What's the *real* purpose of home owners' associations?

[johngolf]

Originally Posted by cully

Johngolf, I'm curious. Were the monthly fees not high enough, the reserves not high enough?

The place was about 20 years old in 2002 when they did such. There were 175 units. 30 standalone single homes and 36 buildings with each building having 3-4 townhomes in it. Private property, private roads, plus a golf course but those are other subjects.

The main problem was dumped in their lap. They had on-going siding problems caused by ice dams, general water intrusion, etc. but the siding was no longer manufactured. They could no longer just repair/replace the siding which was issue #1. Garage doors were continuously in need of panel replacements, front steps (brick and mortar) were always needing repair, it was time to reroof, plus a few other things. While they operated within budget and did have Reserve Funds (as in they replaced all decks some 5 years before that), it was decided to do what was needed, do it properly, and do it all at one time (over a year) rather than piece by piece over an extended time frame. Thus a one time assessment was the best answer. One selling factor was the place was outside of Boston but it had a "California" look to it and many never liked that look. The new look was going to be more "New Englandish" and many wanted that. It was more than just bring it back to its original "new" condition. They wanted improvements.

Bottom line, the assessment per unit was about 6-8% of then current market value. In actuality the monthly dues/assessments could have dropped some (much less maintenance required) but that was never seriously discussed.

[cully]

Originally Posted by johngolf

The place was about 20 years old in 2002 when they did such. There were 175 units. 30 standalone single homes and 36 buildings with each building having 3-4 townhomes in it. Private property, private roads, plus a golf course but those are other subjects.

The main problem was dumped in their lap. They had on-going siding problems caused by ice dams, general water intrusion, etc. but the siding was no longer manufactured. They could no longer just repair/replace the siding which was issue #1. Garage doors were continuously in need of panel replacements, front steps (brick and mortar) were always needing repair, it was time to reroof, plus a few other things. While they operated within budget and did have Reserve Funds (as in they replaced all decks some 5 years before that), it was decided to do what was needed, do it properly, and do it all at one time (over a year) rather than piece by piece over an extended time frame. Thus a one time assessment was the best answer. One selling factor was the place was outside of Boston but it had a "California" look to it and many never liked that look. The new look was going to be more "New Englandish" and many wanted that. It was more than just bring it back to its original "new" condition. They wanted improvements.

Bottom line, the assessment per unit was about 6-8% of then current market value. In actuality the monthly dues/assessments could have dropped some (much less maintenance required) but that was never seriously discussed.

Thanks.

[uberwulu]

o.O