Considering an HOA? Paying Monthly Fees (or “Dues”) to Your HOA Explained
By Amy Loftsgordon, Attorney
Considering and HOA? Generally, the monthly HOA fee consists of two parts:
- An amount to cover current year operations. Part of the monthly fee will be designated to pay for current year operations, which typically includes expenses such as landscaping, snow removal, pool maintenance, insurance, and water.
- An amount that goes into reserves. The remaining portion of the monthly fee is placed into reserves for long-term repairs and replacements, like a new roof for the community center or a new road, or to cover the cost of building additional parking lots. Having ample reserves ensures that the HOA has money available to pay for high-cost repairs when they come due.
So long as the HOA board accurately predicts which repairs will come due and when, the monthly dues should cover the current operating expenses and long-term maintenance.
Special Assessments: When Paying Monthly Fees (or “Dues”) Fall Short of Covering Expenses
Sometimes, the monthly fees might not provide enough to the reserves to cover long-term repairs. For example:
- the monthly operating expenses might be higher than expected
- some homeowners might not pay their monthly HOA dues, or
- an unexpected catastrophe or natural disaster might happen, which causes damage that insurance doesn’t cover.
In these instances and others, the HOA can usually charge homeowners a special assessment.
You can visit https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-are-hoa-assessments.html for additional HOA resources, and you can visit https://bosspmg.com/about-boss-property-management/ to learn more about Boss Property Management, LLC
