SIDE STREETS: HOA dues column touches a nerve
Last week’s column about the Parade of Homes and its report on homeowners association dues prompted many calls and e-mails.
Some readers offered stories about their own dues.
Several complained they pay upwards of $3,000 a year to townhome complexes. They wondered why because they have no amenities such as swimming pools or tennis courts.
Others bragged about what they get for their dues.
For example, I heard from Duncan Fisher, who said his Saint Andrews HOA near the Colorado Springs Country Club off Templeton Gap charges just $300 annually to its 160 homeowners.
Those dues cover maintenance of all common areas, weekly garbage service and use of a large plastic can, insurance, a neighborhood barbecue, swim party and more.
I called Dave Munger, the president of the Council of Neighbors and Organizations, and learned there is no comprehensive list of dues charged by the area’s hundreds of HOAs. (More about that in a minute.)
Munger also offered an interesting perspective on the issue of HOA dues. He was president of the Old North End Neighborhood, which has about 1,500 homes just north of downtown Colorado Springs. Of them, some 600 voluntarily pay dues to the association, which asks for $35 a year. Many contribute far more, for an average of about $50.
Munger said the dues allow the board to hire a private security firm to patrol the neighborhood five times a day, to pay for tree-planting, host a garden party, yard sale and Fourth of July Parade as well as award two $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors.
Finally, I heard from Flying Horse, where HOA dues range from a base of $900 a year up to $6,000 a year in its exclusive Toscano custom home subdivision. The folks there wanted to correct bad information that the HOA manager told me about membership and initiation costs and monthly dues charged at the golf course and club. Those fees, which are not part of HOA dues, are far less than reported.
Wendy McHenry, club membership director, broke it down this way:
• A full golf membership costs $39,000 up front, with monthly dues costing $400 to $450. The membership is partially refundable for those who want to leave.
• A social/fitness membership requires a $7,000, non-refundable one-time initiation fee and $210 monthly dues. It entitles the member to full access to the athletic club, swimming facility, spa, the restaurants. Those prices apply to non-resident memberships. For residents, the initiation fee or golf membership often is paid by the builder/developer when they buy their home or lot, she said.
Now that we’ve cleared up those prices, I want to start a list of HOA dues. Shoot me an e-mail and tell me what you pay and give me the exact name of your association.
—
Read my blog updates at
gazette.com/blogs/sidestreets
