PUD (Planned Unit Development)

HI...I'm hoping someone here can help me figure out how to resolve several issues with a present board member of our HOA. This person has been on the board for a few years or so now and has committed several violations him/herself and for some reason skates right through it freely.

Is there anyone that I can contact to investigate (funds, gossip, etc)?

This person approves things that are in violation of our HOA's Declaration of Covenents for one person and then thinks its okay to not approve them with another. Doesn't this negate the Covenents and make them null and void?

I was told by a prior president that they made the covenents very vague so they could do this at there discretion in which is basically discrimination when you stop and think about it.

When I was on the board this person started harrassing me because I wasn't interested in him/her (I'm not interested in members of my own persuasion), and this person used funds belong to the sub-division to contact an attorney to get help to try to get me off the board in which didn't work once this person told the entire board that: "I was sending mixed signals"...I pointed out that if I had been sending mixed signals I wouldn't have mentioned repeatedly that I would love to find the right *** (opposite of me) and get married again. Everytime I would leave my house to go anywhere I would get a call from this person and I no matter how many times I went out of my way to stop this behavior it didn't work.

Now...after the special board meeting this person called failed to get me off the board this person went out of his/her way to remove me from my duties by going behind my back and doing things that he/she shouldn't have...my responsilities not his/hers.

I'm not going to input anymore here as I think you can get the jist of it...this person also went after another board member prior to me but that board member quit. I didn't get back on the board this time...my choice and this person should have stepped down and for some reason is still holding the same position.

Just to mention another problem here...out by-laws were never registered with the county like they are required to do and this person uses them to his/her benefit as he/she chooses. According to the by-laws nobody can serve as president more than 2 years. This person has been in this position now since 2009 and not because this person was voted into that position either.

Thank you,
Disgruntled HOA member

First off I want to thank you for responding and giving your input on the matters in wrote about...thank you.

The by-laws in place for this sub-division (homes not condo's) states that no person can serve as president more than 2 years...period. So if there is nothing in the state of Michigan that says the by-laws have to be registered than this person is in violation...correct?

As far as the harrassment goes...I have contacted the police and...this person has discriminated against several individuals in this subdivision because this person just plain didn't like them (personal issues)...I could never figure out why! Someone that gossips as such should not be in a position on the board...especially not as president.

This person also likes to stir up trouble between neighbors and will call one and then the other telling each things that may or may not have been said. I know this for fact. I have almost 2 years worth of emails to and from this person that I kept because I had a bad feeling about this person...to much of individual saying one thing one minute and doing a complete turn around the next.

There are people in this subdivision that put up fences and do other things that are not allowed according to the declaration of covenants and this person picks and chooses which one(s) they want to go after only based on whether he/she likes them or not or if they have ever been late pay their annual dues. Some of these people, this person doesn't even know...judgement is based on what others have said.

As far as the funds go...although I know that I and anyone else in this subdivision have the right to investigate I tried to get info and...this individual did everything possible to block anyone from any of that info...I was the treasurer and had very limited access to do my board appointed job. It was total he** trying! This told me that things are not right with the HOA in this subdivision.

As far as the board voting this person as president again...I'm sure this person did a lot of fast talking to get put in that position again and get the free dues that this person helped get setup. This person knows that he/she cannot serve more than 2 years and brought it up regularily to me because this person didn't understand why he/she couldn't just stay in that position indefinitely. I am getting all my ducks in a row for the annual meeting at the twp hall and I will bring all these issues up at that point. There is usually a bigger turnout of people at this one and maybe if I can pull together enough info I can make a difference.

At the end of my year in office we had over $13,000 left over from the $15,000 collected in 2011 for annual dues. The dues should be reduced in which would deff help some of these home owners out...especially the ones with children still at homes and those of us on fixed incomes. There was something like 5k left from 2010 so that may help explain why there was so much left.

Again...I thank you for your comments and help on this.

Thank you Tim,

I have to tell you...the meeting back in Sept. I had all I could do to keep biting my tongue...I had a lot of paperwork with me and made sure it was seen and this person was treading very carefully.

I've been working on the reserve study based on the info I do have on hand. I made copies of everything I could get my hands on and kept it in a file here. We do have common areas but it won't take much to divide most of them up between homeowners. A lot of the funds have been blown and I mean that literally.

This person has tried to put liens on new home owners for money's that prior home owner's owed in which is "slander of title" and can and will eventually get the HOA sued. I stopped this from happening last summer and that is when things really started getting hairy. There was a lien put on a home in here that should never have been put on and this person is in fear that the truth on that one will come out to. That may very well have a lot to do with why a lot of the documents that I should have been handed when I took the treasury position were kept from me.

We have no playgrounds only bare land for common areas and several cul-de-sacs that have mulch in them in which was just replaced back in June of 2012. Not a lot of up keep for $15000 a year being collected. We also have insurance...naturally...that is something necessary.

I read in the MI statutes that there cannot be any compensation for being on the board of directors so when this person decided to get this in they violated a MI law I would say. I'm wondering and I will call the IRS tomorrow to find out if this needs to be included as income on our 1040's. It is payment no matter how anyone wants to spin it for a job position on the board of directors.

I showed a house in a sub-division that had a lake and it was much nicer than this one and their dues were only $25.00 a year.

I think that most of this HOA can be eliminated and just a mini board kept just for the front entrance and the cul-de-sacs and I'm willing to bet that everyone in this sub-division will be on board with me and a few others that are really disgusted with the way the HOA has been run.

I had one home owner tell me that they didn't understand why this person kept taking out plants and putting new ones in the same area every year. All I can figure out is that this person doesn't care about any of the home owners and thinks its okay to blow money that isn't his/hers to blow.

I also want to mention that I did talk to an instructor at one of my con ed classes who is a builer and has been involved with HOA's for years and he said that if the board okay's one person to put up a 5 ft cyclone fence than they can't stop anyone else from doing likewise. This is why I posted the info in the first post. He was telling us that all the homes built in a particular sub-division couldn't be less than 1500 sq ft and that someone had started building a 1200 sq ft home and was made to change the plans to make it a 1500...he said if they had allowed him to finish building this home that anyone could have come in an bought a house after that point and built any size and they could have done nothing about it. Like I said he's been in the business for years as was his father.

I have searched through the State of MI web site and I can't find anything at all about the by-laws. I have been reading over the ones for here as well as the covenants in which are a joke all in themselves. Whoever saw fit to print these didn't have a clue as to what they were doing. None of it makes any sense at all and the vast majority of it doesn't even apply to this sub-division. lol

According to the by-laws...we were suppose to have had our annual meeting the third week in January and nothing has been done.

I'm sorry...I could keep going on and on there is sooooo much that has been done that shouldn't have and not done that should have...isn't that they way it goes most of the time. lol

Your a sweetheart for helping me and if I can ever help you out with a problem of knowledge please let me know. :-)

Have a great evening or day (eastern time here),
Sherry

Tim,

Actually the dues here are $150.00 a year...in order to issue a 1099 MISC it has to be $600 or more for that tax year. Like I told you...I was kept from doing my duties as a treasurer by the President. He/she complains about having to do it all but when anyone tries to do what they are suppose to do he/she steps in the way and blocks the person and causes a lot of conflict.

You also just answered another question...there is no board of directors...just the board of five (president, vp, secretary, treasurer an extra board member)officers. So that should change the way people are voted into position...shouldn't it?

You are so much help to me right now. I wondered about all of this and no one could/would ever answer my questions.

The attorney asked us for the Master Deed in which what we have is a Declaration of Protective Covenants in which is registered with the county register of deeds only since Feb. 2009.

Nothing about this HOA is correct or right...however you want to look at it.

We have the blind leading the blind here and when someone that has a bit of a clue as to how things should be done they get messed over.

This is why I have been trying to find someway of getting an investigation done here. If the state governments want these HOA's they should be putting something in writing to protect home owners from these boards.

Yeah...I've been reading over the bylaws and the covenants here and the last page of the one set says:

" ARTICLE VIII COMPLIANCE "

" Section 1. These bylaws are set forth to comply with the requirements of Act No. 162 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1982, as amended, Act No. 59 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1978, and the duly recorded Master Deed of the Condominium and Exhibits A and B attached thereto. In case any of these Bylaws conflict with the provisions of said statute or with the provisions of said Master Deed or the Exhibits thereto, the provisions of the statute and said Master Deed shall be controlling."

I noticed in reading through one of the two sets of bylaws that it is required that all members of the association (home owners) have a copy of the bylaws and they have neglected to do this as well.

This Board is a joke and no matter how hard I try to get things taken care of I am only one person...not that I'm not going to pursue this but it is going to be a very difficult task because I don't have the funds to hire an attorney and I feel it would be the most effective way to get this taken care of.

People are either not interested or too busy with work and children...the ones that do care are far and few...not to say I am not trying.

Sherry - what happens at the annual meeting?

Are directors elected - and then they elect their own officers?

Did Members receive a P./ L and Balance Sheet as of the end of the year information.

Is yur HOA responsible for the roads? One michigan winter can wipe out that $15,000 just in snow removal.

I don't think an annual meeting is the place to bring up all your concerns. They seem to be too personal for that format. Except for the unequal application of CCRs, everything seems to be personal.

Is there NO one else who is as concerned at you are? Find ONE board member who is at your same concern level.

Sherry,

You can change things but it won't happen overnight or at one meeting. When I was gathering support to correct problems I saw within my association it took three years. Even though it took a long time, the support was gathered and things changed for the better.

Tim