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You don't know a thing but how to add irrelevant bull so you can *look* smart.
We have several residents who want that and mostly they are retired and have gads of money to waste. If they want that I feel like they should have gone to a 55+ community. But a 55+ community likely would have cost more and had higher fees so they come here and ruin it for the rest of us. They want to do assessments every 10 seconds to have have stuff and they don't care because they will be living here for the rest of their days. But for us.. we would prefer not to pay for a condo community we won't be at.
Did I mention that in addition to the reserves they levy assessments as well? Even with a fat reserve fund? Yup.
The part in bold doesn't make sense. You don't want to pay for someplace you won't retire in? That is totally irrelevant. Plenty of people here are not going to retire here. This is a starter home (condos) or whatever for them. They still have to pay for infrastructure and operating expenses. Some of them are part of the crowd that would rather pay more dues for the HOA to do more.
The part in bold doesn't make sense. You don't want to pay for someplace you won't retire in? That is totally irrelevant. Plenty of people here are not going to retire here. This is a starter home (condos) or whatever for them. They still have to pay for infrastructure and operating expenses. Some of them are part of the crowd that would rather pay more dues for the HOA to do more.
Assessments should be fairly done so they are spread out or better yet.. not at all. But the 55+ come in and want everything in their unit to be perfection because, as they see it, it will be paid for long term. But I am here for 10 years and I will spend 5 of them paying for work that doesn't need to be done then with the argument that it will be good for us anyway long term. But I won't be here long term. So all the work gets done during my tenure and in the 10 years after I leave they get the benefit of it. It isn't a fair and rolling cost for work when it it is needed it is *we need to do it right now* because I want it right now.
Been there done that. There is ALWAYS (not sometimes... ALWAYS) a nucleus of people who have pet ideas (that's usually why one runs for board of directors) and you see money doled out for stuff that makes no sense. In addition, management companies have become very adept at concealing their practice of channeling maintenance services (brother in laws lawn service, etc). And yes, one complex raises its HOA fee, the others follow.
The whole HOA idea has run its route. It is now so abused that not only HOA dues keep going up, but the services (like landscape, snow removal, pool maintenance, etc) go up too. Partly because it is way easier to bargain with an HOA than it is with an individual. Those service companies have increased their charges almost coincident with the sheer number of HOAs there are. They elbow each other for an HOA contract because they get paid better and it's guaranteed money for a year.
I avoid living in an HOA if I can anymore. It's a real corrupted idea. I just hire my maintenance out. Not 100% successful, but definitely cheaper and I make the decisions.
Ridiculous thing to say. I have been on my condo board for five years, and I've yet to see anyone on the board put forth a "pet" idea. And that's certainly not why I joined the board. I swear, some of you just make up things out of the clear blue sky.
How can "the whole HOA idea" have "run its route". Condominiums by definition are a form of joint ownership. You cannot just decide you're going to fix your own section of roof or the sidewalk in front of your own little unit or have your brother's father's cousin come and cut the little patch of lawn outside your window. Those things are JOINTLY OWNED by an association. If you don't want an HOA, move to a single family home.
Ridiculous thing to say. I have been on my condo board for five years, and I've yet to see anyone on the board put forth a "pet" idea. .
OH so becase you didn't see it -- it isn't a real thing.
HOA doesn't work because no one wants to run it and the people that do want to run it badly. I think a way to solve it would be to have professional managers who were paid by the condo who had a fiduciary duty to the residents. Could create a whole new class of jobs. Pay someone to do a part time job rather than a board from the residents.
OP - I know you’re opposed to a formal reserve study, but it might help you. Studies give a functional life to all infrastructure as well as what the reserve balance should be in any specific year.
If someone on the Board wants to redo the roof on Building A in 2018, you could pull out the study and show them where it doesn’t need replacing until 2024. When they want to have an assessment, you can pull it out and show them that reserves are funded and available for the costs. And I’d make sure every resident got a copy of the reserve study so they too know when the Board is up to some BS.
Without a reserve study, you have no ammunition to stop their spending. Just a thought.
OH so becase you didn't see it -- it isn't a real thing.
READ.
If someone says something ALWAYS happens, and it's NEVER happened in my experience, then ALWAYS is not a true statement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EmilyFoxSeaton
[b]HOA doesn't work because no one wants to run it and the people that do want to run it badly. I think a way to solve it would be to have professional managers who were paid by the condo who had a fiduciary duty to the residents. Could create a whole new class of jobs. Pay someone to do a part time job rather than a board from the residents.
The property management company IS the "professional manager" who runs the HOA on behalf of the board and the association and IS paid to do so. How is what you are suggesting different?
Never ever has anyone on the board suggested raising fees. Why would we? We live there, too! Only when we do the annual budget meeting with the property manager and they advise if fees need to be raised do we do it, and it's because we have to make our budget.
Umm..... no. Its basic math. And you can do it yourself.
Roof costs $XXXX and has XXXX years left and will need to be replaced on XXXX year. Take the number of units and divide it by that price and number of months until that year and add it to the dues.
I used to live in a small condo. I did a reserve study myself after looking at samples from Mgmt companies who specialized in doing them. Its very simple and much less work for a small condo.
Look at all the stuff you have and estimate what work needs to be done and when. Its not hard or complicated.
I know that reserves shouldn’t be based on the operating budget given that the annual operating budget is determined by the cost for upkeep and repairs and the reserves are determined by infrastructure replacement cost. And I know that without a reserve study you have no clue what level of reserves you should have. So while I’d never claim to know it all, I can comfortably claim in this one instance, to know more than you do.
Assessments should be fairly done so they are spread out or better yet.. not at all. But the 55+ come in and want everything in their unit to be perfection because, as they see it, it will be paid for long term. But I am here for 10 years and I will spend 5 of them paying for work that doesn't need to be done then with the argument that it will be good for us anyway long term. But I won't be here long term. So all the work gets done during my tenure and in the 10 years after I leave they get the benefit of it. It isn't a fair and rolling cost for work when it it is needed it is *we need to do it right now* because I want it right now.
So basically you are saying you do not give a crap what happens to the place 10 years from now. A selfish but common attitude with many condo owners.
Assessments should be fairly done so they are spread out or better yet.. not at all. But the 55+ come in and want everything in their unit to be perfection because, as they see it, it will be paid for long term. But I am here for 10 years and I will spend 5 of them paying for work that doesn't need to be done then with the argument that it will be good for us anyway long term. But I won't be here long term. So all the work gets done during my tenure and in the 10 years after I leave they get the benefit of it. It isn't a fair and rolling cost for work when it it is needed it is *we need to do it right now* because I want it right now.
Sorry, but it's a corporation that is supposed to think long-term. This part of your complaint is very odd. Why did you purchase if this is the way you feel? Seems you should be renting.
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READ.
