Life is better without bad surprises
Special Assessments 101
Who?
All property owners in condominiums or HOAs are obligated to pay mandatory assessments to their associations to fund operating and maintenance costs
What?
Special assessments are charges that all association unit owners must pay in addition to their regular (usually monthly or quarterly) maintenance fees to pay for expensive, needed repairs
Where?
No building is immune. 70% of associations are underfunded and regularly resort to special assessments to pay for maintenance; some repairs can exhaust the savings of even the most well-heeled buildings
When?
It depends on an association’s reserve funding and repairs needed, but most associations end up charging assessments every 3 or 4 years
Why?
Associations rarely have enough saved to pay for the increasing maintenance needs of their facilities. But roofs need replacement, balconies leak, concrete cracks, and surprises happen. Associations charge owners when they come up short
How Much?
Most assessments are under $10,000, but some can reach $100,000 or more for serious structural repairs or infrastructure upgrades