guest blog by Nila Ridings
Oh, the tempers have started furiously flying at the sight of the assessment letters arriving in the mail!
The homeowners in the elite HOA of The Lakes in Visalia, in the Central San Joaquin Valley, are fuming because the private roads need paving (according the property manager and the board) and that requires an emergency assessment of $2,300 per lot. If a person owns three lots they need to triple that payment. Why the need for the emergency assessments? Quick answer: The reserves are underfunded. Which comes as no surprise to all of us who work daily on HOA issues.
The HOA attorney has informed the unhappy homeowners that the HOA board is within its legal rights to demand the assessments. And, if not paid, they will lien the properties until it is.
Our regular readers have heard me say this many times: Buying into an HOA comes with massive risks. When the ink dries on the purchase contract, you become the guarantor for all debts, loans, lawsuits, settlements, liabilities, construction defects and disaster rebuilds for the entire HOA. There is no way to escape it. The CC&Rs are never quite that clear and easily understood, but that’s what it boils down to.
The Lakes of Visalia has now joined the massive number of HOAs that are already war zones. Welcome to the REAL WORLD of HOA living!
(link to The Business Journal on paving fight)
