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it CAN be OK, if and only if you are in the know Posted by Notnoel [Email]  (#23) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Notnoel) on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 10:38:15
In Reply to: Condo verses single family house, No Snaab, Sun, 1 Dec 2013 15:24:08 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I've lived in these and been the president of an HOA (small Single families with common grounds and roads to maintain. A couple of things to look for:
1) Understand what the HOA's expenses are - not just the routine maintenance expenses like lawn and garden and trash, but the real killer capital expenses like roofing, and repaving of roads (do they own them, mine did) and/or parking lots, sidewalks etc. What is the condition of these assets????
2) is the HOA well capitalized - do they have money in the bank. Is the amount amount reasonable (or as noted are they on a shoestring)? Do they have a "sinking" fund to finance the major capital expenses listed above and does it make sense - if there are cracks and potholes in the parking lot and it obviously looks like it needs paving they'd better have tens of thousands in the bank!!
3) what is the history of the condo fees over time? have they remained low over time? Is the amount proportional to a realistic assessment of the expenses described above?
4) what is the history of special assessments? A well run HOA should have very few or none. Mine had been in existence for 30 years and had never had a special assessment (but we didn't own any buildings either).
5) How often have the board members changed? There's no easy answer here, you could have a really great board who's keeping the place running like a clock, or a bunch of cheapskates whose only interest is in keeping the payments low, regardless of whether the property deteriorates. Like my HOA before I took it over - we collected the right amounts for the right things, but the board had a supply sergeant mentality and didn't want to spend money on anything.
6) Using these guidelines it may still be hard to tell if it is good or great HOA, but it will be really easy to tell if it is a bad one!!
, Mon, 2 Dec 2013 11:02:10, Mon, 2 Dec 2013 10:38:15 <-- Viewing This Message
, Mon, 2 Dec 2013 10:19:40
, Mon, 2 Dec 2013 09:12:44, Sun, 1 Dec 2013 15:53:10, Sun, 1 Dec 2013 16:07:23, Sun, 1 Dec 2013 16:29:08
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