<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Taffy:
I live in a new subdivision in Missouri. The builder has turned over the Homeowners Association to the residences of the subdivision and now they are asking for $75.00 per year dues of all 133 homes. However, they are not producing a budget to account for this amount of money. Don't they have to show a budget before you have to pay up? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
That is cheap dues. They are obligated to turn over a budget but may be stalling because the numbers do not come out. They must also turn over all documents that pertain to that budget ie. maintenance contracts for yard and other services, utility bills, insurance policies, management contracts, reserve study etc. In some cases, the develpoer represents to the new prospective buyers that the HOA fees is $75 per unit which is a lowball fee to entice the people to buy. In actuality the amount was understated and the fees in reality are much higher. In other cases, the developer has not paid a bunch of bills and uses the money from the owners to pay their back bills.
Make sure the HOA is legally formed and a special meeting is held to elect officers and conduct legal business. Dues should not be paid to the developer or the developers management company but to the HOA account. If there are unsold units owned by the developer, the developer must pay the $75 dues for each unit that they own just like a normal homeowner.
