maintenance fees

Our condo HOA is experiencing budget crunch because of needed repairs. An assessment and raising the monthly fee seems possible. I have discovered through many years as a Realtor that once older units raise fees, it always reduces the value & desirability of the condos because fewer people are willing to pay - especially when the majority of homeowners are nearing retirement age. Have you found this to be true in your areas?

First, consider the real options here:

1) Raise dues (fees) and take a chance of reduced property values or slower sales.

2) Keep the dues (fees) the same and be sure of reduced property value and slower sales.

Reserve funds truly are critical because failure to fund will be an assurance that in the future you will have a short increase in dues. And when the retired folks complain, you should point out that if they had funded correctly, then they wouldn't face steeper charges now.

Perhaps as a realtor you could start educating clients of this when they look at condos. Just as a home should be inspected, the owners association should receive an inspection as well. And purchasing a condo based with dues that are too low is a high risk gamble since they sure won't have adequate reserve funding.