Quote:
Posted By SheliaH on 07/09/2025 6:15 AM
Who pays this fee and where does the money go?
I've heard of some communities where the seller or buyer pays a fee that goes into the reserve account. It helps the association keep up with regular deposits to help reduce the chance of new owners having to pay for major improvements that were used up by the previous owners (who were all for underfunding reserves because they figured they'd sell and be out before the caca hit the fan).
I don't know if that's what your board is trying to do - if so, they should have a clearer explanation. What did previous board meeting minutes have to say about this? Read them and see if the explanation was there. Have others asked the same question? If this impact/capitalization fee, or whatever it is is paid by the buyer, they might not care, or aren't selling their home at this time and will worry about it later.
Anyway, the board could send out a clarification or post something on the community website to save time. I'd include a history of how this fee came about in case people forgot or weren't paying attention.
Shelia,
My board discussed this issue. The logic is the original owners were required to pay a cap fee toward infrastructure. The problem in our community was the cap fee was insufficient to pay for infrastructure and the developer “advanced” funds that were paid as part of the normal assessments. While it would have taken owner approval, it was the boards the was board’s opinion that 2nd purchasers should be offsetting some cost paid by original owners.