The unusually heavy snowstorms of last winter may be melting into memory, but the cold reality of what it cost to clear all that snow is hitting some homeowners in the pocket.

Homeowners associations in states where the storms hit hardest, including Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware, as well as in Washington, D.C, are charging owners extra fees for the snow removal and putting projects on hold as they scramble to cover the extra expenses.

"In many cases, the snow removal was five to 10 times what people budgeted," says Mel Herzberger, president of American Community Management, which manages 170 communities in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Kyndall Francis, CEO of Legacy Investment and Management, estimates about half of his 54 community association clients in the Washington area needed to charge residents a one-time assessment.

Most charge $75 to $150 and $200 is the highest amount, Francis says.

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