Rules for existing neighborhoods

Started by GingerR • 9 replies • 2143 views

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GingerR (Georgia)
Posts: 2

Posted:

I am interested in trying to start a HOA in a neighborhood that is 12-15 years old.
I have been told if I get 51% of the community to sign, then we can proceed. Another person has told me that once the first house is built, one can not start a HOA.
Which one is right, if either.
Thanks
Ginger

CharlesW1 (Georgia)
Posts: 826

Posted:

GingerR,
I don’t know all there is to know about the rules and laws to start an HOA. I would suggest using the search box. I have read a couple of posts about starting an HOA. Those were very informative.
I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help.
Best of luck

I would suggest reading some of the post on here before making such a huge decision that will ultimately affect the entire community, just a thought.

Chuck W.

Charles E. Wafer Jr.

HaroldS (Arizona)
Posts: 906

Posted:

Are you wanting a voluntary HOA or compulsory? I don't know where you got the 51% because I think it is more like 100% if you are going to place deed restrictions on people's property. There have been several recent discussions here about starting a new HOA in an existing neighborhood. A compulsory one I think you will find to be impossible to form. Easier to move to an existing one. Harold

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Ginger, do you have a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions? If not, it will take 100% of all homeowners to start the association. This is next to impossible.

If you do have a Declaration you have an association but it obviously does not have manditory assessments. You can begin a "social HOA" with those owners wishing to join and pay dues on a voluntary basis. If sufficient owners join and you do have a non-manditory assessment association you can try to enforce restrictions will not have the financial resources to force compliance.

HaroldS (Arizona)
Posts: 906

Posted:

Roger - I'm not sure what you mean by this statement "... you do have a non-mandatory assessment association you can try to enforce restrictions..." Enforce restrictions on whom? Just the voluntary members or all property owners within their "boundary?" I have a friend who lives in a voluntary association and he enjoys telling the board where to go with their enforcement attempts. Voluntary associations simply do not work. In fact, I think it deliberately brings out the worse in non members who resent the intrusion into their lives. I know it does for my friend. Harold

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Harold, there are HOAs with CC&Rs which do not have manditory assessment. So you can try to enforce violation of restricts on all homeowners of a non-manditory association. As you and I both stated the association does not have sufficient finances to achieve enforcement. All they can do is point out the violation and say would you please correct this violation. Even those in manditory assessment HOAs resent receiving such letters but the Association has the financial resources to achieve compliance.

GingerR (Georgia)
Posts: 2

Posted:

Thank you for your feedback. I will read the other posts as you suggested.
I am really not wanting to do the full blown HOA as I know that would be impossible.
The voluntary sounds more like what we would try to accomplish.
We do currently have covenants, which aren't followed. Some people take things to extreme and complain about EVERYTHING, while the person who lives next to me has grass knee high to a giraffe!
There are only a hand full of us who pay to keep up the front entrance. I would like, I guess, just to get more involvement.
I love this site! It has a lot of good information for a newbie like me, who has no clue what she's doing!
Thanks again!

DennisB2 (California)
Posts: 2

Posted:

I need to find some help or ideas on where to go to fix our property owners assoc. When this subdivision (400 + units) was first developed some 37 years ago. Everyone of the owners were members. Sometime back the lawyers said the water board and the property owners could not be one and the same. So we split and now members belonging to the property owners assoc. only numbers 25% of all possible owners, therefore we no longer can meet a quorum to enforce or revise the CC&R's. We no longer have a qualified architecture committee. We only charge $10 per year for membership and basically we are just a social organization as we have no power or authority to enforce the original CC&R's or approve or deny anything submitted to the architecture committee, which is no longer in existence. Similar subdivisions in this area are becoming slums as they do not have home owners or property owners assoc.

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Dennis, if you have CC&Rs then every owner defined within the defined boundaries is still under the control of the HOA. Do you mean there are only 25% who pay voluntary dues; and there is no manditory assessment in your CC&Rs? Otherwise, I don't understand what you mean by the association only numbers 25% of all possible owners.

You can try to amend your CC&Rs without a meeting by a signed ballot vote which would include all owners. But forget about trying to get approval to amend if it would require manditory assessments.

DennisB2 (California)
Posts: 2

Posted:

Thank you for your reply.

We have a list of homeowners and property owners within a defined boundry that correspond to the CC&R's; however I don't think I would call this a "Association", as we cannot get the majority of them to join our existing Association.

No, we do not have manditory assessment and I agree, it probably is not possible to get one. If we came up with a revised set of CC&R's and obtained approval by more than 50% of the HOA; the problem I take it, would then be enforcement. I assume we would be a voluntary enforcement association along with our voluntary assessments? Maybe this is better than nothing and also cause us less problems in the long run.

If we tried to get mandatory assessments sometime in the future; would we only need more than 50% of the HOA to agree?

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