actually, that's not uncommon at all. When buildings went co-op in NYC in the 80s, the sponsor really stiffed some of them w/ a HUGE loan that had a lousy term--balloon mortgages, etc.

Actually, $54K isn't that huge an amount, when you consider that homeowners can owe more than that on a single-family house. The TERMS of the loan are very important. You might not have to raise the dues right away, or very much. How long is the term?

At 30 years, a 5% loan, the total monthly payment is $290. Divide that by the number of units each month--if it's ten, that's $30 per month. Not that bad, actually. And it may be included in the $99 already.

and you're right, this issue needs immediate and careful attention from the board. They'll need to be sure the terms are advantageous, that the income will let them meet it, etc.

I don't know of any reading, unfortunately. You might check w/ your state's condo regulators (they exist somewhere), and see if you can find any other condos. In fact, ask the management company to give you contact info for board members from OTHER condos it manages, and ask them how their board works.

You can do as much or as little as you want; whether you'll be proud of the work you do or feel overwhelmed will vary.

You sound like a good candidate for the board, because you're already focusing on the big issues. The BIGGEST issue is money. The second-biggest is probably noise.

Good luck!