Commentary · How-to

10 articles in Guides · Clear filters

Audience Owners & Residents 3 Board Members 7 Community Managers 7

Medium Guide 9 Checklist 1

Kind Commentary 6 Reference 9 How-to 4

Series The Three Ways Every HOA Budget Goes Wrong 7

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

When Equal Isn't Equitable: Audit Your Split Against Your Documents

When Equal Isn't Equitable: Audit Your Split Against Your Documents

Splitting every cost equally feels like the neutral choice. It is not neutral. It is a choice among three lawful bases, and at many associations it is a choice the governing documents already made dif...

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

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

Budgeting for an Insurance Renewal You Haven't Seen

Budgeting for an Insurance Renewal You Haven't Seen

Every HOA budget contains at least one number nobody has seen: next year's insurance premium, because the renewal lands mid-year, months after adoption. You cannot fix that. What you can fix is everyt...

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

Sep 4, 2026

The HOA Pre-Draft Budget Checklist

The HOA Pre-Draft Budget Checklist

A budget is only as good as what it was told. This is the complete list of what to tell it: every check that should happen before a single number gets typed. Work the list with the documents open, and...

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

Sep 4, 2026

Is Your Share Calculated the Way Your CC&Rs Say?

Is Your Share Calculated the Way Your CC&Rs Say?

You live in Building A. The big line in this year's budget is Building C's roof. And a version of the same question is being asked at an annual meeting somewhere every night of budget season: why am I...

Budgets & Assessments Owners & Residents

Sep 4, 2026