Homeowners in Castle Rock’s Latigo neighbourhood made their voices heard at a meeting about the new budget proposal from the homeowners’ association board.
We’re expecting to find out on Monday whether the community will go ahead with their latest budget proposal or if they’ll have to go back to the drawing board. At Saturday’s meeting, homeowners asked questions like, “Why did this happen?” “Am I double insured?” And “what would happen if the HOA defaulted on this policy?”
“It was really nice to live there,” said Tomaz Romero.
Romero has lived in Latigo for almost 20 years, but he’s never seen his HOA fees so high.
“We came in at $85 a month,” Romero said.
Earlier this month, residents voted down a budget proposal that would have raised their monthly HOA fees from $300 to $820.
“That takes a little bit off the table,” Romero said.
The reason: a 600% increase in the community’s insurance premium, which her broker attributes to the recent devastating wildfires that have eroded the reinsurance market.
On Saturday, at a tense HOA board meeting, neighbours voted on the latest proposal: a $2,500 special assessment to be paid in early 2024, or over five months, on top of continuing monthly payments of $300.
“Basically for the first five months we’re still paying the $820 of the original budget, but just to kick the can past March,” said Latigo homeowner Sibyl Swope.
Swope voted to veto the plan, while others voted to approve it.
“I voted to approve it because we have no money in the account and it needs to be paid. We should pay our bills,” Romero said.
But with several proxies still to be counted, the result is too close to call.
If the plan is vetoed, payments will remain at $300 a month unless a new budget is agreed. That could mean a default on the new insurance policy.
Homeowners, who are required to self-insure their homes from the walls in, are also questioning whether they’re paying twice for that coverage and whether the bylaws might need to be changed.
“We still have questions about coverage. Are we fully covered? Are we double covered?” Swope asked.
Many left the meeting with more questions than answers.
“We’re going to have future meetings. We need to clean up this mess, it’s a big mess,” said Romero.
The rising cost of insurance behind the “mess” is not just a Latigo problem. After our first story aired, CBS News Colorado heard from communities across Colorado who say they’re facing the same thing.
On Monday, we’ll take a closer look at what one insurance broker calls a “perfect storm” in the industry, and what it means for Colorado homeowners.
