For those condo dwellers with HOAs...

[robj144]

For those condo dwellers here with a monthly HOA, what's the most you ever have been assessed?

I want to compare to my recent assessment.

[Talk2Me]

Interesting question but akin to asking all guitar owners how much they paid for their instrument. Answers are bound to be all over the board.

Also, are you talking about your regular monthly fees or a "special assessment"?

[robj144]

This on top of HOA fees... a special assessment.

Ok, compared to your YEARLY HOA fees, what percentage was your largest assessment?

In other words, if you pay $6000 a year for HOA and your assessment is $2000, it would be 33% of your yearly fee.

Maybe, that's more apples to apples?

And, let's not include country clubs. I mean average condos.

[frankmcr]

Is it still called a HOA if it's a condo building? I thought they were just in gated communities.

[The Watchman]

Around here, many non-gated subdivisions in suburban neighborhoods (single family homes) have HOAs. Totally not the same situation as in high-rise condo buildings. In fact, high rise condos around here are not that common for that matter.

[tbeltrans]

My wife and I have lived in our condo since 9/1/1988 and we have NEVER had an assessment on top of our monthly association fee. We have had expensive repairs done over the years - replacing half the roof on our building 2 years ago cost $260k and rebuilding the elevator and replacing the old relay system with a computer that also required external air conditioning cost $110k about 10 years ago.

We have a care taker who lives about 4 blocks away and works 20+ hours per week doing anything and everything not covered by professional contractors. I hired him over 20 years ago, so he is probably ready for retirement soon. There are a number of things we homeowners do as volunteers such as maintaining the key FOB and garage door computer system, the camera security system, covering for the care taker when he takes vacations, etc. I did most of these things myself for years, but fortunately among the newer people now living here, we have some that are willing to take up the work as I phase into "retirement".

I was board president for much of the time we have lived here and those periods when I wasn't, I was still on the board. I learned from the first group that bought in here and maintained their fiscal policies. Once you are board president, it is very difficult to find a replacement.

You have to collect enough monthly association fees to maintain a decent sized reserve and plan ahead for these types of repairs while realizing that other repairs such as major plumbing work with increasing frequency as the building ages. Periodic reserve studies with a 30 year maintenance plan really help with this planning.

Due to inflation the past two years we have had to raise association fees around 7% - 8%. It would have been much more if we hadn't been maintaining strong reserves all these years. Otherwise, we raised it 2% - 3% per year. This worked because the first group to live here started with a well funded reserve that we just had to maintain rather than scramble to build up.

I know that there are associations that choose to appease the homeowners by keeping association fees very low and then they scramble to meet large project costs. It is a bit like starting to save for retirement when you are in your late 50s or borrowing to buy a car rather than paying yourself monthly so you have the money in reserve when the time comes. I would not want to live in such an association.

My condo is essentially like a 2 bedroom 1200 sq. ft. house with a two car garage. We have underground heated parking and all our condos get one parking stall that they own. Only 4 of the condos own two stalls, and ours is one of them. Fees are based on square footage owned (i.e. size of condo unit and garage stall(s).

My association fee is $501 per month right now and that covers everything (including hot water heating, which is a big deal in Minnesota in winter) except electricity, phone, cable TV, and internet. I don't have cable TV, preferring streaming service (via internet) and my electric bill typically runs about $30 per month. Since our mortgage is long paid off and my medical is through the VA, our living costs are relatively low. There can be a lot of variables involved in arriving at a particular monthly association fee, so I think it would be difficult to use the data that may be collected in this thread for comparative purposes.

Edit: A bit more information - our condo building has 72 units on 3 floors, so 24 units per floor. To me, that seems about right because it is large enough to spread expenses over quite a few households while not being so large it becomes difficult to oversee. Also, a condo building IS considered an HOA because it consists of an association of homeowners. We have legal governing documents consisting of the Bylaws and also the Rules and Regulations. These are designed to allow a group of people to live together peacefully and the board (at least in our case) does not "rule with a heavy hand", preferring to meet homeowners halfway and account for extenuating circumstances.

Tony

[robj144]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

My wife and I have lived in our condo since 9/1/1988 and we have NEVER had an assessment on top of our monthly association fee. We have had expensive repairs done over the years - replacing half the roof on our building 2 years ago cost $260k and rebuilding the elevator and replacing the old relay system with a computer that also required external air conditioning cost $110k about 10 years ago.

We have a care taker who lives about 4 blocks away and works 20+ hours per week doing anything and everything not covered by professional contractors. I hired him over 20 years ago, so he is probably ready for retirement soon. There are a number of things we homeowners do as volunteers such as maintaining the key FOB and garage door computer system, the camera security system, covering for the care taker when he takes vacations, etc. I did most of these things myself for years, but fortunately among the newer people now living here, we have some that are willing to take up the work as I phase into "retirement".

I was board president for much of the time we have lived here and those periods when I wasn't, I was still on the board. I learned from the first group that bought in here and maintained their fiscal policies. Once you are board president, it is very difficult to find a replacement.

You have to collect enough monthly association fees to maintain a decent sized reserve and plan ahead for these types of repairs while realizing that other repairs such as major plumbing work with increasing frequency as the building ages. Periodic reserve studies with a 30 year maintenance plan really help with this planning.

Due to inflation the past two years we have had to raise association fees around 7% - 8%. It would have been much more if we hadn't been maintaining strong reserves all these years. Otherwise, we raised it 2% - 3% per year. This worked because the first group to live here started with a well funded reserve that we just had to maintain rather than scramble to build up.

I know that there are associations that choose to appease the homeowners by keeping association fees very low and then they scramble to meet large project costs. It is a bit like starting to save for retirement when you are in your late 50s or borrowing to buy a car rather than paying yourself monthly so you have the money in reserve when the time comes. I would not want to live in such an association.

My condo is essentially like a 2 bedroom 1200 sq. ft. house with a two car garage. We have underground heated parking and all our condos get one parking stall that they own. Only 4 of the condos own two stalls, and ours is one of them. Fees are based on square footage owned (i.e. size of condo unit and garage stall(s).

My association fee is $501 per month right now and that covers everything (including hot water heating, which is a big deal in Minnesota in winter) except electricity, phone, cable TV, and internet. I don't have cable TV, preferring streaming service (via internet) and my electric bill typically runs about $30 per month. Since our mortgage is long paid off and my medical is through the VA, our living costs are relatively low. There can be a lot of variables involved in arriving at a particular monthly association fee, so I think it would be difficult to use the data that may be collected in this thread for comparative purposes.

Edit: A bit more information - our condo building has 72 units on 3 floors, so 24 units per floor. To me, that seems about right because it is large enough to spread expenses over quite a few households while not being so large it becomes difficult to oversee. Also, a condo building IS considered an HOA because it consists of an association of homeowners. We have legal governing documents consisting of the Bylaws and also the Rules and Regulations. These are designed to allow a group of people to live together peacefully and the board (at least in our case) does not "rule with a heavy hand", preferring to meet homeowners halfway and account for extenuating circumstances.

Tony

Yes, my HOA has gone up quite a bit. Just in the past 1.5 years, it has increased by about 40%. On top of that, I've had several assessments.

But, this assessment is ridiculous which is why I'm asking here.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by robj144

Yes, my HOA has gone up quite a bit. Just in the past 1.5 years, it has increased by about 40%. On top of that, I've had several assessments.

But, this assessment is ridiculous which is why I'm asking here.

I don't know the circumstances of your association. There could be a number of reasons for such an increase, some valid, and others possibly not. If your association has not been collecting enough from the homeowners each month, you may be playing catch-up, as but one example that I have seen in other associations. On the other hand, the increases could be legitimate such as having gone through a year with a number of expensive repairs in addition to the inflation we all have been experiencing.

As a concerned homeowner, it is up to you (and your neighbors in the association) to ask questions. Unfortunately, there can often be much contention between the homeowners and the board and the management company in such a situation and when that happens, nobody learns anything. So my suggestion is to keep it civil and ask questions whose answers would reveal the nature of the increases.

Also, you should be getting a printed or emailed budget every year that should show where the money has been going and where it will be going in the coming year. That should yield answers or at least inform the questions you need to ask.

Tony

[Mandobart]

We have a small condo in Seattle. It's our urban getaway - we don't live there full time. We bought it 5 years ago. One of the things we checked out while looking for a place there was the HOA, its structure and overall financial soundness. Ours is well funded.

Our building charges a monthly HOA fee based on the size of the unit. We pay about $400 per month and have a 550 square foot condo. Over the 30 some years of existence the HOA has not levied any special assessments. We're replacing the elevator this year.

[robj144]

So our HOA has always been mismanaged. The current assessment is for a loan to fund repairs because we don't have a proper reserve. The amount of the assessment is about 300% the current YEARLY HOA payments... yes, that is about 3 YEARS worth of HOA payments. That's crazy to me.

[Mr. Jelly]

Most discussions of HOAs are apples to oranges types of discussions. There are huge differences in what is covered by them. I have been the president of our association for way too many years. And yes, it is mismanaged. None of the board members want to participate. There's minimal input and often what is, is ridiculous. Nobody wants to work. They want to be taken care of and complain. There are obvious issues down the road. No one wants to confront them today. Whose fault, is it? The association members. They'd rather worry about someone's bird feeder than the obvious fact we will need money to paint the buildings trim next year. Or whatever. I have explained these things and I have experience that tells me someone will notice this next summer and want me to fix it. I'm tired of fighting my neighbors to take care of them. I am looking to move like all the other past presidents have done.

[Nymuso]

I know very little about HOA horror stories in condos because I live in a subdivision with an annual HOA fee of $300 because we have a guy who cuts the grass in the common areas . . .

However . . . .

My wife's aunt is spending her golden years in a condo with a spectacular view of the Hudson. Don't know what her HOA fees are but because of recent nearby blasting related to construction of even more condos, her building is destabilized and the engineers say it's gotta be shored up like NOW. Of course there's finger pointing and legal wrangling but they can't wait for it all to make its way through the courts. Consequently the HOA has imposed a gotta-have-it-now fee on each tenant. Last I heard it was going to be 20 grand but it's possibly more.

Meanwhile I'm sitting here worrying that the mowing fee will go up.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

I know very little about HOA horror stories in condos because I live in a subdivision with an annual HOA fee of $300 because we have a guy who cuts the grass in the common areas . . .

However . . . .

My wife's aunt is spending her golden years in a condo with a spectacular view of the Hudson. Don't know what her HOA fees are but because of recent nearby blasting related to construction of even more condos, her building is destabilized and the engineers say it's gotta be shored up like NOW. Of course there's finger pointing and legal wrangling but they can't wait for it all to make its way through the courts. Consequently the HOA has imposed a gotta-have-it-now fee on each tenant. Last I heard it was going to be 20 grand but it's possibly more.

Meanwhile I'm sitting here worrying that the mowing fee will go up.

Interesting. There was a very similar story about nearby construction destabilizing a condo building in the news. I don't know the "inside scoop" within the association because I am not involved, but it is interesting to hear of another similar story. That must be a very difficult problem for an association to have to deal with, and I am glad I am not forced into that position (yet).

Tony

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

Most discussions of HOAs are apples to oranges types of discussions. There are huge differences in what is covered by them. I have been the president of our association for way too many years. And yes, it is mismanaged. None of the board members want to participate. There's minimal input and often what is, is ridiculous. Nobody wants to work. They want to be taken care of and complain. There are obvious issues down the road. No one wants to confront them today. Whose fault, is it? The association members. They'd rather worry about someone's bird feeder than the obvious fact we will need money to paint the buildings trim next year. Or whatever. I have explained these things and I have experience that tells me someone will notice this next summer and want me to fix it. I'm tired of fighting my neighbors to take care of them. I am looking to move like all the other past presidents have done.

Very much agreed about the "apples to oranges" in HOA discussions. What I realized early on is that most of the people I know in our association bought into a condo for the "carefree" lifestyle and didn't realize beforehand that there is involvement required on the part of the homeowners. They did move in to be taken care of, just as they would expect in an apartment building.

The problem you describe is a very common one for which I have yet to find a solution. We are very fortunate that finally, we have some people who have moved in that have been on other condo association boards and are willing to get involved. For many years, my story was very similar to yours except that the board would passively go along with my recommendations for a conservative fiscal policy so we are, and always have been, well funded.

It is unfortunate that (at least in my experience talking to realtors selling units in our building) the realtors know very little about our building and even less about the association itself. It would really help both the prospective buyer and the rest of the association if the realtor would take the time to learn about these things so they can appropriately inform the buyer what s/he is getting into.

Maybe realtors don't have the time because they have so many properties to show and sell, I don't know since I am not a realtor. On the other hand, if a person is interested in considering a condo purchase, it would behoove that person to learn all s/he can about the lifestyle and what condo living entails.

Tony