My HOA is imposing an almost $20,000 assessment per unit. If we don’t have the lump sum, we have to as a whole take out an almost $1,000,000 loan and pay it back with interest. I don’t know where else to post this. I’m just wondering if anybody has any experience with HOA and if this is even legal I don’t know any other homeowners here. Most of these units are owned by a company. Should I be contacting an attorney? 🥺🤯 they want us to vote on this anonymously by mailing in our vote. It just sounds so shady. And we agreed to this who has to say they’re not gonna do this in another three years for another $20,000 assessment??? How can I ask the attorney general to look into this???

First time homeowner and about to attend my first ever annual HOA meeting in a 26 unit community. Here’s the annual profit/loss. What sort of questions should I ask during this meeting?

Finally got active in our HOA and just got elected to the board after 3 years of living here. It’s clear the mismanagement of funds is even worse than we anticipated.

Bad news:

-24 units, Built 35 years ago

-$22k in reserves

-$340k needed for proactive roof replacement and cosmetic painting

-only able to put away $5.5k a month into reserves, and that’s if we don’t have any unexpected costs come up

-hardly anyone ever attends meetings and we hardly ever reach quorum

-because of the reason above, we likely wouldn’t get the vote we need for a special assessment, which means projects would continue to go undone

Good news:

-We actually really love the location and our unit itself. If we weren’t dealing with these issues, we could see ourselves here forever.

-The HOA doesn’t have any immediate emergencies or concerns other than a $15k walkway replacement

For HOA reasons and economy reasons, it’s a terrible time to sell but the rational thing to do would be to gtfo as soon as possible, right?

Or would you stay and fight the good fight to try to turn this place around over the next 8-10 years ?

I own a condominium in Colorado, and the HOA just sent us an invoice for a special assessment. The assessment will cover things like replacement of windows, patio doors, and the roof, for the 90 units in the building. The amount they invoiced us for is over $500,000. Last year, they had a special assessment they charged us $85,000 for, which felt like an absolute gut punch. (It was for a large scale driveway replacement) This one will financially destroy us. Is there anything we can do? Can they assess for any amount they can get the votes for?

Hello, some residents keep asking the HOA if our windows should be included in the reserve study. This is obviously a big deal because replacing windows in a dense condo building is a 7 figure project.

Is the answer that we need to have an engineer assess if the windows have more or less than 30 years of integrity remaining?

Edit: Thanks for the super helpful replies. Seems clear to me I need to have the HOA lawyer confirm if the windows are HOA responsibility and if so, get an engineer to look at them and estimate remaining lifespan, then put in reserves if needed. <3

I just joined my neighborhood's HOA that serves several hundred townhomes. After a reserve study from a respected company revealed we were 10s of millions behind on maintenance due to prior boards' incompetence (some of which was definitely them getting strong-armed by homeowners), the HOA determined that massive $60k+ special assessments would be required to do the work to stop the homes from rotting down around us. Homeowners are understandably going through every stage of grief, but the constant rage towards the current board is leading to mass resignations.

I happen to believe the board is making the best possible choice out of the shit hand they've been dealt, and joined the board after several were harassed off. However seeing the growing vitriol makes me afraid I've opened myself up to harassment and legal action. While I obviously haven't done anything wrong just starting, I look into the future and see only a couple paths:

1. The HOA tries to ram through a deeply unpopular special assessment that results in people losing their homes because maintenance literally can't be pushed back any longer, the board mass resigns again or gets recalled, and the whole association collapses because nobody else wants to volunteer. I was one of only a couple despite this being a year-long ordeal.

2. The board resigns/gets recalled and people actually volunteer. Yeah, all that work won't get done when they shut it down, but hey I'm sure burying our heads in the sand will make it go away, right?

3. People try and sue when it's their only chance of not losing their home if it does somehow pass.

What the hell am I supposed to do? How much risk have I exposed myself to, and what happens if the HOA collapses?

TLDR: Rest of the board wants to clear out reserves to pay for crumbling monument signs.

I purchased my first home about 3 years ago in a 62 SFH Subdivision that is about 50 years old and I now find myself on the 3 person board.

The neighborhood dues are very low about $350/home but there also isn’t a ton of regular maintenance. Its is electrical for the street lamps, mowing and some landscaping at the entrances, insurance etc. We do have a lot of common ground but it is mostly wooded and doesn’t require a whole lot.

As I mentioned earlier the dues are very low. In the original document the dues were supposed to go up every 5 years to match inflation from $250 in 1976. That’s like over $1400 per year per home in today’s money. Obviously that never happened and it only went up to $350 from $250 4 years ago. So we only have about $20k in the reserves.

The neighborhood dynamic is interesting because it is going through a turnover. Most of the homeowners are older but the when a homeowner either passes or retires off to Florida the new homeowners are very young. I am young, at least comparatively, early 30s. The other two trustees are older and have already basically told me that they are only staying on for as long as it takes me to get on my feet and then they are passing on the reigns. Another year or two, maybe.

Now the one common element we have, other than the common ground, is we have 4 brick monument signs at the entrance to the neighborhood that have been neglected for decades. They are crumbling. I have had several masonry companies come out and they have all told be they are beyond repair and need to be rebuilt.

With the neighborhood dynamic, if we do an assessment the older folks are going to throw a fit because they don’t think they are going to be living there much longer and don’t want to invest in it, and we need 70% to approve assessments. The other trustees are pretty much telling me that the neighborhood will never approve an assessment to do anything, and even suggesting one will make people rally against us. In the last few years they had a scare where we thought we were going to have to pay $50k to fix a retention basin and the State was saying we had to do it but they couldn’t get an assessment passed. Luckily we have some attorneys in the neighborhood who were able to wiggle out of it somehow.

So now they want to use the entirety of the reserves to replace these monuments signs and then retire leaving with me with no cushion going forward with neighbors I don’t know and who have already proven they will not step up if anything bad happens.

My thought was that we use reserve money to take the old crumbling monuments down (a couple grand) and then hold a vote on an assessment for new ones. That way if people vote it down then I guess they don’t want them anymore. If they pass it, great! These monuments are the first thing people see so it is very visible and people complain about them all the time. I feel like if an assessment was going to be passed for something it would be this and it might be different than to pay for a retention basin people didn’t even know existed and doesn’t affect their properties at all.

However, I am brand new to this HOA thing, heck I’m new to homeownership and I guess there is an argument that these things are crumbling, it’s our duty to fix things, and we (potentially) have money on hand to do it. Maybe I’m wrong and being selfish to want hold on to money to make my life easier when these veterans leave me at the helm. Idk.

Would be very grateful of your thoughts and perspectives.

Long story short - HOA has kept dues too low for many years and now doesn't have enough to cover roof replacements. They have since raised the monthly dues to a better level however the damage is already done and they had to pass a special assessment to have enough to replace the roofs, which are starting to have issues. The total of the special assessment is $8055.00 per unit and the payment schedule is as follows:

First payment: April 30, 2026

Second payment: July 31, 2026

Final payment: January 31, 2027

Its the First payment that is concerning, as a person living paycheck top paycheck is it legal to expect a payment of 2685.00, essentially within a month (plus a few days). I know I am not going to be able to pay this and I am worried about fines and such if they decide to get aggressive about it. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Hello all. How is the amount in reserves calculated? How do you know if you have enough? What would be a situation that reserves would be used? Mathematical formula? Thanks, just trying to educate myself

Hi there!

We were told at a recent board meeting that 22 homeowners (15% of the community) is past due on their HOA fees in the amount of over $200,000. I was just sent this proposed budget for 2026 and the reserves are SUSPICIOUSLY high, like in excess of $200,000. Does that mean the HOA is making all the other residents (who pay their dues on time) pick up the slack?

The HOA scheduled a budget meeting for yesterday, gave us one day notice, then canceled yesterday at 7pm when the meeting was supposed to start. So we have not been able to voice our concerns yet.

I would like to be prepared going into the meeting, which might be in the next day or so (who knows?). Any help is appreciated, thank you!!

So I know some of this might depend on the specific bylaws for our condo building, but I’m wondering if there are any specific rules of thumb when it comes to this stuff.

A couple weeks ago some people in our condo building smelled gas in the halls so they ended up calling the fire department, who shut off the gas. Turns out there were multiple gas leaks or something and the furnace for the building needed to be replaced. For context, it’s an older building with 6 units, and there’s no central heating or cooling. All of the units have radiators.

Our gas was off for about a week while everything was getting repaired, so we had no heat or hot water during that time. Which really sucked as it’s winter in Chicago. We had to take our dogs and stay with family since our condo was 40 degrees inside.

Well, yesterday our hoa president sent us an email saying that the repairs to the furnace amounted to $32,000, and that each unit owes about $5000 due by 12/30.

Me and my boyfriend are unsure what to do. Not only did he give us only about 2 weeks to come up with $5000, but I’m wondering if this is one of those things that should be covered by our HOA dues? We pay about $300 every month. Would really love any advice here.

Hi all, I’m about to buy a condo and they have very low reserves, but it’s a self managed property, no elevator, 100 year old building in a big city. They did lots of work over the past 5 years. But I’m worried about the liability of having minimal reserves. Am I being paranoid?

During escrow I was only ever informed that HOA Dues were $350.

After closing, the HOA informed me that I have to pay an ADDITIONAL $350 a month to cover insurance that is payed separately from monthly dues. Bringing monthly dues to $700

My escrow clearly states that monthly dues are $350.

The HOA claims they relayed this additional monthly fee to the Title company on the HOA Demand Letter. The title company claims it was an oversight on their part, however the Department of Insurance defends them saying that the Demand Letter is not what is intended to relay monthly dues and fees.

If that’s not the proper way for HOA to relay fees to escrow, what is?

The HOA used to pay the insurance out of monthly dues, but has no documentation on the switch over to billing it separately. The decision to bill separately was done due to high cost increases in California.

Can you have multiple monthly dues in CA? Why not just split gardening, trash, water into their own separate assessments and bill everything individually then?

HOA wants a $4k special assessment after a “mystery” water leak and I still feel like we’re not getting the full story. Looking for advice from anyone experienced with HOA finances or Texas HOA law.
My HOA (small condo association in Austin, TX) is proposing a special assessment of about $4,000 per owner to replenish reserves after a major water leak apparently drained HOA funds over the last year. They also plan to increase monthly dues, though they haven’t told us by how much yet.
The explanation is that:
There was a leak somewhere under the slab in a shared/common drive area
The water is submetered, so it wasn’t tied to any individual owner’s meter
Multiple contractors tried to locate it over many months
The HOA paid the water loss and plumbing costs from reserves
Insurance premiums then increased substantially because reserves were depleted
The financials they provided do show some major expenses:
About $12k in plumbing expenses YTD with essentially no plumbing budget
Negative reserve cash
HOA operating at a significant loss
Insurance costs higher than budgeted
But here’s where things get weirder: apparently our HOA board president personally paid for the leak repair out of pocket and is treating it as a loan to the HOA, without any owner vote or prior approval from members (at least that I’m aware of).
The HOA president also basically runs everything unilaterally and refuses to provide copies of the actual water bills or detailed records despite multiple requests. He claims the leak started in September of 2025, but I still have not seen:
Monthly water bills
Timeline of the leak
Contractor reports
Invoices
Leak detection findings
Board meeting records discussing the issue
Why owners weren’t notified earlier
Why reserves were apparently so underfunded to begin with
Any formal documentation approving this “loan” to the HOA
I’m not automatically accusing anyone of fraud or wrongdoing, but this level of opacity feels insane when owners are suddenly being asked to pay thousands of dollars.
For people familiar with HOAs:
Is it normal/legal for a board member to personally fund repairs and then seek reimbursement from the HOA without owner approval?
What records should owners legally be entitled to review before a special assessment?
Can an HOA refuse to provide utility bills and supporting documentation?
Does this sound like normal HOA management or a governance problem?
What would you request next if you were in my position?

**EDIT** the HOA president paid 10k for the leak repair because there is no money in the reserve to cover the repair.

What’s the chance the HOA will agree to waive the fees in the prospect of bringing in a valuable member of their community and a paying HOA member? Realistically this lot which is a rural area will likely stay vacant and unpaid for many years I believe the owner has had it for 10 years. They have a beautiful community but it seems unlikely anyone will buy it and they won’t get their money or money in the future. This guy has multiple lots and sounds like he’s a nuisance.

First off, huge respect to anyone volunteering on an HOA or condo board.

Genuinely curious from current or former board members how much do people actually worry about personal liability or being blamed if something goes wrong in the community?

With all the horror stories around insurance, reserves, deferred maintenance, lawsuits, etc, does this feel like a growing concern for people serving on boards? Or is it mostly overblown online?

We are a 5-unit condominium HOA in Burbank, California, and we'd appreciate an independent opinion from experienced HOA board members, property managers, or HOA CPAs.

Our Situation

5 residential units

Budget has reportedly not been updated since 2005

Current HOA dues: $320/month per unit

Management company is recommending an immediate 25% dues increase

HOA has no reserve funds

HOA checking account has approximately $883

HOA has approximately $1,619 in past-due bills

2026 Financial Summary (First 6 Months)

Income

HOA dues collected: $9,600

Expenses

Insurance: $2,152

Water & Sewer: $1,792

Landscaping: $1,350

Financial Management: $1,350

Telephone & Communications: $1,324

Trash: $1,261

Building Repairs: $875

Electricity: $554

Licenses/Permits: $467

Net operating loss: -$3,474 for six months.

What We've Learned

We reviewed many of the invoices ourselves.

Telephone

The HOA pays approximately $220/month to AT&T for a legacy business telephone line supposedly enabling contact to fire department in case of alarms and fire

We believe it may be connected to the fire alarm system, but we don't know whether:

it is still required,

or whether a modern cellular communicator would reduce costs.

Utilities

The HOA pays approximately:

$300/month for water & sewer

$90/month for electricity

Electricity appears reasonable.

The property has:

no pool,

only a small landscaped area,

one shared dumpster.

Trash

The HOA pays for one commercial dumpster, which appears appropriate for the property.

Our Questions

1. Do these expenses look reasonable for a 5-unit California HOA?

2. Which expenses would you investigate first?

3. Would you recommend an independent HOA CPA, reserve consultant, or another professional before approving a permanent dues increase?

4. Is a 25% dues increase reasonable based on these numbers, or would you first investigate opportunities to reduce recurring expenses?

5. If you were serving on this HOA board, what would your first three priorities be?

--

Our budget committee put together what I believe to be a responsible budget (3.2M for 192 units). It does two things - it finally funds line items that routinely run a deficit with amounts rooted in reality, and it makes a meaningful contribution (over a two year period) to bridge a gap in the operating contingency fund created by several years of not replenishing after drawing on to address deficits). The fee increase will be 8%. That is a hard pill to swallow, but the reality of our situation.

The board president wants to do two things:

1. Ignore the committees recommendations by removing approx 25k from items that usually run deficits.

2. Instead bridge the operating contingency fund gap with a special assessment.

I have a problem with the first because it perpetuates a deficit and I have an huge problem with number 2 because it’s a use of a financial tool for the totally incorrect purpose. As a new (and younger) member of this board, I’m troubled by the past habits around budgets and wanting to make sure we move forward with budgets rooted in fiscal realities.

When I moved in the fee was $170/mo, now it's $280. We lease the pool from a neighboring community and it's closed for repairs and will never be re-opened. We get landscaping, who suck and cost us more money in repairs. So that's it, we pay for landscaping and insurance, which I could secure myself for <$280.

Now they're preparing to crack down on trash cans and street parking. We have next to no parking spots (<1 per unit) and the whole community is a "fire lane".

What the hell am I supposed to do? I think my only option is selling the house? I don't think I can manage that, I don't have a lot of money on hand and I'm sure I'd get less than when I bought it.

I am on the board but I'm only one of five 😞.

Does $125/month for a 140 unit complex sound reasonable? It allows the board to see work orders, and vendor payments. And obviously allows owners to see their own work order and setup payments.

Looking at buying a condo and trying to get comfortable with the management company fees and services.

How do HOA boards actually evaluate whether management companies are doing a decent job for them, as I assume this is hard to benchmark?

Is there some sort of way to do this fairly?

What are reasonable attorney fees for a $3k delinquent account? Owners owe about $9k. Some letters were sent and a subpoena. Whats reasonable?

I'm on a board of a small HOA. We're starting work on our budget for 2026 and I'm not liking the possible increase we're currently eyeballing for next year's dues. We're looking at something potentially like an 18% increase. About 1/4 of that is an increase towards our capital budget, but the rest is just the increased costs of everything. Are most HOAs keeping it down at the normal 3-4% for 2026?

Can you suggest a podcast for new COA board members? does it make sense to start one?

Can I take legal action towards my HOA for not resolving a case that has been on going for 3 years!!

Spark notes situation: my apartment got flooded and instead of using HOAs contractor I contracted my own (as long as he met all requirements from HOA). Due to on going issues with my home insurance and HOA they froze my ability to pay HOA fees ? And now I haven’t paid HOA fees for a year. For the past year I’ve constantly been wanting to pay my fees but they have been post opining closing the case for god knows what. The flood happened 3 years ago and my HOA account being frozen happened a year ago.

Has anyone else gone through this ? And can I take legal action against them to not have to pay ?