After more than 30 years of conducting property evaluations for reserve studies we are excited to announce that we will now be offering a host of project management services to home owner’s associations (HOAs) and property management companies. Under the direction of newly appointed Principal, Peter McNabb, we will leverage our vast knowledge of reserve and building components to oversee construction, reconstruction and building modernization projects.

Prior to joining Barrera & Company, Peter served as President and CEO of Peterson Brothers Construction (PBC). While at PBC he helped transition the company from a local concrete contractor to a $100 million group of companies serving commercial and residential construction throughout the Southwest.

“Time after time, we’ve seen project owners come across the same problems”, said Damian Esparza, Chairman of the Board at Barrera & Company. “Blown budgets, late project completions, poor material quality and unmet specifications have cost them a significant amount of unanticipated time and money.”

We will ensure efficiency and accuracy in the construction and reconstruction process from start to finish. Some of the core offerings include: serving as a the owner’s representative, value engineering, specification writing and management, overseeing a comprehensive bid process, contract administration, contractor qualification and selection and scope development. We will act as an extension of the project owner and maintain an open and transparent process throughout.

In today’s economy it can be tempting for HOA boards to under fund their reserve in an effort to save money. This is a disturbing trend in our industry because it can often leave the HOAs in a compromised position. With underfunded reserves, they have no choice but to scale down or defer important repairs and maintenance, eventually devaluing the entire development.

Read More: What is a Reserve Study?

Unfortunately, property values aren’t the only thing negatively affected by underfunded reserves. The perceived value of an otherwise financially stable association can be compromised as well. When a non-avoidable cost arises and the association doesn’t have money in the reserve, the board will levy special assessments to cover the cost. Savvy homeowners looking to buy will see an underfunded reserve as liability because they know that the HOA is likely to special assess as it goes along. Further more, lenders are factoring in Reserve Disclosures when considering to fund homebuyers looking to buy into your community.

Read More: Reserve Studies: FICO score for HOAs

Ultimately the choice to underfund reserves is short sided. It will end up costing you more in the future and could devalue both the property and the association itself.

At Barrera and Company, we complete thousands of Reserve Studies each year which have helped our clients comply with the law and prepare for upcoming expenditures.

Interested in getting a Reserve Study for your community? Click here to get a proposal!

 Living within a homeowners association (HOA) has several benefits that lead people to move into these neighborhoods. Common areas are kept up by the HOA and these neighborhoods often also have shared amenities like gyms, tennis courts and walking trails. Unfortunately due to the current state of the housing market, some homes are left unoccupied and uncared for.

Homes within the HOA that are owned by residents must be cared for and kept in good condition, according to CC&R’s. When a home isn’t occupied, however, its yard or exterior may become an eyesore. Luckily, there are a few ways that the HOA or its members can handle this problem.

Lien on Property

A home may be unoccupied due to an owner not paying their assessments. Even if the homeowner moves away they are still responsible for the upkeep of the home. The HOA can actually pay to have the exterior of the home cared for and apply the cost to the lien. It may take a while for the HOA to recover its costs, but once the home is resold, the money spent on keeping the property in good condition will be reimbursed via the lien. This should be done before a bank forecloses on the property, however, as in some cases the bank is not liable to reimburse that expense – just like it isn’t responsible to pay secondary loans on the home.

Foreclose on the Bank

Luckily, once the bank takes ownership of the home, they are now just like any other homeowner in the HOA. It becomes the bank’s responsibility to care for the home, including eyesore landscaping and any unsanitary conditions. It is difficult to find the person at a specific bank who is responsible for upkeep before the house is listed with a real estate agent, but it is possible.

If the banks do not perform proper upkeep of the newly owned properties, the HOA can still hire others to clean the property while applying fines to the bank for not keeping the property maintained. Several HOA’s have actually performed foreclosure proceedings on large banks when the banks fail to pay their maintenance fees. Foreclosure proceedings will usually pressure a bank to pay past due fees, assessments and fines owed to the HOA.

Neighborhood Task Force

Sometimes the legal work involved with some of the aforementioned methods can be more than an HOA wants to deal with. Even with several methods of reimbursing their costs, the HOA may not see compensation for years. In these complex situations, neighbors may decide that they’re willing to keep the lawn and other exterior portions of the home presentable.

No neighboring owner wants their home’s beauty to be negated by an uncared for community yard. A well meaning, concerned homeowners’ group should still check with the HOA to ensure they’re acting within the law, especially if it involves accessing property behind a gate. A task force may discuss amongst themselves who will handle certain areas of the property and how often.

Living within an HOA allows people to share mutual amenities at a fraction of what it would cost them on their own. Unoccupied homes, however, have become blemishes on otherwise beautiful HOA neighborhoods. All of the methods of keeping these homes presentable require a little sacrifice on someone’s part, but in the end, this handling is repaid either financially or through the advantage of having a completely beautiful HOA neighborhood.

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/suavehouse113/494764354/

Interested in getting a Reserve Study for your community? Click here to get a proposal!