Condo Juice Condo Association Advice for Small Condo Associations

Avoiding Tax Nightmares in a Small Condo Association

With tax season upon us, everyone is concerned about getting their taxes filed properly and in a timely manner. When it comes to small condo associations, the way in which taxes are filed can have particularly serious consequences. Education and planning are crucial to avoiding potential tax nightmares in any small condo association.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that filing status is never affected by the size of the association. This means that even the smallest associations are required to file taxes every single year. This stipulation also includes years in which the condo association has not reaped any profits and owes nothing to the IRS. Despite the fact that most small associations do not earn any profits, in the eyes of the IRS they are still viewed as corporations. If the condo association does not file in a particular tax year and subsequently gets audited, the IRS can require it to pay taxes on all dues that have been collected. This is an extremely undesirable situation since the association could be held responsible for paying thousands of dollars in taxes that it does not have. This could have tragic consequences, the most glaring one being that the association could be bankrupted.

Condo Association Tax Filing

The federal tax laws do provide several filing options for condo associations, but the most common one chosen and the simplest one to file is the “Exempt Method” of Form 1120-H. This form is merely one page long and was designed specifically for homeowners associations. It allows an association to take advantage of certain tax benefits; however, in order for an association to utilize the form there are several requirements it has to meet:

1. Form 1120-H must be filed by the 15th day of the 3rd month after the end of its tax year. Usually this means March 15th.

2. No less than 60% of the condo association’s gross income for the tax year can consist of exempt function income.

Exempt function income refers to membership dues, assessments, or fees received from the condominium owners to pay for maintenance of the association’s property. It also includes real estate taxes, principal, and interest on the property. Incidentally, income classified as non-exempt can include rental income, interest, dividends, capital gains, special use charges like laundry and vending machines, or any revenue received from the non-member use of an association’s property.

3. A minimum of 85% of the units within the association must be used for residential purposes.

4. 90% of the association’s expenses for the tax year must consist of monies designated to acquire, build, manage, maintain, or otherwise care for the property.

5. No private shareholders or individuals can profit from the association’s net earnings unless they acquire, build, manage, or care for the association’s property or through a rebate of excess membership dues, assessments, or fees.

For condo associations, the flat tax rate is 30% with a $100 deductible. Because of this $100 deductible most condo associations never owe any taxes as their interest income is hardly ever greater than this deductible. If you file you likely pay nothing, but if you forget to file, the IRS could bankrupt you! Simply file your 1120-H yearly and stay safe from condo association tax disasters!

2 Must Ask Questions To Avoid Condo Management Disasters

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Buying real estate is one of the most important purchases you'll ever make in your lifetime. It's tempting to look at a condo purchase as something less than that just because it's not a single family home. Nothing could be further from the truth.

A condo investment is a serious purchase and poses unique challenges to those in the market. There's a whole host of things to consider before buying a condo that don't enter into the equation when buying single family homes.

Some of the principles that guide finding a good apartment to rent enter into the picture when looking for a good condo. The neighborhood, for instance, is a much more important factor since the neighbors live so much closer. A major dimension of condo ownership, even with a relatively small number of units, is the condo association and its management.

Here we'll discuss two important questions you need to be asking before you commit yourself to condo ownership or while evaluating your current situation.

First, how is the condo association structured?
How are meetings conducted? How often does the board meet? Who's elected to the various offices on the board and how are they elected? All these issues impact how well the board functions. All associations, no matter how small, need to function as formally as any corporation.

Go through the covenants and by-laws (CC&Rs) of the association thoroughly. Don't assume that all these documents are necessarily in accordance with state laws. If you find that something in these documents isn't to your liking it might be worth moving on or paying a real estate attorney for an hour of their time to look it over, making sure everything squares with state law. In any event, always be sure to consult with an attorney before taking any serious action in conflict with the association.

Does the association have contingency plans in which professionals are consulted? Engineers, attorneys, electricians, and others can be invaluable to associations making good decisions. An association that tries to go cheap and do everything themselves may not be well equipped to handle all the challenges that can and do come up.

If the board is lax in any of these areas it may be a serious red flag.

Second, who is actually minding the store day-to-day?
The management are almost as important as the association itself as they are the authority you, the owner, will be interacting with on a regular basis. What's expected of them? What action steps will the board take if the management staff don't meet their obligations? If you're in a small association you may even be responsible for some of the management tasks.

The management will generally be responsible for a number of tasks including the general maintenance of common areas, dues collection, and bill payment. Make sure you know what recourse you have if there is ever a conflict with management?

Also, make sure to check the dues collection procedures? These should be firm but professional, minimizing conflict between neighbors and ensuring everyone is treated fairly.

Whether you're looking to buy a condo or if you already own, it's wise to evaluate the situation on all of these criteria. Either way, putting your head in the sand is a losing strategy.

When you commit to owning a condo you promise your neighbors and yourself that you'll do your part to help the whole neighborhood function as well as possible. This helps ensure that life in your new condo will be well worth living and that property values will continue to rise for everyone involved. Remember that you're all on the same side. Approaching this with a critical eye, but with a spirit of cooperation will help ensure the best results.

Homeowner Association Management – Self-Management vs. Professional Management

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There are many topics up for discussion at condo board meetings but the most important should be the question of how to successfully manage your building. From the distribution of assets to the following legal procedures, how a condo is managed can determine its success or failure. While many small condos prefer to be self managed, it is almost a necessity for medium to large-sized condos to hire an outside professional management company to handle the volume of work that needs to be done.

For small condos (15 units or less), the biggest benefit of being self managed is the money that owners will save. Hiring a professional management company to manage a small condo usually costs between $40-$60 per unit each month. It may be a worthwhile solution in a larger condo where the size of the facility and the number of units allow management companies to charge less on a per-unit basis. However, if possible, a condo association will benefit financially and socially by being self managed.

When condos are self-managed, things tend to get done better because owners have a personal stake in the property's management. If plumbing in the laundry room needs to be repaired, owners will see to it that it is done quickly. If the roof needs to be repaired, owners will make sure that a reputable contractor is hired and that the materials used are top of the line. Self managing a condo also increases the sense of community for its owners. If procedures are outlined from the onset and duties are delegated fairly, owners can work together effectively without strife. A sense of accomplishment will be shared when the tasks are accomplished through a teamwork approach.

Self-management should only be attempted if there are enough owners with the necessary knowledge to handle everything from financial management to facility maintenance. Running a condo can be time consuming and if there is no oversight or management among the owners, the expenses of correcting errors may exceed the costs of hiring an outside management company. Owners need to have knowledge or experience with the legalities of running a condo and operate in a professional manner to avoid infighting among residents.

Medium to large sized condos almost always require assistance from an outside professional condo management company. The amount of work would make it easy for an informal team of owners to make errors. Management companies are in charge of collecting condo fees and assuring that all owners are current and in good standing. They also mediate disputes between owners, handle disciplinary actions if owners do not follow the condo’s bylaws and handle all the mundane duties that can be daunting in a large building. They come in with experience and knowledge about how to run a condo assuring that rules and regulations will be followed.

Professional condo management companies do not come cheap. However, in larger buildings other costs can be reduced with discounts given to buildings with multiple units making the added cost of hiring a management company less of a burden. While most management companies adhere to quality standards, the fact is that they will not be as particular when making decisions as the owners themselves would be. They may not choose the most cost effective way of getting things done. While the owners of self managed buildings may shop around for the best price before undertaking a renovation project, management companies may not be as selective in the interest of saving time.

Outside management companies may not be as receptive to problems in the building. They may ignore issues that owner would otherwise catch. Residents should not assume that walls will be painted and plants will be tended to as diligently as they should be. Work orders may not be dealt with as quickly as owners would like. As a result, residents in larger condos just need to take it upon themselves to keep the lines of communication open with the board members and the management company to increase satisfaction and success.