I am happy to say I am involved in a condo conversion project in Tigard, Oregon, but the number one question I get is when will the HOA dues go up? Well, to be honest, I don't know! You see the HOA dues are determined by how much is needed to do the everyday things in the HOA, plus plan for the big items. (Roofs, siding, windows)
The reason I get this question is our HOA dues are relatively low here compared to the competition. Why is that? Well, first of all we already have new siding, windows, roofs and gutters. So we don't need as much in a short amount of time, but our HOA dues are set up to build a reserve, so when we do need those things we will have the money to do it without having to raise them.
This question comes about because some of the condos around us have double the HOA dues we do here, thanks to special assessments and bad planning by the HOA members. I know one of the members of one of those HOA's, and she said the biggest problem was 5 years ago they had a very large reserve set up for things like the roof and the siding, but instead of saving it for the big thing, they used it on playground equipment and other things like exercise equipment for their club house.
Now, the problem is those people who bought those things to supposedly increase the value of the property have sold and left the HOA to try to pay for those big items without leaving them money to do it. The end result has been a permanent increase in the HOA's by $135 per month!
My suggestion for you if you are in an HOA, is to get involved, plan and set proper reserves that can pay for the roof, siding and windows if they should be needed and if you want something special, then take a vote of ALL the people in the HOA and do a special assessment for that. It will cost you a lot less in the long run if you plan ahead and get involved.
The biggest problem with the special assessment for residents is that the ones that need to move are now having to sell their units for $30,000-$40,000 less than the ones across the street just to make up for having such high HOA dues. For more questions on buying or selling in a community that has an HOA, and how to get involved, please feel free to contact me anytime, I would love to help you with all your real estate needs.
Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739
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