Holy crap on a stick - the HOA $$ version

[susandennis]

This building is likely to explode as everyone reads the email just sent by the management company. it spells out the assessment we owe for the work being done on the building (tuck pointing and roof work). No mention of a special assessment has been made to the home owner group. Not even a hint. Until this email today.

My unit represents .838% ownership which is actually about mid range. Some of the units are smaller and some are bigger. Some people will pay more and some less.

My portion of the assessment - due September 1, 2022 is... wait for it... (anybody remember when I said that I thought it would be about $5K but probably not that much???? when I'm wrong, boy am I wrong) 15,614.67. Yep. 15 thousand clams. 1 5 000 smackers.

OMG.

They do have a 5 year loan deal available. And an interest free 6 month payment play (2,614.44 due on the first of the month for six months starting September 1.)

I cannot even believe they drop a bomb like this with zero - I mean zero - clues ahead of time. This HOA board is out of their minds.

At least I can pay it. But, I'm guessing there will be more than a few who will, once they finish their fit, struggle to come up with the cash.

There is a meeting a week from Monday - I'll be at a Mariner game. Finance matters are handled by no votes. They pass unless a majority of the membership votes no. That's never going to happen but I'm guessing a large number of folks will use the meeting to express their feelings. I'm glad I can't be there.

Yes, home ownership can come with some nasty financial surprises and this is not at all unlike that but really. Holy Crap On A Stick.

Oh and the Mariner game just got rained out.

Maybe I should open my door to the hallway and see if blood is flowing.

Comments

[bill_schubert]

Wow. The amount doesn't surprise me. Old building and such. But, yeah, no work up to it. The board deserves all the abuse they will get.

[susandennis]

yes. and at least in condo land, I don't have to decide or hire people or supervise or any of that shit. just pay. and maybe most people will be fine with it. but the way they scream over a $50 increase in their monthly dues, i doubt it.

[fauxklore]

Wow!

That's a sign that they haven't been managing reserves appropriately. Sadly, I have heard of this at several condo complexes. Mine has never had a special assessment, fortunately.

[susandennis]

exactly. in 30 years this will be our 3rd. one was for roof repair - my share was $3K. one was for redesign of the common areas - I think I had to pay about $2k. they did use $900k of reserves for 'pre' work.

May you always have sound financial judgement on your board!

[spiffikins]

OMG - that's not right! Sure the work had to be done - but you can't expect people to come up with 15k without notice.

They should be giving people more than 6 months to pay, without charging interest - that 5 year thing, should be interest free.

I guess I'm lucky - we've only had one special assessment here - and we knew ahead of time how much it was going to be - we had to get water meters installed on each unit, because the water costs keep going up, and it wasn't fair to just keep dividing the entire complex's bill by 36 units - some people use a LOT more water than others. But it was more like $500 per unit - and even then they let you pay it over 3 months if you wanted to.

[days_unfolding]

Holy cow. I'm glad that we never got a special assessment when I had a condo.

Have you heard screams yet?

[adafrog]

Holy shit!! No warning?!

[ringsandcoffee]

Makes me worry about when we have an assessment here. Not much in reserves, at least for something big. Complex is 17 years old, and needs a paint job. What are they currently considering? fence and entrance gates. Not terribly happy about that. Paint the place first, fix the stucco. Security isn't really that much of a problem.

[sweetmeow]

Honestly, I'm not surprised by the amount charged. Everything costs more than expected. But not telling you until now is wrong!!

How many have $15K lying around for such a contingency? How many will have to sell out? (I know someone who had to sell because she couldn't afford her condo's assessment) Also, like someone else said - the five-year loan should be interest-free!

[desdemonaspace]

An assessment that size terrifies me. There was a huge one before I bought this place that luckily wasn't for me to pay, but the seller. If another that size comes down the pike... well, I'll have to cough up. Ugh!

I'm so sorry, Susan.

[gwendraith]

That's insane. I hope the management company can provide a full costing report to home owners and that they did a proper invitation to tender exercise before committing to the work.

[vegetablearian]

Springing something like that on people is awful! And, I think it's a lot worse than when you're the one who decided, even if the problem/quote still came as a nasty surprise.

[jss]

Yikes. We've been lucky — we had a 78% owner approval for our condo association to take out a line of credit to pay for the roof replacements to do them all at once instead of over the next however-many years (since several are or were leaking and it's cheaper to replace the roofs before there's a failure). It was that or a special assessment.

We also just (effective July 1) changed management companies away from the one we've had since the units were built (circa 2003), so we'll see what changes that kicks off too....

[vysila]

That's a pretty awful shock for an ordinary homeowner. Most of us cannot come up with that much cash on such short notice. At least there is a financing option but that means interest on top, which isn't a happy solution either.

Makes my HOA look kinder and gentler by comparison.

[rsc]

My portion of the assessment - due September 1, 2002

Starting out 20 years overdue doesn't help.

[susandennis]

oops

[timbearuk]

I assume they've found something nasty while doing the work? If so, best get it fixed now but, seriously, sounds like their reserves were WAY under where they should be given the age of the building.

[susandennis]

nope - no special discoveries. - at least not yet - it's actually nearly routine maintenance for brick building this old. and, yep, very very poor planning

[arlie]

Wow! I'm so glad I'm living in a single family house, that I own outright, without even any neighbourhood association able to make rules or assess payments. Any financial mismanagement is my own. Also glad I was not yet retired the last time I got hit by a big and unexpected maintenance expense. (Usually I can see them coming, or they fit within my annual maintenance budget.)

[seattlejo]

Holy wow.
That meeting on monday will be bonkers.

[mollywheezy]

*I am smacking the idiots in my mind on your behalf* :P

That is INSANE. I am glad you have the money to pay it, but good grief!

[zoefruitcake]

Bloody hell, that's a shock

[wpadmirer]

You know, I have never regretted renting. Our rent is ridiculously cheap, and our place is well-kept by the landlord, and we have never had to replace anything expensive.

I have friends who have lived with blue tarps on their roofs for like a decade because they couldn't afford to fix their roof.

If you have a low income, and can get a cheap place, it's a better option than buying. It's just that finding a cheap place gets harder and harder every year.

[susandennis]

I had a really good friend who made big bucks and could easily have afforded to buy whatever he wanted but he always always rented. He chose to spend his money on extra rent instead of new roofs or tree removal or whatever. Moving was easy - no house to sell.

Honestly, even with high rents, I still think it's a zero sum game either way, perks and bucks even on both sides in the long run.

[luscious_purple]

That is jaw-droppingly huge indeed.

The only thing I've had in 23 years that resembled a "special assessment" was when the insurance company that covers our common property (whatever you call it in condo-land) insisted that we get our individual circuit-breaker boxes replaced. The original ones from the 1960s turned out to be massive fire hazards. Our board got a contractor to do the work at a bulk discount and owners had to pay 40 percent of the cost to upgrade their unit's box. That bill was slightly over $400, IIRC.

[luscious_purple]

I should add: the HOA paid about $600-650 per box and I paid somewhere between $400 and $440, though I don't remember exactly.

[dorchadas]

And I thought my $3000 special assessment back in January was annoying.

"btw, everyone owes $15K, hand it over" with no warning is insane.