High HOA fees are a challenge for affordable homeowners

In the seven years Adam Perry has owned his affordable unit at Iris Hollow, there have been times when his monthly homeowner association (HOA) fees have exceeded his monthly mortgage payments. First the outdoor stairs needed repair. Then the roof needed replacing, and instead of paying the special assessment all at once to cover his portion of it, he paid it over 18 months. Even without the special assessments, his HOA dues have increased steadily since he bought the house, he says. Over time, his HOA fees make his home feel increasingly unaffordable, despite the fact it’s part of the City of Boulder’s Permanently Affordable Homes Program.

“The thing I come back to over and over and over is that it’s not called the permanently affordable mortgage program. They call it the permanently affordable homeownership program,” Perry says. “But the home is not affordable; the mortgage is.”

As cities and local governments increasingly focus on affordable housing around the state (and country), homeownership units are often a part of neighborhoods and developments within Common Interest Communities, or HOAs. Within associations, there are often competing priorities between market-rate owners, affordable homeowners and, in mixed-use developments, commercial owners, which can lead to disagreements about how the HOA is run. What’s more, with very little regulatory oversight from the state, homeowners don’t have much recourse when issues do arise.

Throughout reporting this story, BW heard from several affordable homeowners in Boulder who were frustrated by what they say are unaffordable HOA fees and assessments. Some said their HOA fees and interactions with associations have caused them to question their participation in the affordable homeownership program. A few others also have sold their homes in the program expressly over their concerns and frustrations with rising HOA costs. Most requested anonymity given the personal nature of participation in the City’s program. 

Read more here.