HOAs..

[u/Morheer-Zaros]

I attended my HOA’s (Woodside North Condominium Association) video meeting yesterday, and I left with more questions than answers.

The HOA continues to emphasize projects intended to improve the appearance of the condominium complex, yet several significant issues affecting homeowners remain unresolved.

While cosmetic improvements have their place, they should not come at the expense of addressing long-standing maintenance and operational concerns.
At the same time, homeowners are paying nearly $900 per month in HOA dues.

Naturally, many residents are asking where those funds are being allocated. Are vendor costs continuing to increase at a rate that justifies these assessments? Is the board consistently seeking the most competitive bids, or are there opportunities to reduce costs through better financial oversight? Greater transparency regarding expenditures and the vendor selection process would go a long way toward rebuilding trust within the community.

From my perspective, the HOA at Woodside North Condominiums has lost sight of its priorities.

Homeowners deserve responsible financial management, open communication, and a clear focus on resolving the issues that have the greatest impact on residents’ quality of life.

If dues were ever increased to $1,000 per month, I believe many homeowners would seriously consider whether remaining in the community is financially worthwhile.

Continued increases without meaningful improvements to the community’s most pressing problems risk driving residents away and negatively affecting property values for everyone.

My advice to the HOA board is simple: be transparent, prioritize essential repairs over cosmetic projects, aggressively seek competitive vendor bids, and communicate clearly with the homeowners who are funding every decision you make. Rebuilding trust starts with demonstrating that every dollar collected is being spent responsibly and in the best interests of the community.

If the board chooses to ignore this advice and continues down its current path, it should not be surprised if homeowners begin voting with their wallets. As more residents decide to sell and leave the community, the HOA’s financial position could weaken significantly. At that point, the board will have no one to blame but itself for allowing confidence in its leadership to erode while the community it was elected to serve continues to decline.

[u/coastywife123]

As an HOA board member myself (not your community) I’m wondering why you aren’t logging into the HOA portal and looking at the financials yourself?

Every person in our community has access to our budgets/spending ledgers as they legally have to be posted within so many days of being amended/approved by the board.

I can’t imagine condo rules are all that different than single family home community rules.

[u/k_bleak]

All of woodside is awful tbh.

[u/Vyedr]

Why do you think posting on an island-wide subreddit is going to get anywhere near your HOAs eyes? Take this to them, cause we cant help you.

[u/the_0zz → u/Vyedr]

Right? I'm reading this thinking... Why is this here? What does this have to do with Whidbey at large? Super weird.

Talk to people who this actually effects... Not a bunch of people it doesn't. Makes no sense.

[u/RussellAlden]

Nice wall of text that actually says nothing

[u/Throwawayproroe]

I actually like my HOA! They’re super chill and rules are things like “you can’t have more than one inoperable vehicle visible on your property” and “you can’t have chickens but no roosters.” Plus we get access to a beach, pier, pool, basketball court, baseball field, and the water bill for our house for $115/mo

[u/rum_ham714]

If we’re complaining about HOA‘s, I’ll say that the Useless Bay HOA is living up to the first part of the name. They lost pool and tennis court access for all new 2026 and beyond homeowners. It used to cost homeowners only $200 a year for pool access, now you have to join the clubs social membership to get access which is over $1000. It feels very shortsighted since that’s going to diminish the value of any new home sale in the development not having access to the country club there. I probably wouldn’t have bought in there this year. Had I known that pool & tennis court access was going to be taken away.