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We used to live in an area managed by an HOA that lived in the community. That makes a TON of difference in how an HOA is managed. In the last years we've been run by an HOA that is off site. They don't know anything of what goes on. In the years I've been here I was on a first name basis with the head of the ground crews.
I realize things run differently but it bugs me to no end to see perfectly good plants not watered, die, replaced, die again due to lack of watering. And some of that is plants planted in inches of mulch, not a good planting medium. Yet they want mulch laid down each year.
I just wrote them today that the problem I reported 2 months ago is still ongoing. It was there before Harvey and still is there over a month afterward. All they did was put a black garbage bag over the fire hydrant. Water is on the sidewalk, down the curb, and into the street. . . . . And. .. . They ask us to voluntary watch our water usage. !
Anyway, good luck.
On a side note I have a friend that sued her HOA back in CA. The sprinklers that the HOA maintained ruined the siding, caused mold in the condo, and my friend won that lawsuit. She said she spent $60,000 fixing that place up and water damage ruined it and impacted her husband's health. And the sad thing was the unit couldn't be sold when all this was going on. I have no idea if they ever fixed the sprinklers. . .
We used to live in an area managed by an HOA that lived in the community. That makes a TON of difference in how an HOA is managed. In the last years we've been run by an HOA that is off site. They don't know anything of what goes on. In the years I've been here I was on a first name basis with the head of the ground crews.
I realize things run differently but it bugs me to no end to see perfectly good plants not watered, die, replaced, die again due to lack of watering. And some of that is plants planted in inches of mulch, not a good planting medium. Yet they want mulch laid down each year.
I just wrote them today that the problem I reported 2 months ago is still ongoing. It was there before Harvey and still is there over a month afterward. All they did was put a black garbage bag over the fire hydrant. Water is on the sidewalk, down the curb, and into the street. . . . . And. .. . They ask us to voluntary watch our water usage. !
Anyway, good luck.
On a side note I have a friend that sued her HOA back in CA. The sprinklers that the HOA maintained ruined the siding, caused mold in the condo, and my friend won that lawsuit. She said she spent $60,000 fixing that place up and water damage ruined it and impacted her husband's health. And the sad thing was the unit couldn't be sold when all this was going on. I have no idea if they ever fixed the sprinklers. . .
Anyway, keep us posted.
Thanks. They have to live here. We don't permit people who don't to serve on the board. IDK why they want to kill their own grass. Except that they keep blaming it on the prior board. They staty in campaign mode still.
I gave up the 'but YOU have been in charge of the water since May!' I don't have photos of the grass before and after them.
We'll have to trip them up on other things. They want to do things by fiat, as someone mentioned before. They plan of getting the number of proxies required to change the actual by-laws, and to me it seems that they will just do as they please in the meantime, stall us, obstruct us, until they (in their minds) gain the power they think they wield now.
The management company saying they will get any detail I want to see and make it available was heartening. Surely they will say to this board, we cannot deny these requests. It's Texas state law!
They cannot change that by-law. It was part of our declaration to be in compliance with state law. They are dummy-dums.
The Laws in Texas protect the HOAs which are worse than the Nazis.
That's not true anymore. Laws passed in the 2011 and 2013 legislative sessions greatly reduced the power of HOAs, in response to a few bad apples around the state. It greatly reduced HOAs power to issue liens against members for non-compliance with the DCCR.
Quote:
Originally Posted by loves2read
Every HOA carries insurance paid for with the HOA homeowners' fees
That insurance is used to hire attornies if the HOA Board is sued by a homeowner or an outside agency--like the city or the landscaper or someone who is hurt on HOA property maybe---
When the Board is notified that it is being sued, it notifies the insurance company
The Insurance company either HAS attorneys on staff to defend the Board or hires a legal firm to defend the board...
This is absolutely correct. If you sue your HOA, you're not going to be assessed to pay legal fees for the defense.
When I served as a board member of my HOA, I was also told that the board insurance companies will rush to settle out of court and contain the costs of defending the suit, so even if there is a settlement, their approach should minimize the impact on future insurance rates. The insurers are not eager to rack up big legal fees and try to slug it out in court.
You imply that others agree with you so why dont all of you run for board positions in the next election? If there's really so much discontent, it should be fairly easy to win enough board positions to be able to overrule any actions of the current members.
I realize that being on an HOA board isnt fun and usually isnt appreciated but, since you have so many complaints, it seems as though this would be the easiest way to handle it.
You imply that others agree with you so why dont all of you run for board positions in the next election? If there's really so much discontent, it should be fairly easy to win enough board positions to be able to overrule any actions of the current members.
I realize that being on an HOA board isnt fun and usually isnt appreciated but, since you have so many complaints, it seems as though this would be the easiest way to handle it.
We are getting together a new board to run. That is a ways off. In the meantime, we are 1) trying to do our best at not being shoved around and 2) a new board can't win until all the supporters of this one see for themselves that they were fooled. Otherwise, a new board doesn't stand a chance. This one knocked on doors for two years, papered us with 'newsletters' and all of that followed years of similar things, but they really upped their game the past two years.
Every state has an HOA governing body that make the laws under which HOA's must operate. Get a copy of Texas HOA law and give it to dear ol' dad to read up on. It may require legal action, but if so, you have no other choice but to go to court.
The PM company is governed by those laws and must comply. If the BOD overrules the PM and asks them to do illegal acts, the PM should resign from managing. They would be placing themselves in a dangerous position if they knowingly broke the law to appease the BOD.
Every state has an HOA governing body that make the laws under which HOA's must operate. Get a copy of Texas HOA law and give it to dear ol' dad to read up on. It may require legal action, but if so, you have no other choice but to go to court.
The PM company is governed by those laws and must comply. If the BOD overrules the PM and asks them to do illegal acts, the PM should resign from managing. They would be placing themselves in a dangerous position if they knowingly broke the law to appease the BOD.
That was my thinking. Involving our management company will help us one way or the other. Either the BOD will be forced to hand over what we want, or they will refuse and put themselves in hot water.
I spread the word so now others are also going to ask the management company for what we want.
That's not true anymore. Laws passed in the 2011 and 2013 legislative sessions greatly reduced the power of HOAs, in response to a few bad apples around the state. It greatly reduced HOAs power to issue liens against members for non-compliance with the DCCR.
First, the OP originally referenced Tex. Prop. Code §82 - which relates to condominiums, not HOAs. So there needs to be some clarification as to whether the OP might have cited the wrong statute and whether the property at issue is a condominium. The 2011 and 2013 laws didn't do anything to condominiums except perhaps make them worse than they already were. As far as HOAs issuing "liens" case law in Texas has provided that the lien existed before the homeowner purchased the property (legal problems with declarations/CCRs were not at issue in those cases). So there was no reason at all for the HOA (actually typically the management company and aligned HOA attorney) to file such documents to begin with. The purposes of them are to i) run up more fees for HOA attorneys and management companies, and ii) deliberately cloud the homeowner's title to property. The only law in 2011 that dealt with this was a statute that did nothing more than state what the law already was. Management companies were routinely drafting and filing these to extort money from homeowners. It was the unauthorized practice of law for management companies to engage in that practice. This was already the law.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bo
This is absolutely correct. If you sue your HOA, you're not going to be assessed to pay legal fees for the defense.
Not necessarily true. Not all HOAs maintain insurance. Even if the HOA has insurance coverage, the insurance carrier can provide a defense while simultaneously reserving right to recover costs from the HOA if the carrier makes a later determination that the claim at issue was not a covered claim. Frequently declaratory judgment actions are not covered because they are seeking an interpretation of documents.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bo
When I served as a board member of my HOA, I was also told that the board insurance companies will rush to settle out of court and contain the costs of defending the suit, so even if there is a settlement, their approach should minimize the impact on future insurance rates. The insurers are not eager to rack up big legal fees and try to slug it out in court.
The insurers might not but the HOA attorneys want to milk the insurance coverage - it's an annuity as long as the case is ongoing. One reason the insurers don't want to slug it out in court is because juries generally do not like HOAs. Another reason is because there is quite a racket going on with insurance coverage and HOAs/condos and they would prefer there not be a whole lot of discovery about insurance. Frequently, the management company (or its affiliate) and NOT the HOA/condo owns the policy. This is often not realized by the board. Moreover there is frequently not a separate policy for each management company client HOA/condo - they sell coverage (shared) under the same policy unbeknownst to their clients. The big HOA/condo management companies are particularly sneaky about this.
There are several issues, but this is the one we are working on now:
Sec. 81.209. CONDOMINIUM RECORDS. (a) The administrator or board of administration of a condominium regime or a person appointed by the bylaws of the regime shall keep a detailed written account of the receipts and expenditures related to the building and its administration that specifies the expenses incurred by the regime.
(b) The accounts and supporting vouchers of a condominium regime shall be made available to the apartment owners for examination on working days at convenient, established, and publicly announced hours.
They won't let us see them.
Unfortunately there is little one can do other than file suit against a condo/HOA when the board and vendors refuse to comply with state law. The management company contract invariably provides it will be compensated for time in court, etc. Bad behavior is a money-maker for the management company. Bad behavior also a money-maker for the attorney that is advising the board. Board members feel bulletproof because they have been advised they are covered by insurance. They have also been advised that to the extent they are not covered by insurance they have indemnification from the condo corporation - which means ultimately the involuntary members are on the hook.
Although the board of a Chapter 82 condominium has a "fiduciary duty" to the members in addition to the corporation by statute, there is no such statutory provision for Chapter 81 condominiums. There is not otherwise a fiduciary duty of board members to members of a nonprofit corporation. When there is a breach of fiduciary duty it is the condo corporation that has the cause of action, not the members. So only the board can bring the claim - against the board members or management. You can bet that isn't going to happen unless there is a new board that gains control and decides to go after the former board. It's quite a racket.
Last edited by IC_deLight; 10-16-2017 at 11:18 AM..
If you sue the HOA board, you basically pay for them to defend themselves from your/homeowners' suit
Right. The current board sued the former board when they were still in. We paid for all that. Attorneys on both sides. They were awarded attorney's fees, and I need to find out why.
I don't think my friend is hiding anything corrupt that they did, but why would they pay the loonies' attorney fees if they didn't 'win' something?
Yes and no. A lawyer could tell the OP in about ten minutes whether the actions of any of the board members would expose him or her to being sued as an individual thereby not being eligible to be defended by the HOA or Condo itself. The OP has indicated that at least one board members has transmitted information that may not help his defense. Certainly a threat of this nature might cause them to reconsider opening the records...if there's nothing to hide, that is. With something to hide criminal rather than civil avenues might be pursued.
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