Well I can only comment on the ones I lived in and all were property management companies and then they "assign" a manager - which is usually interviewed and approved by the board. But the property manager works for the property management company. I don't think an HOA would want to hire there own manager because now your in to all kinds of employment law. Better to contract.
I suppose its state law but by definition your one of the HOA owners. SC they must provide a financial statement by law. Getting exactly how the money is spent beyond a high level is likely a bigger issue. They literally email ours out twice a year and give notes on where the money went if anything is strange - for example they painted the community center this summer.
I am largely ignorant then
If its a small single family HOA with no real common infrastructure then yes, you don't need a manager - there is nothing really to manage.
Makes total sense. I would say $500 min these days in a decent area does not sound crazy Insurance has to be killer. Their fee is ?? 20%+?? Hiring work out, etc
Yes, my point - we need much more data from the OP before anyone can comment. But Houston is a coastal city so insurance cannot be cheap. And if they do have a pool then liability insurance is huge.
You had me until here. Nothing associated with housing has matched inflation - insurance, building supplies, contractor rates are all greater than inflation and have been for a while.
If the suggestions listed are an accurate reason for the OP's case, then kudos to the HOA board for working to try to avoid surprise assessments where everyone would need to pony up $15,000 for a roof replacement (a friend had this happen to her). I'm in a single-family development with the HOA covering trail/common area maintenance, along with the retention pond system. They also have some say in construction/changes to the property, but overall, they've been pretty low-key and do a pretty good job of maintaining what they have to at a reasonable cost. When I moved into my house, I called the property manager to ask about requirements for storm doors and the first thing the manager said was "you must have moved from a condo/townhouse HOA."
Once we factor housing costs into inflation, the numbers become stunningly bad.
The HOA was paid at closing - it came out of the sellers proceeds. Thats what closing attorneys do - find all the bills and make sure everyone gets paid before the seller gets a cent. The only way it didn't get paid was if there were not enough proceeds above the mortgage. Possibly that is the reason he sold - HOA threatened foreclosure.
Or adult activities
Did you attend the meetings to find out the reason behind the increase?
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