HOA Insurance non-renewal, Lawsuit, Interim coverage

A HOA is only funded by it's members. Only suggestion is a special assessment to replace the roof cost. Once replaced you can pickup new insurance.

I hadn't heard of mansard roofs and looked it up - you weren't joking when you said these are very expensive. These roofs are also expensive to maintain and have poor weather resistance. Guess the developer was more interested in the buildings looking pretty than being practical.

All of that said, I think Melissa's right, you're going to have to call for a special assessment. You also say you don't have enough in reserves for the rest, which makes me wonder (1) when was your last reserve study - if it's over 5 years old, you need to budget for one next year so you can do a better job in planning for the next 30 20-30 years for the budget and (2) have reserves been funded according to the last study's recommendations?

For that matter, have your assessments kept up with inflation? At the very least, I think homeowners should expect an annual increase based on the cost of living in their area, so they get used to it. People often squawk about assessments being "too high" but homeownership has never been cheap. These folks usually hope they're long gone by the time the caca hits the fan and newer owners are stuck with the bill because previous owners didn't plan (roofs should last 25 years or so, but climate change can cut that in half).

You could get a loan, but assessments will still have to increase because now you have to pay the loan, routine expenses, and fund reserves, so whether it's a special assessment or a loan, this will cost homeowners more money - and you might be looking at another loan or special assessments for something else in the future.

You will need a reserve study if the last one's hopelessly out of date, but in the meantime, get a roofing contractor to inspect the buildings and rank them from worst to not so bad (yet), and provide estimates for replacements vs. repairs. I suspect it will probably be better to bite the bullet and just replace them instead of relying on a Band-Aid repair.

Then call a special homeowner's meeting, present the findings and the numbers, let people ask questions, and schedule a future vote on special assessment vs. loan. If the special assessment wins, come up with a plan where people can pay their share over a year. The buildings with the worst shape should be addressed first, so those folks will need to cough up the money sooner. If there's been a history of people neglecting needed maintenance because of the cost (assessment increases again), they need to be reminded of that because they can't put this off any longer and if they sell, the new buyer (if there is one) will need to know the history.

One quibble - I'm not sure that's true. If the roofs are common area, then all owners should be assessed and the cost shared regardless of which buildings go first. (This is essentially what happens if you fund the replacement through the reserves. Everyone pays in, but roofs are usually replaced according to schedule unless you're in a very small association and they're all replaced at the same time.)

I've never heard of a special assessment for only a portion of owners that covers only the common areas in their buildings. I suppose it could happen, I just haven't heard of it. If as association does it this way, the section of the CC&Rs dealing with special assessments will say so.

I dunno. I can see having language about "what benefits only some owners" in HOAs with single family homes. But in condos, all owners own a fractional share of all common elements. Yes, I benefit if my building's roof doesn't leak. But everyone owns that roof. And depending on my fractional share, there could well be owners in different buildings who own a large percentage of my roof than I do. If I own one of the smaller units, this will definitely be true.

But as I said, there should be language in the CC&Rs that addresses this. If it says nothing about the owners who benefit from a particular assessment, then I say you can't do it. My own community's CC&Rs have no such provisions. The only assessments that aren't calculated by fractional ownership are the punitive ones (fines and the like).

One HOA I was a member of needed major repairs (roofing, siding, walkways, etc.) and the Reserves could not cover it, so the BOD arranged for a $3 Million loan from a local bank. Each unit had to pay their share ($25K to $30K) direct to the bank. The bank arranged various payment options, with interest, extending out as long as 10 years and the balance payable upon sale. Pay within 90 days with no interest. It became a negotiating point when selling. These units sold for about $450K average.

Back to the beginning. The plan need owner approval. 86% voted yes. Several owners banded together and sued. The association lawyer managed to get the case heard right away do to the urgency of some repairs. The suit was promptly dismissed.