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The HOA communities have made documents very expensive. I've seen the full set of required documents to sell in CA as much as $500 and 2 weeks to get. It's all on line, that's how much the seller has to pay to get the HOA document servicing company to download the docs and make them available on-line to the seller. It's ridiculous, but it's reality.
The HOA communities have made documents very expensive. I've seen the full set of required documents to sell in CA as much as $500 and 2 weeks to get. It's all on line, that's how much the seller has to pay to get the HOA document servicing company to download the docs and make them available on-line to the seller. It's ridiculous, but it's reality.
As a board member who has set deals up with mgmt companies, its more complicated than you think. Lets say you hire a mgmt company and pay them top dollar, they will do everything no charge. Now lets say you lower their fee, they charge more for individual services. So it's give and take. And there is plenty of competition.
As far as that $500 fee for a buyer's paperwork, its negotiated as part of the entire package when servicing an HOA. Those packs do take some time to put together with current information, so although its kinda high, its not unreasonable. Typically the buyer should pay for it anyway.
At the end of the day, Mgmt companies have salaries, expenses, etc. They need to charge for services, mark them up and make a profit.
There are plenty of mgmt companies out there, plenty of competition. If you dont like your HOA, run for office and help run your HOA if you think you can do better. It's not you vs them, you are a member of your HOA. Help make a difference.
Its a thankless job. I find the more you can educate people about the process and decisions, the less angry people get because they understand why decisions were made and what it costs. Transparency is key.
I recall you are buying a home. Have you actually closed or is this part of your due diligence before closing?
If it is part of your due diligence, you refer to the minutes. What about the rest of the documents?
If this is part of the due diligence, I have heard in some areas in CA, including SD, it is customary for the seller to pay for the HOA purchase packet. Perhaps you can ask through the realtors that the seller pay or share the cost.
I think someone else has said this as well. Often the minutes are online for several months or more back. And even when it's on a closed website the HOA may allow temporary access to a realtor or a serious prospective buyer.
If you have already purchased and neglected getting the info before closing, including several past months' minutes, HOAs I'm familiar with may charge for a copy and mailing of the one or two pages of the minutes for each meeting or will make a copy available for the homeowners to read, take a photo of, or copy on the office machine for a tiny charge.
What documents/information must be provided, other than a year end financial statement, can vary widely from state to state. CA and FL are the most regulated. In some states, meeting minutes do not even have to be released.
Typically charges are implemented for two reasons. The first being there is often time and labor necessary to produce such documents, especially in an non-automated association. Afterall, someone must search for and copy the information. The 2nd reason is to prevent capricious demands (witch hunts) or at least, make them costly.
Some information is private and must be redacted which is another time and labor issue.
At our recent Annual Meeting an owner asked about scanning all the paper information the HOA had prior to hiring an MC. The owner was told the HOA was all for this but who was going to pay for it? The owner said well the HOA of course. A show of hands was asked for about the HOA paying for such. I think 2 or 3 voted Yes. The rest in attendance (over 50) voted no.
The MC told the owner they had some 20 boxes of old paperwork and the owner could sort through it and make copies (at their expense) anytime they wished to do so during normal business hours. That ended the conversation. 6 months later, the MC later said they have heard no more from that owner.
Having been on (and led) multiple HOA boards, I can affirm your assessment of the situation. People often get agitated about things without getting the facts ... and then start demanding all manner of copies and proof (without even thinking about what they are asking and the cost and difficulty of getting it). Since the HOA owners must pay for all labor and material costs and time of recovering this data, it's only right that the requester should pay for it (or attend HOA meetings and make their own notes). After all, HOA members don't get paid and management companies must be paid.
Meeting minutes are not the same thing as HOA regulations or operating/reserve budgets. Owners are typically welcome at most formal HOA board meetings. However, there are times when things like problem owners, tenants, lawsuits, etc. are discussed and not intended for general dissemination. Board members need to openly discuss these things without fear that anything they might say could be indiscriminately spread around or used out of context. If an owner wants minutes for every meeting automatically sent to them, they should inquire about getting on the board and attending all the meetings. There are typically multiple openings available for this often thankless job.
As a board member my management company charges a reasonable rate. I represent the interests of the OWNERS. However, he needs to make a profit so fees to folks for selling the home and buying home, aka copy minutes, add up arrears, send financial and legal info to buyer or seller he charges a fee that is 100% paid by the buyer (new owner) or seller (old owner)
Now the old owner had this info and just lost it as he was giving it when he bought and he had copies all the minutes and financials and the new owner does not live in the building.
Why should owners pay extra maint to cover this and why should sellers like me who keep records have to pay more to cover folks who lose their info.
Every HOA I've been in has distributed minutes to all owners from all meetings except executive session meetings.
If the OP isn't an owner yet I would just refuse the request. I give lots of info to potential buyers but none have ever requested minutes.
Also depends on the state. For instance in NYS minutes are not required by law. You do not have to take minutes. Most condos however take minutes at annual meeting that is handed out and provide financials.
How far back? 4 months? $75 is perfectly reasonable.
You already sound like you have a chip on your shoulder even trash-talking the HOA AND Property Management who is HIRED by the RESIDENTS.
Are you an owner?
Doesn't sound like it. Besides the attitude, you really don't understand how HOAs work, no offense.
I'm curious WHY you want past minutes.
Why not try and ASSIST YOUR FELLOW RESIDENTS and have them uploaded online like MY HOA does.In fact, I think they even put them in our monthly newsletter. There's a thought VOLUNTEER to be the person who takes the minutes or uploads the minutes.
Why should I PAY for YOU to retroactively get minutes when you couldn't be bothered getting them in real time? (for example - that's what I'd say as a resident)
Last edited by runswithscissors; 11-07-2016 at 02:49 PM..
Those charges seem fairly reasonable. In my state, that same request would be several hundred dollars.
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