No one likes a bill, but everyone likes a beautiful place to live… and your HOA dues help create just that.
Most community assessments and dues cover some or all of the cost of things like:
- common area maintenance,
- insurance policies (for vendors, buildings, etc.),
- utilities,
- reserve funds (helps pay for big upcoming projects),
- professional management fees
HOW DO I SEE WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING?
Your dues and community financials should always be transparent and easily accessible.
Sentry communities can access financials via AppFolio at any time.
And, every year before the Annual Meeting, you should receive a copy of next year’s proposed budget. This is also one of the reasons why it is so important to participate in your community’s Annual Meeting.
This is your opportunity to learn more about your Board’s service to your community, including finances and any proposed increases in dues.
WHY DO DUES INCREASE?
The first thing to know is that your Board works hard to balance the budget and have a reserve.
Sentry also works hard to guide the Board to think about potential upcoming costs and changes, such as large-scale assessments like updates to pools, common areas, or water features.
We also help review new and existing vendor contracts, think: landscaping – for many reasons, even existing contract pricing may change during the course of budget planning – and your Community Manager supports your HOA during the negotiations and renewals.
IMPACT OF INFLATION
Budgeting is hard, and one of the biggest reasons for that when it comes to planning a HOA budget is inflation – and changes in costs after a budget is approved.
For example, potential increases that may change after your community’s budget has been approved include utilities – these often don’t come out until the first few months of each calendar year, gas prices, and insurance increases.
Some Boards proactively determine a 2-3% annual increase to allow for more flexibility and a buffer – adjusting the HOA budget to account for inflation and increased costs for vendors and services may help a community to avoid going into a budget deficit.
HOW TO PAY YOUR DUES
Sentry typically sends statements annually, but your community may bill differently: monthly, quarterly, annually, etc. Log in here for your payment information.
