Anyone hear ever had to sue their HOA? (sales, real estate)

[CarolinaCruzes]

When we purchased in the development, we were told the HOA dues were a certain amount but were given Covenants and Declarations that were blank with respect to dues. We didn't really think anything of it. Last year I obtained a copy of the Covenants that were recorded with the Register of Deeds and the dues are actually half of what we have been paying. I followed the Covenant rules and requested board meeting minutes, dates of board meetings, and to view the financials records for the HOA hoping to figure out what was going on. That was last October. I have called, written, emailed, all to no avail. We have overpaid our dues, the HOA will not respond and they are charging us late fees, despite the fact that we have significanlty overpaid. It wouldn't surprise me if they have put a lien on the home.

Any thoughts?

[Wiggin]

Originally Posted by CarolinaCruzes

When we purchased in the development, we were told the HOA dues were a certain amount but were given Covenants and Declarations that were blank with respect to dues. We didn't really think anything of it. Last year I obtained a copy of the Covenants that were recorded with the Register of Deeds and the dues are actually half of what we have been paying. I followed the Covenant rules and requested board meeting minutes, dates of board meetings, and to view the financials records for the HOA hoping to figure out what was going on. That was last October. I have called, written, emailed, all to no avail. We have overpaid our dues, the HOA will not respond and they are charging us late fees, despite the fact that we have significanlty overpaid. It wouldn't surprise me if they have put a lien on the home.

Any thoughts?

You might want to send a certified letter requesting the info you want. It's always a good idea to establish a paper trail.

[CarolinaCruzes]

Everything I have sent has been certified with a return receipt. You would think that since there is a paper trail that might incent someone to respond but it hasn't.

[DipDog3]

Originally Posted by CarolinaCruzes

the HOA is still controlled by the developer, so the neighborhood has not taken ownership of the HOA.

The developer is probably going under and is taking your over payment and jumping ship. You could sue but you will probably end up with less money in the end.

Might be better to save all the documentation and wait for the developer to hand over the HOA to the homeowners and then ask for a refund on the over payment.

[Jake Ryan]

Does the board have meetings? If so can you find out where they meet and go to the meeting? What are your neighbors doing, is everyone overpaying? Is it possible to go to the developers office and get some answers? Is there someone on the board that lives in your neighborhood and if so can you go to his or her house and ask questions?

Have you stopped paying the dues since last October?

Jake

[CarolinaCruzes]

The previous developer already went bankrupt last year and a new developer took over. Since no one will give answers it is unclear whether the new developer is running the HOA or the builder. Each one says the other is responsible. So I went to the management company, they won't talk either. THe rest of the neighborhood is overpaying but they don't seem to care.

As I stated, I have asked for any information about meetings, etc with no response. When I say no one is talking, I mean no one is talking about anything.

I have not paid any more dues because our account has a large credit but since no one is acknowleding the problem I am concerned that a lien might be placed on the home. I have been patient for 9 months. I am starting to feel like if I don't take action it could become a much larger problem to deal with than just trying to get a refund.

[cagman]

I don't know of any developers that aren't in a financial crisis themselves. Most of their cash are going towards lawsuits they are already in. Your lawsuit would just be be another in a list of many. The ones they are mostly worried about are the lawsuits that are running in the hundreds of thousands and up. I doubt yours is in that ballpark.

I would continue to fight it on my own with calls, letter's etc, and forget the lawyer. YOu may own the lawyer more than the overpayment of dues - which you may or may not ever collect, regardless of a judgement.

You sound like you are in the right, but that's doesn't always mean anything. What have your neighbor's been paying? If you can get a bunch of homeowner's together, then it might be more worthwhile.

Good luck.

[lumbollo]

Given that the HOA has not been turned over to the residents, and it sounds as if the 2nd builder may be headed the way of the first, then yes, get a lawyer, but not to sue the developer. That will probably be a waste of time and not worth the expense. Would be like trying to squeeze some water out of a rock.

What you need to be doing instead is to get legal advice concerning your rights under the NC Planned Community statute and your deed restricted HOA. This is where the law states the HOA can foreclose if you don't pay your dues, but there might be a provision for removing yourself from any further obligations given the failures you describe. The lawyer should be able to tell you what you have to do or not, so you don't get caught up on the wrong side of things.

It sucks. It's a reality of buying in a partially developed neighborhood these days.

[lar110801]

Interesting... the HOA is absolutely required to provide you with an audited financial statement and must call a meeting to review and raitfy the budget. Do not let that issue go, that's a violation of NC Planned Development laws. Whats even more interesting is that usually not paying HOA fees will get you a hearing in front of the Board... a good place to address your grievances. I would bomb the HOA with letters explaining the ways they are violating state law before contacting an attorney. If you Google NC Planned Development law you can read through and document all the ways they are violating the law. Since NC has judicial foreclosure, if the HOA files a lien and then tries to foreclose the lien (which would actually be really dumb in this market), you'll get a hearing in front of judge. That's another excellent time to hand over a pile of papers of ignored requests for data and disregarded communications. I really hate HOAs, especially my own!

[lumbollo]

It's never an excellent time to be in a foreclosure hearing in front of a judge concerning your house. The judge may very well agree the HOA did not follow procedures and allow the foreclosure to occur anyway. You just lost 100%. It's not worth the risk.