Category Archives: HOA Issues

Great Proposed HOA Bill In Colorado

      3 Comments on Great Proposed HOA Bill In Colorado
Guest blog by Stan Hrincevich

SB 15-177 concerns proposed construction defects litigation in Colorado. No Bill is perfect and in the world of HOA homeowners’ rights we seize the moment for any reform especially when it reins in the influence of HOA lawyers, property managers, and abusive Boards. This Bill would require HOA homeowners to approve the use of HOA funds in litigation.

Homeowners would have to be apprised of any intended litigation, informed on the substance and estimated costs, the consequences of unsuccessful litigation such as special assessments, and how the lawsuit is to be financed. A majority vote would be required to use HOA funds. HOAs can still bring legal action for construction defects and individuals can still pursue legal action using their own funds.

The Community Associations Institute (CAI) and HOA lawyers hate this Bill as it reins in their mostly open and easy access to HOA funds for litigation by requiring homeowners to first approve of such action. This can save large amounts of money for homeowners and safeguard reserve funds that can now be used for lawsuits. The CAI’s latest and weak argument on this Bill contends a Board would require a homeowner to vote for legal counsel on everyday, routine matters but no such verbiage is in the Bill and this is called desperation. See the article below for more information.

Please take a few minutes to write your legislator asking them to support SB 15-177. If the content of the Bill changes to lose our support we will let you know. Your email does help and helps home owners. Get involved!

CAI Threatened If Homeowners Are Empowered

(article from HOAforum.org)

The Community Associations Institute (CAI), long incorrectly identified as a homeowner-centric organization in the press and by State legislators, is again attacking the idea of HOA homeowners’ rights. The CAI represents the interests of property managers and HOA lawyers and not homeowners. This time they are objecting to a provision in proposed Colorado SB 15-177 (construction defects) that requires HOA homeowners to approve the use of HOA funds in litigation. Why the opposition? The CAI and HOA lawyers view the HOA as a profit center and easy money. Empowering homeowners on how their funds are used considered disruptive and meddling.

Too often HOA lawyers raid HOA bank accounts for legal fees and costly legal cases that should never have been litigated. That leaves homeowners with depleted reserve funds, special assessments to pay legal costs, and/or increases in HOA dues to replenish reserve funds. HOA Boards can currently enter into litigation without apprising homeowners of their intent, the cost and consequences of litigation or how they intend to finance legal fees. Boards can incur unlimited legal expenses and even take out debt instruments to pay legal fees. Home owners in too many cases only know of the financial consequences after the case has been litigated and they are stuck with the bill. This Bill simply reins in the authority of an HOA Board (that is highly influenced by HOA lawyers and property managers) in making decisions on litigation that can have significant if not catastrophic financial impact.

SB 15-177 would not preclude legal action but require a majority of home owners to approve litigation. This would mitigate the number of law suits and the abusive practice of an HOA Board suing on behalf of a very few (as few as two) vs. the community at large. More cases would be handled in the less expensive legal venue of arbitration thus saving HOAs significant sums of money. Home owners could still pursue individual actions using their own funds.

The CAI is fabricating a tall tale in contending that any legal fees paid to an HOA lawyer related to routine advice and counsel would take a majority vote of home owners. This Bill doesn’t get involved in regulating or interfering with the operations and daily functions of the HOA. Legal counsel on enforcing covenants, controls, restrictions, and debt collection or other issues involving common and routine HOA issues would not require a majority vote of homeowners. It’s just not in this Bill. Payment of routine legal counsel doesn’t require a lawsuit today nor would it under this Bill. This Bill is directed at legal cases filed in a court of law that are specific, unique, non-recurring and financially impacting. The CAI is embarrassing itself by claiming that any payment to an HOA lawyer would have to be voted upon. Obviously, the CAI is desperate to kill this bill.

The winner in this Bill will be homeowners in HOA community associations, not the Community Association Institute. Homeowners will now have more control over how HOA assets are used. They will still retain the right to litigate construction defects. This Bill does not impair the ability of any HOA Board to govern but contributes to open governance.

 

HOA Battle in Britain

      No Comments on HOA Battle in Britain

I thought Brits were supposed to be more polite than Americans. At least the Brits think they are. But Homeowner Associations are endemic around the world. And nasty neighbors can be found anywhere.

But here’s a great nomination for the Neighbors from Hell category from LA Times columnist Donie Vanitzian. It involves a neighborhood battle that’s been going on for forty years in a borough in Tyne and Wear in the northeast corner of England. 89 year old John Bushell has been jailed and fined multiple times over the years because of the unbelievable harassment of his neighbors. Bushell spends a lot of time perfecting his house and garden. But he thinks his neighbors don’t keep up their homes to his standards.

Bushell has diverted his gutters to flood his neighbors’ yards. He has painted the walls facing his neighbors black. He has threatened multiple times to shoot his neighbors and burn down their homes.

Forty years this has been going on! Crazy.

(link to Daily Mail column on the Bushell madness)

 

Fire Pit Between The Roads

      1 Comment on Fire Pit Between The Roads
guest blog by Nila Ridings

Let’s all meet down at the fire pit. You know the one in between the busy streets. The one where kids will be crossing in the darkness and might forget to check for traffic. Or somebody driving drunk might jump the curb and wipe out the crowd.

Prairie Village, Kansas is an upscale area developed by Jesse Clyde Nichols (you’ve read about him in Evan McKenzie’s book, Privatopia). It’s commonly referred to as “Perfect Village.”

Some HOA board members authorized a landscaper to build a fire pit as a community gathering place between busy city streets and on city property. The city planners have put their foot down against this HOA. And I applaud them for doing so! HOA boards never cease to amaze me. I don’t know if it’s their pompous attitudes, ignorance, or endless need to control others. But it was a delight to see this story on the news tonight.

Although, I’m sorry for the landscaper with good intentions who got caught in the crossfire. His heart was in the right place. He just had a blind faith and trust in the HOA board…just like millions of other Americans do!

So, don’t meet me at the fire pit. By the time you’d get here, it will be gone!

(link to KMBC story on the fire pit)

 

Comcast Starts Billing Spokane, Washington Customer as “Asshole Brown”

      No Comments on Comcast Starts Billing Spokane, Washington Customer as “Asshole Brown”

Homeowners are beleaguered enough with abusive HOA boards and managers.  Many of these HOAs require homeowners to only use the approved cable company to get cable TV and Internet services.

But telephone and TV providers have unparalleled records, themselves, when dealing with people trying to get changes in their service. I experienced the near impossibility of getting a change in my Century Link and Verizon phone service in Colorado last fall so I knows it goes on.

The story from Spokane, Washington linked below is beyond belief. When Ricardo Brown and his wife insisted in cancelling his cable, Comcast began sending bills to his home addressed to “Asshole Brown.”

Incredible!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/29/comcast-asshole-brown_n_6568238.html

 

Owner wants to know how to get rid of HOA

      1 Comment on Owner wants to know how to get rid of HOA
guest blog by Deborah Goonan

An owner in Parkview HOA in Brownsville, TX was recently interviewed by KRGV television. He explains that several years ago their HOA “fizzled out” but then a new management company suddenly appeared on the scene, looking to collect assessments. But the HOA has a $46,000 deficit, and many owners are not paying their dues or paying attention to the HOA, despite collection letters tacking on a $250 attorney fee for delinquent account owners.

So what’s the story here? That’s a bit of a mystery. A quick Google search turns up minimal information on Parkview Homeowners Association LLC – address, phone number, and management agent. Attorney Bill Davis was consulted by KGRV, and, according to him, the first step is to locate the original HOA governing documents, and determine whether the HOA currently attempting to collect assessments is the Original HOA vs. a newly formed corporation masquerading as the once-defunct HOA. Got that?

The story leaves out many details, and calls to mind several questions. Was there a vote of owners to revive this inactive HOA? How long was it inactive? Were assessments being collected before the new management company started sending invoices? How many homes are involved, and what are the dues?

There are specific legal processes for dissolution, as well as reviving inactive HOAs, depending on state law. Looks like the homeowner, Mr. Jack Jew, will have to consult an attorney, and get together with his neighbors to see if they can rid themselves of the HOA that he claims most owners do NOT want.

Ironically, as demonstrated in Florida, a group of Bulk Buyers (investors) can quickly gain control of a Board, and then vote to dissolve the Association.  But ordinary owners of one measly home apiece have to play detective and jump through numerous legal hoops just to get rid of the HOA albatross, if possible.

Does that seem fair to you?

(link to story in Brownsville, TX)