Owners & Residents · Reference · How-to

5 articles in Guides · Clear filters

Topic Budgets & Assessments 3 Rules & Enforcement 1 Maintenance & Vendors 2

Audience Owners & Residents 5 Board Members 11 Community Managers 9

Kind Commentary 2 Reference 4 How-to 1

Series The Three Ways Every HOA Budget Goes Wrong 1 The Responsibility Map 2

Show the Math: How HOA Assessments Are Actually Calculated

Show the Math: How HOA Assessments Are Actually Calculated

Start with the fact that surprises most people, including plenty of board members: your assessment is a byproduct of the budget. Nobody is supposed to pick your monthly number. The association builds ...

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

Sep 4, 2026

Can My HOA Raise Assessments Without My Vote?

Can My HOA Raise Assessments Without My Vote?

Short answer: usually yes, within limits. In California your board can raise the regular assessment up to 20 percent in a year without asking you, and can levy special assessments up to 5 percent of t...

Budgets & Assessments Owners & Residents

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

Who Carries This Cost? The Responsibility Map Hiding in Your CC&Rs

Who Carries This Cost? The Responsibility Map Hiding in Your CC&Rs

Every association fights the same fights: who fixes the balcony, who pays for the pipe in the wall, whose insurance covers the fence. Here is the part almost nobody says out loud: at most associations...

Owners & Residents Board Members The Responsibility Map Community Managers Maintenance & Vendors

Sep 4, 2026

When the Association Fixes It and Bills You (and When You Pick the Contractor)

When the Association Fixes It and Bills You (and When You Pick the Contractor)

The responsibility map in your CC&Rs says who maintains what (finding and using it is its own guide: Who Carries This Cost? The Responsibility Map Hiding in Your CC&Rs ). This piece is about the map's...

Owners & Residents Board Members The Responsibility Map Rules & Enforcement Maintenance & Vendors

Sep 4, 2026