What is HOA special assessment?
Definition
An HOA special assessment is a one-time charge levied on unit owners to pay for costs the association's regular reserves and dues don't cover — a new roof, structural repairs, or funding mandated reserves. It's separate from monthly HOA fees and can be substantial.
Example
Worked example
A condo board approves a $1.2M roof project across 60 units with insufficient reserves → roughly $20,000 per unit, billed as a special assessment. (Example figures.)
How ReSharpe calculates this
ReSharpe's AI reads the condo budget, reserves, board minutes and milestone/SIRS reports and flags special-assessment risk before you offer — the difference between a clean-looking deal and a surprise five- figure bill. See AI condo document review.
Related: SIRS · Milestone inspection
Frequently asked questions
- How big can a special assessment be?
- Anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands per unit, depending on the project — roof replacement, structural repairs, or funding reserves after a study. In Florida, post-Surfside structural work has driven some very large assessments.
- How do I know if an assessment is coming?
- Look in the HOA budget, reserve study, board meeting minutes and the milestone/SIRS reports. A building with underfunded reserves or pending structural work is a special-assessment risk — which is exactly what ReSharpe's document review flags.
See these numbers computed on a real South Florida listing.
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