Reducing dues on case by case basis

One of the homeowners in our 200 member HOA has requested a reduction in his future dues due to his low income. He purchased his home 20 years ago and I'm sure the dues have doubled since then. He is an elderly man on a fixed income, and I would be inclined to work with him on this but the other members of the board are not. A big concern is fairness to the other homeowners. Anybody have any experience handling this issue?

Leslie:

I would tend to agree with the other Board members. IMO neither you nor the Board has the right or the authority to reduce the dues on any particular unit because___________.

And yes more than likely the dues has increased for everyone. And just who and how would you propose to determine what this property owner now pays and when the rush of oher requests floods in then what?

IMO very short sighted to even consider this road. And while you and others may "feel" for this one owner the Board's role is to collect dues to operate the property in a manner set up in the governing documents not in the way you propose to make things more fair to some.

My botom line the running of an HOA is in the end a business with a signed contract which all parites need to live up to.

I agree with everyone else. Typically, even if the Board wanted to, the governing documents (usually the deed restrictions, i.e. CC&Rs) do not give such authority to the Board.

BTW, if you did reduce the amount of assessments for that one lot, are you willing to pay the difference for them? If you are, why not simply be neighborly and give the neighbor a few hundred or pay their assessment for them?

I ask this because assessments are based off of the Associations budget. If you waive some of the assessment for one individual, you will still need to pay the bills so someone else will need to pay a higher assessment. The other option is to defer maintenance or reduce services so the expenses can match the reduced income. Additionally, if you reduce it for one, you need to reduce it for anyone else who asks. This will cause even higher assessments for those paying more than their fair share or services will need to be reduced or amenities closed.

Like I said, if you believe that the individual is truly having problems, has taken all of the equity out of their home, reduced their own expenses to just the needs and not the wants (like not having internet access or cable/satellite tv service) and has no extended family that can assist, then by all means, contact the individual and be neighborly and generous enough to pay their assessment for them (in addition to your own).

The Association must comply with the governing documents and applicable state laws. As I and others have pointed out, the governing documents typically require that assessments be made equally or on a percentage basis (typically for condos).

I know that this might not be what you wanted to hear. I hope it helps.

Tim

I'll bet one of your governing documents will clearly require equal assessment of dues among all property owners, which removes sentimental rulings. Overall, great advice in this thread.

Why not think about the concept of "Reverse Mortgages" and see if if could be applied here. Whatever reduction is applied as a lien on the property and when the unit is sold or transferred, the monies due the associations are made whole.

One of the realities of life is that as we get older our needs and abilities change. Not to be mean, but this man needs to adjust his standard of living to meet his current and future income. That may mean selling his home. Or maybe refinancing his home. I do not know how much your assessments are but I doubt that cutting them in half, for example, is going to significantly improve his situation.