Reply to I need to raise Common Charges Again

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Also...you haven't had a condo meeting with quorum for over 10 years?  Isn't that illegal?  Or did you get proxies?

I think more of your owners need to get uncomfortable and get involved. You need more of a consensus than you have.[/quote]

Per NYS Law you have to have one annual Board Meeting a year. We had them every year up to Fall of 2019. We normally did them from 1979 to 2019 (I only bought 2013) every year after Labor Day and before Jewish Holidays. We had some "snowbirds" in building who went to Florida in Winter and a decent amount of Jewish People. No one wanted to meet in Summer as everyone at Beach. Then in 2020 Covid everyone refused a meeting. We had a lot of older people. In 2022, 2022 and 2023 happened. Finally in Feb 2024 the New Managing Agent we switched to was kinda shocked we had not had a board meeting since 2019. We did a mailing and maybe 2-3 people interested and no one returned proxies. So we said screw it lets call it a Meet and Greet. We booked Town Hall across street they always let us use for free from 1979-2019 when we did have meetings. The managing agent was there. CPA was there and the active person on Board there ready to answer questions. Three or four people showed up. One for 30 seconds to say Gutter is loose and two old people.

I am not hiding I let managing agent deal with it and when I do talk to people they are all happy. My bylaws are pretty strict I need a vote to borrow funds, do any new improvements over $5,000. But the board can maintain building no vote, can raise common charges no vote and foreclose on units and file liens no votes. All we do is keep building looking nice and make sure people pay. As long as lawn mowed, flowers planted in spring, gutters cleaned, snow removed, sidewalks maintained, fences mainted etc. No one cares. They litterally put a ticket in on website for that type of concern. If normal stuff managing agent deals with landscaper. It bigger like a gutter ripped off, or portion of fence a tree branch felll on I get a text with picture of damage, managing agent gives me quotes and I approve. Occassionally me and other lady will also get our own quotes to make sure he is honest.

But the insurance time bomb is going to be a long time thing. It is a 1979 complex with basement level garden apartment units. When building built in 1979 it was not in flood zone even though at beach. Town had a two story height requirment. Builder to make money decided to do six buildings with two units of 1,200 sf 51 percent. below ground level so they counted as basements and four units that are duplex upstairs that are 600 sf each level. So Issue is we have units that are slightly more than four feet below ground level in a flood zone by the beach. I cant raise building and I cant buy out lower units. I actually can only buy units in a foreclosure auction per byllaws for non payment of dues without a vote. No one would vote to do a massive assessment to buy them out and some owners might not want to sell.

also 2/3rds of buildings are uppers who have zero flood risk. Not even in Sandy. My unit my ground floor is almost five feet up. So the 2/3rds of uppers have head in sand and lower unit owners would need in our 30 unit building at least 16 owners to vote to buy them out. Good luck with that.

However FEMA that gave us heavily subsidized flood insurance for decades as we were grandfathered the rules have changed and moving towards full risk. And other insurance after collaspe in Florida of condos and after Sandy are jacking rates. I even tried on my own and the insurance company pulled up Googe Maps and was like Hell No before we started.

I will be at $550 insurance only by 2027 per unit my projections. The $150 a month to maintain building will soon be $200 a month by 2027 as my locked in landscaping, snow removal, extermator and Sewer cleaning contracts get renwed. And Although building is mint My roofs need replacing by 2030 which will cost $200,000. I was told by roofer starting around 2029 I could do worse one once or twice a year to spread it out. But that will be $40,000 each time. Even it I did it over 10 years that is $20,000 a year I need for that is $55 a month.

So I am at $755 common charges by 2027 and to be honest I need to do at least $45 more to build up reserves for sidewalks or parking lot upkeep. So I should be at least $800 by 2027.

A big move from $350 in 2023. The larger fancy condo up the block from us with 2,400 sf units with pool and gated community  moved their common charges from $750 to $1,500 two years ago in one shot. They are Oceanfront in a high risk area and units also have full basements.

Word to wise DONT buy condos in Flood Zones with basements! Even if you live upstairs. The insurance is a killer. I still feel no matter how I say it I will be killed.

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