Owners & Residents

Written for the people who pay the assessments. Plain answers to what the board can and cannot do, and what to ask when something changes.

7 articles in Guides · Clear filters

Topic Budgets & Assessments 5 Rules & Enforcement 1 Maintenance & Vendors 2

Audience Owners & Residents 7 Board Members 17 Community Managers 14 Firm Leadership 1

Kind Commentary 2 Reference 4 How-to 1

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

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

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

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

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