Is Square Footage the only way to determine fees...

Hello. I recently purchased a new apartment in Mexico. The developer retained one of the two lower units for himself. Almost doubling his square footgate, he expanded his ground-level unit by adding a single level addition outwards from the 4 level tower. In additon to adding roof and walls that extend from the "tower" and benefit his untit only, he significantly upgraded his windows and windows.

The unit also includes an exclusive use common area courtyard which he upgraded to include high-end stone and finishes. The cost for maintained these appointments will far exceed the costs we will spend to maintain for the other owners.

Using sqaure footage alone to determine his portion of the dues doesn't appear fair to the owners of the other seven apartments.

Do you know of other ways HOAs detemine percentages to account for such disparties.

Thank you.

Matt

Barry,
I am sure Mexico is a different animal.

Before you start making a ruckus, determine what you really are. Are you a HOA or Condo? From there read your CC&r's. Is the developer still in control? Does he actually own one or two units? More square feet would normally mean more apportion assessments in a condo, but that is not the soul reason for figuring assessments. Normally, assessment in a condo are figured on the actual selling price of the original unit, that can vary greatly among like units because of view, floor, accessibility. If Donna is right and she usually is, God knows what you may have signed up for. Maybe you can back out. If the developer just put an unfair price on his particular unit in order to manipulate the assessment, discuss this with your fellow owners and see if you can do anything legally. That would not fly here in the states, but, given the apathy prevalent here is some associations, I sure would not say id hasn't happened.

International! Funny, but forget about the Mexico part. The question really doesn't have anything to do with Mexico. I really just wanted to hear from the experts what methods you've seen used to determine dues schedules.

So far, I've heard:

1. Square Footage
2. Sales Price (thank you, Robert).

Robert, I want to try to answer your questions and respond to your advice...

Are you a HOA or Condo?
There are eight condomimius in this project, but, here, I'm talking about the dues we pay to maintain the common areas, the "association."

Is the developer still in control?
Yes, until the end of Febuary and he is willing to hear other options. He is a well-respected U.S. and MX business man. To do something dishonest or unethical would not serve him well, I assure you.

Does he actually own one or two units? One.

More square feet would normally mean more apportion assessments in a condo.
Yes, but when you do the math based on square footage alone, the increase for him hardly seems enough to cover the significant improvements he has made to his home and the exclusive use common area.

Maybe you can back out.
Oh, I don't want to do that. This is my third property in this beach town inhabited mostly by Americans, Canadians, and Europeans--thousands and thousands of whom are homeowners. I've been very happy.

Thank you, Robert and all. Anyone else know of other methods.

Barry,
Thanks for the clarification........I think.

The sale I refer to is the price that was put on the individual units when first offered for sale. That does not mean they sold for this price, and it really makes no difference. The point here is the sales price reflects a lot of different aspects of each unit. All of that, and I think it is arbitrary set by the developer what considerations are used to set the price. As you can see from your instance, they may be unfair. The developers also stick into the Master Deed the restriction that this apportionment can not be changed unless 100% of the owners agreeing, which means never, just about. So, I look with squinty eyes when I consider how virtuous the developer is. Not that I am accusing any of being dishonest. And truly the fault lies with the association when they accept the control from the developer. There should be strong provisions that a third party (legal type) examine each set of documents as to content and intent and mitigate those items that may be trouble. Such as a developer loading up a particular piece of property and this results in an unfair assessment. I doubt this happens much, but again, all the documents were written by the developer to protect the developer during construction and sell off. Rarely have I heard of them being changed in context. As far as I have been able to discern, all these HOA documents are just words put on paper, unless they are words taken from state statutes. They are being rewritten daily throughout the country by BOD and owners of association, then they are recorded at the Courthouse. And the result is what we have, good or bad, but hardy law, and constantly under attack by the legal profession and owners, among others.

Barry, square footage is the most common method that I have seen for condos; however davis-stirling.com lists three:

Pro Rata. Pro rata (Latin, "according to the rate") refers to dividing monthly assessments by a percentage assigned to each unit or lot. This is usually by square footage. Even though payment of assessments are disproportionate, the courts have found that such payment schedules are not unreasonable and do not violate public policy. Cebular v. Cooper Arms Homeowners Association

Uniform Rate. Members pay the same amount regardless of the size of their units/lots.

Blended Rate. Assessments are assigned using a uniform rate for some budget items and a percentage rate for others. This method tries to allocate expenses by usage so that large units pay more for services that provide greater benefits to larger units.

You state that he has: In addition to adding roof and walls that extend from the "tower" and benefit his unit only, he significantly upgraded his windows and windows. The unit also includes an exclusive use common area courtyard which he upgraded to include high-end stone and finishes. The cost for maintained these appointments will far exceed the costs we will spend to maintain for the other owners.

While all documents vary, why is the Association responsible for any of these things in the limited Common Area or the windows? Aside from some structural elements it is usually an H/O expense to maintain these not the Association's. If according to the documents it is the Association's responsibility then perhaps the Blended Rate method would be better. Or if the developer can still change the CC&R's, he could change it to the Association is only responsible to the extent of "basic" installation, any upgrades or improvements is solely the responsibility of the H/O to maintain.

Let me add,

If everyone can visualize the pictures you have seen of all those massive high rises on the coastal areas, on the ski slopes, overlooking lakes and rivers, how can you conclude that square footage is the common method of determining apportionment in condominiums. Many might have the same assessments but those that are on the top floors and offer the best views are going to carry higher assessments, and those that are the same square footage and look out on the dump or interstate will carry lower assessments, on average with a few exceptions.

IMO,the one size fits all approach just doesn't fit with condos, in that the assn is resp. for the exterior of the unit. In a planned community everyone pays the same because the only thing being maintained by the assn are the common elements that all members enjoy equally. A larger condo should have a larger assessment. Aesthetics shouldn't come into play since there is no maint on the view or any other intangible asset. However, in the end, it all depends upon what the declaration says. It should be spelled out therein how the assessments will be calculated.

Robert,

I don't live in a condo so I, understandably, don't understand all these things. However, what does the value of the condo have to do with how much the assessment should be? I thought the assessment should be based on how much the assn would have to pay for maint/repairs, etc.

Barry wrote:

>>>The unit also includes an exclusive use common area courtyard which he upgraded to include high-end stone and finishes. The cost for maintained these appointments will far exceed the costs we will spend to maintain for the other owners.<<<

Could you define what you mean by an EUCAC? Are you saying only the owner/builder can use it, or can any Member use it?

Yup, the developer here had some involvment in Arizona and somehow decided to bring a HOA to Canada....too bad he/his lawyer didn't know what they were doing or they would have known to register the CCR's on all lots BEFORE starting to sell them! That is how 34 of us ended up not part of the HOA and how it was my lawyer then advising him he hadn't included us in the HOA. All imo.

I wanted to say, "thanks!" Especially to Robert and Glenn: your posts gave me the foundation I was seeking. Thanks, again.