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LindaleM
(Pennsylvania)

Posts:1

05/25/2006 1:32 PM
I am the VP of our HOA. All but one of the previous board members resigned in Dec. So as a newly elected member to the board we were left with cleaning up the mess left behind. There were practically no enforcements of our By-Laws and allot of homeowners ran wild. Fences, doors, sheds, high grass and weeds, boats and trailers. We started sending out notices and caught allot of heat for not being more personal. Then when we attempted to be more personal and talk to a homeowner we get threatened and even assaulted. Seems like a no win situation. The homeowner has a boat and I went there to talk to him. The conversation started fine but quickly turned when he said he was not going to do anything until he received an official notice. I had it with me and he refused to accept it and I was physically shoved off of his driveway and even once while on the sidewalk. I held my tongue and anger and attempted to explain to him the situation but I had no results. First isn't the letter I tried to serve to him a legal notice? Second we are considering revoking his voting rights and banning him from meetings for 1 year. Just wondering if anyone else has had this type of difficulty with a homeowner?

RogerB
(Colorado)

Posts:3701

05/25/2006 4:51 PM
Lindale, it is normal for a homeowner to get upset when told they are in violation. And it is even more difficult when a previous Board did not enforce the CC&Rs. Your example illustrates one reason to use a good Managing Agent. For some ideas you can search for my post on Rules and Regulations on Enforcement of Covenants and Rules. Limiting voting rights and attending meetings is not near as effective as fines and further actions when allowed by your Declaration. Mail him an official notice with the required elements.

Roger Borcherding Official HOATalk.com Sponsor DARCO Property Management (Colorado) (303) 925-0150 *See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal

cksiiEditor
(Colorado)

Posts:12

05/26/2006 6:12 AM
LindaleM My community went through the identical scenario, which you have described. Here's what we did. The HOA board established guidelines for covenant enforcement, which begins with a series of violation letters, all the way through the litigation process, should that be necessary. There is NO personal contact. Everything is done in writing. This has the following advantages. First, you are both consistent and reasonable in your enforcement. Second, you have eliminated the he said she said situation because everything is documented. This goes a long way should you ever end up in court. Next, we hired a management company to assist with our covenant enforcement issues, who follows the guidelines previously established by the HOA board. This eliminates the neighbor on neighbor situation, which, needless to say, can get ugly. It also carries more weight, when the letters come from a management company. Should those letters be ignored, the next step is to get our legal counsel involved. By the way, if you don't have a relationship with some legal firm, get one. It will save you time and money in the long run. Should the attorneys letters be ignored, next step is litigation. Rarely is this necessary. We have found that the vast majority of people comply when they receive violation letters from our management company and they know what is expected of them. I hope this is helpful and good luck.

DeAnnW
(Virginia)

Posts:18

05/26/2006 8:47 AM
I am in a similar situation. Violations in our community have been overlooked for quite some time. Is there any statue of limitations to notify a property owner that they are in violation and make them fix it? Thanks, DeAnn

RogerB
(Colorado)

Posts:3701

05/26/2006 12:23 PM
Each state and each HOA's Declaration can be different. In Colorado, I think the statue of limitations is 1 year after becoming aware of the violation.

Roger Borcherding Official HOATalk.com Sponsor DARCO Property Management (Colorado) (303) 925-0150 *See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal

HaroldS
(Arizona)

Posts:904

05/26/2006 8:00 PM
Roger - where in the state statutes would I look for statute of limitations? I know Arizona's Planned Communities' revised statutes pretty well, but have never seen statute of limitations addressed in that section. Thanks. Harold

MikeJ
(Florida)

Posts:9

05/27/2006 6:50 AM
Lindale, The Board is there to serve the best interests of the Association. You are not going to be able to please all the owners, especially when it comes to violations. Too many Boards try be "owner-friendly" and go meet with an owner to resolve a situation and it winds up like what happened to you. Be firm as a Board. It's nice to be friends with all your owners/neighbors. But it's not possible. I would suggest adopting a resolution for the enforcement of deed restrictions so that each violation is handled in a uniform manner. Look at what your state statutes and Association documents have to say about how to handle violations. An example from the Florida HOA I am in. Our resolution is a first violation letter (friendly letter) that gives the owner 10 days to resolve the violation. A second letter (a follow-up friendly letter reminding them that a letter was already sent)that gives the owner 7 days to resolve the violation. A third letter (we sent two letters, violation not resolved) informing the owner of a meeting where fines will be discussed and an opportunity for the owner to have a hearing. If the owner is a no show or the committee votes to fine, a certified letter sent informing the owner of the fines. I would never go to an owners' house and ask them to please comply with the deed restrictions. They live in a deed restricted community, bottom line. They also have ample notice (three letters) to contact the Board. Unfortunately, enforcing the deed restrictions is a necessary evil. I suggest a friendly tone in violation letters and a resolution for enforcing violations. It is very difficult when violations have not been enforced. But once you start doing it, most people will comply (and they may complain at first).

RogerB
(Colorado)

Posts:3701

05/27/2006 7:46 AM
Harold, I think the 1 year limit to enforce a violation after becoming aware of it may be based on a Colorado appellate court ruling. If someone from HindmanSanchez is monitoring this board perhaps they can clarify.

Roger Borcherding Official HOATalk.com Sponsor DARCO Property Management (Colorado) (303) 925-0150 *See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal

AudreyB
(Florida)

Posts:104

05/27/2006 12:41 PM
Hi, I have a simular situation: There are several homeowner's in violation of a deed restriction along with a board member, who is also in violation of the same deed restriction. Seems the board refuses to send the homeowner's their letters, because the board is covering up for one of their own. Questions: How does the board enforce the deed restriction agianst the board member? Then, what happens if the board member refuses to comply to remedy the situation? What action can the President take against the board member? Thank you, AudreyB

RogerB
(Colorado)

Posts:3701

05/27/2006 4:18 PM
Audrey, enforcement of restrictions is the same for all members. It does not matter whether it is a member, a Board member, or the President. I enforce, in accordance with the Association's Rules and Regulations on Enforcements of Covenants and Rules, on all members including the President. The President does not enforce, the Managing Agent (or the enforcement officer)initiates action and the Board should follows the rules to accomplish correction. If members of the Board vote against enforcing their CC&Rs they should be removed from the Board and replaced with Directors who will honor their fiduciary duty.

Roger Borcherding Official HOATalk.com Sponsor DARCO Property Management (Colorado) (303) 925-0150 *See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal

PWells
(Washington)

Posts:30

05/30/2006 1:41 PM
Ohhhh I can so relate to this. My prior HOA board members with assistance from the prior management company left the new board in a hard place as well. Some of the prior board members think they are above our complex's CC&R's and House Rules book. One in specific is going to attempt to sue the Association for removing a hazardous cable they installed without conscent and refused to remove. Which caused unhappy neighbors and guests. Not to mention is in numerous violations. This owner has decided that the new board is literally picking on him and him only. And did the removal out of revenge. Which is not the case at all. We have owners complaining about almost everything. My front door and phones never seem to stop. Which wouldn't bother me as much ... if I was being paid to be here as a manager. I have even been called by owners demanding me to come back home from a family trip out of state because someone has had a party or is parked in a bad location or something that is not an emergency.

EdR
(Texas)

Posts:170

06/05/2006 11:00 AM
To all of the above: I too have been assaulted as a board member. Bottom line is that people, nowdays, do not want to hear the word "NO". No one is going to tell them how or what to do with their property, even it it devalues their neighbors property in the process of what they are doing, and they would just have a fit if their neighbor did what they are doing. It's the ME generation--you first, AFTER ME. Now, after reading the above posts, there is something of which you all need to be warned, because this happened to me, and it's not an easy situation to remedy. Check first for this scenario because it might explain why your board and management company don't get the job done. In our assn. the president was a swim team advocate; thought the pool belonged to her and her swim team friends, although 33% were from outside of the subdivision and paid NOTHING for the membership to our assn. nor upkeep of our pool, when some owners may not even have use of the pool. Because the MC was desperate for the account/contract, they donated big bucks to the swim team to appease the president; in turn the president wouldn't let anyone else deal with the MC, and the MC wouldn't deal with anyone but her. Meanwhile, the MC turned against everyone who had a problem with their conflict of interest and got deeper into convolusion with the president and board and swim team. The MC made it their goal to cause any director who was onto them to be eliminated--either assaulted, or in some way forced to resign. The MC is still in charge--they are selective because the president wanted them to be; they only gave violation letters to whom she said to or didn't to whom she said not to. Our assn. is a big corporate mess right now, and run by helpers of the president and her cronies. It is now a social club---no longer an HOA--this is what I resent paying (assessments) into. EdR

HaroldS
(Arizona)

Posts:904

06/05/2006 3:06 PM
Ed - your situation is just pure HOA arrogance and MC greed and collusion. Everyone will just say - "get rid of that president". Often not easily done if your state still allows proxy voting and they have so entrenched their position. I truly feel sorrow for your situation. Do you have a local TV or newspaper reporter who might be interested in reporting this situation? Harold

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