HOA maintenance fees increase

Marcos, read your Declaration and Bylaws to determine what you can do and the approach needed. I have no knowledge of the structural organization and requirements in Mexico. But based on my experience it will take all of the items you listed plus a real good sales job to get the votes needed for a 40% increase.

Good Luck,
Roger

Marco:
Like Roger stated, you need to check your Covenants and Bylaws, but in the case of our HOA in Texas, the Deed Restrictions and Covenants specify the amount of the dues. The dues started out at nearly $600 a year. The Covenants state that they cannot be raised more than 10% (check to see if this is in your Covenants or bylaws--it's very important because a member(s) could bring legal action if it is stated and you raise dues above it) per year (of the amt. that year) and the board votes on that after deciding if it is necessary. Unfortunately in our association, the board have been very spendthrifty in one area and now will need monies for the other areas. However, you really should have a need for the extra dues, not just raise them to comparison with other associations. Our dues are still half of what some are in our immediate area -- the reason is that a few years ago our Municipal Utilities District (MUD) took over the paying of our street lights and garbage collection (which used to be paid by the association's dues), which although we pay high MUD taxes at the end of the year, it lowered our dues to $300 and now in the last eight years with occasional 10% increases they are back up to $475. The key is to keep a about year's worth of total dues in reserves and figure only what is needed to run the operation/maintenance and divide by the number of units to get the amount of dues. Our Covenants also state that the dues cannot go above the $600 figure without a majority vote of the members. The other fortunate thing is that no matter what the Covenants state--if the board lowers the dues any amount, association members are happy!
EdR