Condo Association Management Blog

When you say "the bank" it sounds like maybe a single lender has a large number of units it owns or holds paper on in the complex. Typically the HOA dues are not tied to a lender. Most dues are based on a budget that reflects current, ongoing & anticipated expenses of the complex and common areas. Assessments and increases generally need to go thru processes to get approved and usually have some cost justification for them.  
 
 
 
If a single lender has control of the HOA by having a majority of units under its control, good luck. Someone most likely collected on fire insurance policies, but these days, if there is no demand to rebuild or market to sell them, the policy holders may have collected and walked. If so, some portion of the HOA expenses attributed to the burned units will have to be adjusted and covered by remaining unit owners. You would probably have limited recourse adding to or attaching to the fire damage claims on behalf of the HOA but the common areas were insured in theory also, so follow the money and see what you can learn. Ask for the justification and verify procedures were followed. GOOD LUCK.  
 
 
 

We are in a similar situation. The developer never set up or ran an association for our complex which we found out after buying is classiifed as part of a condo-hotel. The developer could not pay his loan and last spring ended up giving the bank back his unsold units. They make up 51% of the Association. The bank controls our board and handed the management contract over to a resort developer/mangager. This manager has already raised our HOA dues from $378.00 in January to $515 in August just this year. We think the bank plans to sell their units to the resort developer/manager and he will continue to raise dues to force residents to sell out to the resort. Residents are already sueing the developer and paying a lot of money for legal expenses but now we have a worse problem with the current board and the management company.