- Jurisdiction
- Illinois
Hello,
I purchased a condo last year. Last month I learned my HOA wants to issue a special assessment of around $6,000 to pay for new siding for the 20 buildings in our community. The bid from the siding company came out to $6,000 per homeowner but that was just a quote and not the final number. The HOA says they are still getting information together about the costs and payment terms. They want to start the project in a few months and may allow us to make monthly payments depending on what kind of loan they can get from the bank.
The board president has said that she will not hold a vote about this project and it will be going forward soon.
I cannot afford this assessment. Many of my neighbors cannot afford it either. My neighbors and I also question the necessity of it. The board has not demonstrated that this is an emergency at all. While some buildings have had some problems with leaking, it was nothing major and the HOA did not explain why they can't simply fix those 3 or 4 buildings and why they need to overhaul the entire community at a cost of at least $1.5 million.
I read that according to IL law, if 20% of homeowners sign a petition, it will force a vote. That is my goal. I want to start the petition process now, but the HOA has not released any finalized information yet.
My question is: Can I get homeowners to sign the petition before the HOA puts out formal notice, with finalized numbers, about this project? Or do I legally have to wait until the project is actually made official? I would hate to spend time and effort to get a petition signed by my neighbors and find out it won't be legal and that I'll have to do it again later on.
Any advice would be appreciated.
I purchased a condo last year. Last month I learned my HOA wants to issue a special assessment of around $6,000 to pay for new siding for the 20 buildings in our community. The bid from the siding company came out to $6,000 per homeowner but that was just a quote and not the final number. The HOA says they are still getting information together about the costs and payment terms. They want to start the project in a few months and may allow us to make monthly payments depending on what kind of loan they can get from the bank.
The board president has said that she will not hold a vote about this project and it will be going forward soon.
I cannot afford this assessment. Many of my neighbors cannot afford it either. My neighbors and I also question the necessity of it. The board has not demonstrated that this is an emergency at all. While some buildings have had some problems with leaking, it was nothing major and the HOA did not explain why they can't simply fix those 3 or 4 buildings and why they need to overhaul the entire community at a cost of at least $1.5 million.
I read that according to IL law, if 20% of homeowners sign a petition, it will force a vote. That is my goal. I want to start the petition process now, but the HOA has not released any finalized information yet.
My question is: Can I get homeowners to sign the petition before the HOA puts out formal notice, with finalized numbers, about this project? Or do I legally have to wait until the project is actually made official? I would hate to spend time and effort to get a petition signed by my neighbors and find out it won't be legal and that I'll have to do it again later on.
Any advice would be appreciated.
