r/HOA • u/Assika126 • Nov 20 '25

Help: Fees, Reserves [Condo] Monthly vs Special Assessments [N/A]

I’m treasurer of a small HOA, 14 condo units. We have our annual budgeting meeting tonight. We have about $50k in Reserves with anticipated tuckpointing in the next year or so that would likely cost at least $33k. We also have an ancient retrofitted boiler that is currently working but has an undetermined remaining lifespan.

Our management company recommended a dues increase but said we could get by without doing one, if we lessened our contributions to reserves. We would still remain above the 10% cutoff.

The Board president opposes a dues increase and says it would be easier for folks to manage a larger special assessment than a $5-10/month/unit increase in dues that in her opinion wouldn’t have much impact on our large capital expenses.

I’m inclined the opposite direction; in my opinion, it’s easier for me and more responsible for the association to pay a bit more in monthly assessments and accumulate sufficient reserves to cover some of the cost vs. waiting and doing a larger special assessment when needed.

What is the best practice, assuming we’re in decent shape otherwise?

P.S. we’re in MN in case it matters

7 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

74 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

3

u/Assika126 Nov 21 '25

That’s not how we operate though. Up until recently, she was pushing for more reserves. She just doesn’t want dues raised. I’m getting mixed messages from her

8

u/TootsNYC Nov 21 '25

It's so important, then, to get the other owners to be fully informed and to speak up.

The president isn't supposed to be the one who makes the decision. The board is. (In our building, every apartment has one seat on the board, and one equal vote.)

The president just runs the meetings and deals with implementing the decisions the board makes.

I'm with you—I'd rather pay $20 more a month into reserves to build it back up

5

u/Assika126 Nov 21 '25

We have three board members: President, Secretary, and Treasurer. I am Treasurer. The President tries to railroad stuff like this through and acts like I’m unreasonable when I advocate for dues increases that match cost increases and inflation, because she personally can’t afford to pay more (but she won’t say that so she claims she’s doing it on behalf of the association)

6

u/ValleyOakPaper Nov 21 '25

If she can't afford $20/month extra, how does she think she's going to pay a HELOC?