unfair special assessment fee

[Madge]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CT

My HOA has asked me to pay a special assessment fee of $15K. They gave mea list of the work that this fee supposedly covers -everything from fixing the roof to landscaping. They also raised my HOA fees from under $200 to almost $500/month. At the same time the developer has offered to buy my unit for a fraction of what I paid for it in the hopes that I can do a short sale with the bank. He wants to own the entire building again so that he can resell it. What are my rights here? If the short sale works out where I won't owe any money and can walk away from this mess then I'll do it (understanding it will impact my credit,) but if that doesn't work I don't know what to do. I believe the special assessment is bogus but don't know how to prove it. I want to know if I have the right to tell them that I will pay the special assessment fee once I know the work is completed. Any advice would be welcome.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CT

My HOA has asked me to pay a special assessment fee of $15K. They gave mea list of the work that this fee supposedly covers -everything from fixing the roof to landscaping. They also raised my HOA fees from under $200 to almost $500/month. At the same time the developer has offered to buy my unit for a fraction of what I paid for it in the hopes that I can do a short sale with the bank. He wants to own the entire building again so that he can resell it. What are my rights here? If the short sale works out where I won't owe any money and can walk away from this mess then I'll do it (understanding it will impact my credit,) but if that doesn't work I don't know what to do. I believe the special assessment is bogus but don't know how to prove it. I want to know if I have the right to tell them that I will pay the special assessment fee once I know the work is completed. Any advice would be welcome.

How many units are under this HOA?

 

[Madge]

How many units are under this HOA?

There are 4 units in my building, I own one and the developer owns the other 3. There are actually three buildings in total, each one with one condo owner and the developer owning the other 3 units. But they set each building up as their own HOA, if that makes sense.

But the developer is doing the same thing to the other two owners as he is to me.

 

[festival]

Can you get all three owners to own units in one building? That is, two owners trade their units back to the developer in return for units in one common building. If so, the developer will get full ownership of two buildings, and it gives the owners a way out of the mess. Once you have 3 / 4 owners in one HOA, then you will control it.

 

[Madge]

Can you get all three owners to own units in one building? That is, two owners trade their units back to the developer in return for units in one common building. If so, the developer will get full ownership of two buildings, and it gives the owners a way out of the mess. Once you have 3 / 4 owners in one HOA, then you will control it.

I'm not sure...I was thinking about seeing if each of the owners would be interested in offering to buy the other three units in their buildings, then we would all own the building our unit is in, but I'm not sure if we are all on the same page about what's going on. One of the owners seems almost happy to be getting out of the situation, even if it's through a short sale.

 

[Proseguru]

Can you have a proper HOA with only 25% of the units sold? Something sounds fishy..it may be OK...but the OP is wise to continue investigation.

 

[lowens1975]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CT

My HOA has asked me to pay a special assessment fee of $15K. They gave mea list of the work that this fee supposedly covers -everything from fixing the roof to landscaping. They also raised my HOA fees from under $200 to almost $500/month. At the same time the developer has offered to buy my unit for a fraction of what I paid for it in the hopes that I can do a short sale with the bank. He wants to own the entire building again so that he can resell it. What are my rights here? If the short sale works out where I won't owe any money and can walk away from this mess then I'll do it (understanding it will impact my credit,) but if that doesn't work I don't know what to do. I believe the special assessment is bogus but don't know how to prove it. I want to know if I have the right to tell them that I will pay the special assessment fee once I know the work is completed. Any advice would be welcome.

All HOA's are governed by the laws of your state. I'm in Florida and state laws here give the HOA Board of Directors to right to raise association fees and assign a 'special assessment' when needed to make legitimate repairs. However, they cannot do so with voting. All of this should (by law in EVERY state) be explained in your HOA documents that you should have received at the closing sale of your property.

What doesn't seem 'right' is the roof repairs on YOUR home. That is your responsibility as a home owner, not the HOA's.

It also sounds like one or more of your board members is in cahoots to make some money with builder.

Do yourself a favor, go to the board meetings, it doesn't appear that you are keeping up with what is going on. If you're not getting them, ASK for a copy of the monthly financial reports from the treasurer, if he/she is not doing them, they SHOULD be. It's a break down of revenue and expenses. You have a right to a copy of or at least the ability to go to the office and read the meeting minutes from EVERY board meeting you've missed, all you should have to do is ask to see them

If the board 'assessed' a large sum, then they should have offered a payment plan...you have to pay it at whatever rate was proposed and voted on, you pretty much don't have a choice on that.

Lastly, every State has an Ombudsman or Director in the State Department that oversees and regulates HOA's, COA's and Trailer parks. If you feel something is amiss with the BOD and Developer, by all means, write this agency a letter and let them know! It will be investigated.

I can't stress enough that you keep up with what is being done and not being done with BOD, they have access and are in charge of spending your money, and I've seen how 'dictatorships' arise out some board members when they are not questioned.

Good luck.