Assessments (HOA dues)
Also called: Dues; regular assessments; maintenance fees
Assessments — what most owners call HOA dues — are the regular charges the association levies on every lot to fund its annual budget. They pay for common-area maintenance, insurance, shared utilities, management and professional fees, and the yearly contribution to reserves. Depending on the community they are billed monthly, quarterly, or annually.
The board usually adopts a budget each year and sets the assessment from it, splitting the total equally or by each unit's share as the CC&Rs require. Some states cap how much the board can raise dues without an owner vote.
Paying assessments is a legal obligation of ownership, not an optional membership fee. Unpaid assessments can carry late fees and interest and, eventually, a lien on the home.
Read more
- How to build an HOA budget that survives the year
- HOA late fees that work (and the ones that get you sued)
- Autopay enrollment: getting residents to use it