Recipe A for T


ake an imaginary walk with me please. Let’s venture in to the community association version of a kitchen and review a couple of “recipes.” Imagine a community association recipe where we have a “cup” of unit owner assessments that increase annually in proportion to the financial and common element repair needs. There is a dash of bills getting paid on time and a teaspoon of a budget that is always balanced and passed on a timely basis each year. We mix into our bowl of tasty ingredients a pint of board members who communicate regularly with the unit owners and a heaping tablespoon of unit owners who participate in the process of living in a community association by attending board meetings and


8 | COMMON INTEREST®


providing input. The final and most important ingredient is a sprinkling of a lack of any dog poop ever being on the grass. Ok, that never happens but it’s a nice thought! This recipe sounds like the equivalent of the most amazing chocolate chip cookies I remember my mom making when I was a kid. I could smell them as I rode my bike up the driveway and couldn’t wait to eat them…after I washed my hands, of course.


Now imagine a second recipe where the assessments might or might not increase annually but if they are raised, it’s not by much and certainly not every year. In this recipe, the common elements are in disrepair. There’s also a dash of no reserve funds to make the repairs and a full cup of board


• Winter 2021 • A Publication of CAI-Illinois Chapter


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