Connected Management Blog

When a condo association needs a large amount of cash in a short period of time, a loan may be the only option. This is especially true if the owners cannot afford a large special assessment. Association loans often become necessary as an emergency measure due to deferred maintenance and a lack of proper budgeting. These types of loans use the association's existing and future assessment income as collateral to secure the debt. This means that if the association fails to repay the loan, the bank will go after the association's assessments. Prior to this change to the Illinois Condominium Property...

The Illinois Condominium Property Act, which is the master set of laws that control condo associations in Illinois, is updated on a regular basis. Any changes to the Act automatically override and supercede rules that may be contained in your association's governing documents. (Declaration / Bylaws) Effective June 1, 2016, one such change to the Act is related to the requirements for when notices must be sent to unit owners when a Board adopts the annual budget. As a Board it is important that you are aware of this change, and follow the new rule, so that any budget that you...

Illinois Supreme Court rules in favor of Associations - No excuses to avoid paying assessments The struggling economy and the spike in mortgage foreclosures over the past five years have made collecting funds from unit owners a hot topic with our board members. The process for “treating” a delinquent unit owner has historically been straight forward. Step number one is to issue a demand letter that provides the owner with a period of 30 days in order to pay the entire past due balance. If the debt is not paid within the 30 days the association can proceed with step number...

Special Assessments - An overview for Chicago board members The primary source of income for a condominium association is through the normal monthly assessments paid by the unit owners. These assessments are determined and set one time per year through the adoption of an annual budget. Once the budget has been adopted by the Board, the assessment amounts for each unit are fixed for the year and are not changed. What happens if there are unplanned repairs or other situations where additional funds are needed to support the association? The primary tool at the Board's disposal is a special assessment. A...

Condominium Association Annual budgets Your annual budget calculates the total amount of assessment payments required to support the association’s expenses and savings. Since adopting a new budget typically means an increase to the monthly assessment requirements of your owners, the change can often be met with resistance. It is therefore important to make sure that your board follows all requirements of your association bylaws and the Illinois Condo Act. Some bylaws place a restriction on the total increase to assessments that can be called for by a budget without requiring a majority approval of the unit owners. These restrictions, however, have...