Condo Board Requesting Money

[stealth]

OK I have a question here...

My condo board made a $170/month raise in condo fees.

Now all of a sudden they say they are short money on some road/water line repairs, and they want me to give them over $2000, they say they will take it automatically from my account.

Now I find this as bullshit. Right out of nowhere they want me to pay over 2 grand!

Do they have the right to do this?

I am thinking of just removing them from the auto funds transfer shit so they don't take my money.

Any insight?

[snoop101]

We had to pay for something that happened before we even moved in. It was only a couple hundred though from each person. We were going to get a lawyer for it, but it would have cost the same due to lawyer fees. For you though if theres a lot more then one person paying 2grand then get a lawyer.

[Mixalot27]

Originally posted by stealth
Do they have the right to do this?

I am thinking of just removing them from the auto funds transfer shit so they don't take my money.

Any insight?

Yes the condo board has the authority to issue a special assessment on the owners. Sometimes unexpected repairs come up and the condo has to raise the money somehow.

If you remove them from the auto transfer or don't pay the special assessment, the condo board can place a caveat on your title. Which means you won't be able to sell your place until this is paid. They will also bill you for legal fees to file the caveat and also probably interest. So in the end you will wind up paying more.

Your only recourse if your unhappy with the special assessment would be to rally your fellow owners. You can get 15% (might be a different % depending on your bylaws) of owners to request a meeting and then 50% of those who show up to the meeting can vote to have the board removed and replaced. Also the condo corporation is required to hold an annual general meeting every 15 months. At this meeting you can get on the board yourself or elect others to be on the board. Bottom line is that the only way you really have any say in a condo is to be on the board yourself.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by stealth
OK I have a question here...

My condo board made a $170/month raise in condo fees.

Now all of a sudden they say they are short money on some road/water line repairs, and they want me to give them over $2000, they say they will take it automatically from my account.

Now I find this as bullshit. Right out of nowhere they want me to pay over 2 grand!

Do they have the right to do this?

I am thinking of just removing them from the auto funds transfer shit so they don't take my money.

Any insight?

You must be new to the world of condo ownership.

[stealth]

Yes I am. Been living in a condo for 1.5 years.

I hate it, thinking of selling.

[97'Scort]

If you had a house, and shit broke, you'd be footing the bill yourself too. The pleasures of home ownership.

The only way that you can really challenge this type of repair bill is if the damage can be attributed specifically to another owner, ie: Mr. Smith tried to dissolve a dead hooker in his bathtub and it screwed up the plumbing. Then Mr. Smith should be the one paying for the repair.

[tirebob]

Yes special assesments are allowed. You don't want your contingency fund reduced to zero so paying is not always a bad options. No different then if your house needed work. If you want more control over your condo fees, get involved with the strata council and help determine where the funds are spent...

[stealth]

I have no problem spending 4 grand in home repairs. But when I am spending 2 grand on shit that was not attributed to me, I find it to be pure bull shit.

Also I hate the fact that my condo fee is close to $300/month and all it covers is garbage removal and landscaping...

[Grogador]

Originally posted by 97'Scort
ie: Mr. Smith tried to dissolve a dead hooker in his bathtub and it screwed up the plumbing.

haha nice, what condos do YOU live in? ;)

[97'Scort]

Originally posted by stealth
IAlso I hate the fact that my condo fee is close to $300/month and all it covers is garbage removal and landscaping...

No water or anything as well? It's also paying the power bill for the common area, clean up on the common areas, and property taxes, I'd assume. If you ask your council, they will provide you a precise breakdown of where all your fees go to.

[Cos]

What did they say the special assessment was for (i.e. did they state a specific reason)?

[Kloubek]

Unfortunately, special assessments are a real part of condo living. There is really no point in fighting it, since they ARE allowed to assess it to your unit. They do not do this because they want to; remember - they have to pay it themselves too!

They do it because they HAVE to. This is sometimes because there are repairs they have to do which were not expected, and using the reserve fund to cover it would mean there is no longer enough to cover the scheduled things.

It can also be an issue with not having enough money to pay for SCHEDULED repairs. This means the board or condo corp mismanaged the funds and did not allocate enough for the required work, or did not increase fees as required. Even if this is the case, you are still responsible for paying the special assessment - unless you can prove gross and purposeful misconduct on behalf of the board.

In your case, it seems to me that both occured. The road and water line repairs may or may not have been unexpected. Water: Probably. Road: Depends on the workd required. So we can give them the benefit of the doubt there. But there is no reason for a condo fee to go up $170 in one shot. That means they were not raising them enough to cover expected expenses over the last many years.

You should also know that a condo corp should be hiring companies for reserve fund studies every 5 years or so. This is just to make sure the long-term budget is on the right track. If this company tells the owner corp that the fees are correctly in line, and then underestimates the cost of maintenence, then that will result in a shortfall too.

It is a crappy situation indeed; I had it happen to me in my old building too. (Roof).

I am not sure if the fee increase has actually taken effect or not - but don't think you can quickly sell to pawn it off on someone else. Chances are, your board discussed this at their last meeting. As such, any good lawyer will request the latest meeting minutes and the potential buyer will find out anyway....

Good luck!


Originally posted by 97'Scort


No water or anything as well? It's also paying the power bill for the common area, clean up on the common areas, and property taxes, I'd assume.

I suspect it also covers snow removal, outside building repairs, and possibly building insurance.

[urban.one]

One difference is that if you own a home you can make some decisions as to when and how your going to have stuff fixed.

If your roof starts leaking and you dont want to spend $8,000 on a new roof, you can do a halfa$$ repair that will last a year or two and then you can replace it. If the condo roof starts to leak and the condo board decides to fix it, they dont care that its not the best time for you, you still get your special assessment for whatever amount it is.

A properly run condo board should ensure that theres a healthy reserve fund for most situations that could come up. Just like a smart homeowner should set money aside for his own reserve fund for his house.

Just wait a few years with all the crappy condos that were slapped up during the boom and with artifically low condo fees to make them attractive. Special assessment here we come. But guess thats the same for the cheap homes that have gone up too.


Originally posted by 97'Scort
If you had a house, and shit broke, you'd be footing the bill yourself too. The pleasures of home ownership.

[97'Scort]

Originally posted by Grogador


haha nice, what condos do YOU live in? ;)

A nice one :D No dissolving hookers here, no sir...;)

We had an incident where this FOB guy who lives in our building drove a rental U Haul that was overheight for our parkade into the parkade, completely demolishing the overhead door in just about every way. He refused to back out and kept on driving straight, and I stopped him literally two feet from taking out our main sewer and water lines which hang from the ceiling.

Not a word of a lie, he thought that the condo association would pay for the damages. Instead he got bent over for the whole thing and still couldn't imagine he'd done anything wrong :rofl:

[jhmed]

Originally posted by stealth
OK I have a question here...

My condo board made a $170/month raise in condo fees.

Now all of a sudden they say they are short money on some road/water line repairs, and they want me to give them over $2000, they say they will take it automatically from my account.

Now I find this as bullshit. Right out of nowhere they want me to pay over 2 grand!

Do they have the right to do this?

I am thinking of just removing them from the auto funds transfer shit so they don't take my money.

Any insight?

Don't feel too bad, my mother is on a pension and had to fork out over $17,000 for repairs for mold and other repairs on her P.O.S. condo -- Ooops, I mean Point of View condo.

EDIT: If I'd known it was a Point of View building before she signed the papers, I'd have told her not to buy it. Too late now.

[ianmcc]

Originally posted by 97'Scort
...Mr. Smith tried to dissolve a dead hooker in his bathtub and it screwed up the plumbing. Then Mr. Smith should be the one paying for the repair.

There are ways to dissolve a dead hooker without screwing up the plumbing.

[stealth]

Yea I will pay the fee and just put it up for sale.

And no the condo fees do not cover property taxes, as I still receive a bill from the city... Just outside maintenance.

[bspot]

The reason I sold my condo right there.

You aren't in control if they hire shitty landscaping contractors or don't do proper maintenance on the building. My fees doubled in the first 3 years of owning it. I had a leak that I reported several times and ended up compromising my health for a year because of toxic mold. I had to be on their ass constantly for 6 months to get it fixed. Not exactly the "hassle free" condo living I signed up for.

Luckily the management company replaced the rep for that complex with someone new and she is MUCH better to deal with, but I'm glad I'm out.

I'm way happier paying $8k for a roof for my house that I can at least chose who I'm going with and when, and pick some pretty color for it :)

I'll gladly mow my own lawn and shovel my own walks and save the $100 or so of my fees that went to landscaping every month.

[cancer man]

Originally posted by ianmcc


There are ways to dissolve a dead hooker without screwing up the plumbing.

Buy a pig and flush the crappola down the toilet.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by jhmed


Don't feel too bad, my mother is on a pension and had to fork out over $17,000 for repairs for mold and other repairs on her P.O.S. condo -- Ooops, I mean Point of View condo.

EDIT: If I'd known it was a Point of View building before she signed the papers, I'd have told her not to buy it. Too late now.

Which complex was she in that had mold?

[thinmyster]

my buddy of mine who lives up in edmonton just got a special assesment for ~22,000$. They have to re-do the siding on the building that they half assed ~5 years ago. Basically he had the option of something like paying it off upfront (cash/loan) re-morgaging his place somehow or filing bankrupcy.

His dad, who is in construction told him a story of a condo/apartment that had a ~40,000$ special assesment. Be thankfull yours is 1/20th of that

[broken_legs]

Can you get home owners insurance on a condo?

Wouldn't this cover special assessments by the condo board?

[Kloubek]

Lots of new condos in Vancouver have experienced MAJOR (tens of thousands) of special assessments due to shoddy construction, and moisture issues. Luckily, such large assessments are rare here - but DO happen - as Thinmyster points out.

Brokenlegs: I don't think insurance covers you for maintainence - only perils. Now... if the owners decided to BURN the place down, that would be a different story... :)

[97'Scort]

Originally posted by broken_legs
Can you get home owners insurance on a condo?

Wouldn't this cover special assessments by the condo board?
Your homeowner's insurance won't cover repairs to the building from normal use.

[djayz]

Originally posted by broken_legs
Can you get home owners insurance on a condo?

Wouldn't this cover special assessments by the condo board?

Correct, there is a clause in my home owners insurance whereby they cover special assessment costs.
I know I got it, cost something like $8/year and they cover up to $5000.

[djayz]

Originally posted by 97'Scort

Your homeowner's insurance won't cover repairs to the building from normal use.

No they won't but that's what the reserve fund is for, normal use repairs. But when something big comes up as in this case, they put out a special assessment to all owners above the condo fees and this is covered by home owners insurance.

Call your insurance company and ask them.

[HRD2PLZ]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Lots of new condos in Vancouver have experienced MAJOR (tens of thousands) of special assessments due to shoddy construction, and moisture issues. Luckily, such large assessments are rare here - but DO happen - as Thinmyster points out.



We are actually seeing a number of buildings here in Calgary levying large special assessments now as well. Lots of issues with "leaky condos" just like in Vancouver.

[bignerd]

The condo with the $40,000 assessment are those ones at the top of Shaganappi with all the mold problems. No one can sell one of those now. Imagine having to come up with that kind of money on short notice.

[FraserB]

Im glad Im moving out of my PO(S)V condo at the end of the month. For the last month they have been fucking around with the paint and drywall in the halls. Apparently people cant build a straight wall.:nut:

[Amysicle]

Originally posted by bignerd
The condo with the $40,000 assessment are those ones at the top of Shaganappi with all the mold problems. No one can sell one of those now. Imagine having to come up with that kind of money on short notice. You mean the Edgemont ones? http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_print.html?id=1560686&sponsor=
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/story.html?id=8ddcbc96-00d3-4637-8693-e10fbb9c99bf&k=99141

[em2ab]

Didn't you check the amount in the reserve fund prior to buying the place? Must be pretty low if they can't cover the amount.

[bspot]

I heard about some in Okotoks getting 100K special assessments. That is a life wrecking occurrence.

[FraserB]

If you can find an insurance company that has a special assessment clause in the policy, will they cover the entire thing or only a portion?

It would suck to have a 50k assessment on a 200k condo.

[BigMass]

Originally posted by FraserB
If you can find an insurance company that has a special assessment clause in the policy, will they cover the entire thing or only a portion?

It would suck to have a 50k assessment on a 200k condo.

if i had less than 50k equity on something like that i'd just walk away

[jhmed]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit


Which complex was she in that had mold?

It's down south in Shawnessy.

[djayz]

Originally posted by FraserB
If you can find an insurance company that has a special assessment clause in the policy, will they cover the entire thing or only a portion?

It would suck to have a 50k assessment on a 200k condo.

You can pay for certain amounts that they will cover.

For example you can get coverage for up to a 5000 special assesment or a 60000 assesment. All depends on how much you're willing to pay on your premium.

One thing I will tell you is that it's super cheap for this clause. I think I paid $8/year for 15k in coverage.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by djayz


You can pay for certain amounts that they will cover.

For example you can get coverage for up to a 5000 special assesment or a 60000 assesment. All depends on how much you're willing to pay on your premium.

One thing I will tell you is that it's super cheap for this clause. I think I paid $8/year for 15k in coverage.


Okay people, time to put an end to this nonsense.

Condo insurance policies DO NOT COVER special assessments stemming from maintenance / repair issues. The WILL cover special assessments if they stem from an insurance related event that the condo board either didn't have coverage or didn't have enough coverage.

So, let's say the condo board let the policy on the buildings lapse. Some visitor slips on an icy sidewalk and sues for $1,000,000. Since there is now no coverage, each condo owner gets assessed their share.

In this day and age, condo corporations are so regulated I can't imagine a scenario where this coverage would ACTUALLY come into play. It's just window dressing people, that's it.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by jhmed


It's down south in Shawnessy.

Do you know which building it was? The wife & I used to live there back when there were built (2000). We were the first people in our suite and we sold 1.5 later. It was actually a pretty decent unit but POV were a bunch of dipshits to deal with through the build process.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by em2ab
Didn't you check the amount in the reserve fund prior to buying the place? Must be pretty low if they can't cover the amount.
Did you do any homework on the condo corportation at all? Basically, you've just gone into business as a part owner of this corporation. If it ws me, I'd want to know a little bit abut how it's been run the last few years, and the financial health of it.
I backed out of a Condo purchase due to insufficient reserve fund once. Basically, the condo board was broke, and had several major repairs and maintenence items upcomming, which would all have been special assessments. I wanted no part of such a gong show.

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit



Okay people, time to put an end to this nonsense.


Are there any policies at all that cover special assessments?

[DENZILDON]

I'm sooooo glad I sold my condo and got a house this year. Budget is a bit tighter with a bigger mortgage but I don't have to worry about these kind of issues.

[Kloubek]

^^^ Yes. Now you can pay for an entire roof yourself and spend $15,000 instead of $4000. How very savvy of you...

[DENZILDON]

^^^ Not if you buy brand new. It's called warranty!

And even if the repair is not covered, as stated on a previous post at lease you know where your money is going to and choose which company to go to. Or just fix it yourself.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by Weapon_R


Are there any policies at all that cover special assessments?

Not for maintenance / repair based assessments.

[Kloubek]

Originally posted by DENZILDON
^^^ Not if you buy brand new. It's called warranty!

And even if the repair is not covered, as stated on a previous post at lease you know where your money is going to and choose which company to go to. Or just fix it yourself.

..what... you think that condos are built without any warranty? Of course they are... which would then provide you with the same security. (And is also why condo fees are generally low with new buildings)

As for knowing where your money is going - the management company would be happy to tell you that. No, you do not personally decide which company to use, but that IS why you have a condo board - to make those decisions so you don't have to. If you want to make those decisions, do your best to get yourself on the board like I did!

I know from personal experience that people NOT on the board are very happy to bitch about decisions made by the board. But they are typically not willing to give up their monthly time to be ON the board. The fact is that sometimes the board must make decisions that are not going to be popular, but must be done. Again, I remind everyone that the board members are owners too, and they are not going to apply a special assessment unless absolutely required.