Posted: 12/06/2011 9:56 AM EST By Trusted Choice Staff Writer
If you live in a home in a developed area or subdivision, there’s a reasonable chance that you are a member of a homeowner’s association. The same is true if your pad is a condominium.
Association membership has its benefits. In return, members of the association are sometimes asked to contribute funds to help maintain the integrity/value of the common elements. Those common elements—a garage or clubhouse, for example—are those items of property commonly owned by all members. “Asked” may be too soft a word—such contributions usually are collected through mandatory assessments.
What are some things for which you as an association member can receive an assessment? Good question. The answer is typically found in association bylaws. In some states, laws will have something to say about the extent an assessment can be charged and for what it can be charged. However, such statutes do not exist everywhere.
Here’s another question: If you receive an assessment from your home or condo association, will your home or condo insurance policy help you pay for it?
The answer, well, depends.
Most home and condo insurance policies have very similar language in how they address coverage for loss assessment. There are a few things you will need to know before coverage can be determined.