Much Needed Repairs

I live in a small community of 24 townhouses, and our parking lot and sidewalks are in desperate need of repair but we don't have enough money in our account and with the estimate we received it will be a very long time for a repair that is needed now. Does anyone know if there are any government programs, grants or some type of assistance we can get to help with these expensive repairs. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Any outside assistance would have to be local or state, so you should start your research there. Realistically, there is probably very little chance that any government program is going to provide funds to maintain the private property of the association.

Your problem is a common one, the root cause is that your board of directors is unwilling or unable to set dues at the level required to properly maintain the property. I realize that everybody likes low dues (just like they like low taxes), but dues (like taxes) are needed to maintain common infrastructure. The board is going to need to realistically determine how much money is needed now for repairs, how much it should be setting aside for future big ticket repairs (reserves) and set dues (and possibly make special assessments) at the level required.

You are your own government in a HOA... A HOA is funded by it's members for it's members. You have a project that needs done? You all kick in the funds together. That may mean raising dues or having a special assessment. Living in a HOA life is NOT free and you all depend on eachother to get things done.

You simply get a loan from a bank and raise dues. Some of the dues will be debt repayment and some will go towards your old expenses.

No government programs. Suck it up and get a loan.

Or simply get the 24 neighbors together, along with some cement and fix it in one weekend......yourself.

Jai,
I was actually thinking about the same thing for my community. We desperately need to upgrade and repair our sanitary sewer. Do some research. I googled Iowa grants and found some information. There are at least contact numbers and addresses. It doesn't hurt to ask. It may take some time and lots of information gathering. You may get turned down but maybe not and you have to find the right grant to apply for.

I was kind of amazed at some of the available grants. The health ones are pretty interesting. There are grants for promoting abstinence and breast feeding. I work in a public school and we get grant money for what I believe are some pretty unnecessary things. That's our tax dollars at work and that is my political commentary.

Jai,

As others have mentioned, it's unlikely that a person or entity will step in an just give/grant you money for your projects. It will likely have to come in the form of a loan, special assessment, dues increase, or any combination thereof. All of these would require more money out of pocket for your HOA members.

That said, it may be worthwhile to try and make the expense as small as possible to reduce the out of pocket amount. You may not need to replace the items with exactly what exists already. You would need to research all of this thoroughly through local codes, ordinance, and other requirements, but it may be worth the effort in the end.

Perhaps you don't really need sidewalks in your community. If that's the case, removal without reinstallation would be relatively inexpensive. While labor-intensive, it could be a community-building project.

Perhaps your parking lot doesn't need to be asphalt (if it is right now). Crushed stone could be an option.

I'm not really sure what's feasible in your situation, but thinking outside the box on alternate solutions could be a way to go. With such a small community, it appears more simple to gather everyone and have discussions on the situation. The choice seem pretty simple right now: 1) Either live with what you have, 2) Repair it with identical materials (pay $$$$$), 3) Repair it with different materials (pay $).

Also, obtain multiple quotes on the various jobs. We've found that quotes can vary quite drastically for the same scope of work.

Good luck.

It amazes me, but not in a good way how some people always seem to search for a solution provided by others. Which as luck would have it requires no effort or sacrifice on their part.

What ever happened to living within your means? How about paying YOUR OWN way?

And then you wonder where all this FREE money comes from and how our government stands in a 17-18 TRILLION dollar hole.
I hole that in my view will destroy this country. In the real world there is no free money. Someone, somehow will be picking up the tab.

The dream that government will ride in and fix your problems is childish, La La Land make believe thinking.

How about you and your neighbors roll up your sleeves sacrifice all those MUST HAVES in your life that consume your every nickel you possess and instead make an honest effort to protect your largest investment YOURSELF!

Or has the American Way become stand around, do nothing, and hope someone fixes the problem? That sounds more like it.....