Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live, unfortunately, in a place where there is a homeowners' association. The board is pretty bad: it meets in secret, won't tell anyone who's on the board and otherwise just does not communicate at all with owners. Once a year there is an owners' meeting, but it's held in a small office (with just a few chairs) several miles away, and few people attend.
I've done a few things to hold the board accountable, such as emailing all owners with a list of requirements under local law that boards must follow and offering to hold the annual meeting at my office, which is near the building. Other owners confronted the board about its behavior, asking why the board hadn't followed those requirements or held the meeting at my office, and the board got livid.
False Statements
Other owners have reported to me that the board is telling them that it has video footage of me destroying communal property. There was also a situation a few years ago where there were posters put up, asking why communal property was in such derelict condition. The board is telling people that I'm the one who put those up.
Both statements are false. However, I did put up a poster--one with my name and contact information on it, asking other owners to join a LinkedIn group. The poster vanished within an hour.
In my view, the board is trying to defame me so that other owners won't want to have anything to do with me, since I've been the ringleader in trying to hold the board accountable.
Consequences of False Statements
I've told other owners, who let me know of the board's statements, that I did put up a poster, with my contact information on it, but that everything else that the board is stating is false. A few other owners haven't been in touch with me as much as they did before, which suggests that they believe the board, or think I'm a liar.
I'm pretty ticked.
Question
How would you respond to this?
1. Calling out the board by requesting to see the video footage, and reminding them of what the poster had on it (including my contact information)?
2. Approaching the individual board members who made the false statements, and discussing them with them, one-on-one?
Good idea, although, believe it or not, they don't hold elections, in violation of the HOA's bylaws. They just send around a proxy, instructing it to be given to the board president to vote however the president wants, and say that the proxy has to be returned by mail by a certain date. Then when fewer proxies than required for a quorum are returned, they say that there aren't enough people to hold a valid election.
Is there some sort of state board, higher up enforcement that you can talk with about this?
Agreed !! If you have confirmed they are violating local/state HOA regulations and are willing to contact them, you could become a major thorn in their side and they will likely back off.
Make sure you have definitive proof and consider consulting with an attorney.
I have better things to do with my time than constantly bicker with some nosy busybodies who think they can tell me what to do with my property. Of course, this is why I have never and never will live in a subdivision and definitely not anywhere with a HOA. I do what I want, when I want and at my discretion on my property.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
