condo Homeowner’s Fees–what to look out for!!
October 29th, 2007 . by Mike KellyWhat Condo and Home Owner Association fees (HOA) funds represent. I had a friend who had his HOA dues increased dramatically due to a lack of funding for deferred maitenance. His complex, an older, not very well built community, needed all new siding, repair of massive dry-rot and roof work. What drew him to the units was their lower HOA fees. They had to float a new bond in the complex and to make matters worse, the contractor they used to do the work went belly-up and they lost over 1/2 the funds for repairs!
I do agree with you that many NEW complexes are woefully underfunded simply as a marketing ploy for new homeowners. When they are selling the units they all look stunning, landscaping is brand new, pools sparkle, but all of these items need MAITENANCE!!! You also run into very high INSURANCE fees especially when pools are present.
You need to get many months of past meeting MINUTES, and BUDGET talks! You’ll be able to find if any issues are brewing. In our area we at one time had 8 out of 10 complexes in law suits against the original builder for defects in construction. Many had to do with tar and gravel roofing, decks over garages, etc and siding! Even though the homeowner’s settled– the law suits made the properties virtually unsaleable during the process as most lender wouldn’t touch them with anything less than 20% down. Since most were “affordable and mid market condos” they went begging for buyers for years!
What to look out for? Older complexes with NO recent, major work performed, lower than normal homeowner’s dues, current lawsuits or brewing storms of such coming down the pike!! I even had a friend who owned a condo in Hawaii get hit with a new “land lease” rent which was 10 times the original!!
For new complexes you need to check with neighboring complexes. Stop and ask homeoners of the other units how much they pay. Any issues in the area? In a heavily condo populated area I’d be also very wary of price and absorption rates. Auctions in the area are NOT good for long-term stability!
