Need help to fight HOA increase

Josh in reality there is probably nothing you can do to make the MC lower their fees. You could try looking around for a cheaper MC but I wouldn't hold my breath. Or you could try self management that would save you some money (maybe) but it would require dedication and perseverance on the part of the homeowners. If you do not have a sizable group willing to commit to SM then I would forget it. If you only have a few people willing to take it on then when they burn out and they will; you'll be right back where you started.

Josh, additionaly, I recently posted on a different thread:

We have 21 SFDs. Median interiors are 3,850 sq. ft. Values have taken a hit in the past year, but even as we haven't had any sales since Summer 2007, talk on the street is that values are holding much better than in many areas in the country. We went self-managed when the previous/only PM (since 2001) wanted to increase dues to give them 1/3 of the annual gross (raising from the 2007 per unit quarterly $226 to close to $300). Our 3 member BOD is very active and does most everything including tasks we didn't sign on for, like removing and reinstalling our big pond's fountain to save us $1,400 a year. Membership is generally, make that essentially, apathetic, but very happy with our stewardship as in 2009 we have lowered dues while increasing services (mostly all landscaping related) via BOD work and especially shopping vendor bids which our PM didn't. We have no foreclosures, everybody (so far) keeps current with dues, and have no ByLaw or CCR violations.

The switch took a lot of initial work, but now that we've got our system running, it's a simple matter of collecting dues and paying bills. We bombard Membership with info via our emailed Updates that include all (though few now) BOD decisions and detailed, running financial reports.

At the end of the day, this success is about 3 guys who were willing to invest the time. We all had some personal, disparate reasons for joining forces, but they all came down to us believing we could deliver a better bang for our own bucks, and those of our neighbors.

Glen,

I am not a big fan of self management even for a small association but I am a big fan of reviewing the contract with the management company to see if they are charging and performing as stated in their contract.

Townhouse ownership is ??Fee simple? Condo?

I would say that there's no such thing as a going rate for HOA management and it's very difficult to compare HOA fees and management costs between different HOAs due to their size and also due to their various amenities. We have about 400 homes (th's and sf's) and the management contract runs a little over $3K per month.

$90 per hour to make up the violation notices??? Oh my? If these are condos, then find a tow company to monitor the parking problem, sign an agreement with the tow company and just let them document, take digital picture and tow the violators.

It's touch to self-manage, but perhaps you could get someone to manage the accounting and then manage the rest of the stuff yourselves. It's a lot of work, the laws are always changing and it's hard to keep up with everthing.