I’m sorry in advance, but this is going to be a long post so that I can fill in some necessary context before the questions…
I live in a mixed-use community with single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and retail. We have a Master HOA that includes the single-family homes and all common areas of the neighborhood (parks, pond, playground, lighting, security, etc.), and a “Towncenter” HOA that is the condos, townhomes, and retail. As a condo owner, I pay both, with the Master HOA being a line item on my monthly bill. There is a Master HOA Board and a Towncenter Board. Condo and townhome residents participate in both meetings, but Master HOA members do not participate in Towncenter meetings.
More context… The Master HOA had reserve studies done in 2020 and 2022 to determine what potential expenses there would be for the next 10-20 years. Those studies determined that two large retaining walls in the neighborhood would need to be replaced in 2028 and 2030, and would cost approximately $1.5M each. As of 2026, the only board member who was around for the studies is the Secretary, and everyone else on the board is new.
Even more context… Every board meeting I’ve attended has included comments from the CFO (board member) about how healthy our reserves are. Master HOA dues have increased each year by about 2-3%, and there were even discussions at the beginning of this year about not raising dues at all because of how healthy the reserves were. There has never been mention of a reserve study or potential projects. We currently have about $1.5M in reserves, and these two projects (if completed according to the reserve studies) will bankrupt the HOA without substantial changes now.
Last month, our regularly scheduled quarterly board meeting turned very contentious because of an argument between the President and Secretary. Their argument had nothing to do with the finances and was about an unrelated project. However, this meant that there was very little time for anything else on the agenda, and the resident forum was cut entirely. Our CFO tried to raise awareness to the reserve study and potential dues increases, but was shut down by the President. As a resident, the only thing I got in the meeting was that our CFO was concerned about something in the finances and a potential need to increase dues. They also very briefly mentioned the retaining walls, and said they were going to have our property management company schedule an engineer to inspect them and see if we needed to maintain the reserve study schedule. No other details were shared.
Fast forward to this week. All residents received an email about an emergency board meeting being scheduled to discuss “board changes and the budget.”
In the meeting, we learned the President resigned following the contentious September meeting, everything about this huge retaining wall project, and that the current board members were voting to expand the board. In the meeting, the CFO recommended that dues be increased by 17% this year, and higher percentages for the next 2 years to pay for the projects. Everyone was very surprised, and the board voted to table the issue for two weeks to learn more. However, our bylaws require a set budget and dues in increases by the first week of December, so we are very much on the clock.
In this meeting the board also unanimously voted to expand the board by two seats and appoint two previous board members to those newly created positions. According to the Secretary, the goal is to use them for their institutional knowledge of the reserve study and potential dues increases tied to replacing these retaining walls. While all of this is allowed, residents did express frustration that we are expanding the board with the sole purpose of appointing people handily selected.
Now the questions…
As residents, do we have any recourse to the fact that this giant project was essentially hidden from us since 2020? I know they will say “The reserve study was published to the resident portal for you to download.” But, that seems irrelevant if we’re constantly being told by the board members about how healthy our reserves are. During the meeting, several residents even commented that they were unable to locate it because it was buried in folders on the platform.
What are the differences between a special assessment and dues increases? Some of my neighbors are wanting this to be a special assessment, so the dues are guaranteed to go back done once this project is paid for and reserves replenished. What are the pros/cons?
Our property management company scheduled an engineering firm to inspect the walls last week, but it will take 6 weeks to get their recommendation. This will put us beyond our deadlines for the budget and potential dues increases. Have any of you had to deal with moving dates set in your bylaws without an amendment due to special circumstances? Everyone is unanimously upset about the fact that we’re making decisions without an actual engineering report.
In some cases, Towncenter residents have had their dues double in the last five years due to a variety of projects and repair work that needed to be done, and we are all very upset about even more substantial increases. This is vastly different from the single-family homes who only pay into the Master HOA and have only seen 2-3% increases. The Master HOA seems sympathetic to this, and the board appears willing to take on more of the project cost, specially since the single-family homes are all $1M+ and the condos are $250k, so vastly different income levels of the residents. For example, creating a scenario where non-Towncenter residents have a bigger percentage of the cost. Our property manager says this can’t be done without an amendment and a 75% approval rating to completely rewrite the bylaws about the due structure. Has anyone seen something like this be done without an amendment?
Should we be concerned that the board appointment two former board members to these newly created vacant seats? There is nothing wrong with the process, but I’m a little concerned as to why two people who knew about the reserve study for 6 years, but did nothing about it, are being brought on to “consult.”
Does the management company hold any responsibility for not bringing this project to light? We have had the same management company for at least 10+ years. Isn't part of their responsibilities to ensure the budget matches the reserve studies, and raise red flags?
I know this is a very long post and I’m very thankful for any insight!