Is Your HOA Headed for a Special Assessment? 3 Warning Signs to Check Tonight

Your HOA board just approved the budget, dues aren't going up, and everyone's happy. That's exactly the moment to start worrying. A special assessment — that letter saying every homeowner owes $11,000 in 90 days — almost never comes out of nowhere. It gets built quietly over about five years by boards who thought they were doing a good job. In this video, Joe Braun of Solume walks through the three financial warning signs that a special assessment is coming — plus a bonus fourth sign that's so common he couldn't leave it out. No complex math. Just three things you can check tonight, in about 20 minutes, using documents you already have. And the third sign is the one almost nobody catches, because it doesn't look like a problem — it looks like good news. If you sit on an HOA or condo board — or you're a homeowner who wants to know where your community really stands — this is the honest, practical breakdown nobody handed you when you got the binder. What you'll learn: • Why flat dues for five years is a red flag, not a sign of discipline • What "percent funded" actually means — and the number that signals real trouble • Why "we came in under budget" can be the most expensive sentence at your meeting • The bonus sign: what it means when a board dips into reserves to pay operating bills • The exact questions to ask at your next board meeting — out loud, on the record • The one action to put on your agenda this week ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 The $11,000 Letter Nobody Saw Coming 1:42 Warning Sign #1: Dues Haven't Moved in 5 Years 3:21 Why Boards Always Cut Reserves First 4:07 Warning Sign #2: Percent Funded Under 50% 5:09 How to Read Your Percent Funded Number 6:01 The Fix — and the Mistake to Avoid 7:28 Warning Sign #3: "We Came In Under Budget" 9:22 The 3 Questions to Ask at Your Next Meeting 10:07 Bonus Sign: Raiding Reserves to Pay the Bills 12:24 Putting It All Together: Your Action Plan 13:27 Your Next Step This Week ABOUT SOLUME Solume is an all-in-one management platform for HOA and condo communities. It keeps your reserve study, your percent funded, and your actual bank balance in one place — updating as you go — so your board can see a special assessment coming while there's still time to prevent it. Learn more at https://solume.com If your community is showing one or more of these signs, you can book a free 15-minute call: https://app.getsolume.com/widget/book... If this helped, like the video and share it with someone on your board. Got a sign I missed or a topic you want covered? Drop it in the comments — I read every one. #HOA #SpecialAssessment #HOABoard #ReserveStudy #SelfManagedHOA #CondoBoard #HOAFinances #PercentFunded #CommunityAssociation