Are Your Condo Assessments GoofY?

KenoshaChris

New member
Jan 4, 2002
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I won't say where my condo is but anybody who knows me knows where it is. I've gone from about $130.00 a month a year ago to $2 frigg'n hundred and 80 dollars a month as of the October 1, 2004 assessment. Hell, I live in a better place here and on Lake Michigan where I walk to my boat in 10 seconds, paying $150.00 a month assessments up here. Anybody else experiencing this crap?
 

Guatiao

El Leon de los Cacicazgos
Mar 27, 2004
474
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KenoshaChris said:
I won't say where my condo is but anybody who knows me knows where it is. I've gone from about $130.00 a month a year ago to $2 frigg'n hundred and 80 dollars a month as of the October 1, 2004 assessment. Hell, I live in a better place here and on Lake Michigan where I walk to my boat in 10 seconds, paying $150.00 a month assessments up here. Anybody else experiencing this crap?

I think you should investigate, make sure the "treasurer" is not stealing the money. At my mothers condo they tried to charge us for water and garbage, the condo has not been occupied for almost 6 months. I?ve heard at my residence the new owners are being charged more than the original owners.
Dominican way of life, just make sure why the increase and what?s it being used for.
 

Eddy

Silver
Jan 1, 2002
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KenoshaChris said:
I won't say where my condo is but anybody who knows me knows where it is. I've gone from about $130.00 a month a year ago to $2 frigg'n hundred and 80 dollars a month as of the October 1, 2004 assessment. Hell, I live in a better place here and on Lake Michigan where I walk to my boat in 10 seconds, paying $150.00 a month assessments up here. Anybody else experiencing this crap?

It would depend on the budget of your condos complexe. Part of the money will probably be used to make up for the losses incurred during the past year and the rest to cover any probabilities of price increases during the next year. It does seem as a lot but I wouldn't say someone is ripping you off. I just submitted Condos budget for 2004/2005 and there was a substantial increase. Not as much as yours but a heck of a lot. Do the calculations and you might be surprised. What is going on right now with the USdollar and the increase in prices is killing the country.
 

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
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Regardless of whether the condominium is occupied, water and garbage charges are valid because the building gets charged for them. That is correct unless the government installs individual water meters per apartment, as in the case of power. The city government is charging RD$200 per household (in most areas) regardless of whether the apartment/house is occupied or not. And regardless of whether they pick up the garbage or not!

If you live in a house that is not occupied, I wonder what they can do about billing for a service they are not providing... one would think they can only suspend the service and if it is empty, who cares... but if it becomes occupied the next occupant will have to pay.

If you live in an apartment, the building gets build for it, so you are do to pay your share.
 

Danny W

Bronze
Mar 1, 2003
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Don't you elect the officers of your condo assoc., and don't you get to see an itemized budget? - D
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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Chris,

Our assessments for this month and last are significantly higher than normal. The primary reason is the much higher cost of diesel and the significant increase in the number of hours the generator must run. As you know from reading DR1, the country has been experiencing blackouts of up to 20 hours a day. If you have a meter for your apartment, then you should be billed just for the kw hours your apartment uses plus your share of the common area electricity. But even that is likely to require an increase in assessment if our situation is any indication. If you don't have a meter for your apartment and electricity is part of the common expense, then the increase may be even higher depending on how the electricity use in your apartment compares with others. For example, if you don't have AC but other apartments do, then you are subsidizin their elecricity consumption at today's high prices.

Adding to the problem, as Eddy points out, is the falling dollar in relation to the peso. With the peso around 30 to 1, it takes a lot more dollars than it did when the peso was 35-40 to 1, or even higher.

What you are experiencing is the reality of living in the DR today for every condo, apartment and home owner.
 

KenoshaChris

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Jan 4, 2002
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Diesel Fuel and Falling Dollar

Yes Ken, I attribute the increase mostly to the cost of diesel fuel and the falling dollar but I was curious as to whether anybody else was experiencing the same thing and how substantial any increase was.
 

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
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Condominium fees may also be subject to the added expense of propane gas, that increased something like 100%. This year, cost of power (common area power), water (now being billed by meter), garbage (now being billed per apartment regardless of how many are occupied), and propane gas, plus the added expense of all those hours of power plant in maintenance and diesel...

Add all those up, and maintenance fees should go up considerably. What is important is that the management be transparent of the use of the money. Believe me, there are many ways it is being gushed up.
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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KenoshaChris said:
Yes Ken, I attribute the increase mostly to the cost of diesel fuel and the falling dollar but I was curious as to whether anybody else was experiencing the same thing and how substantial any increase was.

Chris, it doesn't sound out of line. At end of August we had a special assessment of US$150 and at end of September, US$185. Same deficit both months, but change in valueof the dollar made the difference. Our administrator has talked with the administrator of your complex and he is struggling with the same problems we and everybody else are.
 

Eddy

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Jan 1, 2002
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Ken said:
Chris, it doesn't sound out of line. At end of August we had a special assessment of US$150 and at end of September, US$185. Same deficit both months, but change in valueof the dollar made the difference. Our administrator has talked with the administrator of your complex and he is struggling with the same problems we and everybody else are.

I was really uncomfortable in presenting the new budget. But once the owners saw the figures, 100% voted for the increase. Let's hope that in the next few months things get sorted out.
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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495
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Eddy said:
I was really uncomfortable in presenting the new budget. But once the owners saw the figures, 100% voted for the increase. Let's hope that in the next few months things get sorted out.

Amen!, Eddy.