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The special assessment is an amount owed the hoa by a certain end time. As others have said, could be paid at once (which some people prefer given that coming to a special assessment is often a big hassle pitting neighbor against neighbor and they want to be done with it) or quarterly for a year, or monthly for a year, etc.
The thing is special assessments are not suddenly instantly sprung on people as far as I have ever heard. The need for one can be. Suddenly realizing the idiots in management didn't know they're supposed to turn the dam valve every few months to exercise it and when needed find it's pretty melded and now need a lot of money for a new one. That kind of thing. But they can open the dam a little so it's ok for while while the money is collected.
Sandy's aftermath was a sudden emergency. But the damage that necessitated the assessment must have been known a while, rather than a moment.
There's a process about notifying homeowners, meetings generally, then notices.
Do I understand it was Sandy damage? $1000 sounds low actually if that's the case. Perhaps they're already paying a portion.
On a house we bought several years ago there was a project talked about for a couple of years and eventually everyone was assessed nearly $1000. Simultaneously, the former owners of our house knew they'd be selling soon. They also knew the calibre of characters in board and management leadership in the HOA and that the project could be a mess. So they decided that moment would be best to sell.
They put up their sign. They didn't tell any prospective about the project right away...neither did, I must say, their realtor who lived next door to them and knew about it as well.
At any rate, given our excellent experiences elsewhere with such projects we wouldn't have expected a fiasco...or theft.
We do think it was nice the former owners paid the entire assessment themselves up front.
On the one hand they were trying to effect a sale.
On the other hand, we wanted to buy. And we would enjoy the results of that project.
On the other hnad, they were trying to effect a sale.
So they paid even before listing. Done and done.
The choices could reasonably have been regarding who paid: seller, buyer, both.
The project was not in diluted minutes. Only mentioned in passing. The realtor on one side sold for medical reasons. People on the other side were away for the season.
So, do check if $1000 is covering it, what the project entails, when it'll be over, track records, etc to see if you want to get involved.
The special assessment is an amount owed the hoa by a certain end time. As others have said, could be paid at once (which some people prefer given that coming to a special assessment is often a big hassle pitting neighbor against neighbor and they want to be done with it) or quarterly for a year, or monthly for a year, etc.
The thing is special assessments are not suddenly instantly sprung on people as far as I have ever heard. The need for one can be. Suddenly realizing the idiots in management didn't know they're supposed to turn the dam valve every few months to exercise it and when needed find it's pretty melded and now need a lot of money for a new one. That kind of thing. But they can open the dam a little so it's ok for while while the money is collected.
Sandy's aftermath was a sudden emergency. But the damage that necessitated the assessment must have been known a while, rather than a moment.
There's a process about notifying homeowners, meetings generally, then notices.
Do I understand it was Sandy damage? $1000 sounds low actually if that's the case. Perhaps they're already paying a portion.
On a house we bought several years ago there was a project talked about for a couple of years and eventually everyone was assessed nearly $1000. Simultaneously, the former owners of our house knew they'd be selling soon. They also knew the calibre of characters in board and management leadership in the HOA and that the project could be a mess. So they decided that moment would be best to sell.
They put up their sign. They didn't tell any prospective about the project right away...neither did, I must say, their realtor who lived next door to them and knew about it as well.
At any rate, given our excellent experiences elsewhere with such projects we wouldn't have expected a fiasco...or theft.
We do think it was nice the former owners paid the entire assessment themselves up front.
On the one hand they were trying to effect a sale.
On the other hand, we wanted to buy. And we would enjoy the results of that project.
On the other hnad, they were trying to effect a sale.
So they paid even before listing. Done and done.
The choices could reasonably have been regarding who paid: seller, buyer, both.
The project was not in diluted minutes. Only mentioned in passing. The realtor on one side sold for medical reasons. People on the other side were away for the season.
So, do check if $1000 is covering it, what the project entails, when it'll be over, track records, etc to see if you want to get involved.
We are trying to find out the date of the assessment and get an actual copy of the notice. We are also asking about any other special assessments this year, whether the homeowners are up to date on payments and whether they are trying to defer any payments past closing.
We certainly don't believe the Sandy assessment notice was received by the sellers yesterday, the day after we signed the contract. We also find it hard to believe the assessment was all for Sandy damage, since the complex is pretty much flat lawns with not that many trees close to the buildings. Furthermore, homeowners are individually responsible for exterior repairs while the HOA pays for roofing. We live just a mile down the road in an HOA of single-family homes (which had its own Sandy assessment last November), so we have a pretty good idea of damage in the area. We were in the complex in January and everything looked fine to us, including common areas such as pool, clubhouse and tennis courts. We did not see a single downed branch or tree at that time.
Let's tell it like it is. We think they're trying to gouge us for another $1000. It won't work.
I had this happen to me and it is not pleasant...I got stuck raising the sale's price and the seller paid the other half. I wasn't pleased, she played dumb about not knowing and didn't disclose them. Interestingly the HOA had went door to door and sent out tons of newsletters regarding it. I think that is part of reason that helped her decide to dump the property.
We've decided to split the cost, but that is the last of the concessions and we are now in contract. Our transactions and a number of the people involved have been so difficult that we just want to get this thing done. We're comforted by the fact that: 1) based on the huge interest in condos we've seen in our area this spring (with boomers flooding the open houses), we are likely paying a slightly-below-market price and could probably make a small profit if we turned right around and sold it; and 2) our purchase price is almost 60% below what the current owners paid during a condo "bubble" in the mid-2000s.
We've decided to split the cost, but that is the last of the concessions and we are now in contract. Our transactions and a number of the people involved have been so difficult that we just want to get this thing done. We're comforted by the fact that: 1) based on the huge interest in condos we've seen in our area this spring (with boomers flooding the open houses), we are likely paying a slightly-below-market price and could probably make a small profit if we turned right around and sold it; and 2) our purchase price is almost 60% below what the current owners paid during a condo "bubble" in the mid-2000s.
A done deal. Be happy. Enjoy it. I wish you the best.
Glad you and the seller came up with a compromise. The three most important things I learned when I became a realtor was "Disclose, disclose, disclose". I wish you the best of success.
Thank you again for all the good wishes and the good advice.
Here on Long Island, our next challenge will be at the closings, where buyers and sellers think you are painted into a corner and will ask for additional concessions because you already have your moving arrangements in place. Our buyers will likely review the inspection report and say they forgot to mention that they wanted this and that taken care of, but they will now take cash instead. Either that, or they will do the walk-through, looking for ways to intimate we have not maintained the house per the contract, hence trying to extract more money from us. Our sellers -- since the contract signing -- appear to be dragging their feet on the needed permits and, at closing, probably still won't have them, yet will demand return of the money that was put in escrow until the Certificate of Occupancy is granted.
Sorry to sound so negative, but it will be a surprise if both closings go smoothly. I can remember on one last closing where our buyers didn't have a needed piece of paper for the mortgage and the bank was ready to shut down the closing. Our attorney at the time knew the bank president, so we were able to proceed after he made a call.
Our current lawyer says she would shoot herself if her business consisted solely of residential real estate transactions. Are buyers and sellers this bad in other parts of the country?
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