Imagine living in the Vista Lago HOA in Orlando, Florida. What a nightmare. Two property managers claiming to be the legitimate ones, have hired and fired each other and filed liens against dozens of homeowners for unpaid dues. Many of those homeowners have been paying double and triple the dues and fines just for fear of losing their homes to whichever manager ends up winning the power struggle.
It’s hard to imagine the kind of unnecessary stress these homeowners are suffering.
(link to WFTV news story on the madness in Vista Lago Homeowners Association)
This is a perfect example of a situation where the HOA desperately needs the assistance of Public Administration. It’s quite clear that no one has any idea what is going on, what’s legal and what’s not legal, and what to do about it. There are also obvious language and culture barriers. Has the collection company owner exploited this HOA, or is he being duped by competing incompetent boards? No one knows.
And, of course, the homeowners are mostly powerless to do anything about it, becasue nearly all power is vested in a Board of directors in a homeowners association.
And instead of offering administrative support and dispute resolution, the state of Florida takes a “hands off” attitude and allows attorneys to rack up billable hours trying to fight these battles in court.
Let’s ask these owners how “carefree” and “affordable” it is to live under Vista Lago HOA.
I wish all property managers were required to be licensed and regulated. That wouldn’t stop all this nonsense, but it might help. We’ve gone through two property management companies now and both have been horrible.