Curious about your Homeowners Association (appointed, for sale, attorney)

[kayanne]

Husband and I moved to TX last year, bought a house in a beautiful neighborhood with an HOA, and didn't really have any concerns about that because we'd never had a bad experience with HOAs before.

Long story short, the main problem with this HOA is that we don't really know who the people on the Board of Directors are, and these people certainly don't seem to care about our neighborhood. We know their names, but they aren't residents of our neighborhood, in fact I don't even think they are residents of this country. They were appointed by the developer (who I am told lives in Mexico). We don't get to vote on anything affecting the neighborhood, there is widespread dissatisfaction with various issues, there is no transparency regarding how our money (HOA dues) is spent, they will not show us bills for things like landscaping, water, etc.

So I'm curious, is this typical in Texas? Do you have no vote or input into anything regarding your HOA, in particular a vote for who is on the Board of Directors?

[KathrynAragon]

I have never heard of such a scenario. We have had a HOA in the last two neighborhoods we've lived in but the dues have been negligible (like $100 a year - for landscaping in the common areas and signage upkeep) and the directors have always been home owners living in the neighborhood.

[kayanne]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

I have never heard of such a scenario. We have had a HOA in the last two neighborhoods we've lived in but the dues have been negligible (like $100 a year - for landscaping in the common areas and signage upkeep) and the directors have always been home owners living in the neighborhood.

What you describe is what my HOA experiences have been in every other state I've lived in.....until we moved to Texas.

[need4speed2012]

1. I would first suggest that you fully read your CC&R's !!

2. In Texas an HOA elects members of a governing board to direct its activities.

3. In Texas the Homeowner associations consist of all of the property owners.

4. State laws usually require the first meeting of the HOA to be held within a certain amount of time after the first unit in a development is sold.

5. The first governing board of the HOA should be elected at the first meeting, and all positions should be filled.

[RMFW]

On the topic, one thing that has fascinated me (and I am not saying that this is the case with the OP, just making a general observation) is how it seems that so many of the same people who object so strongly to actions by or even the role of local government (and government in general) which are led by elected officials and a professional staff, appear to have little to no problem with HOAs which can and often do reach (or overreach depending on the situation) much more directly into their lives. There are parts of Texas in particular where people (especially in areas just outside of municipal boundaries) essentially trade one form of government (municipal government) for another (HOAs).

[LeagleEagleDFW]

Oh good, another thread about HOAs. This will end well.

And to answer the OP's question, that is not my experience with HOAs at all. There may be a management company that handle the day-to-day work, but the HOA board is almost always made up of homeowners or people elected by the homeowners.

[kayanne]

Originally Posted by need4speed2012

1. I would first suggest that you fully read your CC&R's !!

2. In Texas an HOA elects members of a governing board to direct its activities.

3. In Texas the Homeowner associations consist of all of the property owners.

4. State laws usually require the first meeting of the HOA to be held within a certain amount of time after the first unit in a development is sold.

5. The first governing board of the HOA should be elected at the first meeting, and all positions should be filled.

1. I have read our CCRs many times, but they are the most voluminous, convoluted, confusing covenants I've ever encountered. And I've seen a lot, due to frequent moves.

2. Our covenants state that during the "Declarant Control Period," the declarant appoints all of the board members. I'm trying to determine if Texas state law contradicts (therefore supersedes) this, or defines a maximum length of time for Declarant Control Period.

3. Agreed. Our covenants do agree with this.

4. I'm not sure about meetings in the past, but after threat of hiring an attorney, our neighborhood did have a meeting last fall with one board member and the manager of our property management company. It was useless however. (As merely one example of many, I was told at the meeting that I could get copies of our HOA water bills; the next week when I called to request them, I was told that it was "illegal" to show them to me, and they denied ever telling me I could see copies. I ended up getting copies directly through SAWS, but only after a tedious process of obtaining our SAWS account number, something else the board refused to disclose.)

5. Didn't happen that way. And from what I've read online, and if I'm understanding correctly, the developer IS allowed to appoint board members early in the development of a new neighborhood. What is your source for claiming the board should be elected at the very first meeting?

[kayanne]

Originally Posted by LeagleEagleDFW

Oh good, another thread about HOAs. This will end well.


.

I don't want to rehash the merits and problems of HOAs.

I am just trying to determine if Texas law allows for an HOA Board of Directors to be comprised solely of developer appointees, and if so, for what length of time. Our neighborhood is about 7 years old, most of the lots now have completed houses on them, at least within the "two phases" of the neighborhood that we all consider to be "our neighborhood." What I mean is, and what the problem is, is that the developer owns several acres surrounding our neighborhood, that he claims make up five other "phases" that will also be part of the neighborhood, therefore, the vast majority of "lots" are still owned by the developer.....therefore, we remain in "Declarant Control Period." But these five other "phases" have no roads, no lots for sale, no clearing of trees....it's just surrounding acreage at this point. He could spend years, decades, or perhaps never, to finish "developing" this neighborhood.

There are a few of us who have talked about hiring an attorney to help with these questions and with the rather dictatorial rule of the B of D under which we are living. But before we commit to that expense, I wanted to see what info I could get online, including here, for free.

[FalconheadWest]

Most HOA's are not handed over to the neighborhood until it's 80% finished. Before then, the builders run the HOA. Some HOAs will appoint a couple of home owners to sit in on the board meetings as sounding boards for the home owner, but they don't have any say in anything. If there are only 2 phases completed and there will be 5 total, the builder isn't going to hand over the HOA to the owners for quite some time.

In my neighborhood, even when it was handed over at the 80% mark, the builders received 5 votes per lot they still owned, so they still had more "power" than the home owners, but we didn't have any issues. I could see that being an issue in other neighborhoods.

[gtt99]

My question is; Why would anyone subject themselves to a life with HOA???