Commentary · Owners & Residents · Community Managers

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Audience Owners & Residents 2 Board Members 4 Community Managers 4

Kind Commentary 6 Reference 9 How-to 4

Series The Three Ways Every HOA Budget Goes Wrong 4

Why HOA Dues Go Up When Nothing Changed

Why HOA Dues Go Up When Nothing Changed

Your dues went up again this year. The landscaping looks the same. The pool did not get bigger. Nothing new appeared. Just a larger number on the statement, and no explanation that survives a second r...

Budgets & Assessments Owners & Residents

Sep 4, 2026

The Three Ways Every HOA Budget Goes Wrong

The Three Ways Every HOA Budget Goes Wrong

When I rebuilt my own association's budget, I expected to find bad numbers. What I found was a process designed to produce them. Since then I have looked at a lot of association budgets, and the failu...

Budgets & Assessments The Three Ways Every HOA Budget Goes Wrong Board Members Community Managers

Sep 4, 2026

Nobody Chose 3%. The Calendar Did.

Nobody Chose 3%. The Calendar Did.

Pull your association's last two budgets and put them side by side. If every line moved by the same percent, nobody built this year's budget. And before you get angry at the person who sent it, do the...

Budgets & Assessments Community Managers

Sep 4, 2026

Why HOA Budgets Get Recycled: The Process, Not the Person

Why HOA Budgets Get Recycled: The Process, Not the Person

This is a piece in defense of the person who copied last year's budget. Not because the copy is good, but because copying is the rational move inside the process they were handed. The failure is a lac...

Budgets & Assessments The Three Ways Every HOA Budget Goes Wrong Board Members Community Managers

Sep 4, 2026

When Reserves Get the Leftovers

When Reserves Get the Leftovers

When I took my association self-managed and received our general ledger from the management company, the reserve accounts made no sense. Not wrong numbers. Wrong structure. They answered no question a...

Budgets & Assessments Owners & Residents The Three Ways Every HOA Budget Goes Wrong Board Members

Sep 4, 2026

A Budget You Can't Revise Is a Budget You'll Violate

A Budget You Can't Revise Is a Budget You'll Violate

Here is what happens at an association with no revision process when reality departs from the adopted budget: nothing. The spending continues, because the insurance must be paid and the water stays on...

Budgets & Assessments The Three Ways Every HOA Budget Goes Wrong Board Members Community Managers

Sep 4, 2026