Emergency Special Assessment May Take Down Community-HOA outstanding Dues now must be paid by Homeowners

RobertT - Are the dues justified to cover the Association's budget and to be current with the times? If so, you must weigh your disagreement with the legal necessity and fiduciary responsibility of the Board to assess. Future owners probably won't care if existing owners shelled out money to cover what they should have been covering all along.

RobertT - Not too busy, checked out the website you provided a link to. May I caution you that unless you have the express written approval of the Association to speak for them, you do not speak for the Association. Especially since 50% are renting and not available as you admit. Additionally, posting the internal affairs of your Association's financial circumstances may do more harm than good in advertising the finacial straits to the worldwide web. Be careful, even though you may be correct, be careful. You state their is a hidden agenda to "take this community down". No Robert, think about the logic of that comment. Are the Board members in favor of the increases so rich to be immune from the assessement they are imposing on themselves, in addition to the other members of the Association? Even if they are, do you really think you are going to convince everyone else that they are? If 151 members are required to remove the Pres. than let them do it without you. My advise is take down your website if you have created it. Let other owners step up and band together to evidence change. Step aside to protect yourself from litigation.

I read a little of your website and am confused. Most posters seem to blame the management company for imposing this special assessment. How is that possible? Don't you have a board running the show? Why is the tail wagging the dog? If that is the case, you do need a new board who will fire this management company and begin running the HOA as it should be run.
In addition, I would assume a special assessment of that magnitude would require a vote of approval from the members before being implemented. Am I missing something? What does your documents say about special assessments?
This is a catch 22 situation. How can people barely able to pay their creative financing mortgage, going to be able to pay this special assessment? Is someone benefiting from more foreclosures? Harold

Harold,

Yes it is true our board is being directed by this management company.... one quick look at this You Tube site showing some videos of a meeting in which the Management company called the police (911) will tell you the whole story-

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Highlinemeadow

The management company got in ther around 1998 after a major special assessment and Board change was made. A similar siituation as today but since then our dues have compounded from 6.7% adminstration cost to a whopping 29%.

Our hands as a community are tied when the board of directors is in the pocket of the managaement company and being dictated to force this kind of assessment.

To make change we have put out flyers and installed a petition box to obtain enough signatures to do an independent audit and have an election . The problem is that the president ordered the manintenance people to rip down the box containing petetions and any postings of it.They stole them!

We had to go to the internet because people in this community are afraid of the management company and Board.

Thanks,

RobertT - What a 3-ring circus, with you as one of the ringmasters or at least one of those holding court. You've got to look at the big picture with the effect upon property values of a public display of internal dysfunction. I suspect you will get trampled or caught up in the legal melee if you don't change course. I strongly suggest you take down the website - don't give the masses a venue to anonymously vent, it is enabling. I have learned from experience that as long as the vocal minority speak up, the majority take it for granted. A quorum and percentage of the community to petition and get rid of the Board and MC is within the power of the owners. What do your gov. docs and local, state, or federal law state about the owners voting on questions (capital expense, assessments over a certain threshold, etc.)? If the people can't afford an assessment, let the people speak up, say so, and do something about it.

RogerB - Have you checked out the website Robert gave a link to and the YouTube video? Curious what your second and third thoughts are. Mine are for Robert to move, end of story. Why would anyone put themselves through all the drama?

Roger,

You are right. There are a few that feel the way I do about staying and fixing things around here. I do want to try to get things going in the right direction and I know I have support I just may not have enough.

Our building has done wonders with overlooked basic beautification of the complex. We believe that painting and cleaning up makes our place look better and get others involved. We pay for the materials and do the work unpaid.

I would like to hear what some of the things We can do to move forward with some of your ideas. The board does not know how to answer your questions and I don't have a clue. I will tell you that this management company is running this place and the board want to keep it that way.

The thought of cost cutting would make them shutter.

The thought of them having an election or quotes from other management companies has been dulled out of focus by the Management company. If you saw Video #5 you would have seen the President lose control and have the Drill Sergeant Management company take over the meeting.

We have always just gotten by and been taken advantage of by things that should have been fixed years ago and letting the paint start to chip. We have lost our appeal to the neighborhood and turned into sort of a ghetto until we start to change our ways.

I can mobilize this neighborhood for change only if the people want it. So far their has been little interest until Property values fall, HOA dues increase and you hand someone the new Emergency Assessment bill with more of the same coming in the future.... they freak out.

Who can really afford it?

Our hands are tied as this board will not budge. They have a hidden agenda that only they know about. The proof is that they would allow this community to fall apart and become in such disrepair putting the burden on its association owners.

I and others just want to avoid a scrap off and save the community. Any ideas are welcome.

Thanks for your concern

Joe,
Your support is greatly appreciated in trying to protect me but the entire community needs me now to try to compromise the situation through appropriate actions.

We and the Community together will Conquer this Giant and replace the Board and Management company because we are strong.

We believe in change Joe!

This is Why we are not afraid;

1) The Board of Directors has a Hidden Agenda and Is Not Communicating with the association members.

2) The Emergency Assessment is considered a Extra Ordinary Assessment which is forbidden by the Declaration.

3) The Management Company does not communicate by acknowledging Emails or Voice Messages.

4) The Emergency assessment Was not Communicated at the Previous Meeting

5) The fact that the Management company cannot fix the Delinquency problem reflect on them as bad representative's of this community.

6) The fact that the Management Company keeps increasing their assessment to 50% administration and Maintenance Personnel changes cuts our Material and bill cost to 50% leaving nothing left.

7) The Declaration States that the community must be up kept by Beatification which is not being done every 3-4 years. Some of the garages have not been painted in 15.

8) The last 3 special assessments were aimed toward Roof repairs which never happened.

9) No community activities exist or are prompted by the current board they hide in their shell and never invite the community to meet them, they have a hidden agenda.

10) The Board Members are part of the "Good Old Boys Club" which means they should disband and give this community a chance.

Hold an Election Now! We are preparing by getting contacts and receiving petitions..We will Make This Happen!

Just a simple walk with my team around this complex for around 100 signatures then we get another 52 from the Outsiders.

11) The Emergency assessment is unreasonable in the sense that the community is now responsible for Dead Beats which is not the American Way.

I know this is just the tip of the iceberg when the rising heat may take this community down. I am just a voice who wants help to stop it.

Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated,

Thanks,

We The People of HLM

RobertT -

Who are the "Outsiders"?

How many households are in your HOA?

How many is "We" in your "We the People of HLM".

Your HLM group reads like a cult.

Why are you and your group giving so much power to the Board, trying to appeal to the Board like indentured servants. Line item 9 for example. Since when do you need the Board to have a community activity, or gather. Right to assemble is a Constitutional freedom, you don't need the Board to promote it.

Paul,

Thanks for the feed back.

Please see this web site of the assessment declaration some of team has posted. It clearly states that there should not be any Extra Ordinary assessments;

http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/centennial/hmca/

To see the big picture you have to follow the money. The current board has not tried to cut expenses and the Management company runs the show. Go see the videos as proof of this.

Look At These numbers;

If last year 298 people of this community brought in around 650k and then this year we had an increase of 100K the total is now 750k. This should be enough to cover the Dead Beats.

But Wait..... now the Management company want even more money another 250K now the total comes to 1 Million Dollars

Out of the 1 Million Dollar Budget half of it goes to Administration cost and Maintenance personnel.

We will ask how this has happen at the next board meeting next Tuesday night and are starting to get signed petitions asking for an independent audit of the management company.

The board needs to run the meeting and not the Management company who is forcing the board for more money. The board has had it to easy and keeps having the community pay for their mistakes.

It is time to hold an election and replace the board and get a new management company.

We the community will make this place better by change. Change must be now!

RobertT - I asked you how many is "We" in your "We the People of HLM". What I meant by that question was how many are in your group of belief, how many have signed a petition, how many are willing to fill the spots of the existing Board seats? Change can begin with one, two, or a few. But it takes a village to keep it going. Promote some community activities for every household over the holidays, don't talk shop (much), keep it light, your all supposed to be on the same team.

RobertT - Your post is a complete 180, not something I was advocating. Those who know what needs to be done should always be at the ready to assist. It's just that in community associations the structure to bring about change takes more than one, two, or even a few. It's almost as if the cards are stacked against anyone with vision/ideas different than the Board. Couple that with all the other owners that are apathetic enough to let the collective stupidity a few outweigh the masses. Sorry to hear things didn't work out for you, but you gave it a good old college try and for that you have succeeded!!

"Our property values have already droped 20-30%."

Guess somebody forgot to tell them HOA's are supposed to INCREASE property values!

As more foreclosures take place this is one additional negative to buying in a HOA. Of course the same can be said for Condos where everyone shares in the liability (costs) when others don't pull their weight.

RobertR1 - Who are you calling an old man??? : )

You might want to check your governing documents and confirm that the Association can infact perform a special Assessment under those circumstances. My Association can only do it for repairs or capital improvements and only after a meeting specifically called for the purpose adn only after notifying everyone in writting 15 days before and then only with a majority vote of those at the meeting.

PenyW,
A nice post and an excellent example of what can be done.
Peny said it but I wish she had said it louder.

This action takes TIME, not just to get from nothing to control but BEYOND.
It does also take spending a little of your hard earved cash running around tracking down things in the court house and office supplies.
I would suggest the the new group immediately update their owners addresses and e-mail lists. I feel if the board can use them for communication, every owner should also be able to use them for HOA business. Someone will violate the trust probably, but we are all handling thousands of spam a year and never give it a thought to how they get your name. That fact is not a shield to hide behind by suspect boards.

RobertT,

Is this a Maintenance Assessment which covers annual assessments, or a Special Assessment for Capital Improvements? What is your vote ratio, like is it two-thirds of the HOA members and did they hold a meeting of the community and get a quorum, through attendance or proxies for this Emergency Assessment? Do you have a maximum that the Board can not exceed? What do your Covenents, Conditions, & Regulations state?

What if someone pays a portion of their dues, over a period of time, can they still have liens placed on their property? Why are people that are paying their dues being harassed about people that aren't paying their dues? Are your dues on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis? Is this a condition of people living within their means or over them?

Our BOD Tresurer duties include preparing an annual budget so we know where we stand financally at the annual meeting.

Our biggest problem with all of the above is getting people to attend and get involved in something that is in their best interest to know about, usually they don't care unless it pertains directly to them. And by the way, WOW, your dues are high conpared to ours.

Is this a Maintenance Assessment which covers annual assessments or a Special Assessment for Capital Improvements?

"Barb-This is an Emergency Assessment because the current board will not consider cutting cost and are now having us pay for Dead Beats who don’t pay their bills and new higher insurance premiums due to Aluminum Wiring in the townhomes at around $180,000 dollars per year with premiums at $86,000."

What is your vote ratio, like is it two-thirds of the HOA members and did they hold a meeting of the community and get a quorum, through attendance or proxies for this Emergency Assessment?

Barb,

"You might want to read this over but the community would need 51% or 151 people to overthrow the current board which is almost impossible considering the foreclosures, rental rate at 50% and the 75 person dead beats.

They just imposed the assessment approved by the board and directed by the Management Company. No Proxies No prior communication was done at the previous meeting- "BUCK UP" is what the Vice President said...."

Do you have a maximum that the Board cannot exceed?

Barb,
"The declaration says it should not be Extra ordinary but this is out of control. The management company runs the board and dictates to them on how things should be even though they will tell you otherwise. It is the president who is signing the checks"

What do your Covenants, Conditions, & Regulations state? "I can send them to you but they are from 1973 and they need serious revisions to meet the Current requirements"

What if someone pays a portion of their dues, over a period of time, can they still have liens placed on their property? "Yes unless they set something up with the management company"

Why are people that are paying their dues being harassed about people that aren't paying their dues? "Because we are morons and don’t know any better"

Are your dues on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis? "Monthly I pay $164 for a one bedroom and now pay $284 with this emergency 5 month assessment."

Is this a condition of people living within their means or over them? "Yes...Over them in most cases with the exception of the President, Vice President and board members who have plenty of money. Many people will not pay and go into foreclosure and this is having the opposite affect on the community"

Our BOD Treasurer duties include preparing an annual budget so we know where we stand financially at the annual meeting. "Our board lets the Mananagment Company do the entire budget it appears"

Our biggest problem with all of the above is getting people to attend and get involved in something that is in their best interest to know about, usually they don't care unless it pertains directly to them.

"When the money is coming out of the pockets of some of the poorest people in the community and we pay some of the highest dues of any complex in Colorado I would say someone "must listen" and help us. The community cannot help them themselves so we will continue being taken advantage of till we consider cutting costs and fixing this mess.

And by the way, WOW, your dues are high compared to ours. “Yes we pay for our stupidity"

Barbara,

Baby steps will make us stronger as we somehow bring the community together to make a difference. You have been very helpful and I hope others will contribute to this post making us see the light.

We as community should be interested in truth and justice.

We as a community should stand strong against the Bully and not be afraid to speak up for that is what has made America proud and great as a country. We the people must come together and make change for a better tommorrow.

We know there is something seriously wrong and we need to make change as change will not happen without us!

Thanks,

Highline Fellows

Barbara,

You are getting the big picture now.

We need to see the books, many people want see them but they are unwilling to disclose the valued information.
Our petition box was ripped down ordered by the current president who has ruled for 8 years.

We have had a petition but the community has not signed enough to make the 152 person roster to make change a.....reality

A Task force of Good People will make it better when we start to get the community around us and sign our petition.

We are a Strong community but not convinced..... until its hits our Wallet!!!

Any Moron........ can tell we have legal issues which could be a Gold Mine to the right representative support.

How could this current board let this community fall apart?

We are being controlled by a Un caring source of support that the community has become accustomed to. We do not know what to do or how to defend ourselves from the Bully.

We need Help!

Highline Meadow Fellows

Thanks
High Line Fellows

Glen,
You are going to have to straighten me out on this one.
"Quote"
RobertT if it's as you say and 50% of the community is rental property; those are precisely the people you need to get on your side. Go to the County and find out where the tax bills are sent, information may also be on the Counties web site. Contact them and get their proxy and along with the ones that live there and act.

You might also try to get Colorado to enact a law similar to the one we have in Ohio for Condo communities that require the majority of the homeowners to vote EVERY YEAR on whether or not the BOD is allowed to levy special assessments. This was done a couple of years ago because we had so many first time buyers with no/low down payments moving in and getting hit with massive SA's that they couldn't pay which caused them to loose everything.
********************************************

I suppose you could research county web site for addresses to find names.
Why not go to the association and get names. You are entitled to this information, lots of plaaces have an association phone book. I agree you need to get support but it is best to show support to get support. The group should compose a mission statement and use e-mail or web site or letters to get the word out. They need to make some noise in front of the Board at an official meeting. They first need a paper trail, not some rant or personal agenda but a good solid thought out agenda and present it to the Board and get it included in the minutes.

In Ohio your statement above presents some questions. Our documents require a 2/3rd vote for SA. Any SA anytime. What would be gained by requiring 51% ?
The reason for the sub prime market debacle is not the fault of special assessments. I will grant you that there should be stricter provisions for the Board to access prospective buyers, but that is a hard sell. Even I wouldn't blame the Board for this, besides, they do plenty of stuff that they should be blamed for. If you have a lot of foreclosures the members in effect stand to lose a bunch of money. The board should have a solid plan on how they can soften the blow, such as liens on property done is such a way you get the money owed. You are also going to have to make up this special assessment money that will probably not get paid. In fact if the folks foreclosing find themselve upside down in their mortgage, you are like to lose all that is owned. It is not a pretty picture. You want to blame soneone, try: Real Estate folks, banks, mortgage companies, brokers, Fannie mae and fannie mac, FHA, shaky businesses on the internet, the government for allowing it to happen, local politics and state politics, and the list goes on. The Board is charged with running a corporation, hold them to that. One of the ironies is Places like FHA or others have some mysterious limit that they use that requires them to stop issuing Mortgages at a particular development. I have yet to find a definitive answer as to what that # is from FHA. So they may finance all the loans up to this amount, and then stop because there are too many rental units which has a detrimental effect on the development. In other words a risky loan, all the while the rental ratios go up and puts at risk all the previous FHA backed loans.

RobertT,

I'm printing this out to read at our next BOD meeting. If we think we have problems, whoo-whee, do we have a lot to learn. There's that "If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem." You and your group are definitely on the right track to being part of the solution

GlenL,
No problem with you conclusions, but, most seem to be after the fact.
As are the problems of the original poster. The correction of these problems should have started even before the place was turned over.

It's hard playing catch up, and harder still to crises manage. As always, most of this stuff can be circumvented with actions by the board and the education of the owners. Some of these developer tricks help him with the bottom line and when he leaves, a lot of his stuff hangs on the association like a wet coat and the BOD's all had a share in that being allowed to happen. You can say it is the peoples fault and I was of that opinion for years. I had told the board for 15 years we needed to clean up our act and revise our documents because they were filled with "Declarant". The people at the annual meetings didn't know much about it and the Board openly ignored it. I started to root around in some back files of meetings before I arrived. There in black and white was correspondence to the Board about the same kind of things I was complaining about. I have written about the seawall that we have on two sides of our complex over 15 years. I have taken pictures during storms that clearing showed sea water coming over our sea wall, I complained to the board in person and to individual Board members. They said in effect, "What are you suggesting we do about it?" "Raise the seawall, the water is coming over the top." Then yast year they got some idea from somewhere that they will spend a big chunch of money to try and make the ground on the complex side of the seawall impervious to water coming over and the sea water will in effect run back into the ocean. Not only did that not work it made it worse. Here in the past couple of months we have had some viscous and high tides and I again took pictures and sent them to board members. The other morning I invited a Board member who happened to be here for the Holiddays to walk with me and survey the scene. Conclusion: The water is coming over the sea wall, we will have to do someting about this. I'm not knocking the Board members, I have known this man for years and I like him. I don't want to be proven right, I want them to fix the problem. And here on this site there are some that take any reference to the board as Board Bashing, and our Board feels the same way. Well, it will probably be addressed soon and you don't have to guess what will happen. A special assessment. on top of one currently in effect, another being considered and now this one which will dwarf anything this place has seen. We are smack on the ocean, it is no secret to anyone, the problem seems to be (Apparently), we don't have full time board members. The only other thing I can think of is somehow I have failed the association. And right now, the water is raging up and over our seawall.

Paul,
Yes on all counts.

Especially about buying on the coast. Couldn't agree more and we are of course, going to have to try and keep the sea water from turning the garage into a swimming pool. I wouldn't think of trying to make this someone else's problem, it's ours, that is my point, and the starting line is at the Boards feet.

Peny,
When you take over, the second thing you do is get a telephone directory out. The first thing is to get rid of whoever is keeping the list from you, it's on the tax records, public property. I honestly believe; if a homeowner can justify sending mailing to members at his expense, the Board should provide him with filled out mailing labels. What would this cost, damn little. If it is regime business and elections and the age old custom of protest in a group are regime business, the Board should do everything they can to help. The regime belongs to everyone, not just the Board.