Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Special Assesments

[John Carver (jcarver]

For special assessments you need to consult state law, which will be 
very specific about how to do it. For instance, here in BC the amount 
each owner pays is determined by 'unit entitlement', the same formula 
that is used to set strata fees (ie HOA dues). And the debt does remain 
with the property if it is sold before the debt is paid.

If you are able to borrow, as Sharon suggests, the effect is to pass 
the debt down to future owners, so a consideration might be what the 
money is for. A major improvement is a benefit to future owners, so 
paying over time makes sense. But if it's for a big maintenance/repair 
job that you should have been saving for over the last 20 years, maybe 
not.

John Carver
Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community
Nanaimo, BC
http://pacificgardens.ca/

On 2013/09/05 06:17, thea hensel wrote:
> We also have need for a much larger pool of money; needed to cover a
> substantial reconstruction.  We have to asses each unit a substantial
> amount and wonder if any co housing community has done this?  We are
> located in California and state rules may differ but we'd like to 
> attach
> the assessment to the unit so it can pass from one owner to another 
> if a
> unit is sold.