I’ve analyzed budgets for condo projects so I know where most of the money goes.
The different areas of allocation typically include some utilities, like water/sewer/trash, electricity for the common areas, gas to run the laundry rooms, property managements fees, insurance premiums to cover the structures and common areas, reserves set aside to maintain the common elements, salaries, benefits and indirect costs for employees and contractors who provide services, and legal/accounting fees for the association. For some projects there are also property taxes for the common elements, which are assessed separately from the units. It all adds up.
Different condo associations manage their finances differently. Between the management of their finances and the enforcement of their CC&Rs it can have an effect on the value and marketability of units in their projects. A lax HOA can allow maintenance issues to accrue, services to not be rendered, and can even go indo debt for their expenses and repairs. This is especially true for unanticipated major expenses, like paying off a lawsuit or replacing a major structural component before it’s time.
As a sweeping generality, the HOAs run by the older generation tend to be more conservative in their management styles, and that includes enforcing their CC&Rs – that’s how you can wind up with condo projects where kids are not allowed to play on the lawns in front of their units or where it’s forbidden to leave your garage door open. HOAs with younger members are generally more lax about both their finances and their CC&Rs. It can be a real mixed bag.
