HOA Loans

I an the treasurer of our association. We are 72 units and have been mismanged for quite a while. Long story short, we have a new board in place and a new management company. Problem is our reserve is at aprrox 150,000.
We are in need of new roofs, decks and fencing, We want to take out a loan, and we do not want to assess any special assessments. We pay $250.00 a month. Have No pool, No club house, nothing.
Does anyone know any lenders that will loan to an association. We want to borrow approx $200,000.
Thanks

Hi Sandy,

Start with the bank that you already do business with. If you have your operating account and reserve account with them, they will certainly want to work with a current client. They also don't want to lose your business to another bank! Of course you should also speak with other banks anyway, they may be eniticed to give you better terms if you're willing to move your other accounts to them.

Not sure if you could borrow that much without some special assessment to pay it back. It's a lot of money for a fairly small association. Once you start getting some quotes, you may realize that you either need a smaller loan to pay it out of the monthly dues or a monthly special assessment to pay the larger amount back.

An insiders tip: if you're looking at replacing all the fencing, consider vinyl fencing instead of wood. My HOA replaced all the five foot wood fences with six foot vinyl fences a few years ago. They do cost more up front, but don't need the maintenance that wood fencing does. No rotting, no termites, no painting every few years, no repairs. The old fences were a constant headache for both the owners and the Board, and the new ones haven't caused a minute of trouble or a penny of expense since they were installed.