guest blog by Nila Ridings
Like most HOA issues outside of the one I live in, someone sends me something to take a look at. Shadowmoss was today’s “Take A Look At This!”
It appears in the first video that an older person with one leg and a wheelchair has been contacted by an attorney over $200 in delinquent dues. The process has begun to foreclose and take his home. There is one really decent man among the homeowners that says he’ll pay the $200 on behalf of that homeowner because the money means nothing to him. THANK YOU MR. CONCERNED NEIGHBOR WITH COMMON SENSE AND A BIG HEART! He does question why nobody on the board bothered to talk to the homeowner before unleashing an attorney on him. The answer seems to be the property manager did it!
This is one of the many millions of problems with HOAs. Board members do not want their time occupied with the daily operations of the HOA. So they hand it all over to a property manager who has not been vetted or had any background checks done on them. In the second video you will see how a homeowner took her time to investigate and uncover the truth.
I commend this group of homeowners for trying to recall their board members, investigate the property manager, and get answers to their legitimate questions. They have a nice website with an appeal to their neighbors to get involved. They have posted several videos on youtube of the board meetings as well. I hope they are successful in taking control before they get hit with some big surprises like so many of us living in nightmare HOAs have been.
(link to video on an HOA board vs. a disabled serviceman)
(Shadowmass board embarrassed that they hired an unvetted management company)
I live in Charleston South Carolina as well. my HOA is so corrupt it’s not funny it’s a Banana Republic with a tyrant at the head of it.I don’t want to give my name for fear of retaliation but everybody knows it’s a low-down dirty deal and they’re low down dirty dogs. , in my HOA they are all in bed together like smoking cigarettes was it good for you?
they’re all on the take they cover up for each other and the innocent people are paying hard-earned money into the HOA and being taken advantage of. Many of the owners are absentee landlords they have no idea what’s going on I urged them to look at the web page look at where the money’s going and look at the master deed but they are so entitled and enmeshed with each other and they don’t want to mess up their sweet little gig they have going on that it gets perpetuated. The City of Charleston needs to establish an HOA registrar in which board members of HOAs are required to register with the city they also should be required to pass a test on the content of their Master deed in addition to having book knowledge of what is in their deed they should have to study ethics and decision-making because having information is not enough if you don’t have the good judgment to use it well. I am hoping people will catch on to what a scam this is.
one of the main scams is sending a cease-and-desist notice if you go on YouTube you will find many homeowners received a cease-and-desist notice for just little things.
it is a bullying technique it is well known in the industry you could go so far as to say it’s standard operating procedure. If they can intimidate the person into keeping their mouth shut then they can keep their little scheme going but little by little people are wising up. I hope the City of Charleston starts investigating all of the HOA”s. They should have to be audited randomly by the City of Charleston the money should have to go Fairly into all of the buildings not just the buildings that the board members have units in. Information should be easily accessible to all owners. The board members should be required to uphold the master deed and to uphold their roles. In my HOA the president and the vice president do not follow the deed they do whatever they want and they feel entitled to get away with it because they don’t have to answer to anybody. It’s very sad for people like me who have paid into an HOA for years and years only to be betrayed. I’m glad this is happening because it’s putting it in the news how people have suffered for years and years.
Here’s more on Shadowmoss:
http://www.postandcourier.com/business/shadowmoss-board-sues-to-invalidate-competing-board-seeks-injunction/article_5a0300c0-96db-11e6-b40f-97f7288eb9da.html
Concerned Charleston Lady,
I hear you loud and clear. Sounds like you are dealing with the typical HOA corruption insanity.
There are other HOA members in SC dealing with similar issues. We need to connect all of you so you can team up and contact your legislators. The Kansas Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights Act can be found on the internet. Using that as a template and adding “teeth” to it that can be enforced to punish the bad actors should help you fight this battle.
It takes homeowners standing together and fighting for your rights. It is difficult to deal with these HOA bullies but exposure through the media never hurts!