Assessments
FEATURE
Assessments Bill Clark CCI Golden Horseshoe Communications Committee
A
s a Condominium Board, you hope an assessment is never necessary, BUT, unfortunately, sometimes the unavoidable happens – and hopefully it is caused by bad luck and not bad management. Your condo may experience costly unexpected repairs not covered by your insurance or a large increase in an expense item such as insurance. These costs will drain your operational and/or your reserve funds drastically, which will create future financial problems. So, after looking at all options, the Board has decided that an assessment is the only viable solution. This article will take a look at assessments through four different perspectives.
A Homeowner’s Perspective The homeowner receives a letter indicating that a special assessment has been levied to cover unanticipated expenses during the current fiscal year. This is the first time the owners are hearing this and, quite frankly, they are upset AND they have some questions: • Why is this the first time that homeowners have heard about the assessment? • Why wasn’t there a meeting called to discuss this with the homeowners? • Why is there such a sizeable shortfall in the budget or reserve? • Is it the investments? Have we suffered an unexpected lower rate of return? Did the Board make poor investment decisions or has there been theft? continued…
Condo News – FALL 2020
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