home owners association (real estate market, 2009, renters)

[joe46]

our hoa just posted a letter about the next shareholders meeting, this letter has my wife and myself mentioned as topics, we have a past due balance that we have been paying on for three months, the terms were agreed upon by us and the board, we are paying as agreed, the notice was posted on the mail box station for all shareholders to see, along with all day visitors and renters to read also, the letter mentions our delinquent acct. the posting is about 50' from a busy road with foot traffic also, we have no security so anyone can enter and read this. is this legal?

[Karla with a K]

Joe
I did a quick google search and found this
Federal Court - Hoa attorneys are bound by FDCPA rules!
" It was the courts opinion that the assessments were for family or personal purposes, making them debts subject to the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)

This link explains The FDCPA rules & regulations
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

If you read sec 804 & 805 b
it states
"a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector."

Which is considered third party disclosure

Now the tricky part could be, because the letter was posted by the HOA and not the HOA's attorney is this still considered third party disclosure.

You can also speak to an attorney who specializes in contract law because courts consider all homeowner association cases as a contract matter.

FDCPA violations can be reported to your local Attorney Generals office. You might even be able to call your local office and ask them if this is a violation.

If they have violated FDCPA regulations they can be sued

[tamcim72]

Any homeowner in your HOA has the right to ask for financial reports that would show that Accts receivable information. I don't believe it is appropiate to post on the street.

[Karla with a K]

Joe
I hope you will be checking back

I called our HOA property manager and when I explained the situation, his response was "They DID WHAT"

Publicity posting your delinquency is illegal !!! they can in the letter mention that they will be discussing the delinquencies yes but "calling out" particular homeowners by name is not allowed.

[fsquid]

Another reason I hate the HOAs.

[riveree]

That's just awful .

I understand in order to have a new home you're almost always going to be saddled with a Homeowner's Association these days - I've been there and done that myself - but this story is just another depiction of what is wrong with the entire concept of HOAs. I truly hope the current change of direction in the real estate market will be the beginning of the demise of the HOA.

[HIF]

That is crazy- here you have an agreed upon payment plan in place and are following the plan and then this happens.

If you are in arrears and no formal lien is in place, posting a notice for non-members to see is not permitted. If a lien is in place, it becomes public information, so while legality may be debated, it is still wrong on so many levels, IMO. Shaming is not an effective way to encourage payment of delinquent assessments. There is also debate about the legality of posting more than unit numbers for those in arrears to a members only page on a website.



http://www.becker-poliakoff.com/pubs...f_20090210.pdf
....under no condition should the association post the names of delinquent unit owners on a bulletin board visible to non-owners. Doing so is a clear violation of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

[fsquid]

just curious, but what are the average HOA fees monthly in Southern JAX/ St. John's County?

[Karla with a K]

Originally Posted by fsquid

just curious, but what are the average HOA fees monthly in Southern JAX/ St. John's County?

It depends on the neighborhood and the amenities

I have also noticed they are higher for condos I guess that is because there is more "common areas"

We are a small neighborhood around 100 homes we do not have a pool or tot play area
We pay $230 a year this covers the entrance/common area and the "lake/pond"

My sister lives in Flemming island and pays about $175 a month

They have the whole pool/playground/clubhouse etc

[riveree]

Originally Posted by fsquid

just curious, but what are the average HOA fees monthly in Southern JAX/ St. John's County?

On the southernmost end of Jax you'd find Mandarin and since Mandarin has a lot of developments built a few decades back (1980's, etc.), you'd probably find the majority to be HOA-only. These might run you $200-$400/yr depending on the level of amenities. So you might have a tot lot, maybe an athletic field, lake maintenance, landscaping and neighborhood signage covered by the HOA fee. There's usually no pool for $200/yr but there are always exceptions.

Northern St. John's county is primarily brand new developments so you're more likely to find a development that has both an HOA fee and CDD fees. You're also more likely to find a development with a pool, maybe a gym, a clubhouse, etc. The fees can really vary, but instead of the $200 per year that you might pay in an HOA-only neighborhood, you might be paying more along the lines of $200 per month.

Going full circle back to the OP's first post, it's about more than just the amenities. By purchasing in a development with an HOA/CDD you are signing into a very real and very legal binding agreement. Though I never experienced anything like the OP did, I saw enough to understand that I was not comfortable with the entire concept of the HOA. When we sold our HOA-only home, my husband and I agreed we would never buy in such a development again. Other people love the HOA neighborhoods and wouldn't live anywhere else and the legal aspect of it is no big deal to them.