Learn About Our Associations' Budgets And Assessments

Yes. All owners receive copies in the mail prior to the new year. Additional copies are available on this website. The Board establishes the budget, with the assistance of the Association Manager.

Please review the financial statements for your Association in the DOCUMENTS section of this website. Further, our Associations have Annual Meetings where your Board of Directors discuss the financial aspect of the Association with the homeowners. Attending this meeting can be very enlightening and can help each homeowner understand the workings of a Homeowners Association. You may also click on How Are My Dues Spent.

In order for the Board to accomplish the many tasks for which it is responsible, the Association needs operating funds for daily maintenance, repairs, administration and adequate Reserve funds for major repairs or replacements of capital items. As a member of the association, you are required to pay a share of the costs.

The Annual Assessment may be adjusted by a majority vote of the Board of Directors but shall not be increased annually by more than a certain percentage, dependent on our Governing Documents. Anything above that percentage would have to be voted on by the homeowners, by proxy or in person.

In addition to your regular monthly assessment, the Board may levy, in any assessment year, a Special Assessment on improved lots, applicable only to that year, only for the purpose of defraying, in whole or in part, the cost of any construction, reconstruction, repair or replacement of a Capital Improvement on or which is a part of the Common Facilities, provided that any such assessment, if it exceeds a certain percentage, shall have the consent via a vote of the members at large.

 

The difference is the terminology; it all points to the same thing, your mandatory Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual Assessments which pertain to your subdivision.

Your Associations assess fees and assign a portion of them to reserves for replacement. This assessment authority is granted through the CC&Rs, and was codified in the California Common Interest Development Act (ACT) enacted in 1985.

The ACT allows your HOA to perform as a quasi-government organization. Your HOA assumes responsibilities that a local government agency would otherwise be responsible for, including street repair and maintenance, walk ways, etc. Under the ACT, the HOA estimates the fees (comparable to taxes) that it must collect to keep the common area in good shape. These fees are collected into a reserve fund and can be used only for repairs and maintenance of common areas.
 
To determine the amount needed in the reserve fund, the HOAs periodically must obtain a qualified reserve study. ( California Reserve Study Guidelines.) You may access these studies in DOCUMENTS each time they are issued, along with the annual HOA financial statement that discloses the reserves on hand and discusses the qualified reserve study.