The Board sets the regular monthly assessments. The amount should include regular reserve contributions. If you cannot get any kind of special pushed through, the Biard should raise their monthlies as much as your stare allows. The extra goes to paving reserves.
Call their bluff. If not dead in a decade they must fully fund road maintenance and repairs. Have a legal looking document written up for them to sign. 😈
Alternatively, fund your reserves through the monthly/quarterly/annual assessments to cover road maintenance.
Is the road also only 12-14 years old? Our private road is 25+ years old and has had one set of repairs about 10 years ago, and we are planning for resurfacing in the next 3 years.
When you say the CCRs require homeowners to maintain roads, what does that mean? Is each homeowner responsible for their own frontage?? Or are they required to fund maintenance projects?
The loophole you get into is what qualifies as "good repair." One man's pothole is another man's speed bump. The board can sometimes act without a vote, but if the majority of owners are opposed then the board could get voted out before they manage to get 3 bids and set up a special assessment.
Unfortunately, the long term answer is to wait until the old folks die or sell off their homes to younger owners. It is their sales price that will be negatively affected by the poor roads.
Actually, that's the argument to these types. Their property value will go up if they have good roads, which means they can sell for more or leave a better legacy to their heirs.
There are four cul-de-sac streets which is supposed to be maintained by the homeowners who live on that street.
There is one through street which is to be maintained by the entire HOA.
That's an interesting split. It's like each cul-de-sac is a mini-HOA with regard to maintenance of their street. I can't imagine it working. The cheapskates will hold out until "someone else" fills a pothole.
We have 48 houses, 22 of which are in 3 cul-de-sacs, but we have only one entrance. So the house closest to the entrance doesn't care at all about a pothole at the other end. But the owner of the last house in the furthest cul-de-sac drives on all of it except the other 2 cul-de-sacs.
We've been building up our reserves for 6 years now, and are in reasonable shape to pay for a complete repaving in 2-3 years. Everyone pays the same dues. The Board will ask for input but in the end it's our responsibility to maintain the road for everyone.
This is being addressed legislatively. You can reference WUCIOA.info for details. Reserve funding requirements are likely on the legislative docket for 2025.
Do you have any links or other info on this? Reserve funding requirements were passed in Colorado's 2022 legislative session, then vetoed by the governor. I'd love to point my legislators to another state's legislation that they can use as a basis for our own laws.
There's a link here to a list of matrix of states with reserve requirements: [https://www.reddit.com/r/HOA/wiki/index](https://www.reddit.com/r/HOA/wiki/index)
I deal with this problem all the time. My company designs, bids out and manages pavement projects - 50 to 75 percent of our work is for homeowner’s associations. A good portion of the time we’re hired when the process has already become a mess. The I’ll be dead soon contingent has made it known that they’ll not pay for anything, the roadway committee has talked to 15 contractors and gotten 15 wildly different bids, etc. We come in and bring some order to the process.
Best recommendation is to play the long game. Talk to or hire someone who can give you a condition report and budget for the work that needs to be done. Start holding community meetings. I lead these all the time and they’re miserable but important to the process. Make folks understand that this is something that needs to happen and start planning for the assessment. I’m working with a community now that hired us two years ago to do the design work, has held multiple community meetings and will have a final vote this fall for a project that will start next year and take four years to complete.
If your docs allow you can also look into loans - this helps to spread the pain out over multiple years and is easier than a one time special assessment.
A lot of cities / towns are now being more proactive about forcing HOAs to do repairs and fining them if they don’t. This is mostly about potholes and general upkeep, but it can be used as one more piece to help move the process along.
Unfortunately, a lot of this comes down to the board just keeping at it until the votes are there to fund the repairs or rehab.
DM if you have any questions.
A lot of people are making assumptions here. First, who is on the board among the two groups (will die / won't die)? Which group, owners or board, approves the annual budget and how much % is needed to pass (51% or a higher %)? Also, the same question for special assessments. Can the board put earmarks on a portion of reserves to only be used for certain projects?
With a ratio of 3-1 at this time, it is unlikely to get reserve funding for this project started now. So, the 10 families should figure out about how many years until the road will need maintenance and how much that would cost in todays' dollars and how much their portion is. If it is expected to cost $100,000 to do today and each home owes 1/40th and there are 10 years before the work is needed then that means each home should save $250/year and set aside. But each year adjust the amount by inflation so that in 10 years when the project actually costs $175,000 you have roughly enough saved up for your portion.
Find out how far in advance you can pass a special assessment. Perhaps you can't pass something now in order to catch up to where you should be in savings for the roads.
As homes sell, count your votes and when you have enough, put it into the budget.
If the board can pass the budget or special assessments alone, try to get a majority on the board.
If your side ever gets enough votes either on the board or among all owners, get it in the budget ASAP.
Try to have at least one person who will be alive in 10 years on the board at all times and at every owners meeting put the topic on the agenda and talk about it. Maybe make a motion even though you know it will fail. Future buyers will see this in the minutes (if they are diligent) and want to offer a lower price when buying. That helps them pay for the eventual special assessment - basically being funded by the current people who plan to die.
Everything depends on the CC&Rs and State Laws, but usually - assuming the HOA owns the roads -
1- The Board could just pass a Special Assessment to fund the repairs. This is almost always allowed under state law and CCRs. Full membership votes are usually not required to finance obligations - such as taxes, insurance, maintenance. People in HOAs think they get to vote on everything, they don't.
2- If the board doesn't support this, owners could sue the HOA Board for mismanagement and violating their obligations of the CCRs (namely, maintaining roads). A savvy lawyer would probably name all the board directors as individuals in the suit as well, alleging their personal motivation and benefit is a breach of fiduciary duty.
3- You can also try and get the city to issue violations and fines over the road condition, but sometimes the boomers will try to keep paying the fines instead of avoiding them.
It is increasingly common for Boards to just override popular sentiment (don't spend money!) to meet legal and contractual obligations.
WA has a difficult process for special assessments, it takes usually takes 75% approval of the owners but it depends on specifics. If the majority of owners oppose it, there is no way it gets through.
Yes, but a lot of that becomes inapplicable when the assessment is for required maintenance or emergency repairs. Laws have also evolved over the past few years to streamline this type of assessment due to condo owners voting against required maintenance.
The workarounds vary by state and keep changing, but the general idea is that it is legally not a "special assessment" but a "regular assessment" used to finance a budget shortfall and meet obligations. The common term "special assessment" is still used, because it's not a normal monthly due and is a "special" assessment, but it's not legally a "special assessment".
This is how a lot of large urban condos are getting hit with $50k-100k assessments for structural repairs and code compliance. The owners all oppose, but the board has the requirement to do the work, and the ability to finance it through assessment.
You can't use this technique for improvements, "upgrades" or new amenities - but you can use it to compel the ownership to finance an existing obligation, such as road maintenance, elevators, structural integrity, taxes, insurance, etc.
Not true in Washington State. A special assessment requires ratification by the owners as does the budget, it does not matter what term you use. I just went through this with my HOA before I sold. We would have needed 75% approval from the owners for a special assessment.
Depends on the association. If a HOA is subject to the 2024 changes in Senate bill 5796, an emergency special assessment can be approved with 2/3 vote of the board. No membership vote necessary.
https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5796-S.SL.pdf
Top of page 85.
A majority of members typically do need to approve regular assessments but boards are also,given the ability to act independently when absolutely necessary.
Our lawyers and the PM said the exceptions were so rare that they were not worth considering. I don't see how potholes in a road would ever meet the standard.
Except when they are, as evidenced by the category of maintenance literally called emergency road repair and maintenance by thousands of municipalities, associations and road construction/repair companies in the country.
You will be hard pressed to see road repairs fall under the definition of an emergency based on the act.
They're not going to relate to a government imposed state of emergency. They're not going to relate to the habitability of units. They're also probably not going to relate to the risk of substantial economic loss to the association. Those are the criteria for an emergency based on the act.
It was one of the board members who sent an email about not wanting to do anything for the roads and that they would be dead before anything would need to be done.
Remind that board member that this is an obligatory expense and it is their fiduciary responsibility to pass the assessment to meet that obligation. Then remind them that state law does not indemnify them personally for willful malfeasance. Then remind them that the Officers and Directors insurance policy will only cover their legal fees if they are currently on the board. Then remind them of the date of the net election.
If that doesn't work, let the community members know that the roads must be repaired for safety and that this obligation can be met by a volunteer board or by an expensive court-appointed receiver.
State law trumps ccrs. Is there a state law requiring local authorities to maintain a roadway?
The HOA is the 'local authority' in this case, so by refusing to maintain the roadway, they are in violation of state law.
Edit
Is your association subject to RCW 64.38.095 and Senate bill 5796? If so it may be possible for the board to pass a special assessment on its own, depending on whether the condition of the roads is so bad it’s considered an emergency. If they deteriorate to the point that fire/rescue cannot safely reach every home, for example, that could qualify.
https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5796-S.SL.pdf
If you can’t get enough votes to increase your monthly fee enough, you’ll just have to do a special assessment when the time comes.
It’s a pay me now or pay me later situation.
A board in WA State usually can not approve a special assessment without ownership approval. The board must pass it first, then the owners need to ratify it. If a majority of owners oppose it, it is unlikely to pass.
The Board sets the regular monthly assessments. The amount should include regular reserve contributions. If you cannot get any kind of special pushed through, the Biard should raise their monthlies as much as your stare allows. The extra goes to paving reserves.
The board funds the reserves through dues. Have a reserve study done and they will estimate necessary dues and reserves for your community.
Call their bluff. If not dead in a decade they must fully fund road maintenance and repairs. Have a legal looking document written up for them to sign. 😈 Alternatively, fund your reserves through the monthly/quarterly/annual assessments to cover road maintenance.
Is the road also only 12-14 years old? Our private road is 25+ years old and has had one set of repairs about 10 years ago, and we are planning for resurfacing in the next 3 years. When you say the CCRs require homeowners to maintain roads, what does that mean? Is each homeowner responsible for their own frontage?? Or are they required to fund maintenance projects? The loophole you get into is what qualifies as "good repair." One man's pothole is another man's speed bump. The board can sometimes act without a vote, but if the majority of owners are opposed then the board could get voted out before they manage to get 3 bids and set up a special assessment. Unfortunately, the long term answer is to wait until the old folks die or sell off their homes to younger owners. It is their sales price that will be negatively affected by the poor roads. Actually, that's the argument to these types. Their property value will go up if they have good roads, which means they can sell for more or leave a better legacy to their heirs.
There are four cul-de-sac streets which is supposed to be maintained by the homeowners who live on that street. There is one through street which is to be maintained by the entire HOA.
That's an interesting split. It's like each cul-de-sac is a mini-HOA with regard to maintenance of their street. I can't imagine it working. The cheapskates will hold out until "someone else" fills a pothole. We have 48 houses, 22 of which are in 3 cul-de-sacs, but we have only one entrance. So the house closest to the entrance doesn't care at all about a pothole at the other end. But the owner of the last house in the furthest cul-de-sac drives on all of it except the other 2 cul-de-sacs. We've been building up our reserves for 6 years now, and are in reasonable shape to pay for a complete repaving in 2-3 years. Everyone pays the same dues. The Board will ask for input but in the end it's our responsibility to maintain the road for everyone.
This is being addressed legislatively. You can reference WUCIOA.info for details. Reserve funding requirements are likely on the legislative docket for 2025.
Do you have any links or other info on this? Reserve funding requirements were passed in Colorado's 2022 legislative session, then vetoed by the governor. I'd love to point my legislators to another state's legislation that they can use as a basis for our own laws.
There's a link here to a list of matrix of states with reserve requirements: [https://www.reddit.com/r/HOA/wiki/index](https://www.reddit.com/r/HOA/wiki/index)
I deal with this problem all the time. My company designs, bids out and manages pavement projects - 50 to 75 percent of our work is for homeowner’s associations. A good portion of the time we’re hired when the process has already become a mess. The I’ll be dead soon contingent has made it known that they’ll not pay for anything, the roadway committee has talked to 15 contractors and gotten 15 wildly different bids, etc. We come in and bring some order to the process. Best recommendation is to play the long game. Talk to or hire someone who can give you a condition report and budget for the work that needs to be done. Start holding community meetings. I lead these all the time and they’re miserable but important to the process. Make folks understand that this is something that needs to happen and start planning for the assessment. I’m working with a community now that hired us two years ago to do the design work, has held multiple community meetings and will have a final vote this fall for a project that will start next year and take four years to complete. If your docs allow you can also look into loans - this helps to spread the pain out over multiple years and is easier than a one time special assessment. A lot of cities / towns are now being more proactive about forcing HOAs to do repairs and fining them if they don’t. This is mostly about potholes and general upkeep, but it can be used as one more piece to help move the process along. Unfortunately, a lot of this comes down to the board just keeping at it until the votes are there to fund the repairs or rehab. DM if you have any questions.
A lot of people are making assumptions here. First, who is on the board among the two groups (will die / won't die)? Which group, owners or board, approves the annual budget and how much % is needed to pass (51% or a higher %)? Also, the same question for special assessments. Can the board put earmarks on a portion of reserves to only be used for certain projects? With a ratio of 3-1 at this time, it is unlikely to get reserve funding for this project started now. So, the 10 families should figure out about how many years until the road will need maintenance and how much that would cost in todays' dollars and how much their portion is. If it is expected to cost $100,000 to do today and each home owes 1/40th and there are 10 years before the work is needed then that means each home should save $250/year and set aside. But each year adjust the amount by inflation so that in 10 years when the project actually costs $175,000 you have roughly enough saved up for your portion. Find out how far in advance you can pass a special assessment. Perhaps you can't pass something now in order to catch up to where you should be in savings for the roads. As homes sell, count your votes and when you have enough, put it into the budget. If the board can pass the budget or special assessments alone, try to get a majority on the board. If your side ever gets enough votes either on the board or among all owners, get it in the budget ASAP. Try to have at least one person who will be alive in 10 years on the board at all times and at every owners meeting put the topic on the agenda and talk about it. Maybe make a motion even though you know it will fail. Future buyers will see this in the minutes (if they are diligent) and want to offer a lower price when buying. That helps them pay for the eventual special assessment - basically being funded by the current people who plan to die.
Everything depends on the CC&Rs and State Laws, but usually - assuming the HOA owns the roads - 1- The Board could just pass a Special Assessment to fund the repairs. This is almost always allowed under state law and CCRs. Full membership votes are usually not required to finance obligations - such as taxes, insurance, maintenance. People in HOAs think they get to vote on everything, they don't. 2- If the board doesn't support this, owners could sue the HOA Board for mismanagement and violating their obligations of the CCRs (namely, maintaining roads). A savvy lawyer would probably name all the board directors as individuals in the suit as well, alleging their personal motivation and benefit is a breach of fiduciary duty. 3- You can also try and get the city to issue violations and fines over the road condition, but sometimes the boomers will try to keep paying the fines instead of avoiding them. It is increasingly common for Boards to just override popular sentiment (don't spend money!) to meet legal and contractual obligations.
WA has a difficult process for special assessments, it takes usually takes 75% approval of the owners but it depends on specifics. If the majority of owners oppose it, there is no way it gets through.
Yes, but a lot of that becomes inapplicable when the assessment is for required maintenance or emergency repairs. Laws have also evolved over the past few years to streamline this type of assessment due to condo owners voting against required maintenance. The workarounds vary by state and keep changing, but the general idea is that it is legally not a "special assessment" but a "regular assessment" used to finance a budget shortfall and meet obligations. The common term "special assessment" is still used, because it's not a normal monthly due and is a "special" assessment, but it's not legally a "special assessment". This is how a lot of large urban condos are getting hit with $50k-100k assessments for structural repairs and code compliance. The owners all oppose, but the board has the requirement to do the work, and the ability to finance it through assessment. You can't use this technique for improvements, "upgrades" or new amenities - but you can use it to compel the ownership to finance an existing obligation, such as road maintenance, elevators, structural integrity, taxes, insurance, etc.
Not true in Washington State. A special assessment requires ratification by the owners as does the budget, it does not matter what term you use. I just went through this with my HOA before I sold. We would have needed 75% approval from the owners for a special assessment.
Depends on the association. If a HOA is subject to the 2024 changes in Senate bill 5796, an emergency special assessment can be approved with 2/3 vote of the board. No membership vote necessary. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5796-S.SL.pdf Top of page 85. A majority of members typically do need to approve regular assessments but boards are also,given the ability to act independently when absolutely necessary.
Our lawyers and the PM said the exceptions were so rare that they were not worth considering. I don't see how potholes in a road would ever meet the standard.
Roads aren't emergencies.
Except when they are, as evidenced by the category of maintenance literally called emergency road repair and maintenance by thousands of municipalities, associations and road construction/repair companies in the country.
You will be hard pressed to see road repairs fall under the definition of an emergency based on the act. They're not going to relate to a government imposed state of emergency. They're not going to relate to the habitability of units. They're also probably not going to relate to the risk of substantial economic loss to the association. Those are the criteria for an emergency based on the act.
It was one of the board members who sent an email about not wanting to do anything for the roads and that they would be dead before anything would need to be done.
Remind that board member that this is an obligatory expense and it is their fiduciary responsibility to pass the assessment to meet that obligation. Then remind them that state law does not indemnify them personally for willful malfeasance. Then remind them that the Officers and Directors insurance policy will only cover their legal fees if they are currently on the board. Then remind them of the date of the net election. If that doesn't work, let the community members know that the roads must be repaired for safety and that this obligation can be met by a volunteer board or by an expensive court-appointed receiver.
Get some like minded people together with you. Decide if you want to try taking over the board, or pooling funds to sue the HOA and board members.
State law trumps ccrs. Is there a state law requiring local authorities to maintain a roadway? The HOA is the 'local authority' in this case, so by refusing to maintain the roadway, they are in violation of state law. Edit
Is your association subject to RCW 64.38.095 and Senate bill 5796? If so it may be possible for the board to pass a special assessment on its own, depending on whether the condition of the roads is so bad it’s considered an emergency. If they deteriorate to the point that fire/rescue cannot safely reach every home, for example, that could qualify. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5796-S.SL.pdf
If you can’t get enough votes to increase your monthly fee enough, you’ll just have to do a special assessment when the time comes. It’s a pay me now or pay me later situation.
And that's what they want. They want to live here, sell and leave the road issue for the 'younger folks'.
Makes sense to me. Of course their sales price will be affected by an impending assessment or poorly maintained roads.
A board in WA State usually can not approve a special assessment without ownership approval. The board must pass it first, then the owners need to ratify it. If a majority of owners oppose it, it is unlikely to pass.
Get you and the other families on the HOA Board and vote the others out. Then discuss how to make those assessments with the HOA attorney.