Condo Bylaws Association With Low Reserves In Chicago
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FAQ
A: Industry best practice is to update your Reserve Study based a diligent visual site inspection (an Update With-Site-Visit) at least every third year, with annual updates in-between as appropriate. The Update No-Site-Visit Reserve Study is a good Level of Service for those in-between years.
Despite smart planning, however, there are situations that may warrant a special assessment or an assessment increase for the upcoming year. When that happens, is there a maximum assessment threshold the board can impose? The short answer is yes, and the magic number is 15%.
General amendments to inium instruments are governed by Section 27 of the Illinois inium Property Act, which states that an affirmative vote of 2/3 of voting unit owners must approve amendments, unless the inium instruments provide for some other majority vote somewhere between 50% and 75%.
Despite smart planning, however, there are situations that may warrant a special assessment or an assessment increase for the upcoming year. When that happens, is there a maximum assessment threshold the board can impose? The short answer is yes, and the magic number is 15%.
If the board deems that a special assessment is necessary, per Section 18(a)(8) of the Illinois inium Property Act (ICPA), it may adopt a special assessment without unit owner approval provided that it does not exceed 115% of the sum of all regular or special assessments from the preceding year.
Pursuant to Section 18(a)(8) of the Act, separate assessments for expenditures relating to emergencies or mandated by law may be adopted by the board of managers without being subject to unit owner approval.
The ICPA requires that all Chicago condo boards elect a minimum of three managers to serve on their association board. This must include a president, who leads meetings and membership; a secretary, who manages board minutes; and a treasurer, who tracks the associations' finances.
The ideal HOA reserve funding percent sits between 70 and 100 percent. Of course, it would be best to keep your reserves 100 percent fully funded at all times. But, maintaining 70 percent funding is a respectable position. Underfunded reserves will ultimately lead to special assessments or dues increases.
Reserves are like savings accounts – an accumulation of funds for a future purpose. The source of funding for a reserve might be surpluses from operations, or scheduled transfers that have been planned and budgeted.
No Reserve Fund Equals Higher Dues or Special Assessments An HOA without an adequate reserve fund may have to increase dues significantly right away or levy special assessments. Neither of these options will get you popularity points with the development's homeowners.
