California condo fees are soaring. Some owners fear they can't survive
Today the Los Angeles Times looked at why large HOA increases and special assessments are becoming more common for California condo owners. Attorneys and HOA specialists interviewed for the story point to a combination of aging buildings, rising insurance costs, required balcony inspections and associations that haven’t accumulated enough reserves for major repairs. One HOA attorney said assessments exceeding $20,000 per unit have become increasingly common in recent years, including a recent $49,000 assessment at a Torrance condo complex.
The article focuses on the 198-unit Vilamoura community in San Clemente, where owners who were already paying more than $500 a month in HOA dues were recently assessed another $26,000 per unit for roof replacements. Some residents are attempting to recall the HOA board and argue that the roofs reaching the end of their useful lives was foreseeable maintenance that should have been planned for through the HOA’s budget and reserves. The HOA’s attorney acknowledged the maintenance should have been performed in prior years, but said an independent report found the deteriorated roofs were no longer watertight and required immediate replacement. The overall project is expected to cost about $5.2 million, including $500,000 for fire-suppression repairs.
The Times also describes how HOA boards can end up in this position. An HOA financial specialist said board members, who are usually homeowners themselves, can be reluctant to increase monthly dues because of opposition from their neighbors, even while reserves for future repairs are falling behind. The article says these costs are also becoming a consideration for condo buyers, with some observers reporting declining buyer interest because of higher monthly fees and the possibility of future special assessments. At Vilamoura, some residents are now paying roughly $2,000 per month toward the assessment in addition to their regular HOA dues, while an 81-year-old owner said she was considering borrowing money because she could not afford the $26,000 charge.
For condo owners here, how much have your HOA dues increased from 2023 -> 2026? Has anyone decided to sell, or considered selling, because dues or special assessments became too expensive or because you were concerned they were headed that way?