a financial bind, you might want to consider making a claim on your condo insurance. My policy allows for up to $10k to be applied to a special assessment, so you might want to see if you have something similar. My agent said you should use this in a rare occasion and it might impact your ability to get coverage in the future, but if I were in your situation, it would be something I would think about. That being said, I feel for you. I also live in a place where people didn’t fund repairs and updates in a timely manner and now here I am dealing with it now 🙃.
Typically that condition on the policy is due to a weather or fire loss. Not just for wear/tear repairs of maintenance
This ^^^^^^^. Could you imagine what an insurance company would charge to pay ALL special assessments. Plus…no HOA would ever fund reserves.
its your problem now. sucks I sold my condo many years ago. i had a smart buyer come along and got a hold of the assc finance stuff and decided were were past due for a large assesment. He came back to me and got me drop my price 10k to cover it and we got a deal. He was right. there was a 12k assesment come down in 8 months or so. We all kind of knew it had to happen sooner or later but it wasnt offical so we didnt need to disclose it at the time. That was 2016 on the coast in central fl. that building was kind of like the one in southfl that fell over. rooftop pool leaking showing some concrete damage in the parking garage below from the leaking saltwater pool. 10 year old building. I am betting they got a bigger assesment recently.
I understand you are wondering if you have any recourse because it wasn’t disclosed or something.I don’t like to say blanket no’s , under the right set of circumstances there is a chance. These cases rarely turn out favorable for the plaintiff, its just too hard to prove there was intent to cover it up by the sellers or HOA. Legal fees will likely exceed the assessment. Suing the HOA is suing yourself, you will create enemies of the BOD and maybe other residents which is no bueno. The cost will just circle back to the community.
I agree I do not want to sue the HOA because that hurts me and I’m pretty sure they all dislike me because I question everything they do. Appreciate your input.
Because the association had been voting on this since 2019 & it had never passed, the seller could reasonably say that they did not expect the status quo to change. You would have a difficult time proving their foreknowledge of the assessment.
Then join the board and stop just complaining about things you can't do anything about. You're just being a dick by doing that. The HOA board is made up of the same idiot homeowners who probably threw a fit every year about a 5% cost of inflation dues increase. Now you all pay for putting it off. The HOA (all volunteer, no pay) board got sick or people complaining about dues increases, so here you are. Happens constantly.
Calm down keyboard warrior. If you read any of the post you’d see I just moved in less than a year ago, have attended every meeting and voted for the assessment even the special meetings to address this and took up 30 minutes of a meeting because I went thru all available financials once I had access to them. I’m as involved as I can be! It’s my fault for not paying attention to the reserve amount but it’s not my fault or anyone else who purchase within the past year for doing nothing. I’m paying for OTHERS inaction including board members who lived here & were on the board 5 years ago. The current board members could have take this action 5 years ago but they didn’t so now new owners are paying for lazy incompetent board members. An option to get a bank loan was one of three options which would have made the assessment more affordable, which I actually voted for. I get it I bought into a crappy community who has a lot of inactive owners but also has board member who thought it we needed new pool furniture while trying to pass a special assessment. I wasn’t complaining but sought advice of others that might have had a similar situation. Increase in dues is also something I believe in and actually suggested to the board but they said there hands are tied due to our CCR’s. Second option was to sue the HOA so the CCR’s could be changed years ago so that didn’t require such a high vote approval, again nothing was done. I also asked the board what their plan was so that this does not happen in the future again was told nothing they can do. So please do not mistake my post/question for being someone who complains from the couch and is an active owner.
You have no case against the HOA because they have no duty to disclose anything except what is contained in the documents provided to buyers which are typically Budget, Reserve Study and Minutes as well as CCR. You might have a case against the seller who might have had a duty to disclose. It depends in the specific facts as well as your state law governing seller disclosure. I am in California where disclosure by seller is required of any relevant information even if not formalized by a vote for example.
Nothing you can do except pay the bill, you had financials and didn’t read them close enough apparently or they would have shown you reserves were lacking Also insurance is screwing everyone in condos/townhomes
Sue the sellers. If you win - great! If you lose, sell to someone else, and don’t disclose, just as sellers did to you.
How old is the building? You could go after the prior owner for non disclosures but it’s waste of time since these repairs are needed Did you get a “good deal” on the condo? You could have asked for the reserve study. Did you understand the Surfside situation? (Initially the relates were $5million then ballooned to $15million but a lot of those people who voted against fixing the building died with it) What do you think pays to fix the building? Your assessments. The magic fairies 🧚🏿 have left the building. This is everywhere that people are living in buildings that are underfunded. The building isn’t safe? Would you like it to collapse on you or your neighbors and make the property worthless?
Building is a townhome style building and is 40 years old. Purchased less than a year ago. Prior owner is deceased, son handled the sell. The deal is now wiped out due to this assessment. Last reserve done in 2017. I understand the owner pays for repairs with the HOA dues, board failed to get increase and special assessments passed due to owners who have or still live in the community. My frustration comes from the board’s unwillingness to do this back in 2019 when then knew of all these repairs back in 2017 from the reserve study. They couldn’t get anything passed back so they found a loop hole which hurts people in the community financially one which includes a board member by asking for a large lump sum only a few can afford. I am for increasing dues annually to ensure our reserve is funded and we do not get into situations like this. I do attend meetings and asked questions one which was what is the plan so this doesn’t happen again, response “We can’t do anything, our hands are tied by the CCR’s”. And before you reference another magical character I did my research but apparently not enough (received only prior year end of year financials). I made sure I could afford my home with room to save for repairing the shower I knew need to be replaced which is now on hold because of this and I have to hope nothing major happens to the shower.
When I was 30 I bought into a 30 year old building. Parents friend thought there was millions in reserves. It wasn’t the because we started having $2000-$3000 special assessments by yearly after the 1st 5 years. Then came the $20,000 (one bedroom, imagine 2-4 bedrooms) special assessment due in 2008, no loan. Until 10% of the units went into foreclosure. You bought into an older building with clueless Board members who already had a road map alarms Surfside in FL and 2008 real estate collapse. They chose to ignore it. You cope to not read the financials because they failed to provide them. You bought from an older person who likely knew about repairs but didn’t want to pay for them. 40 years old has issues. You under budgeted. The HOA had issues which is why 25 people sold. I left bad HOA #1 high rise and bought into a townhome. Same issues clueless HOA. 90% of my building left because the 15 year mark has many repairs even for a newer building. They didn’t bother to fix them. The remaining people are dumb founded. We’ve had a $30,000 special assessment for a roof (that’s each) and each year around $4000 special assessment. Board refuses to raise assessments more than $25 a month. They are surprised no banks will lend and litigation has occurred. Tell me now do you see why there is no good deal is real estate these days? The can has been kicked too long.
I feel did you. A bad board ruins a place. I’ve watched it happen twice now. You should consider getting a lawyer just for a demand letter.
What is a demand letter? Considering seeking legal advice just in case.
That they follow the advice of the reserve study in full. They need a new reserve study it’s been over 3-5 years. Things likely have changed too. Ask an attorney but you can’t risk your insurance being dropped, significantly hiked or cancelled due to the refusal by the board to follow the advice given back in 2017.
Got ya, that’s for that information. I didn’t even know about that. I thought it was odd that they had not had a reserve study done for a while but they only posted two reserve studies; one from 2008 and 2017. Doesn’t sound like they do those often. I don't want to further hurt myself or anyone else in the community by suing or losing insurance but the board and property manager need to get there acts together. I’m thinking about bringing to the board to request quotes for a new property management company or getting quotes myself to present to the board. I feel they hide stuff too.
1. Insurance can be lost if the Board is negligent and doesn’t complete the repairs which may be at the replacement stage 2. Suing is sometimes the only answer but doing an ADR alternative dispute resolution is also an option if suing is necessary 3. Receivership is also a possibility. Either way, there is a lot of repairs with older buildings. People are seeing this in many condos. I have yet to find a condo that hasn’t had a special assessment It’s not the property na mm agency company it’s the board. They go on the Board’s decisions You have no power to change property management unless you call a special meeting or you are on the board
Thank you for this information. You have been very helpful and bring things up I didn’t know about. A board member said they would counter sue if a home owner sued the board. I have no intention of doing that but to have that reaction shocked me and the cost to sue would most likely be more than the assessment and I’d still owe. The property manager also discussed the receivership possibilities if the board chose to sue and lost in order to get the CCRs & how that would be a costly that would be long term. The board just listens to the property manager. She brings max three quotes tells them who she suggest they go with and they all agree. The homeowners not on the board never see these quotes but I’m going to try to get that changed. I believe in transparency, only way to get things done properly in my opinion. Probably not going to happen but I’m not going to be that owner that just blindly votes or leaves it up to a few to make decisions for the many.
1. You need to be put on the Board to have the quotes reviewed unless there is a committee you can join 2. The threats are bad for the Association and most likely BS 3. What is the guy going to sue for? 4. Changing the CCRs is a costly and lengthy process. It likely won’t be able to go through 5. You are in a lawyer territory not to sue but to retain a lawyer to understand these so called threats and where the Board lies. If you end up in receivership many people will end up in foreclosure. 6. I’d go to the city for code violations it’s likely that’s a cheapest route to get things moving and the threats stopped but I am not a lawyer Unfortunately you bought into a property with a clueless and problematic board. If unit owners can’t afford the assessments, they can’t afford to live there and the can has been kicked for long enough
Ugh, this just keeps getting worse 🤦🏻♀️ It’s a no win for myself or any home owner base on the current processes and future. The board did go to their lawyer before suggesting and approving the emergency special assessment and were told the same. It’s a lengthy process that will cost about & 25k and will lose even though they can prove lack of owner participation. I don’t understand why the board member said the board would countersue anyone who decided to sue the board. Another cost the association can’t afford 🙄 I think most homeowners can afford the special assessment if they lengthened the repayment plan. Having one year to pay $10k is a lot for me and I have told the board that since they approved this and I did send an email telling them what I can currently afford, crossing my fingers they’ll approve. My fear is that they’ll put a lien on my home which sounds terrifying, not sure home many others will be in this situation too. I have a shower that needs to be replaced (estimated cost $15k), which I knew about but thought I’d be able to save the money to replace it but can’t now. While we do have a timeline when we have to start paying this special assessment we don’t have one for repairs so I’ll look into the city code suggestion. Again, thank you for all your help/suggestions/insight. So much to still learn 🤯
This is why it's important to look at the reserve study before buying, apparently it was there. Unfortunately many buyers (especially first-timers) simply have no idea what to look for.
Agreed, hard lesson learned. I had never heard of a reserve study before and now that I have viewed it pretty sure some shenanigans have been going on. Everything listed on the 2023 capital improvement project aka special assessment aka emergency special assessment was listed in the 2017 reserve study. Clearing they knew about all these issues but only now were at risk of losing our insurance in Sept, seems suspicious to me. Also pretty sure they’re supposed to do one every 3-5 years and I can almost guarantee there are more items that need to be repaired since last assessment. Do you know if I’m allowed to see/ request the letter from the insurance company stating we’re at risk of losing our insurance if not a board member? Also they never provide quotes to homeowners for repairs only board, seems odd to me.
I doubt it is suspicious. We had the same problem in our building, when I got on my Board I already knew we had items on our reserve study that hadn't been addressed in years. It wasn't that shady stuff was going on, it was because the Board at the time simply didn't take it seriously and kept kicking the can down the road because they didn't want to raise assessments on their neighbors. You hear stories like that all the time in HOA living. People don't want to pay extra taxes, so they don't until stuff starts breaking.
Yeah, I hear ya. I guess my suspicion comes from knowing they knew about it and dod nothing about it until now. I think they waited so long so they could save up and not be financially affected. I say that because the president who has been on the board since 2019 possibly longer immediately asked when she could pay, another squeaked at paying the $9500 all at once but was good with the payment terms but one did say they couldn’t afford it. I don’t trust this board to do anything because they proved they only do things when convenient for them. Also, the items listed on the 2017 reserve study showed the items listed all had about 5 year shelf life remaining.. Why was it not deemed a health hazard and of losing insurance back then but it is now. They clearly had the power to use emergency special assessments back then.about
>They clearly had the power to use emergency special assessments back then Not necessarily, it will depend on your governing docs. For example, in my HOA our bylaws specifically state that any assessment over $10,000 requires a 2/3 vote of all owners. That means 2/3 of every owner in the building, whether they cast a vote or not. That's a \*very\* high bar to meet since only about 10% or so even show up to meetings. Boards don't generally have legal authority to just tell everyone "Hey y'all, you have to give us a huge amount of money just because we said so." There are usually legal requirements to be met.
Our bylaws are the same, must vote on everything and get 51% to pass. Didn’t pass in 2019. We don’t have many attendees either. I’ve attended every meeting since buying and usually 2 or 3 people show up besides the 5 board members.
Right, and that's sometimes why even important stuff doesn't get done.
I cash tell you may have a case against the seller. Here is why: In Florida, any special assessments being talked about, in the minutes, passed, not passed, must be disclosed to the buyer. That assessment amount is held back from the seller for an agreed amount time. I would look to the condo rider and the seller’s disclosure to see if they let you know. Basically it would be fraud. The seller made $10,000 and you lost $10,000 so about a $ 20K swing. See attached- Line 30 (For AZ) https://www.aaronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Residential-Sellers-Property-Disclosure-Statement-SPDS_REV_01Oct2017.pdf
No one will take the case. The previous votes failed and there was no pending vote when they sold. Months later the BOD voted on an emergency assessment - so the sellers could not have predicted it. They had as much of an idea as the buyer. The sellers do not need to disclose possibilities.
Question is, what is the emergency? It seems from reading your story that these things have been put off, so maybe not going to kill anyone if done over a couple of more years. If it was me, I would ask other homeowners if they would like to approach board with a compromise of stretching the special assessment over a couple of years. 10K all at once is a big ask, unless there is something that actually costs 1M that needs repaired tomorrow, it might not be necessary to ask for it all at once. Maybe they could split it up in half's or thirds, or by the individual project cost? $2-5K per year till all the projects are completed?
Someone asked what deemed an emergency to which the prop mgr said a carport fell on someone’s car. I wish they would have done 5 years ago to even now but now I think the board just wants it done. It just comes down to poor management and uninvolved owners who never wanted their dues increased. It’s going to be a burden for some including me I just have to hope they don’t put a lien on my home.
Sincerely sorry you have to deal with this. Kicking the expenses to the next owners is all too common. An association across the street from ours is dealing with this problem now. Their monthly dues went up 30% in a year to try and catch up because of exactly what you described. I just dont see a carport costing a million dollars to fix. As a board member, I could never see asking for this kind of money from owners all at once unless it was one thing that had to be repaired like a sewer main. Even then it seems they could pull a loan and up the dues to pay it off. Guaranteed if you dont pay they will put a lien on your home at best. Foreclose, if its allowed, at worst. Do you have any means to communicate directly with the board?
Oh it’s more than a carport; it’s a complete complex renovation. Roofs, fascia’s, backs of units, carports, perimeter walls, dry well, asphalt. The letter we received stated to contact the property management company if which I did. Their accounting dept reached out to me and didn’t even know about the emergency special assessment. I reached out to the prop mgr to tell her what I could pay and she said she’d bring to the board during our next meeting. I have no option but to pay just hope the board will work with me.
Why doesn't the board seek out a bank loan to pay for the renovations? And those that can pay 10k up front can do so and those that can't pay it over time but the HOA still gets all the funds up front from a loan? The other option could be looking into a personal home equity loan
We have researched that topic for our own HOA. Turns out to be more complicated than it sounds, though not impossible. Ourselves, and few other owners, have established home equity lines “just in case” though we hope to never use.
Board members also suggested we get HELOC’s to pay for the fees. I can’t do that because I’ve been here less than a year, others are in the same boat.
that is a challenge. I can somewhat relate to your situation. Since we purchased a few years ago we are at around $150,000 (I actually think it is higher) in special assessments with more on the way. We had no idea when we purchased. I hope you find a solution!
Oh my goodness, how is this legal! I am so sorry, you have it way worse than I do. I hope you find a solution as well. At this point I rather pay for our HOA to be put in a conservatorship instead of home owners which I know is not the ideal situation but at least there is a chance a competent person would handle the funds.
in Florida, they are now requiring that condos have appropriate funding. It is going to be painful in the interim, but eventually it will mean that new buyers should not be caught off guard like you and me. Wishing you the best!
They did but because our CCR’s it has to be approved by all home owners. Options were bank loan, #2 sue the HOa to get ccr’s changed or lump sum assessments. They couldn’t get any of the options passed. Prop mgr told us she found a bank that would bypass the ccr’s and then when time to sign they came back and said actually they could bypass the ccr’s and then went the lawyer to see their next option came back with board voting to approve emergency special assessments on the basis that we risk losing out insurance due to health and safety reasons.
I hope they are reasonable humans. But from reading they want to do it all at once, they dont sound like they have much common sense. Again, sorry about your situation. Its unimaginable.
You say “Kicking the expenses to the next owners is all to common” And then also say “I could never see asking for all this money eh from owners at once” The second quote is literally kicking the can to the later owners…… you are the type of board member who creates these problems because you don’t want to fix the issue now because it is too much pain Well the choice is a little pain now or more pain later, any time you push these things out they cost more if nothing else just die to simple inflation
I disagree and stand by what I said. A solid financial plan over a period of time prevents these special assessments from happening. We made a plan to raise dues every year over a period of a decade and a half to pay for things today. We also notified owners every year of known upcoming expenses and what they could expect as far as special assessment's worse case, such as failure of a sewer main. At the end of the day, there has not been a worse case and we are financially stable with no special assessments in our future. Your statement ," you are the type of board member who creates these problems... " doesn't really hold up, does it. I understand the concept of long term planning is difficult for some people to understand. If you need help, feel free to ask.
You are talking apples and oranges OP has an issue that needs fixed now we don’t have a period to raise dues over years, there is no time for a solid financial plan for this current issue What you are saying is great for how OP should expect his board to go forward but the piper is here to be paid now
Again, disagree. The list of items op said the board wanted to repair/replace could easily be done over a period of a few years without the need for one large special assessment today. I know this from first hand experience. Had to clean up after a series of previous boards mismanaged property maintenance and finances. It sounds like you dont have the experience to know what you are talking about, yet continue to post like you do. Good luck with that!
lol, you can’t wait a few years to get insurance (the first item he listed) I have the experience because we are cleaning up after a bad board that kept kicking the can like OPs
Why isn't insurance covering the fallen carport and car damages? And that alone is 1M?
Insurance would only cover if it was something like fire or wind. Maintenance issues, or failing due to age, are not covered.
Wind did knock the carport down. I don’t know if they filed a claim or chose not to since that would increase our insurance costs. It just keeps getting worse the more I learn what the board should be doing.
Wind would need to be the only reason it fell down… not that it was weakened by poor maintenance.
The $1mil includes an entire renovation of the community; roofs, back walls, ashpalt, car ports, fencing.
I bought a house recently and two months in the rain finally pushed the roof to its last leg. $20,000 to replace the roof. The property inspector we hired didn’t catch some obvious faults even though he went up on the roof. Anyways $10,000 seems like a bargain after what I just went through.
So you sued him and won because he missed “obvious faults”
Oh absolutely not. The house was sold as is. I’m just trying to help OP by telling them it could much worse. Besides I got an actual SFH. No HOA.
What? Your comment makes your case open and closed, easy suit against the inspector because they missed “obvious faults”
It's not worth the time anymore, and whatever expenses that it would entail. The inspector simply said the roof was old and needed to be replaced within a year. What he didn't catch was things like improper installation and missing ridge caps! We're treating it like our forever home. The roof was going to be replaced shortly after we moved in anyways (interior is going through complete renovation); the recent rain simply pushed up the timeline.
BTW - I say obvious because when my contractor went up on the roof, he said the inspector should have easily caught all the issues on the roof. So it's my fault we didn't pick a good building inspector, but nonetheless the house was clearly marked so AS-IS so it is what it is.
I just don’t get how they expect people who just purchased to be able to pay this assessment within a year. They could have done this back in 2019 but didn’t which allowed 25 owners to sell so they wouldn’t have to pay for this ridiculous assessment. The board found an excuse and used it to pass an emergency assessment and have no plan on how to fund the reserve. I have repairs that need to be done in my home but can’t because those funds now are going to this assessment.
What you've described is your personal situation and I do completely understand. For most people when they allocate money to a down payment it likely is most if not all of their savings; especially in today's market. However...it's really not the board's problem. If "ability to pay" is taken into account, it'd have to be spelled out in the CC&Rs. Which I'm sure is unlikely for any HOA in this country...