Sudden Assessment

As much time as it takes for the contractor to get paid to do the job. Remember the OTHER end of where this money is going. The contractor is most likely asking to have the money upfront or in hand by time that work is scheduled.

The Declaration says that owners agree to pay to the Association: (1) annual assessments or charges, and (2) special assessments for capital improvements, such assessments to be fixed, established and collected from time to time as hereinafter provided.

Does this mean that special assessments can only be used for capital improvements? Does fixing a leak (with no sign of damage) count as a capital improvement?

39 people in the HOA. It is townhouses.

What is a reserve fund?

Our water usage went up in June, but that is when the pool was opened. They say it went up last September (and even showed us a graph that shows it increasing) but I'm not seeing that on the reconciliation detail sheets they make available. I did see several checks to board members and residents without any further explanation.

I don't understand their reconciliation sheets. January is missing from both 2018 and 2019. Feb 2018 the ending balance is 9762.64. May is 4787.33. December is 4708.56. How could they lose 5000 from Feb to May and not from May to December, when May, June, July, and August all have pool costs. Feb 2019 is 8651.32, and May 2019 is 7276.3.

The last president (who was only there like two months) held a community meeting where she told everyone that she wasn't sure they could open the pool the next year. A couple living here had been taking care of the pool for us, but was quitting. Some board members wanted to hire an outside company but the president said that there was no money, we were like seriously broke. Dues were going to go up, but they would need to go up more if someone from the community didn't take care of the pool. She was asking for ideas, or volunteers, so we could keep the pool open. That was November 2017, I think, and I think she quit like right after that meeting. Current president then paid the couple last year, and then hired a pool company this year. Dues didn't go up until January of this year, so I thought the previous president was exaggerating.

Reserve Fund: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/reservefund.asp

A reserve fund's purpose is to pay for replacement of big ticket items without having to resort to special assessments. Predicting such future spending is at best an educated guess made with reasonable assumptions at the time. It's not perfect, and because conditions that affect the predictions change with time, associations need to have periodic reserve studies done by professionals. Many states' condo laws address these requirements in more detail, meaning it's not up to condo boards to SWAG it.

Condo Finances:

Condo spending is not evenly spread out during the year, and it's not unusual to see fairly big swings from month to month. In fact, if you didn't see swings, you should get suspicious.

Water is a major expense, especially if a small community has a pool (my community is 74 units with no pool, and water is still a significant part of our budget).

Just because owners aren't seeing signs of a leak doesn't mean there isn't one. Often the only sign is an unexplained uptick in water usage, which the association must investigate and address. Depending on the size and location of the leak, repairs could run into many dollars. It may be appropriate to use a special assessment depending on where the leak is located. The water system is part of the community's infrastructure and must be maintained and upgraded as needed.

General Comments:

Many condo associations are "broke", and this is a good sign that either monthly assessments are too low (very common) or the board is overspending or both. Many boards are reluctant to set assessments high enough to cover all items in the budget as well as set aside a portion for the reserves because they fear blow back from owners. However, it's their job because the bills will always come due, and then there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth because unexpected special assessments are necessary. Minor pain now, or major pain later. I don't think $500 is necessarily out of line - special assessments can run into many thousands of dollars, depending on what needs to be paid for.

I recommend that the OP learn more about condo financing in general and his/her community's finances specifically. It's a reality that condo owners are financial partners with all other owners. It's also a reality that "low maintenance" does not equal "no responsibilities". Apathy is a very common failing among condo owners. Many believe "out of sight, out of mind" and that it's the board's problem to deal with everything. Newp.

To quote one of our regular posters, there is no Magic HOA Money Printing Machine. The finances fall equally on all owners, and irresponsible management can reduce the value of everyone's home. If many owners have trouble coming up with %500 at short notice - and according to some recent articles I've read, that's a sizeable percentage of people in this country - then responsible, realistic setting of the monthly assessment is essential. Kicking the can down the road just gives you a dented can that no longer does its job.

Your community, I'm assuming not having a reserve fund puts all the owners in a pickle. In a perfect HOA, An special assessment at a minimum would take 90 days to collect. That goes from the time the BOD approves the SA, the mailings go out and accounting collects the payment; and that's not counting the people that call and make payment arrangements because they're on fixed incomes. Typically these payments for emergency and capital expenditures come of of the community reserve fund. since you have none, that places an unfair burden on you the owner. All I can suggest is call the Property Manager and work out a payment arrangement.

See the following thread on this forum:

Subject: Reserve Studies/Funds 101

If your Association doesn't have a reserve fund the should start one now.
First step is a reserve study.

When we did our first reserve study, we discovered a need to raise assessments by 20% to properly fund the reserves (put enough money into savings to cover the expenses identified in the study).