Local Condo HOA-$38,000+ Assessment

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/some-homeowners-say-its-been-hard-paying-their-portion-3m-neighborhood-facelift/YM5BJAK7GJGS3PXOT2GPLVTSAI/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3oZ3RCJes7QplPoUe2ejXpoPQ_90Gqe8qGQfn4UDsO3Eu9NUeLJ6M5nxQ

This community is up the street from me. Built around the same time, values about the same, $250,000 range. After 9 years on our Board, I retired 2 years ago, all the other Board members left also. I have been preparing to sell and move on. No HOA next time.

During our time on the Board we accomplished some massive maintenance items. Roofs, railings, pool, retaining walls, Reserve Study. The new Board has been a revolving door. Had one member last 6 weeks. Tried to spend all the money and didn't think we needed to "save" for anything. We now have a new uneducated, new owner, President making false promises, firing vendors outside of contract terms, cut the Reserve Account contribution, didn't raise the monthly's by the amount allowed and left money on the table.

Only 15% of the owners attend the Annual Meetings. We are stacked condos, 2 high. 20 buildings, 144 units, 40+ years old. We are over 50% rentals.

Reserves are way below what they need to be. Still need major work.

This is scary stuff!

TEXT -

CHARLOTTE — The *** community near *** Road has three sections. The largest is more than 60 homes. They’re about 50 years old and many residents agree they desperately needed work, a lot of it. So, the Homeowners Association paid a contractor more than $3 million to redo the roofs, siding, and more.

Residents elected the HOA board, the board voted for the project, and it divided the assessments over multiple years.

Lori says her portion of the tab is $52,500. “I had to borrow from my inheritance. I had to take money out of my 401(K),” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “I started taking my deceased husband’s Social Security.”

“Somebody needed to hear our story,” she said.

Another resident told Stoogenke her assessment is around $38,000. She says, fortunately, an uncle left her money. Otherwise, she’d have to rely on her children for the assessment.

A third homeowner says her bill is roughly $32,000 and that she’s had to use her savings and even refinance.

A fourth person emailed Stoogenke saying he couldn’t afford the bill so his home ended up in foreclosure.

Gayle lives in another section of the community that’s not part of the makeover, but she feels for her neighbors. “They are getting, excuse me, screwed,” she said. “I can’t sit by and do nothing.”

Stoogenke emailed the HOA several times about this but didn’t hear back in time for this report.

Advice from Action 9:
- If you’re thinking of buying a home in an older neighborhood that has an HOA, ask if there are any big projects on the horizon.
- If you already live there, make sure you’re involved: go to the HOA meetings and all the more reason to pick good board members.
- Always have a Plan B. Know what you would do if homeownership gets too expensive.

I vacation in Carolina Beach 2x a year. I stay at a condo built around the same time as these. Being an ex-board member I'm in tune to my surroundings. Although I would never want to be on the Board of the condo complex I stay at, I am amazed at how well it's maintained. Unit's sell for around $350,000 and dues are under $400 a month. 2nd row from beach and they have a pool. Shows it is possible to maintain them. Needs active owners who understand the importance of maintenance and the right people on the Board.

They were pressure washing and painting while I was there at Christmas. A little noisy, but I didn't mind.

yep but it's impossible to know if they got good bids and a good deal, or if it was your typical elite board that just hires a vendor with minimal research or care into finances. For example they could have a management contract where the property management company gets a 10% fee for "managing" the improvements. 10% of 3 million is a lot of money. Or they could be getting materials that are much more expensive than needed. there are so many possibilities and there is no guarntee this wont' happen again soon.

Every condo I lived in was under funded. The reason wasn’t from an Elite board.

I can only assume the owners had to vote on this thus the majority believe it to be necessary. You cannot please everybody.

Cedar doesn't, but I woudln't recommend them.

This like this happens all the time. About 10 years ago a 55-plus community. The residents were hit with a HUGE special assessment
because of poor management, poor board leadership, and assessments that had not been raised in years. There are a couple of condo
towers with construction defects that still plague the cost of repairs with costs rising.

It's even rosier for those who own their homes outright. Imagine getting assessed by the city $1000 per foot of the frontage of
your property line because the city is converting to the regional sewer system and you can no longer have a septic tank or use well
water.