Recently I have been hearing lots of people talking about their HOA dues being increased much too rapidly. It has been our experience that most Condominium Communities in Seattle are still below a "Fair" 50% Funded Level and need to increase their dues in order to add more to their respective reserve accounts. This is both fair and needed keep up with rising costs and depreciating assets. Additionally many communities are in a position of playing "catch up" with respect to the depreciation of the assets in the community.
Additionally as construction of condominium communities has increased in the last couple of years we have had many discussions with Builders/Developers who are seeking to set their HOA dues at a level which is both competitive for the market and adequate to cover expenses related to common area assets.
The below graphs can be useful to Board Members, Builders, Developers and Condominium Unit Owners in determining how your community or home compares to the average condominium in Seattle.
Written by Joel L Tax - Professional Reserve Analyst - 12/15/2015