Budgeting for a community association is both a difficult task and a massive responsibility. The process is a marathon, not a sprint. If you wait too long to start budget preparations, you’re adding the burden of last-minute panic to an already stressful project. Read the article……………..
Best Practices for Passing an HOA Budget
First, check your governing documents. These describe the manner in which the HOA budget is adopted each year. In most associations, the governing documents provide that the budget is adopted by the board or by vote of the owners. However, even when the documents give the board the right to adopt the budget, a vote […]
The Gravity of an Unbalanced Budget
There’s a right way and a wrong way to keep monthly charges low. Running deficits is no way to run a cooperative or a condominium. It usually leads to shuffling money around – paying off one contract late or shifting payments among contractors – and it can backfire. “If you’re not paying people on time, […]
Budget Approval Motion NOT Needed at Owners’ Meeting (OH)
As community associations hold their annual meetings, boards should be reminded that for most associations, owners do NOT need to approve the treasurer’s report or annual budget. The majority of association Bylaws provide an outline for the annual meeting agenda, which includes approval of last year’s annual meeting minutes by owners, reports of officers, and […]
What Successful Associations Do: Master the Reserve Study
Believe it or not, budget season is upon us again. Each association requires different levels of involvement from their board during the budgeting process. While a professional community association manager will assist you when you’re getting started, it’s important for boards to make sure the manager understands the community’s long-term vision by sharing any future […]
3 Tips to Reduce HOA Fees
HOA fees are necessary to keep the neighborhood running smoothly. However, over time, the fees can continue to increase. Sometimes, these increases are necessary, but sometimes, there are places where spending can be reduced. Check out these three tips for reducing HOA fees in your community. Read the article…………..
Ancillary Income: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Most will agree that the best type of income for the owners is the income that they do not have to pay (outside income). That income of course reduces the assessments they pay to the association. Usually these types of income will be taxable. However, depending on the type of association and the type of […]
Budgets & Reserve Studies: Your Best Planning Tools
As the summer months are winding down, TV commercials for school supplies abound and parents are overjoyed with soon-to-be quiet households. It truly is a wonderful time of the year – unless you work in property management. For property managers, this time of year is the most dreadful. If your association is on a January […]
The Reserve Budget
Many of you are in the process of completing your 2017 operating budgets for your boards/committees/commissions (constituencies). Most operating budgets consist of anywhere between 80-100 individual line items that will guide the association with its operations for the next year. Of these 80-100 line items your constituencies will debate heavily on 5-10 items since the […]
Preparing an Association Budget
An annual budget is the lifeblood of any financially healthy association. A properly crafted budget guides the association in financial decisions throughout the fiscal year and helps minimize unexpected costs. Generally, the membership of your community will recognize the budget as a way of determining assessment amounts. While this is an integral part of the […]
Just Dues
One of the unavoidable realities of being an owner at a condominium association is the obligation to pay membership dues. Typically, a condominium’s board of directors will levy an annual assessment based on a budget that has been ratified by the association’s members. The annual expenses will then be assessed to owners and divided according […]
Budget Chess: Formulating a Strategic Plan for your Association
Once we have completed our annual budgets, held all our meetings, approved the plans and sent out the annual assessment coupons /statements, we can breathe that sigh of relief and look forward to the new year. Hopefully in preparing your budgets you reviewed your association’s reserve study and all contracts in place. Before we enter […]
In The Black: Explaining Common Condo and Co-op Budget Terminology
Taking care of a condo, co-op or HOA’s budget and finances is a big job. Handling such large sums of money is an important responsibility, and not every unit owner or shareholder has the expertise to do the job well. Sure, most people know that the amount of money going out shouldn’t exceed the amount […]
Real-Life Algebra: Homeowners Association Dues Edition
But today, a gift fell into my lap: an actual, solve for x algebra application in daily life. A gentleman from South Florida called my office (I was out) and left a message and also sent an email detailing his dilemma. He is on the board of his community’s homeowners association and they needed to […]
A checklist for setting condo budget priorities
Some may think of condo budget review as a yawn fest; however, others may spend hours working out the smallest of details. That’s because a budget is basically a financial plan — not sexy, but extremely important in the condominium industry. Budgeting is so important that the Condominium Act requires all corporations to maintain an […]
What Homeowner Associations Can Teach Governments About Spending
People in government should take field trips to well-run homeowner associations. To experience fiscal responsibility first hand. To see how elected leaders in some homeowner associations — HOAs — are actually spending public money prudently and efficiently. Read the article…………..
Budget Season Tips
With budget season here, it’s time for community associations to review and adjust the budget for the coming year. This task can seem overwhelming to many HOAs, but these tips can help make it as straightforward and painless as possible. Read the article………….
How to Use Association Funds Wisely
Association funds are the lifeblood of any HOA. They are used to help maintain and run the community. Managing the finances of an HOA can seem complicated, but if the association understands the different types of funds and what they should be used for, allocating the funds goes much smoother. Read the article……………..
Budget? Yeah… I Think We Have a Budget.
As a HOA manager I was often approached by potential clients, at their wit’s end with HOA issues. Often these issues were about financial issues. I would usually ask them about their budget. Far too often I would get a response like. “Budget? Yeahhh… I think we have a budget.” In most of these cases […]
HOA Budgeting 101: How to Budget for Your HOA Community
It’s HOA budget season. Everyone talks about needing a budget, but very few people like budgeting. While it takes time, attention to detail, and intense practicality, a detailed budget is essential for any HOA that plans to operate with the funds necessary to for reasonable service and maintenance. Follow these steps to help your HOA […]
Budget Preparations Don’t Have To Be An Annual Headache
It’s that time of year when board members and financial committee members convene to start the annual budget preparation for their property owners associations. Setting a budget can be an intimidating, time-consuming ordeal. Our goal in this article is to offer some insight and a list of best practices that have facilitated our success. Read […]
Fine Tuning Budgeting in Your HOA
Many homeowner associations find it challenging to accumulate the funds they need to provide a reasonable level of services and maintenance. Simply keeping up with inflation currently calls for a 2-3% annual increase in revenue. But fighting inflation can be easy if the board makes cost-cutting a priority. Start by identifying the high-ticket items. Read […]
It’s easy to understand your mortgage, your utility bills, and your taxes. But what are HOA dues going toward?
Life is good. You just bought a brand new condo, your career is taking off, and you have great neighbors and friends that you enjoy spending time with on the weekends. Then it comes. You’ve been expecting it, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you thought they might forget. Read the article………..
Why Your HOA Board Should Start Preparing the Next Annual Budget Now
When it comes to the annual budget for your homeowners association, it can feel cumbersome to understand and plan. It can also seem like an overwhelming task because you just don’t have a lot of accounting knowledge.
Don’t Raid the Cookie Jar: Capital Budgeting is Essential
Sometimes the future seems like it’s an awfully long way away. If a roof is going to last 30 years, why should we worry about it today? Same with that shiny new boiler or that flat, crack-free pavement just poured two summers ago. Eventually, though, everything new grows old. Wear and tear sets in and […]
In The Black: Explaining Common Co-op/Condo Budget Terminology
Taking care of a co-op or condo building’s budget and finances is a big job. Handling such large sums of money is an important responsibility, and not every shareholder or unit owner has the expertise to do the job well. Sure, most people know the that the amount of money going out shouldn’t exceed the […]
Does Your Homeowners Association Budget Include the Right Components?
Many homeowners associations operate on the fiscal year (July through June). If your Association is one of them then hopefully you have your new and improved budget ready to go because July is just around the corner. Read the article………….
3 Things an HOA Board Can Do Now to Combat Costly Maintenance
There is always work to be done, especially in a homeowners association. It’s crucial that an HOA Board plan for general, ongoing maintenance and upkeep. This is important in order to keep the Association a safe place to live and keep it an appealing place to live. Members don’t want to live in a run-down […]
Operating, reserve funds must be kept in separate accounts
Community associations need two pots of money, an operating account and a reserve account. The first is for paying day-to-day bills, and the second is for occasional big-ticket items like roofs and boilers. Read more……….
HOA Boards need to keep reserve budgets fully funded
Q. Our condominium association last raised our assessments in 2010, which left us with a small surplus above our annual expenses to fund our reserve account. With no assessment increases since then, but increasing expenses, we are no longer able to meet our operating expenses, much less contribute to reserves. Read more………
The common expenses conundrum
Many people who work with condominiums raised an eyebrow after reading a recent Toronto Star story entitled “Maintenance fees take a toll on Toronto condo owners.” The piece highlights the divergent philosophies about the interplay between common expenses and market values and the growing trend towards gathering, tracking and comparing common expenses data from building […]
Special Assessments in a Homeowners Association: A Necessary Evil
There is no way to sugar-coat a special assessment. Receiving a notice that you owe more money to your homeowners association can not only put a damper on your day but also a dent in your wallet, both of which the board is sympathetic to. In a perfect world, there would never be a need […]
4 tips for a smoother HOA budget process
Yes, it’s that time of year again for HOAs. No, not the holidays, it’s budget season! Most HOAs use the calendar year as their fiscal year, and now is the time of year many boards of directors are formulating their budgets for next year. Here are tips for making the budget and next year’s finances […]
How the Budget Committee Works in a Homeowners Association
For homeowners associations with a January through December budget year, the time clock is ticking to develop a budget for the upcoming year and have the budget approved in time for the association’s year-end mailing. A budget committee can be comprised of HOA board members, members of your community association or a combination of both. […]
At budget time, HOAs priorities must be set
This is the season when homeowners and condominium associations prepare annual budgets. An annual budget is a financial planning tool used to prioritize spending and establish how income will be used to perform maintenance and repairs. Here is what associations need to know: Read more………
6 Questions HOA Board Members Ask About Operating & Reserve Budgets
An area where a lot of HOA board members get into trouble relate to properly understanding the operating fund and the reserve fund in a homeowners association. If the two funds aren’t properly maintained a Board can be setting up the Association for failure and don’t even know it. It’s crucial that Boards understand how […]
Tips for preparing next year’s association budget
For most community associations, cooler weather signals the start of budget season. It’s the time of year when boards and finance committees hammer out the next year’s expenses and income. Read more……..
The Growing Importance of Budgets
If you serve on a community association board or manage a community association you know that October means budget season. This seemingly straightforward task of lining up revenue and expenses can be complicated by two factors. Read more………
Help! Our HOA (or Condo) Needs Money
Community associations can become cash-strapped for a variety of reasons – unexpected large repairs, increased utility expenses, weather related emergencies, or simply years of poor planning. Often the current board members are not the ones to blame. After all, they are simply trying to locate funds to pay necessary expenses Read more……….
Cutting Costs – Without Cutting Corners Erasing the Red
As the 2012 federal legislative fiasco over the debt ceiling—as well as any number of other spending bills proposed since then—demonstrated, balancing a budget can be like pulling teeth. Balancing a condo or HOA community’s budget can sometimes seem just as arduous—the task can be incredibly difficult because there are so many moving parts. […]
Budgeting and the Bottom Line: Reviewing Your Association’s Budget
Preparing the annual budget is by no means an easy task. Those charged with preparing condominium or HOA budgets will soon begin reviewing costs, gathering data and projecting expenses for the coming year. Read more…….
5 Ways to Lower Your HOA Assessments
Board members will frequently hear complaints from homeowners association members about paying their monthly HOA assessment fees. In fact, some homeowners may even shy away from purchasing a home or condo if the feel the monthly dues are more than they want to pay. Read more…….
Beginner’s Guide to HOA Finance, Budgeting, and Accounting
When it comes to interpreting your HOA management company’s financial reporting, it’s helpful for HOA members to understand the accounting process used by their management company, especially if they wish to maintain and manage community funds in a practical manner. Below, you’ll find a guide to some basic accounting terms and concepts used by HOAs […]
Homeowner Associations and Their Budgets
Many homeowner associations find it difficult to hold the line on expenses. Inflation erodes endlessly increasing budgets and members scream for relief. But help is on the way. There are practical ways to reduce costs without cutting services. The HOA’s budget is like a collection of uncut gems of different type, size and quality. Some […]
Tips to Keep Assessments from Increasing in the Homeowners Association
Keeping assessments from increasing in a homeowners association is one of the most important things an HOA board and its members can strive to do. The Association must balance keeping up with all its financial obligations and making sure fees stay as low as possible. Generally, these two feel like they work against each other. […]
What’s the Deal With Special Assessments?
Q. I am a first-time home buyer. I was looking to buy a condo for $167,000, until I discovered there was a special assessment for $13,000. I don’t know what this is for. Is it paid through my monthly fees I pay? Would I be buying a money pit? Read More……
Cost-Cutting in 2013: Places Where You Can Trim Co-op / Condo Budgets
This year, resolve to cut your costs and properly fund your reserves. Oftentimes delinquent dues and bad debt will create cash-flow problems for your cooperative corporation or condominium association. Collections and liens can be costly and hard to retrieve as well, and as board members and property managers, you are expected to consistently look for […]
Cut your costs in 2013
Oftentimes delinquent dues and bad debt will create cash-flow problems for your Homeowners Association (HOA). Collections and liens can be costly and hard to retrieve as well. As board members and property managers, you are expected to consistently look for ways to cut expenses – especially in these hard-hitting economic times. Read More……
Planning for Capital Improvement Project Contingencies
Sooner or later, every resident living in a condo, HOA or co-op community will have to deal with the inconvenience of living through a major capital improvement project—a roof replacement, an elevator rehab, serious exterior work, or something of that nature. Read More……