QCOSTARICA – Neighbors don’t necessarily agree with each other all the time, which should not really be a problem. You just stop talking to each other. In a condominium it is lot easier to get along, if you all live by the rules.
At the annual HOA (Home Owner Association) meeting of most condominiums in Costa Rica, many condo owners don’t show up. They’re either out of the country or want to make sure not to be elected on the HOA board.
I’ve represented many clients at the annual HOA meetings over the years, those few who do care about the well-being of their community. At many of those meetings, the always returning question is “How can we save money, should we self-manage our condominium or hire an administrator?”
HOA fees
Usually, the biggest and most heated point of discussion is the condo fee. The cost of living has gone up, many home owners have to pay their mortgage and many of the amenities that looked so great when they bought, are not being used but need to be maintained at a high cost.
The cost of administration
The monthly HOA fees vary dramatically depending on the size of the condominium, or better said, the amount of home owners in the HOA. It is much easier to pay a condo administrator’s salary (or a company) if you have 200 home owners in a condominium than when you have only 20.
HOA fee reduction
How can the HOA fees be reduced drastically? By getting rid of the administrator and having one of the owners, usually a member of the board, take over the administrative functions of the HOA. A lot of money can be saved by having self-management in the condominium in Costa Rica. But is that recommendable?
Payment of voluntary administrator
If the HOA is really small, it might not be a whole lot of work and one of the home owners might voluntarily manage the condominium without any compensation, which is where serious savings to lower the HOA fees could come from.
The bylaws
Some condominiums have bylaws or CC&R’s (Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions) regarding a certain remuneration of a home owner functioning like administrator, others have not. If 100% of the votes at a home owner meeting agree to include remuneration for a voluntary administrator, the change can be made in the bylaws.
What is recommendable?
In every association or group of people with the same interest, there are always a few who never agree with everybody else, or even nasty ones.
Like I said in the beginning of this article, neighbors don’t necessarily agree with each other all the time, which should not really be a problem. You just stop talking to each other.
A hired hand, who is an outsider, is much more functional as a buffer in discussions between home owners than someone who lives in the same community.
A cheaper solution
Unless you can share an administrator with a nearby condominium, hiring your own administrator is expensive. Some condominium administration companies do offer the option to assign an administrator part-time, depending on the amount of units in the condominium in Costa Rica. Do your homework, call around, talk to your colleagues at work or look online at “administracion de condominios costa rica”.
For any legal consultations, contact an attorney in Costa Rica, preferably one who specializes in Condominium law.
