My HOA is doing the same secretive policies as before (Howe: sale, new home)

[loves2read]

My HOA Board apparently had a meeting in May--called with the bare minimum notice required by the bylaws--in which they raised the HOA's dues the maximum allowed by the bylaws---30%, about $45...not huge amount BUT the Board has not told the HOA at large that the dues were raised...
no emails to people on their email list--no notice posted on the HOA website--nothing on the HOA Facebook page...
I found out from one of the few HOA members/regular homeowners who was at the May meeting--

PLUS in our neighorhood we have houses that have reroofed since construction...probably 10-12 of those used shingles that are NOT the brand required under the HOA CCRs--the owners probably opted for cheaper shingles...and did not get any approval from the architectural review committee prior to installing the roofs...
the ARC has done nothing to any homeowner who failed to comply with the CCR including one homeowner whose house is dubbed the "Red Roof Inn" because the shingles are a strong RED shade--nothing weathered brown/black about that roof...
The Board KNOWS that home is not in compliance--they have said they do not have the money to persue legal remedy against the homeowner--so the red roof has been there for a year or so...

NOW a new home is under construction--was approved by the ARC but not sure what plans the ARC looked at or what questions were asked by them or the Board in general about the construction design/materials of the house...
the roof on that house has been up for couple of months--the house is almost done...
the person who lives on one side of that lot fought not to have the house approved when he was president of the HOA and on the ARC committee...
he has real grudge about that house going up and blocking his view--
someone (probably that neighbor) complained to a member of the ARC/Board who lives ON THAT COURT--someone who has seen that house under construction daily and never said a word when the roof was being installed...
now the Board has told the homeowners that their roof does not meet the CCRs of the neighborhood...
and they need to change them...

meeting Monday night of the Board that will discuss filing documents with the county that outline how the Board can assess fines of homeowners who are not in compliance with the CCRs and the homeowners' rights...
because if they don't have those documents on file with the county they can't do anything about that one roof
BUT the fact is they won't do anything about any of the other roofs that are not in compliance with the CCRs ...
does it sound like biased behavior???

does to me
and makes me wonder about the role of fiduciary responsibility for these board members...
if they screwed up and did not check what type of roof was being installed based on what the plans showed then that is negligence to me
if they have decided to enforce HOA CCR policy for only 1 homeowner when several have "bad" roofs then that is another example of poor judgement which brings MY HOA into gray area where the Board's actions could be sued ...

I know people hate HOAs--
I just want to know if other people think this board is acting improperly in singling out 1 homeowner's roof vs applying the CCR policy to ALL people who might have roofs that don't meet guidelines...
all these roofs are in full view of anyone in the neighborhood
at least 1 other--the red roof--was done while this Board was in office
and the roof they are complaining about has been installed for at least two months or more--probably 3 or 4 since roofs go up early in home construction...
and is on same street as at least 3 of current HOA Board members so they have seen it since installation...and never objected when it was installed...

[JGC97]

It's a shame no one has responded to your questions.

My HOA is trying to pull a fast one on homeowners where I live. I don't plan on letting them get away with it. After reading the CCR's for our complex, I'm certain they are trying to do something illegal.

I hope you will be able to contact all the residents in your complex and ban together to stop their illegal practices. I hope you won't have to go to court but sometimes you do.

If I had it to do over again, I would NOT have purchased anything with an HOA. They can be real buggers, at times.

Please post again if you've been able to get som resolution to your problems.

[RCoffey99]

It simply amazes me that anyone would even agree to live in a neighborhood with homes that are so standardized to the point that all homes must have the same brand and color of shingles per the HOA's rules, ad nauseum ... who is stupid enough to sign such a contract and then pay for the so-called privilege each month to be told how to live, how to maintain your home, what type of swingset you can have in your own backyard ... or else the HOA has the right to take possession of your home if you refuse?

Why would anybody want to live in a cookie-cutter neighborhood in the first place? Don't you worry about having a few too many and then accidentally trying to get into the wrong house because the one two doors down looks exactly like your house? Even worse, why would you pay for a group of control freaks disguised as your HOA to tell you how to live and maintain your house down to the last shingle on your roof?

Stop complaining. You were the ones who signed the deed of trust when you bought your house, including the HOA agreement, and if you didn't read the terms of the contract in full before you signed it, then that's your fault.

[IC_deLight]

Originally Posted by RCoffey99

It simply amazes me that anyone would even agree to live in a neighborhood with homes that are so standardized to the point that all homes must have the same brand and color of shingles per the HOA's rules, ad nauseum ... who is stupid enough to sign such a contract and then pay for the so-called privilege each month to be told how to live, how to maintain your home, what type of swingset you can have in your own backyard ... or else the HOA has the right to take possession of your home if you refuse?

Why would anybody want to live in a cookie-cutter neighborhood in the first place? Don't you worry about having a few too many and then accidentally trying to get into the wrong house because the one two doors down looks exactly like your house? Even worse, why would you pay for a group of control freaks disguised as your HOA to tell you how to live and maintain your house down to the last shingle on your roof?

Stop complaining. You were the ones who signed the deed of trust when you bought your house, including the HOA agreement, and if you didn't read the terms of the contract in full before you signed it, then that's your fault.

RCoffey99, you resurrected an old post. However well-meaning your points are, the reality is that there is an increasing population and local government has been requiring all new development to be burdened by HOAs for quite some time. So the reality is that if you want housing, a substantial portion of the population has NO CHOICE but to live in HOA-burdened housing. HOAs are not numerous due to popularity but rather due to government mandate.

Also, there is no such "contract" that homeowners "sign". The claim that homeowners "signed the HOA agreement" when they purchased their house is a myth. Try to find any such document. As many documents as homeowners might sign at closing, that is not one of them.

Often the existence of the HOA is hidden from prospective purchasers. As frequently as you hear the HOA industry tout that "deed restrictions" are there to "preserve value", you might be surprised at how hard these same groups work at making the documents hard to access. The sale of HOA-burdened property relies heavily on myth, misrepresentation, outright fraud, lack of availability of non-HOA burdened housing, and buyer gullibility.