What Are Special Assessments?

Today when buying a home you have many choices availble to you...The market has been favoring buyers for the past few years and it looks like that trend will continue into next year. So, besides deciding on what to buy or where to buy you need to look at the community HOA. One thing that most people are not aware of is special assessments. Special assessments are additional dues that a homeowners association can charge each homeowner individually (though the amount is equal to all homeowners) to offset additional expenses in the community. Generally in a community made up of single family homes this is not common...However; I did run across one the other day where their poor financial planning forced the HOA to assess the members an additional amount of money... This additional fee was equal to the HOA fees they were paying a month at that time and was for a period of one year. More common is you will find these in townhome or condo communities. When you purchase a townhome or condo you basically own the four walls of your condo and the homeowners association takes care of maintianing the exterior of your place including the roof. Condos/townhomes tends to have special assessments when it comes time to replace roofs. Generally they are all built around the same time and the roofs lifespans make them come do at the same time....Without proper planning this can be a nightmare expense. In addition if the exterior of the building is in need of repair then the homeowers association is resposnible for that repair as well..depending on the type of structure it is (wood, vinyl or brick) the cost can be expensive as well.... I always ask if there is an assessment scheduled or for a copy of the minutes from the last few months of meetings...That way you can see fi the discussion of repairs have come up and if you can expect a special assessment in the near future or not. The last thing most people want to do is move into a home and find out a few months alter that they are being billed an additional expense they were not anticipating..... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com

What to Look For In A HOA Whne Buying A House

HOA dues are more of a common factor in Charlotte North Carolina than they are in the northern states. If you lived in a condo/townhome you would pay a fee for the maintenance of the area and landscaping and snow removal.....However; generally neighborhoods were not built with such fees or amneties added to them. in Charlotte, NC. area this is a common fee since most newer subdivisons are built with some type of amenties attached to them. But what is it and how does it affect me purchasing a house? This is the question a lot of people do not ask or think about when they buy a house..... HOA fees are generally a monthly fee that the community charges for the maintenace of the common area, property taxes on that area and to maintain any amenties that the community may have. The amneties can vary from walking trails, playground(s), and swimming pool(s). With additional amenties come additional fees.... One thing I am always looking for when a prospective homebuyer is looking to purchase a home in a community with an HOA is the cost. I have seem them run as low as $20.00 a month and as high as $599.00 a month (I imagine there are even higher ones out there; I just have not come across them yet). That is a large fluctuation. Then, depending on the association and the solvency of the community you want to check to see if they can raise them... Some HOA's have built in provisions that allow the board to increase the fees without the majority vote of the homeowners. Others (like mine) require a vote of the homeowners and must be approved by 75% of the existing homeowners. If you get into an association that raises fees every year that manageable amount every month can quickly escalate to an unmanageable amount. I talked with a prosepctive seller about selling his house becuase his HOA dues have tripled in the past six years. He said he could not afford to keep paying that in addition to the mortgage on his house every month.... You want to know how solvent the community is as well...the reason his association kept raising the dues was becuase they were in financial distress...As the economy got weaker and people fell behind on bills this generally is one they stop paying on first....They did not have enough reserves set up to cover the expenses when people stopped paying. Cost of HOA fees are becoming more and more important as comunites struggle with staying solvent. ... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com

New Listing: 8112 Sapwood Court Matthews, NC. 28104

8112 Sapwood Court in Matthews, NC. 28104 is a two bedroom and two and half bath townhouse located in the desirable Park side community. This townhouse is being offered for only $99,900. Even though it is part of Matthews, NC. it is in the union county side of Matthews and the schools and taxes are reflected as Union county. This town home has great appeal. With a partial front brick look the curb appeal stands out instantly as soon as you drive up to it....Nestled in the back corner of the complex it brings added privacy to you as well. What I love about this townhouse is the spacious layout. Walking through it you get the feeling that the place is larger than it really is. The downstairs is adorned with gleaming hardwood floors in the kitchen, foyer and breakfast eating area. Definitely a huge plus to the home. I love how the eating area opens to the front of the house with large windows bringing in the warm beautiful sunlight first thing in the morning..... On the back side of the lower level is the great room. A large open room that has endless possibilities for it's use. I have seen families break it into two separate parts because of it's size. Adorned with a gas fireplace it adds to the warmth of the house and the cozy feeling yet gives you the space to entertain and enjoy the room. Going up the stairs you are instantly greeted by a little small landing area which makes for a great reading place...Also you will instantly notice the enormous size of the two bedrooms upstairs. The master bedroom is not only spacious enough to fit a king size bedroom set but the trey ceiling in the room adds to the luxury feeling you get inside this townhouse. Off the master bedroom is the master bathroom with a his and hers vanity and a tub shower combination. On the other side of the bathroom is the extremely large walk in closet... there is even enough space in the closet for him to put his clothes. (though you may want him to use the other so you can purchase more clothes). Across from the master bedroom is the second bedroom... This is as large as the master bedroom and the room can be utilizes in so many ways. with a large closet backing up to one wall it leaves the space open to the imagination. In the hall there is the second full bathroom which is designed for the spare bedrooms use. In essence you have a separate bathroom for each bedroom. if the space inside the townhouse does not sell the place for you...then step out on the beautiful private back patio..The current homeowner has planted beautiful flowers to adorn the area and it backs up to a wonderful open field and walking trails a few hundred yards from there. This townhouse is conveniently located off exit 52 off of I485. Only about two miles from the highway it offers easy access to commuters and is conveniently located to major shopping and stores.... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com