How do I get get out of the HOA? Can it be Easy??

I want to get out of my HOA! Never liked them but I ended up in a neighborhood with one. Last couple years wasn't bad until we got a new neighbor. This guy drives around, weekly, looking for violations of any kind.

Under the Articles of Incorporation, there a section about De-Annexation. This is what it says:

3.3 DEANNEXATION.

(a) Provided there are Class A members, the Declarant may deannex any property (excluding, however, any Common Area conveyed to the Association by the Declarant) from the Property for the period of seven (7) years from the date of the recordation of this Declaration. Such deannexed property shall no longer be subject to the covenants and restrictions of this Declaration except for any easement, rights, reservations, exemptions, power or privileges reserved to the Declarant pursuant to this Declaration which burden the deannexed property for the benefit of any property which is subject to the Declaration. Such deannexation shall be made by recording a supplementary declaration among the Land Records of the County, withdrawing the effect of the covenants and restrictions of this Declaration from the deannexed property. Such deannexed property may be utilized by the Delarant, or any successor, assignee or transferee thereof, for any lawful purpose or use.

(b) So Long as any Lot is encumbered by a deed of trust or mortage which is guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration and/or veterans Administration, as the case may be, no deannexation shall be made pursuant to this Section, or otherwise, except following a determination by the Federal Housing Administration and/or veterans Administration, that the deannexation is not contrary to a general plan for the development of the Property previously approved by the Federal Housing administration and/or Veterans Administration, or, if no such general plan was approved by the Federal Housing Administration and/or Veterans Administration, except following the prior written approval of the Federal Housing Administration and or Veterans-Administration.

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Based on the Deannexation section, it seems, if you can get the county to sign off, you can just remove yourself from the HOA by adding a supplement.

What has me confused is the 1st sentence where it says "Provided there are Class A members, the Declarant may deannex any property." It's confusing because I can't figure out who a Declarant is.

From the Class of Membership section, it says Class B members are Declarants. The info seems to go in circles...

It says:

(a) The Association shall have (2) class of voting memberships.
(i) Class A: Except for the Declarant, whos shall initally be a Class B member, the Class A members shall be all Record owners holding title to one (1) or more Lots; provided, however, that any Mortgagee or any other person or entity who holds such interest solely as securty for performance of an obligation shall not be a Class A member solely on account of such interest. Each Class A member shall be entitled to one (1) vote per Lot, for each Lot owned by it, in all proceedings in which action shall be taken by member of the Association.

(ii) Class B. The Class B member shall be the Declarant. The Class B members shall be entitled to three (3) votes per Lot for each Lot owned by it. in all proceedings in which actions shall be taken by members of the Association.

There's more stuff under the Class B, but it basically says if there's more then one person that's owns the property, they get one vote as an entity. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but that's the way it reads to me...

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Back to the task at hand... Based on what I've posted... How hard will it be to get myself removed from the HOA? If I can't remove myself, how would I go about figuring out when the 7 years comes along for auto renewal so I can try then to kill the HOA?

I really can't tell when this thing started because there are multiple dates in it, but I can tell you that a Notary signed off on it on 7/31/2001.

BTW, has anyone successfully gotten out of an HOA without having the complete HOA killed?

Thanks!!

The Declarant is the original developer who put the Declarations in place to begin with. In my lay opinion what this is saying is that as long as the original Declarant is involved he/she may remove any property except common areas. So if you can get the original Declarant to remove your property by filing a new Declaration on it by July 31, 2008 you can maybe get out provided you do not have a FHA or VA loan in which case you would need their approval first.

But I wouldn't hold my breath, even if they were somehow willing to do this for you, they would probably ask for a boatload of money to make it worth their while. Plus this section may be null and void if the Declarant has already turned all of his interest in the community over to the homeowners. You would probably have an easier time just abiding by the CC&R's you agreed to when you bought; then you wouldn't have to worry about your neighbor turning you in.

John so if I'm reading you right; you're hiding something on your property (the boat or the shed) that you signed a legally binding contract not to do. And now because someone is trying to enforce the CC&R's they're the bad guy and HOA's are evil? Wouldn't it be simpler to get the required number of homeowner's together and amend the CC&R's to allow them than living in dread of being caught?

Do some HOA's go overboard in enforcing the Covenants? Absolutely I even remember a news article from last year where a BOD rented a helicopter to see onto someone's property because they couldn't tell from the road if they were in violation but this is not the norm so don't paint all Associations with the same brush. The fact is IMO that most "bad" BOD's/Associations happen because too many members are all too willing to sit on their collective asses and let other's do for them until they do something that affects them.

DJ,

You forgot Step#4--- Try complying with what you agreed to when you bought into the HOA. Seems the easiest to my. This guy seem to be a non conformist.

John:

HOA's are not evil, sometimes the people running them are evil. They serve a purpose and when you have the right people in charge they are wonderful things. If you get the wrong people in charge they aren't. My philosophy, read before you sign, and then follow what you signed.

Sorry to hear you are having issues, but Brian is right, the only way out is to sell. Your options without selling are to find a home for your boat or to leave it there and wait for a letter which is only a matter of time.

John,

The declarant is the developer and according to the article you posted, only he can deannex a property from the HOA. The article also states: "So Long as any Lot is encumbered by a deed of trust or mortage which is guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration and/or veterans Administration. . ." the FHA and/or VA must approve the deannexation. Note it says "any lot" not just "your lot". Bottom line: forget about your property being deannexed. This clause was only put into the articles of inc. for the benefit of the developer!

IMO, it might be better to resign yourself to the fact that you are obligated to abide by the CCR restrictions you agreed to by virtue of purchasing your property. Just be happy you don't live next door to the Naked Ironing Guy! I must say my morning tea almost went up my nose when I read that. LOL

Seriously, if you can get enough of your neighbors to agree with you, a change in the CCR restrictions might be suggested to the BOD. Amending the CCRs usually requires a rather large % of votes so it would be imperative to get as many members to agree to your proposed changes as possible. There's power in numbers!

Jeanne with all due respect how would getting on the Board or removing a BOD that is apparently doing their job cure his problem? Being on the BOD doesn't give you special dispensation to break the rules. Instead you're under even more scrutiny from all kinds of people waiting for you to screw up to prove you're not being fair to them, kind of like the OP. Now I'm all for people volunteering and being actively involved in their Associations but not as an excuse to violate or circumvent the rules.

You said . . "She's gotten a bit out of control because the CCR just says things have to look good and it's up to their opinion. Basically, they're trying to set standards based on their tastes."

This is an unbelievable statement!! Please explain

She is either trying to enforce the current, valid, CCRs or not, she can't "set up" her own CCRs, according to her taste or her opinion.

The CCRs and/or bylaws are the "bones" of the rules. The Board needs to "flesh out" the definition of the terms. No one person has the power to do that.

"Up to Community Standards" is too ambiguous. Encourage your board to define these terms.

Brian B hits the nail on the head

Class B goes away after 7 to 10 years from the time the developer filed the *CCR'S and tied the lots to the commons area. I think this is when turnover starts by the developer.Also 70% of lots are sold whichever comes up first. We are no in the process to get the encumbered commons area turned over. It is a mess when a scrupulous developer is involved. Lawyers love this. (Tennessee HOA)

*Conditions covenants and restrictions

NO! is the short answer, but you can give them a hard time. Go to the meetings, you have rights don't let them trample on them.

In our ccr.s we have a way out. 20 yrs from the date the restrictions was tied to the property or filed at the court house, You have to get 2/3 rds of a quorem to sign a document and file it about a week before 20 yrs expire or it goes 10 more years, this is in the covenants and it may be Tenn state law also.

Another way out is to file a grievance that is not taken up by the board and file charges to the state. It could dissolve the association.
The assoc could have the charter pulled for breaking the covenants.

I am not a lawyer but I have dealt with union's for a lot of years and these are similar. Check your state laws or county laws where you live.

You have the ccr's, chsrter and by-laws study them and ask questions here and any one that has dealt with HOA's.

HOA's can be a big plus if it is run properly and fair.