Tennessee condo laws

Started by LaurieA • 4 replies • 2305 views

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LaurieA (Tennessee)
Posts: 13

Posted:

I recently moved from Fl (where every breath is regulated by state condo laws) to Tn where there seems to be nothing to rein in our board who are not following the few by-laws we have. We are just starting after being 'dumped' by the developer, our board is giving no feedback for the seemingly bad decisions they are making that we find out thru word of mouth. They raised our monthly fee from $75 to &125 immediately, citing the start of reserve funds as the reason for such a high increase. 8 months later and no reserve funds have been started. Is there any Tn law to hold these people accountable for their horrible start?
Helpless in Tn

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

Do you think professionals run your HOA? They don't. They are owners just like you doing the best that they can with what they got. If you don't like what's going on then get involved. The number one issue with HOA's is owner apathy. So don't be apathetic or think someone else will take care of the issues. That's not going to happen.

I don't mean to sound so harsh. It's just you are on the outside looking in on this situation. Are you going to meetings? Do you know who the members of the BOD are? Do you know what background they have? Remember the people on your BOD are unpaid volunteers. They could be Stay-at-home moms to retired military men. None of which makes them experts in the field of running a community without input from that community.

The transition period from developer to homeowner run board is a difficult time for a HOA. There are soo many struggles and angles going on that it is extremely difficult even for us "experienced HOA members" to grasp or contend with. I believe your board is doing the best it can with what it knows. It does take atleast a good year for any board to figure things out. Another year to straighten out everything they screwed up the year before and the final few years to get things done. Your still in your first year! Give a little help to these people and understand it's not going to be all resolved and managed well for the time being.

I suggest if you know how to do a better job, then suggest it or do it. A HOA is for the owners anyways of which your one.

Former HOA President

LaurieA (Tennessee)
Posts: 13

Posted:

There are several of us who would love to get involved but are brushed off and ignored when we ask questions or volunteer to do anything. I sent an email to our board asking for answers & got a rambling 10 paragraph response from the mgmt co, NOT the board, raising more questions than answers. The board does not share anything, asks for no input, then made sarcastic remarks to other members about my email. Fortunately the other members had read my email and were very surprised by the board's reaction. Really, it's not the board, it is one woman (VP) on the board who makes all the decisions & the rest do nothing. The board sent around a letter with no explanation other than to vote by signing the letter & mailing it back to them to keep them in til Jan/09. With such intimidation, the vote passed by 6 votes. All service providers, mgmt co, members who voted them in go to the same church the VP goes to and she rules the church too. Also, the current board was never voted in, they appointed themselves just before the builder bailed out.
Does anyone know any Tn law that pertains to this?

LaurieA (Tennessee)
Posts: 13

Posted:

Further, they meet in private and never tell anyone when they are going to meet.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Laurie you can find a link to Tennessee's law at http://communitiesonline.org/laws/
Another great site to find information is http://www.communityassociations.net/

I am assuming you received a copy of your CC&R's when you bought. Read them and get to know them inside out, it may take you and your neighbors voting the current BOD out and replacing them yourselves. It's a thankless job with no pay as Melissa alluded to but worth it to protect your investment.

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