condo specail assessment

hi,

I have written on several posts the situation we are in post harvey.

Today in the mail owners receive a notice of special assessment.

I am aware the board has a right to pass a special assessment. However, the board did not specify what the assessment was for . They simply stated the bylaw that allowed them to pass the special assessment.

They said it is for ongoing and underfunded maintenance and repair.

As I stated in the previous posts, this board has burned through almost a million dollars that the hoa had in our reserves... However, every month the scope of work and cost and expected cost would change, there was absolutely no accountability.
Right now the president has entered a contract with a company who is going to finance the work they are doing over the next year! However, the work they are doing isn't even part of the legally defined common elements..

My question is this,. We are currently getting proxies and signatures to vote call a special meeting to recall the president. This will take about a week...
The assessment is asking for another million dollars. There is no way in he** owners are going to hand over another million dollars without a clear specific and verified breakdown of the exact costs.

does anyone have a link or info to what exactly is required in the letter announcing a special assessment.

I believe, the fact that the letter states "at a duly called meeting..." can be challeneged. because this board has never ever followed the notice requirements. however, i'm sure the attorney wrote up the assessment letter. And legally special assessments can only be voted on by the board at a duly called meeting.

also.. the board claims the duly called specail meeting of the board was august 8th. however, duly called special board meeting, requires 5 days notice with date time place and description of topic to be discussed..this was not done.one board member did not attend the meeting because she didn't receive notice.

I am confident we will have enough votes to remove the president and the few other board members who think they are the "bosses". I would like to at the same time we are getting the signatures... know if there is a way to respond in writing to the board and attorneys, requiring proof that the meeting was duly called, and also, the letter announcing special assessment did not clearly define what the money will be used for, what are the specific issues that the board has decided it needs the money for etc.. It seems to me,, an assessment letter without detailed information regarding the assessment certainly would not be legally upheld, unless that information is made available to owners and the money will be spent on things that are actually required.

????

I don't think the board can pass a special assessment per se, They can cal for a special assessment, and that has to be approved by 2/3rds of the owners.

I think Bill has it right, it depends on your governing docs and state law, and there is no single requirement that covers all associations everywhere. As an example, here is what my CCRs say:

Special assessments may be made by the Board of Directors of
said Association from time to time to meet other needs or
requirements of the Association in the operation and management
of the common areas, and to provide for emergencies, repairs or
replacements and infrequently recurring items of maintenance.

Upon first glance, our HOA's finances are solid and each year we add about 15% to our reserves. That said we have a killer budget expense awaiting us some 15 to 20 years down the road. We are small, patio homes. 36 duplexes, side by side, single story and 40 single family homes both single and two story

Our Covenants call for our HOA to be responsible for roofing and siding of each structure with re-roofing to begin in 2033 and continue for 7 years. Bottom line is with our current dues structure we will not be able to afford to do them all. We are reviewing the figurse and expect we will need a $100 per unit, per year dues increase for 2 to 3 years with this money earmarked for roofing and siding replacement.

Our BOD can raise the yearly dues as much as we want to but there is a procedure we must follow. We must provide next year's budget to each owner showing the dues increase on or before 12/01 with it taking effect on 01/01. Our owners (10%) could then call for a Special Meeting with the stated goal of refusing the budget, and if 67% of all owners vote to not accept the budget, we cannot do it. I repeat, 67% of all owners (not just those at the meeting but all owners) must vote no. We do not expect the objectors will be organized/able to get enough for a Special Meeting and even if they do, to be able to get 67% of all owners to vote no.

We first raised the issue as a general conversation/warning at our past Annual Meeting. We are presently preparing a financial documentation package showing all the "numbers" for our owners. This package will be mailed out along with the 01/01 budget on or before 12/01.

My point is many associations have the same ability and it is not a Special Assessment though some may view it as such and get hung up on that wording.

BTW, Laska, if you mean to be on the board, or want to help whoever you are backing to get on the board make sure they do everything right, you/they are going to have to contact an attorney about what the association is required to rebuild.

You keep complaining that they are rebuilding things that are not common areas, and from what you have posted and my understanding of the Texas law on that, they have to rebuild/repair non common areas.

Whether I am right or wrong needs to be determined by a qualified attorney. If I am right, and the new BOD decides not to follow the law on that, do as you want and only rebuild common areas, you all could face even more troubles later on.

If individual homeowners pay for theirs, and later find out they shouldn't have had to, they might sue.

You're welcome, and thank you for following up with that information.