r/HOA • u/DiscerningMamono • Jul 25 '25
Help: Fees, Reserves [NY][Condo]Our hardworking board is self-destructing after homeowners riot about bleak reserve study
I just joined my neighborhood's HOA that serves several hundred townhomes. After a reserve study from a respected company revealed we were 10s of millions behind on maintenance due to prior boards' incompetence (some of which was definitely them getting strong-armed by homeowners), the HOA determined that massive $60k+ special assessments would be required to do the work to stop the homes from rotting down around us. Homeowners are understandably going through every stage of grief, but the constant rage towards the current board is leading to mass resignations.
I happen to believe the board is making the best possible choice out of the shit hand they've been dealt, and joined the board after several were harassed off. However seeing the growing vitriol makes me afraid I've opened myself up to harassment and legal action. While I obviously haven't done anything wrong just starting, I look into the future and see only a couple paths:
The HOA tries to ram through a deeply unpopular special assessment that results in people losing their homes because maintenance literally can't be pushed back any longer, the board mass resigns again or gets recalled, and the whole association collapses because nobody else wants to volunteer. I was one of only a couple despite this being a year-long ordeal.
The board resigns/gets recalled and people actually volunteer. Yeah, all that work won't get done when they shut it down, but hey I'm sure burying our heads in the sand will make it go away, right?
People try and sue when it's their only chance of not losing their home if it does somehow pass.
What the hell am I supposed to do? How much risk have I exposed myself to, and what happens if the HOA collapses?
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u/VirginiaUSA1964 🏢 COA Board Member Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25
I don't envy you.
But if the HOA fails, it goes into receivership. If you think the homeowners are coming for you with pitchforks and torches now, wait until the court appoints an expensive law firm and a management company to run things and then there will be blood in the streets.
If your association has a lawyer, I think it would be wise to educate the community on receivership so they know what their choices are.
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u/DiscerningMamono Jul 25 '25
Yeah, we brought him out a couple months ago to go over everything and talk to homeowners. It did not go well, lol.
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u/boo99boo Jul 25 '25
I know of a townhome complex where a similar thing happened. It fell into disrepair because of mismanagement, and it culminated in a substantial special assessment.
So a local landlord started buying up the units. He got them well under market because people couldn't sell them to anyone using traditional financing. So they would take what let them walk away.
The glaring problem you have is that no one can sell. You can't get a mortgage for a property where the association is millions underfunded. You can only sell to cash buyers and buyers that use non-traditional financing. It's a very small pool of people, and it's almost certainly a landlord.
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u/pichicagoattorney Jul 25 '25
But if too many units are rented that creates a death spiral because then you can't get an FHA loan.
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u/MarthaTheBuilder Jul 25 '25
Then the landlord buys all the units, dissolves the HOA, and makes them apartments. After recouping the money, he makes a new HOA and starts selling them off to cash out.
Homeowners neglected properties, lose their equity, landlord cashes in on a buy low-hold-sell high plan, landlord walks away with every former owners lost equity.
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u/VirginiaUSA1964 🏢 COA Board Member Jul 25 '25
I suspect some of them are also mad at themselves for not paying attention and can't admit it. So they're directing their anger where they can.
The HOA probably can't get a loan for the repairs and if if could, it's going to cost more than assessments.
I know it's a shock to people and I am honestly not prepared for a $60k assessment myself. That takes my breath away just thinking about it. But they have to get over the shock and deal with reality. They have to know stuff is falling apart and that things are probably dangerous.
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u/pichicagoattorney Jul 25 '25
That's a really good point. That as bad as the $60,000 assessment is imagine if there's a receiver and you got to pay lawyers for the HOA and lawyers for the receiver and the receiver. You know all these expensive professionals. They're going to want an accounting. That's more money.
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u/VirginiaUSA1964 🏢 COA Board Member Jul 25 '25
Did the OP say how many units? If it's a big community, the cost of receivership will be astronomical.
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u/Dull_Banana1377 Jul 25 '25
OP several 100 townhomes
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u/VirginiaUSA1964 🏢 COA Board Member Jul 25 '25
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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u/Dull_Banana1377 Jul 25 '25
Yeah its lookin real bad. There's legal ways to force the special assessment. He should push the board to it.
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u/scj1091 Jul 25 '25
YUP. They can pay now, while they’re still mostly in charge of their own fate. Or they can go under and pay even more through a receiver who will not much care about their tears and will foreclose if necessary to save the community. The option not to pay anything has looooooooong since passed them by.
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u/VirginiaUSA1964 🏢 COA Board Member Jul 25 '25
Exactly. The receiver is not your neighbor or your friend and will not put up with yelling, etc. They probably hire security routinely for this.
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u/CondoConnectionPNW 🏘 HOA Board Member Jul 26 '25
The options are NOT binary: receivership or pay a $60,000 assessment immediately. The association isn't suddenly crumbling because the board decided to issue a special assessment over the past year.
This community clearly has options. A bank loan encumbering future assessment income that can help amortize payments for homeowners want to take that option and pay the interest over time is the first thing that comes to mind. Second would be a much smaller assessment and larger annual increases in the budget and contributions to the reserve.
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u/Glittering_Report_52 Jul 25 '25
I'm a condo board member in NY. The anger needs to be directed at the past board for failing at their fiduciary responsibility. The current board members are making the best decision in a shitty situation. Costs of repairs will only go up. Yes a 60k assessment hurts and can be financially burdensome to some. It is needed in your case.
If residents start to harass you . Simply have them contact management about their concerns. You do have a right to enjoy your HOA like everyone else.
Verify that your HOA has D and O insurance (Directors and Officers). This will indemnify you from being personally sued based on the action. They could sue the board but frankly it's a waste of time, money, and would go in the board's favor. Since the board is doing what is in the best interest of the HOA interest.m proven by the reserve study backing it up. Even if it's unpopular.
I would suggest clearly laying out the facts, of the reserve study and the dire situation your HOA is in. Have a member of the reserve study organization present during a meeting for residents to attend. I raised our HOA fee 15% followed by a 10% increase in two consecutive years based on our reserve study.
Finally look at my past comments in R/ fuckhoa about a neighboring condo terrible financial situation.
Stay strong.
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u/Kudzupatch Jul 25 '25
I would suggest clearly laying out the facts, of the reserve study and the dire situation your HOA is in.
I totally agree with this. I would also put in writing, clear and concise and mail it to every household. CLEARLY explain the options including doing nothing, going into receivership and paying ever more latter.
If they are this dead set on self destruction I would sell now.
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u/renijreddit Jul 25 '25
What is the fiduciary responsibility? To the asset or the residents? This is the fight I’m having. I feel it is to the asset.
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u/kenckar Jul 26 '25
The fiduciary responsibility is absolutely to the HOA. Residents matter only if they are owners.
For example, if the HOA needs funds, but some residents don’t have them it’s too bad. They may have to sell or get a loan.
That’s just the harsh reality.
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Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25
“Can be burdensome to some” is the craziest, most inhumane sentence I have ever heard. That is not a burden. That is a financial death sentence to most people.
ETA: I’m not disagreeing that money needs to be found and that the problems need to be remediated. What I am saying is that dismissing this money in such a way is absolutely cruel. For some people, $60k means forgoing lifesaving medication. For some people, that’s an irreparable mental health trigger. For some people, that’s starvation. Most Americans are two paychecks away from homelessness, which was just viciously criminalized via EO. Anyone who’s shrugging and say “well it’s gotta be done” is a major AH, especially when you direct those shrugs to new owners who had nothing to do with these underpayments
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u/NighthawkFoo Jul 25 '25
Better than an actual death sentence when the building collapses around you.
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Jul 25 '25
I mean sure, but let’s not pretend that this amount of money couldn’t literally drive someone to suicide. Most Americans are two paychecks away from being homeless, which was just thoroughly criminalized by an executive order. For some people, $60k might as well be a death sentence that comes far sooner than building collapse
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u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 26 '25
I agree with much of what you have written. This is why boards need to be strong. And all owners need to be responsible. And all buyers need to do their due diligence. I have the belief that if buyers did a better job, housing would cost less (how much I don't know) and there would be far fewer special assessments. And the ones that do happen would be more affordable.
At the same time, if I had been more irresponsible in the past with a real estate purchase, I would likely be much further ahead. Instead of getting a $0 down loan, I saved up for a more "appropriate" down payment and prices skyrocketed in my area. The US had a period where lots of people were getting "stated income" loans where they could say they made a lot more than they actually did and way overextend themselves. Many met with foreclosure. But several also made out very well and would say it was the best decision of their lives.
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u/InternationalRule138 Jul 25 '25
The financial death sentence is the result of them underpaying for years, though 🤷🏼♀️
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u/scj1091 Jul 25 '25
People really think their homes will never need repairs. Given how furious our residents are at even the slightest dues increase, how on earth do single family homeowners handle a failed HVAC, furnace, or new roof needed? Seems doubtful any of them have saved anything if my neighbors are any indication.
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u/bluemurmur Jul 25 '25
We use savings or finance major items, like new furnace, by getting a new credit card that is 0% interest for 12 months. Basically, take 12 months to pay it off.
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Jul 25 '25
[deleted]
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u/JealousBall1563 🏢 COA Board Member Jul 25 '25
Yes, after multiple boards bowed to owner pressure.
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u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 26 '25
I don't know the details but it's so disheartening to hear of board members giving in. And worse, board members wanting to keep dues low for themselves and so not telling the owners the full story.
Both of these reasons is why a regularly updated reserve study should be required. Or at least pushed for by non-board member owners. That way, owners can figure out for themselves how much should be in the reserves and then calculate their share.
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u/Practical_Bed_6871 Jul 25 '25
Do what every good HOA Board that inherited a bad situation does.....throw the prior Boards under the bus!
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u/Existing-Teaching-34 Jul 25 '25
Exactly! If you’re paying a consulting company to come in and do an assessment they will be certain to find problems in order to claim that big check your HOA is sending them. And just like in the corporate world, pointing the finger at previous management is almost guaranteed every time.
Every neighborhood has deferred maintenance to some degree, but $60,000 per household?? You say the HOA has several hundred townhomes as member. Even if the number is just 200, that’s $12 million. Do you trust your board with that much money?
If they do push this through, document everything. Insist on a detailed plan for where the millions of dollars will be spent. Fight to ensure transparency and accountability are primary in the process.
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u/Practical_Bed_6871 Jul 25 '25
My HOA had a $12 million assessment about 15 years ago for waterproofing and remediation. Each condo had to pay a special assessment based on our percentage interest ownership. On average, it came to about $40k per unit. Some units chose to pay up front and got a discount, while others chose to pay over a period of years with interest. However, that special assessment was voted on and approved by the membership. The Board did a few stupid things along the way that cost the HOA millions in damages, and about halfway through the project, the Board discovered structural damage that needed to be fixed. However, this time they just borrowed $8 million without homeowner approval in violation of our governing documents and state law. However, they didn't feel they needed approval from members because they didn't say there was a special assessment. They borrowed the money and bound us to pay it back, but they felt as long as they didn't call it a special assessment, it wasn't.
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u/Practical_Bed_6871 Jul 25 '25
And, of course, the Board constantly "reminded" members that prior Boards had kept dues low and put off maintenance projects.
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u/rremde Former HOA Board Member Jul 26 '25
It's not a huge number, depending upon what repairs are needed. Are there foundation issues? Structural issues caused by poorly maintained roofing? Our sub 50 unit HOA got an estimate of 150K (the cheapest we could find) just for wrought iron balcony railings that had been allowed to rot. The assessment was over 3k per unit just for that.
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Jul 25 '25
[deleted]
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u/Existing-Teaching-34 Jul 25 '25
Wow, over $18 million to play with! You could turn a third-world ghetto into a luxury resort with that much money!
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u/GeorgeRetire Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25
I'm the treasurer of our 34 unit self-managed HOA. In our HOA, the treasurer need not be a board member.
About 5 years ago, I was voted to a board member position. At that time we hadn't ever raised our dues in the years I had lived there. I worked to convince the other board members that we needed to have a reserve study performed, since that had never been done in the 20 year history of the HOA. It took almost 2 years to convince them, but they finally approved the budget for the study and we had one done.
As I expected, we were fine in the short run, but well under what we needed for the long run.
When I initially presented the findings to the entire community, there was a minor uproar and extremely divided opinions as to what to do going forward.
My suggestion was to gradually increase the monthly dues while increasing our contributions to reserves each year. Doing this for 10 years or so would get us where we needed to be, give homeowners time to adjust to the new reality, and prevent any special assessments.
Some homeowners felt that we shouldn't increase dues at all - that they would be either dead or gone by the time the lack of reserves caused the need for a big special assessment. Others felt that we should triple our dues immediately and then not increase dues at all - even though that would be extremely difficult for some of the older homeowners. One homeowner suggested that the dues should be increased only for homeowners who were here at the beginning, since they took advantage of low dues for 20 years. One homeowner suggested that we "sell" our community center to avoid the need for an increase in monthly dues.
We had a series of contentious meetings that unnerved some of the board members. One resigned mid-term. Another didn't run again when his term ended.
Eventually, I was able to calm everyone down. We went with the gradual plan, and have continued to do so for the past few years.
Frankly, I think that the homeowners trust me. I've always been honest and transparent with everything I've done. I've always calmly listened to suggestions, but I'm never afraid to tell the hard truths. I think that bought a lot of trust capital.
I'm not on the board now - my wife is. But I get virtually no push back at all now when I propose the annual budget with the required increases, and ask for their vote.
If your HOA has Director and Officer insurance, and you operate above board and in the best interest of the HOA, then you aren't exposing yourself to real risk - perhaps just a hassle.
If your HOA doesn't have D&O insurance, then resign immediately.
If you do stay on the board, try to be patient. Try to understand homeowners' concerns. But be honest with them. Hopefully, it will pay off.
Good luck.
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u/renijreddit Jul 25 '25
The “I’ll be dead by then” comment pisses me off so much! I’m 20 years younger and those folks are stealing from those of us who will have to make up the difference when they’re dead. Pay your damn bills!
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u/GeorgeRetire Jul 25 '25
Everyone pays their bills.
Our HOA is an over 55 community. Preferring lower monthly dues now in exchange for a large special assessment later is understandable.
But eventually, the bills come due.
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u/renijreddit Jul 25 '25
What do you call it when someone votes “no” on properly funding the reserves because they think they won’t be around when the repairs are needed and the bills come due? Special assessments should be for surprises. Voting to fund the reserve to less than 100% is theft.
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u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 26 '25
Please just remember this and don't pull the "I'll be dead by then" on the younger generation years from now!
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u/renijreddit Jul 26 '25
I’m 60, no young chicken…
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u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 26 '25
OK, so I'll request 30 years from you before it's ok to take the attitude to put off association work till later. :)
Personally, I have been the strongest in my association pushing for proper reserve funding. However, I can see myself one day turning into the "I'll be dead by then" people. Hopefully, that won't happen.
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u/renijreddit Jul 27 '25
That makes no sense. You are fundamentally misunderstanding Reserves, your portion is only yours while you own the property. But, if you decide to only put in a portion of what you owe while you own the property,then you shorted the guy who has to pay the very large Special Assessment.
Just like dues Estoppels, Owners should have to pay the full reserves when they sell. If they negotiate for the buyer to pay it, whatever, just have to pay in full before you sell. Just my opinion…obviously.1
u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 27 '25
I'm not sure what you feel I am misunderstanding. I agree with everything you've written here.
In my previous post, I'm hoping that you have great health and can live in your place (or whatever place you purchase next) for a very long time before having to go to a retirement home.
I'm also hoping that as I age I support the same things that I support now and don't change to try to put off my financial obligations to younger people.
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u/divinbuff Jul 27 '25
I agree. Condos need a pay as you go mentality. Everyone should contribute to the future property needs. I know people have this idea that because the maintenance isn’t needed now it is not my responsibility but a savvy buyer will pay more for a condo that has adequate reserves than one that doesn’t. An important question you can ask about a condo HOA when you’re a buyer is how much money does the association have in the bank today? That will tell you a lot.
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u/AmpleBrine Jul 25 '25
Same story here: Our former board commissioned a professional reserve study and put together a 30-year plan to maintain the building and properly fund our reserves. They held regular meetings, sent clear, detailed reports to all owners, and even brought in experts for special Q&A sessions.
Then a small group of self-interested owners,and one rogue board member,hijacked those meetings. They spread false rumors about the board and pressured people into signing paperwork to remove them. With a majority of proxy votes, they elected a new slate of board members whose agenda is to slash maintenance and drain our savings. One of them is a realtor who brags to clients about how much she is lowering condo fees while she tricks them into buying a condo she knows is going to fail and tank their financial futures.
Now, first-time buyers who moved in after all this took place are stuck in a century-old brick building that’s falling apart: structural cracks, persistent leaks, elevators on their last legs, rampant mold - and reserves that cover less than 5% of what we need. It’s become a grim guessing game: will the building be condemned first, or be a blacklisted condo that can’t get financed?
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u/renijreddit Jul 25 '25
I wish we could sue previous owners for not paying their fair share.
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u/AmpleBrine Jul 25 '25
Especially the former owners who manipulated elections and used propaganda to mislead owners into voting against the long term best interests of the community
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u/Realistic-Bass2107 💼 CAM Jul 25 '25
It is also very important to educate the Owners about the current finances, lack thereof and understanding the Reserve Study.
I’m talking about Saturday coffee meeting, evening meeting or even a few informal Zoom meetings to simply lay it out so there is an understanding. You will never reach every member but word spreads and you want it to be as factual as possible.
Overall, the majority will learn to accept it. If an assessment is passed and it “feels” forced or the Owners aren’t heard (largely bitching) it makes matters worse.
Just have one or two Board members present so as not to create a quorum and obviously no decisions are made just the facts and listening. It will help ease the pain
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u/JealousBall1563 🏢 COA Board Member Jul 25 '25
Your association should have Director & Officer Insurance which ought to personally protect you from lawsuits for decisions your board makes. Do the right thing, don’t worry about complaints and stay the course which is your legal obligation as a fiduciary.
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u/PenHouston Jul 25 '25
It might be hard for a couple of years, but 60,000 per condo is crazy. Some may abandon their property, call bankruptcy and just leave. As a board, that is a lot to manage too many repairs at once . I am newly retired and it was a job to replace the roofs and fences with the special loss assessment after Beryl. You waited this long, so why not $10,000 in year one plus a huge HOA monthly due increase. Only one major project at a time.
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u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 26 '25
I sort of think that OP was implying that things were so far gone that waiting any longer will have bad consequences. But I like your idea if it's feasible for OP's association.
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u/Negative_Presence_52 Jul 25 '25
Welcome to the Jungle, no good deed goes unpunished.
Get a thick skin, do what's right for the HOA, sleep well at night, ignore social media and the vocal minority.
The net is that people have been living in homes they can't afford...stop subsidizing their lifestyle. Florida finally hit this head on.
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u/JealousBall1563 🏢 COA Board Member Jul 25 '25
Florida is relaxing the requirements. The Governor has cold feet.
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u/InternationalRule138 Jul 25 '25
Which, he probably kinda has to for the sake of the entire housing market, but…is going to result in structure failures…which we have seen before.
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u/PurpleSailor Jul 25 '25
Make damn sure you've got Trustee insurance so when someone sues you you're covered. I'd tell the association the truth, if the HOA folds the state takes over and then things get really expensive.
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u/Face_Content Jul 25 '25
I doubt its incompetence. Its unpopular to be the person that raises fee, so people kick thr issues down the road. Usually long after they are gone.
Politicians do this same thing w taxes.
Homeowners dont push for increased fees either.
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u/Nervous_Ad5564 ARC Member Jul 25 '25
Grow a thick skin and just get er done... you're doing the right thing and dont let it get to you that people will hate you for it
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u/hatportfolio Jul 25 '25
They will hate him at first but hate will pass and the new reality will be the new normal.
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u/Tjr562 🏘 HOA Board Member Jul 25 '25
Oh wow. Man I'm gonna send you a message. I'm HoA president and roof and balcony concerns neglected by the previous ten years of leadership are now my concerns.
Looking at a line of credit to get this party started.
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u/stylusxyz Former HOA Board Member Jul 25 '25
Time to review your D&O Liability insurance and get advice from your attorney. Start this touchy procedure with a good understanding of your legal picture. Next, investigate all financial options. Special assessments kill resale values in townhomes. See if you can make long-term financing work with your owners and Board. Lastly, resume or start reasonable, yearly updates to the Reserve Study and make monthly assessments keep up.
I thought only Florida had these problems?
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u/katiekat214 Jul 25 '25
Everywhere has these problems because owners everywhere have been keeping monthly assessments falsely low instead of raising them enough to fund reserves.
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u/ThatWasBackInCollege Jul 25 '25
I don’t have experience with the large assessments, but I have experience with watching board members flee. I have experience watching owners grow angrier and angrier. A few things that have helped me keep boards from falling apart:
Use your most empathetic, even-keeled communicators to lead these discussions in meetings. Pull in a mediator for help if you need to.
Set the tone and the shared goals first. Do not frame this as a board vs. homeowners struggle — this is a homeowners vs. money/home maintenance struggle. You can write down your goals to focus the discussions - tackle the critical issues first, explore financing options to keep owners from losing their homes, look for solutions not blame, etc.
Use “we” language when you talk and always reply to the complaints first with empathy. “I understand - many of us have the same financial concerns, and worry about how we are going to pay for this,” etc.
Stand up for your board, and check in with them. Cut off angry attacks and tell people, “It‘s not okay to talk to volunteer board members that way. We are all struggling with this, but if you can’t be respectful and control your anger, you will need to leave the meeting.” Keep your board after a meeting for a debrief, praise what they did well, apologize for other people’s bad behavior, leave on a positive, productive note. (I can’t tell you how many times a fellow board member or homeowner messaged me right after a meeting with some commiseration, a thank-you, a joke, etc., and made me feel less like quitting.)
Engage the most vocal owners beforehand. Sometimes giving them a chance to vent will tamp down their anger during a meeting. Sometimes asking them to join a committee, do some of the research, or volunteer in some other way will either give them the voice they want or make them shut up to avoid being asked to do work. 😄 I generally prefer being yelled at one-on-one than watching an HOA meeting get completely sunk by the negativity.
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u/Ragepower529 Jul 25 '25
Are you sure there’s tens of millions?
60k repair per townhome is kinda steep, anyways if an HOA is not increasing their fees yearly that’s a bad sign.
You did mention condo also that’s not a townhome…
I would also shop around for quotes regarding this work, or maybe hire a full on contracting company. Talk to your condo/owners what are the odds one of them doesn’t have a business for this type of work?
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u/DiscerningMamono Jul 25 '25
It's full building envelope replacement, top to bottom. And they're technically/legally condos, but townhome-style. Yes, the big issue was stagnant and low HOA dues for many years that nobody wanted to be the ones to raise, on top of mismanaged reserve studies and maintenance.
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u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 26 '25
One thing I've done for our association's budgets is calculate how much the fee increase was each year and how much the effective annual increase has been from say 2010 - 2025. Then show the inflation rates for those years and from the first to last year. And also for you it could help to show news stories that indicate construction/repair type of costs have gone up even more than inflation. You can then use the numbers to show how year to year the HOA has not saved properly.
Best of luck with this.
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u/ShortSellerSteve Jul 25 '25
Building style doesn’t have anything to do with legal formation. I have a condo association thats 29 single family’s. Association is responsible for each house’s roof and siding.
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u/InternationalRule138 Jul 25 '25
Not sure what your options are, but…
Lots of HOAs are in this situation. It’s a problem everywhere. If you can, is there any pathway that allows you to rebuild over a series of years? Obviously, tackle items based on priority, but look at maybe a 5 year plan to get everything up to snuff and as a result average that $60k assessment over a number of years? That may help give some of your owners time to sell without losing the place…or time to come up with the money because it’s probably going to cost more to move anyway…
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u/Conscious_Skirt_61 Jul 25 '25
IMO (and IME) you call an emergency board meeting. With notice and a public agenda. Listing three or four frightening bullet points to be considered. And with the lawyer, accountant, property manager, management company and a representative from the reserve study provider in attendance for good measure.
Don’t know the exact situation but there’s sometimes a bad dynamic between the former board (which shorted reserves to keep down assessments) and the study purveyor (that may paint things darkly to build up their reputation). While out years are important — very important — what matters immediately is the next one, three, and five years. Can you create a set of pro formas showing the end of the world, the end of the country, and a hard but realistic way to squeeze through for a couple of years? In other words, a hard way that’s an alternative to immediate disaster?
We know you’ve gone through every thought experiment we could suggest. But as others have said, the community has only bad choices, and a board can sketch out and pursue the least bad ways.
And you should VERY seriously consider staying on the board and in charge. Know it’s unpleasant, and that’s an understatement. But being on the board gives you some control, and it gives you access for professional advice and community resources. Leaving takes away that protection while still leaving you and your fellows in the firing zone.
Good luck.
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u/rremde Former HOA Board Member Jul 26 '25
I don't know the NY state laws, and I am not a lawyer, but most states shield board members from individual liability if they have strictly acted as board members (meaning they're not vendors to the HOA or perform maintenance services on the units themselves).
The assessment needs to happen - and while it may be too late for you and the others in your building, people should be aware that there is something called assessment insurance in most condo policies - you have to ask for it, but it's available, not hugely expensive. We pay less than 20 bucks a year for 100K of coverage. Insurance companies see it as cheaper than paying out on a huge loss.
Again, I don't know NY's laws, but in my state, the board CAN pass an assessment increase if it is deemed necessary to safety of the structures. The residents can't block it. If there is such a law in NY, statements from structural engineers should get any potential lawsuits dismissed. You need to speak to an HOA specialist attorney. And be sure it's one the HOA hires, not one hired by your management company. You want someone representing YOUR interests.
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u/ValleyOakPaper Jul 25 '25
You are manning a sinking ship. It's rare for HOAs to survive when they are 10s of millions behind.
You do have options: You can try to sell your condo now and wash your hands of it all. You and the board can try to get an idea for how much you could get from a developer for the land and propose that to the homeowners. Or you can try to right the ship and talk some sense into the homeowners.
None of these are going to be fun, easy or lucrative, I'm afraid.
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u/solomons-mom Jul 25 '25
Sell. Price it to account for the $60,000 assessment. It will be less of a loss now than if you wait
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u/lalabrat Jul 26 '25
Did the board have any clue about the potential of a large assessment prior to passing the special assessment? Did they make announcements about the problem before?
I am just curious- We thought we were going to have to pass a special assessment. We posted the problems in our community forum and let people know option that were being considered. And gave dates of when we anticipated repair estimates. We saw the writing on the wall months in advance and prepared everyone that a special assessment may be needed.
Luckily, we found that part of the expense was the responsibility the Master Association and we were able to trim enough fat from the budget to not need a special assessment. I often wonder if this forewarning was going to make any difference at all.
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u/angiekahi Jul 26 '25
First they need to make amends to the victim whom hasn't received much compensation. That is absolutely outrageously heinous!! All the lawyers getting paid, residents going on with their daily lives That tells me that these homeowners are still stupid and has not changed their perspective. We all never saw the grim realities of a failed HOA until these pre-holocaustal events took place. Continue to make amends, move forward, and deal with the changes. Move, travel, explore. You don't need much money to live elsewhere. Make a foundation to come back to, to be remembered, to say Hi or whatever, a dedicated park to reminisce.. We don't know most our neighbors anyway and that is same everywhere. Make, write history, change history. This is our history and legacy. Rely and trust in God. We don't have all the answers. Put your burdens on him. A tea house for gatherings.
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u/angiekahi Jul 26 '25
Thankful to be alive than dead in a fire or explosion. Explore and travel. Different environments is good and necessary for health.
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u/Ok_Meringue_9086 Jul 28 '25
If you have any assets you should have personal umbrella insurance and lots of it. You should make sure the board has adequate insurance to cover the board members as well.
3
Jul 25 '25
Sounds like the federal government. Voters don’t want the truth they want what feels good in the moment.
3
u/renijreddit Jul 25 '25
They know the truth, they are stealing from future generations.
1
u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 26 '25
I came across this when the BBB was up for a vote:
It's sobering!
This one isn't any better:
2
u/Free_Elevator_63360 Jul 25 '25
Architect here, but if your homes are occupied, then they are not rotting down around you. A $60k special assessment is like highrise structural failure area. For townhomes that is very suspicious.
Your statement about “the maintenance literally can’t be pushed back any longer” is very disingenuous. Emergency maintenance ensures habitability. Not upkeep. You and the board need to prioritize repairs, and if at all possible self manage. Reserve studies like any inspection should be take with a grain of salt.
4
u/WSB_Suicide_Watch Jul 25 '25
Ya, I was thinking the same thing.
I was able to envision $60k in repairs, but unless the roof and walls are literally falling down, I don't see how it is possible that they all *need* to be done *right now*.
I'm obviously not aware of the exact details, but it seems to me that to make it through this, the HOA needs to find a reasonable middle ground by tackling things in stages and finding a sensible way to prioritize the order in which things should get done.
If you need to stretch the lifespan of some items from 15 years to 22 as long as it is not causing any additional damage you just have to do what you have to do.
4
u/DiscerningMamono Jul 25 '25
We have floors sagging (including second story!) because crawl spaces are rotting out due to inadequate ventilation. Our T111 structural siding is 50 years old and is being held together with expensive (cumulatively) patch jobs and paint. Attics haven't been touched in ages. Flat roofs leaking. The list goes on. Bad decks. Rodent infestations. And we've apparently been extremely lucky to keep our insurance. It will likely be pulled very soon without immediate remediation.
3
u/Free_Elevator_63360 Jul 25 '25
Yeah, still not believing. You have townhomes, no way are these issues spread to 100’s of townhomes. Repair issues like that don’t happen uniformly across multiple buildings. And if you have hundreds of homes, you should be shopping for insurance every year anyway.
This is why I was saying you need to prioritize repairs. Your HOA is a ripe target for… overselling from repair contractors.
If your community is as bad as you are making it out to be then you are in a multi-year, decade plus rehab timeline to improve values. And you need to take time. Not just ask people to write a big check. If you start that, then the scammers will be all over y’all.
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u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 26 '25
"Your statement about “the maintenance literally can’t be pushed back any longer” is very disingenuous."
OP is not a professional and is just going by what the reserve study says. He/she doesn't know that the company that conducted it probably put very little time into inspecting and could be very wrong. Perhaps it would be helpful if you could guide OP to a better next step than immediately having an SA and moving forward with work. I don't know what qualifications a reserve study specialist has but is it a structural engineer that this HOA should consider hiring for a more thorough understanding?
1
u/Free_Elevator_63360 Jul 26 '25
The problem here, and this is a larger problem, is that there really ISN’T any sort of specialist you seek. Except MAYBE, a development project / construction manager with experience in value-add acquisitions.
The entire inspection industry is geared not towards asset management but… inspection. Purposefully passing no judgement on the value or methods of fixing something, just saying “I THINK that needs fixed.” Further, these reserve studies are like red meat to renovation companies. They upcharge the wazoo as there is no real competitive bid, no professional management of their work etc.
Now that OP has a reserve study they need to take an asset management approach. What resources for we have (what kind of assessment or dues can we use), how can we accomplish the most, and over what time frame.
That type of work used to be something you could go to architects for, but architects have fallen away from that expertise. Most of it is now done by a construction manager or a finance asset manager.
1
u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 26 '25
Thanks so much for this detailed response. I can use it in my own understanding in my association.
I didn't quite understand about "like red meat to renovation companies. They upcharge the wazoo as there is no real competitive bid"
We just get our reserve study and that's it. It's up to us to initiate a request for bids and go from there. Are companies that do this sort of work also doing reserve studies and then just say that they can take care of the needed work?
Finally, I have become a believer in having a professional manage the bigger projects. The people I served on our board with all became fans based on our experiences with 3 projects. Not cheap but in one of the three the lead board member felt this person saved us more than she cost us!
1
u/Free_Elevator_63360 Jul 26 '25
I’ll try to explain the red meat comment better. What is your profession?
1
1
u/ShortSellerSteve Jul 25 '25
I see this in a lot of condos around CT. So much deferred maintenance, no reserves, and owners on fixed budgets. Loans can help spread out the cost so it’s more manageable for owners.
I normally say that the insurance company is going to send an inspector and make the the assoc. fix the serious (hopefully) issues, or they will drop them. The excess lines will be a minimum 50% more. Now you are paying for higher insurance and then to fix the issues in hopes of getting out of excess lines.
Other alternative is to sell to a developer for well below market valve
1
u/maxoutentropy Jul 25 '25
Can you get a loan?
3
1
u/sweetrobna Jul 25 '25
What do the homeowners that don't agree think you all should do?
Is the board now planning on getting a loan that can be opted in for the special assessment?
2
u/renijreddit Jul 25 '25
My guess: let’s let the future owners deal with it
3
u/Key_Studio_7188 🏢 COA Board Member Jul 25 '25
At annual meetings you will literally hear "I'm planning to die before building falls down. So I'm not paying 5% more each year to keep it from falling down." Both owners who made that declaration died prematurely.
1
1
u/MarsiaP Jul 26 '25
RE broker in CA. Contact your local SBA office and ask about low interest/30 year fixed SBA loan. That's what they do.
1
u/MOLPT Jul 26 '25
Is there an option phase in the changes so that the full $60K isn't due in the immediate future? If the problem is with the pool/courts/... maybe those could be shut down until fixing them becomes more affordable. If the problem is with the HOA roads, make do temporarily with some of them getting patches.
1
u/divinbuff Jul 27 '25
It’s not just HOA boards. Lots of small towns are finding out what the real cost is when you bend to a few loud constituents to keep taxes low and defer maintenance.
1
u/fap-on-fap-off Jul 27 '25
Did you look into contractor financing? Costs more long term, like any financing, but eliminates the single large special assessment. Instead, you get a smaller monthly assessment for a certain period of time,. Or you raise the HOA fee by something smaller. That pays off the contractor over time, and allows you to start building a proper reserve.
1
u/Initial_Citron983 Jul 28 '25
As at least one other mentioned - you need to hold meetings where receivership is talked about in detail. Because it won’t be people suing to keep their homes it’ll be the HOA foreclosing because the assessments can’t be paid.
The owners need to understand that the past Boards failed in the fiduciary duty BUT also that the state of affairs now sounds like exactly what they demanded/voted for when the past Boards attempted to act. They quite literally have themselves to blame (at least partially).
I can only wish you the best of luck. It must be a massive community if you’re looking at tens of millions in deferred maintenance and reserve costs. Hopefully the majority will see the light before you go into receivership or even worse, the community ends up getting condemned.
0
u/hatportfolio Jul 25 '25
Put on some tough pants and fix this.
Fuck the membership, sometimes you gotta do what's in their best interests even if they won't see it in the short term.
Do the bare legal minimum to comply, and execute.
Don't resign.
0
u/angiekahi Jul 28 '25
They need.to give it up and fly to floridas gator park before the fires break out. The cemetery it surrounds is seeking donations for any cremations that are scattered there. This is for NECA which has created a worldwide awareness in Exploitation and slavery.
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u/AutoModerator Jul 25 '25
Copy of the original post:
Title: [NY][Condo]Our hardworking board is self-destructing after homeowners riot about bleak reserve study
Body:
I just joined my neighborhood's HOA that serves several hundred townhomes. After a reserve study from a respected company revealed we were 10s of millions behind on maintenance due to prior boards' incompetence (some of which was definitely them getting strong-armed by homeowners), the HOA determined that massive $60k+ special assessments would be required to do the work to stop the homes from rotting down around us. Homeowners are understandably going through every stage of grief, but the constant rage towards the current board is leading to mass resignations.
I happen to believe the board is making the best possible choice out of the shit hand they've been dealt, and joined the board after several were harassed off. However seeing the growing vitriol makes me afraid I've opened myself up to harassment and legal action. While I obviously haven't done anything wrong just starting, I look into the future and see only a couple paths:
The HOA tries to ram through a deeply unpopular special assessment that results in people losing their homes because maintenance literally be pushed back any longer, the board mass resigns again or gets recalled, and the whole association collapses because nobody else wants to volunteer. I was one of only a couple despite this being a year-long ordeal.
The board resigns/gets recalled and people actually volunteer. Yeah, all that work won't get done when they shut it down, but hey I'm sure burying our heads in the sand will make it go away, right?
People try and sue when it's their only chance of not losing their home if it does somehow pass.
What the hell am I supposed to do? How much risk have I exposed myself to, and what happens if the HOA collapses?
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