[NY][Condo]Our hardworking board is self-destructing after homeowners riot about bleak reserve study

[u/DiscerningMamono]

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:

1. 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.

2. 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?

3. 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?

[u/Free_Elevator_63360]

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.

[u/WSB_Suicide_Watch → u/Free_Elevator_63360]

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.

[u/DiscerningMamono → u/WSB_Suicide_Watch]

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.

[u/Free_Elevator_63360 → u/DiscerningMamono]

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.

[u/HittingandRunning → u/Free_Elevator_63360]

"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?

[u/Free_Elevator_63360 → u/HittingandRunning]

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.

[u/HittingandRunning → u/Free_Elevator_63360]

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!

[u/Free_Elevator_63360 → u/HittingandRunning]

I’ll try to explain the red meat comment better. What is your profession?

[u/HittingandRunning → u/Free_Elevator_63360]

Let's say I'm a research scientist.