There’s no way to sugar-coat it: everyone hates special
assessments. Getting a notice that you owe more
money to the association can not only put a damper on
your day but also a dent in your wallet, both of which a
board is sympathetic to. In a perfect world, there would
never be a need for special assessments—or any other
type of assessments for that matter—but sadly, they’re
sometimes a necessary evil.
Often times, special assessments are levied
when an association needs to make essential
repairs, improvements or additions to the
common elements, but lacks extra reserve
funds to cover the costs. While a board puts in its
best effort to keep a healthy reserve fund and to budget
in advance for these types of projects, occasionally
unforeseen expenses occur. When this happens, we
have to call upon our residents to pitch in
financially so that the association can remain
solvent. Unfortunately, special assessments are not
optional fees, and residents are responsible for paying
special assessments in the same way they are
responsible for general association assessments. Just
remember, though, that these fees are funding
projects that will benefit all residents, and your
special assessment fees are your contribution toward
that.
Of course, a board does not take levying special
assessments lightly. Not only do we understand that
special assessments can be a hardship for you, but—
since we would also be responsible for paying our
share of any new special assessment—they’re an extra
financial burden on resident board members as well.
Because of this, we try and make levying special
assessments a last resort, and, if passed, offer
payment plans when possible. There are also
regulations set forth in our bylaws that we must follow
before levying a special assessment, and in some
instances, we require residents to vote on the proposed
project before we can adopt the special assessment for
it.
While none of this changes the fact that having to pay
special assessments fees is about as fun as a root
canal, just remember that it’s all part of the greater good
for the association. They are investments to your
home and your community and can help keep
our association a wonderful place to live for
years to come.
Article Provided by Community Associations Institute
How to Prevent a Special Assessment
- Hire a reserve study specialist to perform a 20+
year financial analysis on your association. The
information will help guide your association with
the amount to save and the timing for completing
projects.
- Create a routine maintenance schedule and
stick to it. Many times associations are required
to perform large maintenance projects, because
they didn’t perform the small ones.
- Make small dues increases as needed. It is
easier for an owner to keep up with incremental
increases than to be required to pay a large
special assessment.
Questions
- Are you taking the appropriate steps to prevent
special assessments in your association?
- What do you feel you could do to help residents
better understand the associations financial
position so there doesn’t need to be a special
assessment in the future?
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