JD5 (California)
Posts: 1
Posts: 1
Posted:
We are a 5-unit condominium HOA in Burbank, California, and we'd appreciate an independent opinion from experienced HOA board members, property managers, or HOA CPAs.
Our Situation
5 residential units
Budget has reportedly not been updated since 2005
Current HOA dues: $320/month per unit
Management company is recommending an immediate 25% dues increase
HOA has no reserve funds
HOA checking account has approximately $883
HOA has approximately $1,619 in past-due bills
2026 Financial Summary (First 6 Months)
Income
HOA dues collected: $9,600
Expenses
Insurance: $2,152
Water & Sewer: $1,792
Landscaping: $1,350
Financial Management: $1,350
Telephone & Communications: $1,324
Trash: $1,261
Building Repairs: $875
Electricity: $554
Licenses/Permits: $467
Net operating loss: -$3,474 for six months.
What We've Learned
We reviewed many of the invoices ourselves.
Telephone
The HOA pays approximately $220/month to AT&T for a legacy business telephone line supposedly enabling contact to fire department in case of alarms and fire
We believe it may be connected to the fire alarm system, but we don't know whether:
it is still required,
or whether a modern cellular communicator would reduce costs.
Utilities
The HOA pays approximately:
$300/month for water & sewer
$90/month for electricity
Electricity appears reasonable.
The property has:
no pool,
only a small landscaped area,
one shared dumpster.
Trash
The HOA pays for one commercial dumpster, which appears appropriate for the property.
Our Questions
1. Do these expenses look reasonable for a 5-unit California HOA?
2. Which expenses would you investigate first?
3. Would you recommend an independent HOA CPA, reserve consultant, or another professional before approving a permanent dues increase?
4. Is a 25% dues increase reasonable based on these numbers, or would you first investigate opportunities to reduce recurring expenses?
5. If you were serving on this HOA board, what would your first three priorities be?
We are all volunteers with full-time jobs. We are not looking for someone to solve every problem for us, but rather to help us identify whether there are obvious opportunities to improve the HOA's financial position before asking homeowners to pay substantially higher dues.