Compare Condo Dues and Assessments
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Gail Pizetoski
Mar 17, 2013, 9:05:02 PM3/17/13
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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Gail Pizetoski
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Article Title: Compare Condo Dues and Assessments
Author: Gail Pizetoski
Word Count: 563
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1825177&ca=Real+Estate
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1825177
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1825177
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Have you tried to compare condo assessments of a particular condo association with another one?
Due to various factors, it�s impossible to make an accurate comparison
There are many reasons why it's difficult to compare condominiums:
Age of the condo buildings may differ
Mechanical systems may differ
Type of materials used in buildings (brick, siding, stucco, wood)
Decks/Balcony on unit? - Is the unit owner or the Association responsible for repairs? Made of wood?
Elevators onsite? - If so, how many?
Parking garage onsite?
Amenities of each association may differ (and may include: pool, tennis courts, fitness center, laundry room, lobby, clubhouse, etc
Are there a lot of trees and/or landscaping in the common areas?
Landscaping? Who mows the lawn - the unit owner or the association?
Roads and/or parking lots - Are they private or public?
Utilities: Does the unit owner or the Association pay for water, electric, gas, cable, or wifi? It may vary greatly by association
Does the building have any construction defects? Is the builder still around?
Has the association deferred maintenance?
Maintenance agreements: Does the condo association have regular maintenance agreements with its vendors? This would usually cover the elevators, mechanical equipment, pool, plumbing, etc. Not having these agreements or performing regular maintenance will usually result in higher repair costs and possibly costly emergency repairs.
Has the Association had a Reserve study done? If so, are the Reserve funds properly funded? Does the Condo association have to catch-up?
Does the Association have annual audits? (They usually cost $3,000 to $6,000 per year)
Has a Reserve Study been performed? If so, is the association following its guidelines?
When was the roof last replaced? If more than 15 years ago, the condo association may need to assess higher dues. They may need to save money to be able to replace the roof when needed. (This is assuming the reserve fund is low)
Have there been many plumbing leaks? If so, has the problem been corrected?
Does the community have many delinquencies? If so, cash flow may be poor and the dues may be high to compensate for those units that can�t pay
Has the community been involved in any lawsuits? If so, legal fees the insurance premiums may be high
If it�s a relatively new condo association (within 5 years), the dues may not have increased since being set up by the developer. Developers usually set the initial dues artificially low, in order to sell units. If they were low to begin with and haven�t been increased much, the association may have a cash flow problem or underfunded reserves.
Does the Board of Directors like to be popular and refuse to raise dues, even when necessary?
Does the Association borrow from its reserve fund to pay for operating expenses (regular maintenance, landscaping, etc) in order to avoid increasing dues?
Is one condo association managed better than the other? Are costs and contracts reviewed at least annually?
Based on many factors, it�s impossible to make a valid comparison of condo association dues.
About The Author: Condo and HOA industry-30 yrs experience from every angle: CPA, Board Member, Auditor, Taxes, Association Manager, daily Accounting, Collections, Board member Training seminars, Real Estate Broker and more. � Now, I Help Homebuyers Reduce their Risk! Buyer Beware! http://www.condo-smart.com
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1825177
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Gail Pizetoski
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1825177
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1825177
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Compare Condo Dues and Assessments
Author: Gail Pizetoski
Word Count: 563
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1825177&ca=Real+Estate
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1825177
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1825177
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Have you tried to compare condo assessments of a particular condo association with another one?
Due to various factors, it�s impossible to make an accurate comparison
There are many reasons why it's difficult to compare condominiums:
Age of the condo buildings may differ
Mechanical systems may differ
Type of materials used in buildings (brick, siding, stucco, wood)
Decks/Balcony on unit? - Is the unit owner or the Association responsible for repairs? Made of wood?
Elevators onsite? - If so, how many?
Parking garage onsite?
Amenities of each association may differ (and may include: pool, tennis courts, fitness center, laundry room, lobby, clubhouse, etc
Are there a lot of trees and/or landscaping in the common areas?
Landscaping? Who mows the lawn - the unit owner or the association?
Roads and/or parking lots - Are they private or public?
Utilities: Does the unit owner or the Association pay for water, electric, gas, cable, or wifi? It may vary greatly by association
Does the building have any construction defects? Is the builder still around?
Has the association deferred maintenance?
Maintenance agreements: Does the condo association have regular maintenance agreements with its vendors? This would usually cover the elevators, mechanical equipment, pool, plumbing, etc. Not having these agreements or performing regular maintenance will usually result in higher repair costs and possibly costly emergency repairs.
Has the Association had a Reserve study done? If so, are the Reserve funds properly funded? Does the Condo association have to catch-up?
Does the Association have annual audits? (They usually cost $3,000 to $6,000 per year)
Has a Reserve Study been performed? If so, is the association following its guidelines?
When was the roof last replaced? If more than 15 years ago, the condo association may need to assess higher dues. They may need to save money to be able to replace the roof when needed. (This is assuming the reserve fund is low)
Have there been many plumbing leaks? If so, has the problem been corrected?
Does the community have many delinquencies? If so, cash flow may be poor and the dues may be high to compensate for those units that can�t pay
Has the community been involved in any lawsuits? If so, legal fees the insurance premiums may be high
If it�s a relatively new condo association (within 5 years), the dues may not have increased since being set up by the developer. Developers usually set the initial dues artificially low, in order to sell units. If they were low to begin with and haven�t been increased much, the association may have a cash flow problem or underfunded reserves.
Does the Board of Directors like to be popular and refuse to raise dues, even when necessary?
Does the Association borrow from its reserve fund to pay for operating expenses (regular maintenance, landscaping, etc) in order to avoid increasing dues?
Is one condo association managed better than the other? Are costs and contracts reviewed at least annually?
Based on many factors, it�s impossible to make a valid comparison of condo association dues.
About The Author: Condo and HOA industry-30 yrs experience from every angle: CPA, Board Member, Auditor, Taxes, Association Manager, daily Accounting, Collections, Board member Training seminars, Real Estate Broker and more. � Now, I Help Homebuyers Reduce their Risk! Buyer Beware! http://www.condo-smart.com
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1825177
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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