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Please, folks having a real estate lawyer look out for your interests - it is worth every penny as the people on the food chain won't tell you anything that might cause you change your mind about their commissions. At this point, failure to disclose should be discussed with a lawyer but I would start by sending a demand letter to the salespeople to either pay the undisclosed amount or you will seek legal advice within ten days.
Your information should have come from the HOA/mgt company so they are the ones you need to get answers from. It is doubtfull that the HOA will reduce the payment in two years as it is so much fun to spend other people's money. Get on on the BOD and get involved so you can influence your own future.
HOAs only benefit BOD, Mgt., and lawyers so please read other CD threads and Google - what your HOA won't tell you. Many people have made the mistake of buying into the idea that their monthly payments will be put to good use. I think we all know that leaving any money on the table is a bad idea.
Bulls**t! What an idiot! I sit on a BOD and guess what? If dues are raised my dues and the other director's dues go up as well. HOA dues are designed to maintain a property and benefit no one sitting in a bank account. We are volunteers.
If the bolded statement isn't already ignorant enough you advise acquiring services of attorney in the first sentence only to contradict your own advice two paragraphs later.
Do you know what jurisdiction the OP's scenario falls under?
You've made some pretty bold statements regarding liability knowing so little of the circumstances.
I'm not a lawyer. I was a litigant in a case involving non-disclosure of relevant information regarding a condo I bought. In my case the financial issue was far greater and led to filing suit. My seller also claimed she "didn't know" . I won hands down because she "should have known". There had been HOA meetings regarding the issue and the owners had been informed via mail.
But there are no damages to award the OP who specifically stated that s/he would have purchased the property regardless knowing about the dues increase. So what would be the purpose of a lawsuit? What would be the award? And what is the complaint? I didn't know something that would not have made a difference to me even if I had known?
Bulls**t! What an idiot! I sit on a BOD and guess what? If dues are raised my dues and the other director's dues go up as well. HOA dues are designed to maintain a property and benefit no one sitting in a bank account. We are volunteers.
If the bolded statement isn't already ignorant enough you advise acquiring services of attorney in the first sentence only to contradict your own advice two paragraphs later.
I feel like I should comment that that would be the ideal and apprpriate situation.
As it was in all HOAs/POAs/neighborhood associations we lived in....until...
Our last one the dishonorable board members, which was the majority, someone finally figured out were angry bitter people who never quite made the mark they felt they should in life and now had a lot of money, people and property they were responsible for. And a few doting obedient ladies and even men who would follow along.
The board hired a full time handyman. Not necessary. And the entire association paid for it of course. But the entire association and the honorable board members did not get the benefit of having their yards mowed, trees and bushes trimmed and other repairs done free because "I've got time. I don't have enough to do". The honorable board members were asked by this man, a simple nice man, to do the same and those honorable ones refused.
About dues...some of those board members did not pay dues... ever. And they sat on the board and committees that examined and sent a nasty letter to a recent widow who missed a payment. Another nasty letter to a woman who always paid the dues for many years and one time made all her other bill payments, somehow missed one hoa dues payment, but paid the next one, never realizing she missed. No call. No reminder/maybe slightly strong letter. And this is the board, not a distant dispationate manager. And these non-dues paying board members were mostly on the board for years, some for only 4 years or so....meaning they entered an election process, one of whose requirements was that the person seeking an election (and, by the way, any board member) needed to be a member in good standing.
They sold community property without notifying homeowners. Made major capital improvements without notifying owners per the regulations.
On and on including some very dangerous stuff. Once I looked into how a HOA board could ever be bad since we had never experienced this before, I found that, yes, it's not at all unusual nationally for a board to be very bad.
I'm not a lawyer. I was a litigant in a case involving non-disclosure of relevant information regarding a condo I bought. In my case the financial issue was far greater and led to filing suit. My seller also claimed she "didn't know" . I won hands down because she "should have known". There had been HOA meetings regarding the issue and the owners had been informed via mail.
That's anecdotally interesting, and perhaps a good reference point for the OP, but it does not demonstrate that the seller, in seller's jurisdiction, had any legal obligation to "should have known" or is in any way liable to the OP.
This is to say nothing of the facts, which as presented suggest that the timing of the assessment increase and the transaction had something to do with it.
It is the owner's responsibility to know and disclose all relevant information and facts regarding his property. Ignorance due to not opening your mail won't stand up in court. If the HOA made reasonable effort to inform him, then he either knew or "should have known" and is therefore legally responsible.
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It is the owner's responsibility to know and disclose all relevant information and facts regarding his property. Ignorance due to not opening your mail won't stand up in court. If the HOA made reasonable effort to inform him, then he either knew or "should have known" and is therefore legally responsible.
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of the increase in HOA fees. The owner should have known of the increase and told the buyer.
You are all assuming the owner knew of the HOA fee increases. The fee increases were decided at a meeting few people even attended sometime in November. The notice of increase was probably sent in the next HOA newsletter which may not even been sent till the end of December after the sale had closed. With an owner not living on the premises they may very well not have gotten the notice as those newsletters are often sent by bulk mail for lower cost, and are not forwarded. In all probability in this situation the owner did not even know of the fee increase.
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If I had a nickle for every time I've said this, I'd be richer than Oprah. Seriously, a home is the single most expensive investment/purchase a person makes in his/her lifetime. Why on earth do people not hire a lawyer to be their advisor, I'll never understand.
An attorney would have seen the same information that the seller saw. The attorney would have seen the old fee information. Just because an attorney reviews the papers, does not mean they had any way of knowing of the fee increase.
This is one problem with a HOA controlled property. A few people can raise dues, etc., and the rest of the owners do not find out something like this for as long as two months after it happens. What happened, is something that the Owner, Title Company, the Realtors, or Even an attorney would have anticipated or known anything about when it closed. It is a common problem, and not unusual. I entered commercial/investment real estate brokerage in 1972 and spent the rest of my working life till I finally retired in the business, and though I was never involved in such a situation as the OP was, I know of similar situations that happened on sales done by other offices. No one is to blame for it happening. As another poster mentioned, a lot of things happen when there is a long escrow before closing as in the OP case.
I feel like I should comment that that would be the ideal and apprpriate situation.
As it was in all HOAs/POAs/neighborhood associations we lived in....until...
Our last one the dishonorable board members, which was the majority, someone finally figured out were angry bitter people who never quite made the mark they felt they should in life and now had a lot of money, people and property they were responsible for. And a few doting obedient ladies and even men who would follow along.
The board hired a full time handyman. Not necessary. And the entire association paid for it of course. But the entire association and the honorable board members did not get the benefit of having their yards mowed, trees and bushes trimmed and other repairs done free because "I've got time. I don't have enough to do". The honorable board members were asked by this man, a simple nice man, to do the same and those honorable ones refused.
About dues...some of those board members did not pay dues... ever. And they sat on the board and committees that examined and sent a nasty letter to a recent widow who missed a payment. Another nasty letter to a woman who always paid the dues for many years and one time made all her other bill payments, somehow missed one hoa dues payment, but paid the next one, never realizing she missed. No call. No reminder/maybe slightly strong letter. And this is the board, not a distant dispationate manager. And these non-dues paying board members were mostly on the board for years, some for only 4 years or so....meaning they entered an election process, one of whose requirements was that the person seeking an election (and, by the way, any board member) needed to be a member in good standing.
They sold community property without notifying homeowners. Made major capital improvements without notifying owners per the regulations.
On and on including some very dangerous stuff. Once I looked into how a HOA board could ever be bad since we had never experienced this before, I found that, yes, it's not at all unusual nationally for a board to be very bad.
Sounds like they had a group of sheeple, you included. HOA boards are an entity serving the HOA and when the HOA leaves everything up to the board, you keep reelecting them, you let them go unchecked they can run amuck. If board member is not paying dues and nothing is being done about it guess whose fault that is? Not theirs.
The biggest problem I see with HOAs is not the BODs but lack of involvement from the HOA.
OK, I guess I don't understand what you're torqued about. You flat-out said you would have closed, anyway. So all of this naval-examination and "who was wrong" is besides the point. What, are you going to sue for $70 a month/$1680 over two years? Really?
You're not starting off on a very good footing with your new HOA if you burst into your first meeting upset because of the fee increase.
Ideally, the seller should have told you -- it's his unit, his responsibilty, and it probably should have been disclosed. On the other hand, perhaps the seller disclosed exactly what was asked, but just didn't volunteer any additional information. But it's caveat emptor time -- "let the buyer beware." Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the buyer, during due diligence, to research the HOA CCRs, declaration, bylaws and budgets.
OK, I guess I don't understand what you're torqued about. You flat-out said you would have closed, anyway. So all of this naval-examination and "who was wrong" is besides the point. What, are you going to sue for $70 a month/$1680 over two years? Really?
You're not starting off on a very good footing with your new HOA if you burst into your first meeting upset because of the fee increase.
Ideally, the seller should have told you -- it's his unit, his responsibilty, and it probably should have been disclosed. On the other hand, perhaps the seller disclosed exactly what was asked, but just didn't volunteer any additional information. But it's caveat emptor time -- "let the buyer beware." Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the buyer, during due diligence, to research the HOA CCRs, declaration, bylaws and budgets.
The OP should have seen that reserves were low. That is a sure sign an increase is coming.
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