HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - January 12, 2018
Published: Fri, 01/12/18
=================================================================
How to Do an Honest Review of Your HOA's Assessment Level
=================================================================
Some boards never, ever, ever raise their assessment levels—and they may not be doing their owners any favors.
In this week's tip, we share two of seven questions you should ask to determine whether your condo or HOA assessment level is too high or too low.
1. What level does our budget call for?
"Your assessments are supposed to reflect what the anticipated expenses are for the coming year," reports Stephen M. Guerra, managing partner of Makower Abbate Guerra Wegner Vollmer in Farmington Hills, Mich., who practices primarily in condominium and subdivision association law.
"You should be reviewing the past few years' expenses and perhaps even taking an average of the past few years for things like maintenance contracts," states Guerra. You should be asking: What have we had to maintain and pay out for among the items we're responsible for maintaining? And do we anticipate any increases?
"Review any existing contracts so you know what your obligations actually are," advises Guerra. "And for expenses you don't have contracts for, look at historical costs and perhaps add an inflation factor to that figure to come up with potential costs."
2. Historically, have we matched costs as they've increased?
It's not just your current budget that's important but your budgets over the years.
"If you've held assessments steady even though costs have increased, reserves may be falling behind or needed maintenance may not be getting done," explains Susan Hawks McClintic, co-managing shareholder and the chair of the community association transactional practice group at the law firm of Epsten Grinnell & Howell in San Diego, has her clients ask. "Also ask if you've been keeping up with inflation over the years."
Read all 7 Questions for Evaluating Your HOA's Assessment Level (And Possibly Reducing It) in our new article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/3661.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
=================================================================
Upcoming Event
How to Read Your Association's Financial Reports
(and Fulfill Your Fiduciary Duty)
An Exclusive HOAleader.com Webinar
With Practical Tips for Condo and HOA Boards
Thursday, January 25, 2018
2:00 p.m. Eastern
1:00 p.m. Central
12:00 p.m. Mountain
11:00 a.m. Pacific
Learn more or register now:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/how-to-read-associations-financial-reports-a.cfm
Members save $30!
================================================================
Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
================================================================
7 Questions for Evaluating Your HOA's Assessment Level (And Possibly Reducing It)
Have you held your HOA's assessments steady for years? That may not be a good thing. Or if your HOA has raised them year after year, that also may not be good. Here, our experts offer up seven questions you should ask to determine whether your condo or HOA assessment level is too high or too low.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/7-Questions-for-Evaluating-Your-HOAs-Assessment-Level-And-Possibly-Reducing-It.cfm
================================================================
New Year, New Insurance Issues: How to Give Your HOA a Checkup
With any luck, this year will be nowhere near as bad as last year when it comes to natural disasters. Still, it's your job to be prepared for the worst. In this week's tip, we start 2018 off with what you need to know to do a quick review of your HOA's insurance coverage to ensure you've got the policies you need at the coverage levels you also need.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/New-Year-New-Insurance-Issues-How-Give-Your-HOA-Checkup.cfm
================================================================
Why Now Is a Good Time to Review Your HOA Insurance Coverage: 6 Tips
It's the New Year, plus 2017 was a devastating year for disasters. So let's start 2018 off with what you need to know to do a quick review of your HOA's insurance coverage to ensure you've got the policies you need at the coverage levels you also need. Here are six suggestions.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Why-Now-Good-Time-Review-Your-HOA-Insurance-Coverage-6-Tips.cfm
================================================================
Ready to Pull Your Hair Out? Stress-Reduction Tools for HOA Boards Could Help
We're serious. Adopting stress-reduction techniques would help you better manage all the challenges that come with being an HOA board member.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/Ready-Pull-Your-Hair-Out-StressReduction-Tools-for-HOA-Boards-Could-Help.cfm
=================================================================
Is There a Hardship Exception to Enforcing Your HOA's Docs?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, What flexibility does a board have to extend a time frame for engaging in a certain activity for the reasons of a hardship when that activity has specific dates during which it may not be engaged? This is in relation to living in an RV on the owners' undeveloped lot, when living in RVs is limited to May 1 to October 31.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/There-Hardship-Exception-Enforcing-Your-HOAs-Docs.cfm
=================================================================
Free Upgrade to Group Membership
HOAleader.com members can now get a complimentary upgrade to group membership. With a group membership, the rest of your HOA or condo board--up to 9 additional members--will get their own member accounts.
Plus, when you register for a webinar, your entire group can register for the price of one person. Everyone gets their own dial-in information, no need to huddle in one location.
It's a fantastic value.
Make your job easier. Help the rest of your board get up to speed on HOA management best practices by adding them to your HOAleader.com membership today for no cost.
Already a member? Create complimentary accounts for the other members of your HOA board now:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/main.cfm
Not a member yet? Sign up now with our low individual rates and then add your fellow board members for no additional cost:
http://www.hoaleader.com/details.cfm
=================================================================
Get your own copy!
Subscribe to the HOAleader.com Tip of the Week at:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/department49.cfm
=================================================================
Please feel free to forward the *entire text* of this email to others.
Copyright 2017, Plain-English Media, LLC
(866) 641-4548
http://www.hoaleader.com