MelA (Minnesota)
Posts: 1
Posts: 1
Posted:
Could HOA Management forced the residents to pay $4000.00 each in order to replace the heating unit per home? This is in Minnesota and what are the rights of the residents?
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Special assessment fees
Started by MelA • 7 replies • 1340 views
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BradP (Kansas)
Posts: 2,640
Posts: 2,640
Posted:
Mel:
Read your docs, it should spell out how a special assessment can be levied against the membership. At least where I live it takes a 2/3 majority of members at a meeting called for that purpose to approve it. Management and/or the board can just arbitrarily do that in our association.
Read your docs, it should spell out how a special assessment can be levied against the membership. At least where I live it takes a 2/3 majority of members at a meeting called for that purpose to approve it. Management and/or the board can just arbitrarily do that in our association.
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
The residents should have had a meeting and approved the special assessment first. Then the special assessment would have to be levied EQUALLY amongst ALL the homeowners. This can end up "cheaper" for the homeowners as a group rather than an individual in the long run. An air condition unit can be more than $4k. Your HOA may be getting a group discount of some sort. So don't go complaining too loud if this could be a benefit overall.
Former HOA President
PaulM (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 1,347
Posts: 1,347
Posted:
MelA:
You, yourself, are the best one to answer "what are the rights of residents?" by reading your official documents, CC&Rs, to learn if the maintenance/repair of the HEATING UNIT in each home is the responsibility of the owner OR the association. I have never heard of a heating unit to be the responsibility of the association, UNLESS it is a condo-type building and the method of fuel maintenance/repair is part of the long-term capital reserve items which would be referenced in the documents.
If it is the association's responsibility, and there are not enough funds in your capital reserve account, I can understand why HOA Management is levying a special assessment to the residents.
Further, how old is your community in Minnesota? Is it possible the heating units were defective from the developer/builder?
You need to post further info w/particulars for us to respond to your personal situation.
You, yourself, are the best one to answer "what are the rights of residents?" by reading your official documents, CC&Rs, to learn if the maintenance/repair of the HEATING UNIT in each home is the responsibility of the owner OR the association. I have never heard of a heating unit to be the responsibility of the association, UNLESS it is a condo-type building and the method of fuel maintenance/repair is part of the long-term capital reserve items which would be referenced in the documents.
If it is the association's responsibility, and there are not enough funds in your capital reserve account, I can understand why HOA Management is levying a special assessment to the residents.
Further, how old is your community in Minnesota? Is it possible the heating units were defective from the developer/builder?
You need to post further info w/particulars for us to respond to your personal situation.
PaulJ (South Carolina)
Posts: 40
Posts: 40
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MelissaP1 on 08/04/2007 10:50 PM
The residents should have had a meeting and approved the special assessment first. Then the special assessment would have to be levied EQUALLY amongst ALL the homeowners. This can end up "cheaper" for the homeowners as a group rather than an individual in the long run. An air condition unit can be more than $4k. Your HOA may be getting a group discount of some sort. So don't go complaining too loud if this could be a benefit overall.
The residents should have had a meeting and approved the special assessment first. Then the special assessment would have to be levied EQUALLY amongst ALL the homeowners. This can end up "cheaper" for the homeowners as a group rather than an individual in the long run. An air condition unit can be more than $4k. Your HOA may be getting a group discount of some sort. So don't go complaining too loud if this could be a benefit overall.
This is not correct. The breakdown of who pays how much should be outlined in your docs. In my building, assessments are allocted using a percentage based on the square footage of the unit(s) you own. Larger units pay a higher amount.
Also, in FLorida, the BOD can assess up to 10% of the budget without a vote. 4K would likely require some sort of membership vote.
Again, your Docs are gospel. Read your docs.
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
EACH HOA is different. We don't know if the poster is in a Condo association or a Homeowner's association. They should read their docs as everyone should. However, we on here give advice from our own situations and experience. Sometimes that proves helpful and accurate and sometimes it doesn't fit the situation. That's when more information is usually gathered to better answer someone's post.
Typically, Special Assessments are handled by majority vote of homeowner's and NOT the board. However, the board does represent the majority of homeowners. Plus the board are homeowner's themselves. So whatever special assessment is raised, the board has to pay it themselves as well.
In this case, a $4K special assessment should have been discussed openly. We didn't have enough details about the situation to know if this poster didn't receive notice of the special assessment meeting, didn't respond to the meeting, or simply misunderstood the situation. It may be that there is no "forcing" of a special assessment at all at this point. The poster could have just recieved notice of the POSSIBILITY and time of the meeting. I've talked to many posters in the past who if sent any type of notice no matter the issue considered it "harassment" or "forced decision" from the HOA. I can't tell from this post if any of the above scenerios are the case.
However, what I and everyone else can do is respond to the post with their own opinions. We don't need to contact an attorney to answer each and every question. No one on here even pretends to be an attorney or gives advice as a legal professional. So no one here should take the advice of the posters as the "gospel" anyway. It's just "internet advice" shared amongst people who's been there and done that, got the t-shirt.
So BarneyC Incarnate, please get off this website and eat your bologna sandwich your momma brought you. We've had enough of you here. Thanks!
Typically, Special Assessments are handled by majority vote of homeowner's and NOT the board. However, the board does represent the majority of homeowners. Plus the board are homeowner's themselves. So whatever special assessment is raised, the board has to pay it themselves as well.
In this case, a $4K special assessment should have been discussed openly. We didn't have enough details about the situation to know if this poster didn't receive notice of the special assessment meeting, didn't respond to the meeting, or simply misunderstood the situation. It may be that there is no "forcing" of a special assessment at all at this point. The poster could have just recieved notice of the POSSIBILITY and time of the meeting. I've talked to many posters in the past who if sent any type of notice no matter the issue considered it "harassment" or "forced decision" from the HOA. I can't tell from this post if any of the above scenerios are the case.
However, what I and everyone else can do is respond to the post with their own opinions. We don't need to contact an attorney to answer each and every question. No one on here even pretends to be an attorney or gives advice as a legal professional. So no one here should take the advice of the posters as the "gospel" anyway. It's just "internet advice" shared amongst people who's been there and done that, got the t-shirt.
So BarneyC Incarnate, please get off this website and eat your bologna sandwich your momma brought you. We've had enough of you here. Thanks!
Former HOA President
JoeW1 (New York)
Posts: 728
Posts: 728
Posted:
MelissaP1 - I'm a bit tired of your accusation that PaulJ is BarneyC, wether true or not it's irrelevan, please enough is enough. As for your statement, the residents should have had a meeting and approved the special assessment first, this is not always correct. The BOD may be able to levy a special assessment, they may not. By stating what you have, not as an opinion mind you, MelA may believe something ain't right in river city when in fact everything may be kosher.
The simple answer to MelA is yes the HOA Management, acting under the authority of the BOD if there is one, can force the residents to pay $4000.00 each in order to replace the heating unit per home? The rights of the residents should be outlined in the docs so PaulJ's response is IMHO entirely on point.
The simple answer to MelA is yes the HOA Management, acting under the authority of the BOD if there is one, can force the residents to pay $4000.00 each in order to replace the heating unit per home? The rights of the residents should be outlined in the docs so PaulJ's response is IMHO entirely on point.
RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164
Posts: 5,164
Posted:
A couple of points, relevant or not.
Apportioned values set in a Condo are set when the Master deed and declarion or filed in court house. I think you will find that the apportion per unit is derived from a variety of measures, not just square feet. Location of unit comes to mind, top floor usually assessed more. Certainly Ocean Front verus Ocean View or no Ocean view, type of unit layout, etc. It is esoteric I know but once it is set, for all practical purposes it will never get changed.
I can not see how an HOA can assess each home for a heating unit. The HOA don't own the units, the owners do. Or maybe the developer owns some. But either way, what heating unit is in the house doessn't concern the HOA.
Also it would be unusual for a condo to assess each owner for the heating unit in condos. To my knowledge the heat and cooling units are owned by the unit owners. If a common H/AC was installed in a condo then the assessment might make a little sense but I still believe it would have to be apportioned, the onlt thing I know that would not be apportioned might be a TV contract to serve all units, and then individuals would have to pay more to get special features.
An aside: It may work our for Condo or HOA owners to get a contract with TV Cable,(or phone) company to provide an exclusive deal to companies. O)ur Cable TV company gives us a special rate under those terms.
Apportioned values set in a Condo are set when the Master deed and declarion or filed in court house. I think you will find that the apportion per unit is derived from a variety of measures, not just square feet. Location of unit comes to mind, top floor usually assessed more. Certainly Ocean Front verus Ocean View or no Ocean view, type of unit layout, etc. It is esoteric I know but once it is set, for all practical purposes it will never get changed.
I can not see how an HOA can assess each home for a heating unit. The HOA don't own the units, the owners do. Or maybe the developer owns some. But either way, what heating unit is in the house doessn't concern the HOA.
Also it would be unusual for a condo to assess each owner for the heating unit in condos. To my knowledge the heat and cooling units are owned by the unit owners. If a common H/AC was installed in a condo then the assessment might make a little sense but I still believe it would have to be apportioned, the onlt thing I know that would not be apportioned might be a TV contract to serve all units, and then individuals would have to pay more to get special features.
An aside: It may work our for Condo or HOA owners to get a contract with TV Cable,(or phone) company to provide an exclusive deal to companies. O)ur Cable TV company gives us a special rate under those terms.
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