r/HOA • • Jan 04 '24

[State] and [Type] tags to be required in Title

25 Upvotes

A check to ensure that the State and Type of property is entered in the Title of new posts has been implemented. The [State] tag includes all 50 state abbreviations and "N/A" for those posts where state is irrelevant (foreign users, non-legal generic question). The [Type] tag includes [SFH], [Condo], [TH], [Co-Op], and [All].

The tags must be in square brackets, as shown!

  • SFH - Single Family Home
  • Condo - Condominium
  • TH - Townhouse
  • Co-op - Co-Operative
  • All - post related to any type HOA

A list of the valid state tags is in a comment below.

For example, a title should look like "[IL] [Condo] How to amend bylaws".


r/HOA • • Nov 14 '24

Breaking News Post Flair now required

22 Upvotes

This will help users and mods focus on specific topics of interest. Also, we can post a comment to reference more information on the specific topic from the sub's resources.


r/HOA • • 13h ago

Help: Neighbor Dispute What can property manager/HOA do about unresponsive tenant? [TH] [TN]

3 Upvotes

I have a neighbor (with whom I share one wall of our respective townhomes) who has been renting out their unit for the last few years. I had no issues at all with the first tenant who was there for the first 2 or 3 years I’ve lived here, but the current occupants clearly have no regard for the property or the neighborhood. There is a dilapidated fence and a broken window that haven’t been repaired for several weeks. I’m not even sure who lives there and who is visiting with the different cars and people I see coming and going (not a crime, I know, but just strange).

I finally emailed our HOA’s property management company today to let them know these issues are still going on. The neighbor on the other side told me she emailed about a month ago, so they’ve had plenty of time to respond and/or get in contact with the homeowner. Here is the exchange:

Initial email:

My name is (redacted) and I live in (redacted). I share a wall with (problem unit).

I wanted to share my concerns with you and the homeowner as I believe the people living there now are renters.

There has been a broken window and broken fence for some time now, so I’m guessing maybe this hasn’t been reported to the owner or the HOA. I met one of the tenants several months ago (I believe her last name is (blank)) but I’m not sure if she is still staying there. There seems to be different people and vehicles coming and going, which isn’t breaking any rules but seems suspicious.

I just wanted you and the homeowner to be aware in case they haven’t been in to check on the home recently.

Reply:
Yes I have been sending multiple violations to this owner for months now.  Unfortunately, they are being non-responsive.  I had just sent 3 more violations this morning with additional fines. The owner used to be very responsive, so I am not sure what is going on.  Some have said they through the people in there are squatters.

My response:
Thanks for the quick response. Is there really no way of escalating this further? Especially if they are suspected squatters. If the outside of the home is any indication, they are not taking care of the inside either. I don’t want this to become a safety issue seeing as I have to share a wall with them. 

So my question is: Is there really nothing that a property management company can do to contact the homeowner and/or enforce some kind of action? This is my first bad experience in being part of an HOA, but I find it ridiculous that I pay so much money each month to live next to a dump.


r/HOA • • 23h ago

Help: Law, CC&Rs, Bylaws, Rules Friend needs access to her passed moms [Condo] in [FL]

8 Upvotes

A friends mom passed very unexpectedly and suddenly. We live in the northeast and she will be travelling to Florida tomorrow morning, approximate arrival time to the condo is 12pm Friday 10/23. She only has a few days to go through all of the belongings and what to do with what will not be kept.

The issue: the condo is currently undergoing renovations - the pool area is torn up, the lawns are torn up, painting is being done (this is all, to my understanding). She has been notified by a relative who is currently staying at the property that access to the condo is blocked from 9am - 5pm Friday. I don’t know this HOAs rules or anything, but she only has a few days to be there and get things settled. She’s very stressed and is understandably frustrated as this is a decent block of time to sit around doing nothing, with no other plans or anywhere to go whilst they wait to be allowed to access the property. Are they allowed to fully restrict access to an owned property and/ or not allow people to leave?

TLDR; friend needs absolutely every hour she has in FL, is there anything she can do?

Edit; is there anything my friend can say/ do to be able to access the property when she arrives or is she going to be SOL and have to wait? TYIA for any insight or advice!


r/HOA • • 18h ago

Discussion / Knowledge Sharing Has your HOA ever set up a group deal for pest control, lawn care, etc.? [CA][SFH]

2 Upvotes

I’m working on an idea and would love feedback from people who deal with HOAs.

Every summer, door-to-door reps knock on every house in the neighborhood selling pest control, solar, and so on. They usually get decent prices by signing up a bunch of houses on the same street, but the pitch is pushy, you don't know the salesman and you never know if you’re getting a fair deal. Booking online on your own avoids the sales pitch, but you pay full price because you’re just one house.

The idea is to get the street-level pricing without the door knocking. Homeowners in the neighborhood can opt in to a vetted local company, and because that company services a bunch of houses on the same day, everyone gets a better rate than booking on their own.

A few questions:

  1. Has your HOA or neighborhood ever tried something like this? What happened?
  2. How did you pick your current pest/lawn/window company? Did a neighbor recommend them, did you find them online, or did a door-to-door rep sign you up?
  3. If you’re on a board: would you want any part in this, or does it sound like a headache you’d stay away from?
  4. What would make you not trust it?

Honest answers help most, including “this is a bad idea.”


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Help: Common Elements [CA] [Condo] Have any boards here moved from shared laundry machine rental companies to buying machines to serve the building?

5 Upvotes

Hi all! I’m on the board of my HOA and we currently have a contract with one of those big, terrible, laundry machine rental companies. You know, where they keep half the profits, slow roll servicing, keep broken and old machines from ever actually getting fixed, can never talk to an actual person, raise fees without warning, etc etc.

So anyway, our contract expires soon and one option I want to budget out is if the HOA purchased play dry machines directly, and hired a company to service them for a monthly fee (plus costs of parts etc). Then the HOA could be in full control of the repairs, the pricing, etc.

Curious if anyone has ever made this switch, or if anyone has owned / shared machines for their communities? Would appreciate any POV. Thanks!


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Help: Enforcement, Violations, Fines [SFH] - Hoa wants me to mow steep natural hillside - [SC] 29707

18 Upvotes

I received a violation for a natural hillside which is part of my property.

While selling the house the builder told me its a steep slope 63ft x 18ft approx 1200 sqft and cannot be converted to turf. Also the builder asked me to only build a retaining wall and do nothing else on that slope except occasionally trimming down the vegetation. At the bottom of slope there an easement which drains water to sink hole.

So the last 4 years of owning this property i paid contractors to maintain it for me. They have been weedwacking it and keeping it in control.

Last month I received a violation from HOA for not mowing the hillside. Keeping in mind the above context I literally cannot mow an ungraded slope filled with natural vegetation I responded saying there is no turf. Hence cannot mow. But instead I can weedwack and keep it maintained.

But the HOA says it needs to be mowed. The problem now I face is that contractors refuse to mow. And HOA wants it mowed. Im concerned about erosion.

Also the contractors refuse to weed wack to 4 or 5 inches as its exhausting and they also need to maintain other properties. They prefer working on flat yard opposed to my hillside. They say its not worth it. To make things worse their mowers slide down to bottom of hill while mowing. Plus they say the steep slope can topple the mower so they can only safely weedwack to 10-20 inch. But hoa wants it mowed.

What do I do? This slope is 20-25 feet away from my foundation too so im concerned about erosion as well.

The HOA doesnt care about all erosion /slope etc. They want me to make the slope presentable, perfect as per their standards. But its a natural hillside for God's sake. How pretty can you realistically make it without blowing a whole lot of money?​

How do I get out of this situation? Any tips?

[ UPDATE ] HOA Board had someone send to survey this monning and they now agree that this slope cannot be mowed. Its too close to Sink hole for any modifications like grading or removal of existing vegetation that could potentially block the sink hole if erosion were to happen. They have sent in the report to management company . Now im just waiting for their update or waiver of the violation.


r/HOA • • 22h ago

Discussion / Knowledge Sharing [CA][Condo] HOA common area lawn conversion

2 Upvotes

Hello,

We are a relatively medium sized condo HOA in terms of unit number but we have a huge common area with multiple water features and about 40,000 sqft only lawns with addition to plenty of ground cover and trees…

The lawn conversion bids we are getting are like more than half a million dollars.. we understand we will save a big money down the line but that amount of money is insane, or is it not? Our property’s one of the primary selling points is the landscape.. so, we really do not want to do a half baked conversation..

I am a newbie in the board… other members are while very active in maintenance, they are almost ready to sell their unit and go to retirement home (for real). So, none of them are helpful in reviewing the bids or studying the market. However, they have voted me to take over the conversation project and talk to whoever vendor or designer I like and submit the bids..

Any advice or suggestions? We are in NorCal. I have never owned a home with yard, so, personally, I have zero knowledge of gardening. We have very detached community, whatever committee we have tried to create so far never really worked. I am a bit freaking out about this project.

Our lawns are non-functional because they are on big slope with lots of trees.


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Help: Everything Else [CA] [Condo] non construction vendors doing structural work

3 Upvotes

The stairs leading up to my unit were getting loose due to wood rot. Took the board 3-4 months after I placed a ticket to hire someone. First time using the stairs after the job is complete and it’s a complete disaster. The railings are a different height. Each step has a different height and depth compared to the next. It seems like they made the first half of the steps super close, realized they were running out of steps, and spaced out the last half. I looked up the company who did the work, there’s no website but based on Yelp and the owners LinkedIn, they advertise as commercial cleaning and haven’t seen anything regarding construction, just “building maintenance”. On top of that, a resident told me they saw the workers drinking beer. I emailed the PM with photo evidence, mentioned the beer, and questioned why a commercial cleaning company was hired to do this work and asking for their license.

I know the current president does not like me and I used to serve on the board and took presidency away from her as I had the most votes. We’ve argue a lot about not hiring for cheap labor, so to me, this looks like they hired cheap labor again, which will result in rework. I told the PM I do not want the same company redoing the work.

Looking for advice for next steps and/or a reasonable time for the board to have this fixed. I have to walk down the steps sideways in order not to fall or scratch my legs on the steps. I’ve been carrying my dog up/down as he is little and don’t want him accidentally falling through the big gaps.


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Help: Fees, Reserves [ALL] [GA] Ignored Reserve Study, Dues Increases, Board Changes and Appointments... Help!

3 Upvotes

I’m sorry in advance, but this is going to be a long post so that I can fill in some necessary context before the questions…

I live in a mixed-use community with single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and retail. We have a Master HOA that includes the single-family homes and all common areas of the neighborhood (parks, pond, playground, lighting, security, etc.), and a “Towncenter” HOA that is the condos, townhomes, and retail. As a condo owner, I pay both, with the Master HOA being a line item on my monthly bill. There is a Master HOA Board and a Towncenter Board. Condo and townhome residents participate in both meetings, but Master HOA members do not participate in Towncenter meetings.

More context… The Master HOA had reserve studies done in 2020 and 2022 to determine what potential expenses there would be for the next 10-20 years. Those studies determined that two large retaining walls in the neighborhood would need to be replaced in 2028 and 2030, and would cost approximately $1.5M each. As of 2026, the only board member who was around for the studies is the Secretary, and everyone else on the board is new. 

Even more context… Every board meeting I’ve attended has included comments from the CFO (board member) about how healthy our reserves are. Master HOA dues have increased each year by about 2-3%, and there were even discussions at the beginning of this year about not raising dues at all because of how healthy the reserves were. There has never been mention of a reserve study or potential projects. We currently have about $1.5M in reserves, and these two projects (if completed according to the reserve studies) will bankrupt the HOA without substantial changes now. 

Last month, our regularly scheduled quarterly board meeting turned very contentious because of an argument between the President and Secretary. Their argument had nothing to do with the finances and was about an unrelated project. However, this meant that there was very little time for anything else on the agenda, and the resident forum was cut entirely. Our CFO tried to raise awareness to the reserve study and potential dues increases, but was shut down by the President. As a resident, the only thing I got in the meeting was that our CFO was concerned about something in the finances and a potential need to increase dues. They also very briefly mentioned the retaining walls, and said they were going to have our property management company schedule an engineer to inspect them and see if we needed to maintain the reserve study schedule. No other details were shared. 

Fast forward to this week. All residents received an email about an emergency board meeting being scheduled to discuss “board changes and the budget.”

In the meeting, we learned the President resigned following the contentious September meeting, everything about this huge retaining wall project, and that the current board members were voting to expand the board. In the meeting, the CFO recommended that dues be increased by 17% this year, and higher percentages for the next 2 years to pay for the projects. Everyone was very surprised, and the board voted to table the issue for two weeks to learn more. However, our bylaws require a set budget and dues in increases by the first week of December, so we are very much on the clock.

In this meeting the board also unanimously voted to expand the board by two seats and appoint two previous board members to those newly created positions. According to the Secretary, the goal is to use them for their institutional knowledge of the reserve study and potential dues increases tied to replacing these retaining walls. While all of this is allowed, residents did express frustration that we are expanding the board with the sole purpose of appointing people handily selected.

Now the questions… 

  1. As residents, do we have any recourse to the fact that this giant project was essentially hidden from us since 2020? I know they will say “The reserve study was published to the resident portal for you to download.” But, that seems irrelevant if we’re constantly being told by the board members about how healthy our reserves are. During the meeting, several residents even commented that they were unable to locate it because it was buried in folders on the platform.

  2. What are the differences between a special assessment and dues increases? Some of my neighbors are wanting this to be a special assessment, so the dues are guaranteed to go back done once this project is paid for and reserves replenished. What are the pros/cons? 

  3. Our property management company scheduled an engineering firm to inspect the walls last week, but it will take 6 weeks to get their recommendation. This will put us beyond our deadlines for the budget and potential dues increases. Have any of you had to deal with moving dates set in your bylaws without an amendment due to special circumstances? Everyone is unanimously upset about the fact that we’re making decisions without an actual engineering report. 

  4. In some cases, Towncenter residents have had their dues double in the last five years due to a variety of projects and repair work that needed to be done, and we are all very upset about even more substantial increases. This is vastly different from the single-family homes who only pay into the Master HOA and have only seen 2-3% increases. The Master HOA seems sympathetic to this, and the board appears willing to take on more of the project cost, specially since the single-family homes are all $1M+ and the condos are $250k, so vastly different income levels of the residents. For example, creating a scenario where non-Towncenter residents have a bigger percentage of the cost. Our property manager says this can’t be done without an amendment and a 75% approval rating to completely rewrite the bylaws about the due structure. Has anyone seen something like this be done without an amendment? 

  5. Should we be concerned that the board appointment two former board members to these newly created vacant seats? There is nothing wrong with the process, but I’m a little concerned as to why two people who knew about the reserve study for 6 years, but did nothing about it, are being brought on to “consult.”

  6. Does the management company hold any responsibility for not bringing this project to light? We have had the same management company for at least 10+ years. Isn't part of their responsibilities to ensure the budget matches the reserve studies, and raise red flags?

I know this is a very long post and I’m very thankful for any insight!


r/HOA • • 21h ago

Breaking News [FL] [HOA] [HOA ABUSE] [PETITION] HOMEOWNER] [SFH] END HOA ABUSE: Florida Homeowners Petition to Demand Real State Oversight

0 Upvotes

Florida Homeowners Demand Real State Oversight

Florida Statute §720.302 declares that:
protecting homeowners’ rights is a legislative purpose

Yet the same statute says:
creating a state agency to regulate HOAs is not in homeowners’ best interests.

How does denying homeowners oversight protect their rights?

Florida DBPR’s own annual reports reveal an alarming trend:
2020–21: 1,569 CAM complaints; 69 probable-cause findings.
2023–24: 2,253 CAM complaints; just 3 probable-cause findings.

Complaints increased 44% while probable-cause findings fell 96%.
Meanwhile, homeowners can face financially devastating litigation against HOAs using homeowners’ own assessment money.
Our statewide petition calls for meaningful HOA oversight, enforcement of CAM laws, DBPR accountability, affordable justice, and protection against retaliation and financial abuse.

Read and sign the petition:
Petition to demand HOA oversight

Help bring this issue to the Florida Legislature.


r/HOA • • 2d ago

Help: Enforcement, Violations, Fines [All] [N/A] What do y'all think of my Halloween decoration idea? Will I need an ARC request?

Post image
212 Upvotes

100% Title


r/HOA • • 22h ago

Help: Common Elements Rear loaded dumpsters [condo] [N/A]

0 Upvotes

Has anyone had any experience with replacing dumpsters? We have four dumpsters on our property all that are in very poor shape. They have been Warne Marsh to have a company come in and refurbish them is way too expensive. We can buy new ones for lesser cost however two of the companies that we price said that we would be responsible for offloading them. I don’t think anyone of us on the board can actually take a dump dumpster off of a truck to place it also, what is your recommendation on how to dispose of the dumpster because the companies that we could buy from won’t take the old dumpster so we don’t know how to discard them. Either any advice you could have on replacing dumpsters would be greatly appreciated.


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Help: Damage, Insurance [Condo] [CA] Sewage Clogged Shared Pipe - File Claim Master Policy

2 Upvotes

We have a sewage clog in the pipe between walls and HOA called and paid for the plumber to unclog. Now the unit owner is requesting HOA to file a claim against our Master policy for needed repairs inside the condo. The repair amount is roughly 1-2K above deductible. Is the HOA obligated to file since there’s no prior incidents or records this pipe has an issue and plumber did not find a root cause?

If HOA declines to file, does the owner have the rights to force the filing?

There’s no evidence to point to HOA’s negligence so is HOA even responsible for any repairs within the unit?


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Help: Enforcement, Violations, Fines [TX] [ALL] First time home buyer, HOA is giving me hell

28 Upvotes

I am a first time home buyer in Texas, yes I knew the house I bought had HOA. What caught my attention was the 6 car driveway the house had, it was previously for 5 cars but previous owner filled in the rest, (To make it for 6 cars) Not even a month of living there I get a letter from HOA saying I had to summit an exterior modification request for the added on driveway piece. I proceeded to email back asking why if I bought the property like that. I sent in the modification request and I was denied. Denied because..
“The proposed driveway expansion is not architecturally consistent with the community streetscape and would result in an excessive increase of paved surface within the front yard area.”
I drove around the neighborhood (it’s not a big neighborhood) and seen another 3-4 houses with the same size driveway..
ALSO the HOA did tell me they sent the previous owners a notice letter a couple months prior to me buying the house.
I feel like the HOA failed to enforce the rules with the previous owners. They could have put a lean on the house and got them to address it but now they want me to remove it and pay for the damages.
Any advice helps!!


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Help: Fees, Reserves Resources for explaining how HOAs work [condo] [OR]

6 Upvotes

Does anyone have any recommendations for resources to explain to homeowners how HOAs and reserves are supposed to work?

I am on the board for our self managed HOA. We know we have about 5-7 years left on the roof so I got quotes, made a plan and proposed a dues increase that would ensure we have enough for the roofs in 5 years plus inflation plus still maintaining the reserves. For context current dues are $150 a month and my proposal is for $260 a month, starting 2027.

Everyone lost their minds. They want to keep dues low and do an assessment when the roof is ready to be done. I explained assessments are bad and we want to plan ahead for this expense. No, no one agrees. They all want to “set aside money at their own discretion” to plan for it and not pay the higher dues. I tried to explain this makes the condos look bad and risky and that not everyone is going to save up so what happens when roof is due and half the folks don’t have the money?

So I’m looking for any resources explaining why assessments are bad, why we need to save in an HOA fund so we can track it, etc. My verbal explaining that’s not how HOAs work is not doing a thing.


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Discussion / Knowledge Sharing [TH] [CO] HOA DISMISSES ANY RECOMMENDATIONS OR UPDATES ON CURRENT PENDING PROJECTS @ PROPERTY

0 Upvotes

So long story short the HOA where I live is starting to become less and less concerned about hiding the BS they feed the community. For some insight. We have lived here for 5+ years. When we moved in the HOA was @ $249 and now its at $490. At first it was small increases. Nothing out of the ordinary. Filling reserves ect. In the last few years as we finally joined the board. Its been easier to notice the BS being thrown out to us. Example 1. The monthly payment jumped over $100 a month. Everyone was furious. They said it was the insurance for the property which okay? Sure... so then the guy that runs the HOA meetings tried to sneak in how unit #1 owes almost a year of mortgage and hoa payments and how the reserve funds have been going to the lawyer... jump ahead once they "figured" it out they refused to share how much of the reserves went into the lawyer, etc. Because they kept saying they would put it back when they make the owner of unit #1 to pay it all back.... anyway clearly it sucked but surely one can understand how that makes slight sense. They send a big packet stating where the money is going every year. One year it said a dog park! How awesome! YEAH YOU GUESSED IT. No dog park. Same excuses. Same thing at the end of the year. A increase in HOA.

When I look up the HOA business they have zero good reviews, and when I look the address to the company they say are coming to do the work. It comes back as a parking lot. Just wondering legal help. And opinions lol. Lay it onto me. If tou need more examples please ask as the post was way too long already.


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Help: Enforcement, Violations, Fines [NC] [TH] HOA approved our rental exception, then reversed it after we secured a tenant. Do we have any legal recourse?

1 Upvotes

Looking for advice from anyone familiar with North Carolina HOA laws or who has dealt with something similar.

My husband and I own a townhome in Durham, NC. We purchased another home earlier this year and spent several months trying to sell our townhome without success.

Because we couldn’t afford to keep carrying two mortgages indefinitely, we requested a rental exception from our HOA based on financial hardship.
Here’s the timeline:

August 12: Submitted our request for a rental exception.
September: Followed up and provided additional information about our financial hardship.
October 5: Received written approval from our HOA management company for a one-year rental exception. No additional conditions were specified in the approval.
October 11: Listed the property for rent based on that approval.
October 14–15: Secured a qualified tenant and prepared a lease.
October 16: Management suddenly told us to pause everything while the board reconsidered.
This week: The HOA reversed its approval.
By the time they reversed their decision, we had already hired a property manager, incurred approximately $2,700 in expenses and secured a tenant who had begun making arrangements to move.

There is also some concerning background involving a neighboring homeowner who is personally connected to the HOA president and has expressed opposition to the property being rented. We don’t know whether that influenced the decision, but the timing raises questions.
We’ve tried to work with the HOA in good faith throughout this process. We aren’t trying to operate a short-term rental or circumvent the rules. We just need temporary relief from a genuine financial hardship until we can sell the property.
Our prospective tenant is an older, retired woman who wants a quiet place to live. Her anticipated move-in date is November 1.

We are contacting attorneys, but our primary goal is to have the original approval reinstated, not to pursue a lengthy lawsuit.

My questions:

Can an HOA in North Carolina reverse a rental exception after issuing written approval and allowing the homeowner to rely on it financially?
Would detrimental reliance or promissory estoppel potentially apply here?
Does the HOA have to identify a specific provision in its governing documents authorizing the reversal?
Would an attorney demand letter potentially be enough to resolve something like this?
Has anyone successfully challenged an HOA decision under similar circumstances?

We understand that the governing documents matter and are having those reviewed. Just hoping to hear from people who have dealt with similar situations, particularly in North Carolina.


r/HOA • • 2d ago

Help: Law, CC&Rs, Bylaws, Rules Who is responsible for this shared stair landing?[Condo][AZ]

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10 Upvotes

Hey everyone! I own a condo in AZ and the stair landing between mine and my neighbors unit is needing repair. My neighbor reached out to the HOA and they said this was the owners responsibility and we had to work with each other to pay and fix it.

I dont believe this is correct, so wanted to see what yall think?

The HOA sent me this document and said “this document shows we are not responsible for the stair landing”… i am reviewing the document and i dont see anywhere about the stair landing… am i missing something?

TIA!


r/HOA • • 1d ago

Help: Law, CC&Rs, Bylaws, Rules Indianapolis, IN Gonna love this HOA Gone Rogue [N/A] [ALL]

0 Upvotes

This is crazy. I moved in with my mom to help her in her in her elderly years. Met a friend and she started telling me she was being sued by the HOA and an attorney and they didn’t have the right to. I took it upon myself to look into this. What I found is absolutely insane.

First, the HOA board is trying to send around a vote for the 2024 budget. It’s 2026. FYI, it was never approved. The board unilaterally decided to up our HOA fees to $250. They were at $100 one board member realized they could only up the fees 105%. So they increased the fees to $200 instead. The incompetence of this board is unreal. The worst part. I am the only one since 2024 who has had the common sense to read the bylaws and covenants and actually see what’s going on.
In that 2024 budget, they introduced paying a lawyer $2000 to update our covenants and bylaws. Of course this was never passed then decided they were gonna start using the lawyer to sue people and charge $25 late fees neither of which is in our covenant, some bylaws it explicitly states only liens may be placed on houses. I then look up the law firm because I can’t believe a law firm would actually do this without the legal authority to do so the law firm is KSN surprisingly this is not the first time they’ve done it. 🤦‍♀️ any estate or civil litigation lawyers out there with HOA experience who would like to have a case that that’s a guaranteed win let me know.


r/HOA • • 2d ago

Help: Everything Else Hosting Happy Hour to convince owners to join the board... [Condo] [N/A]

19 Upvotes

I'm hosting a happy hour tonight in my unit for a dozen neighbors to talk about board/committee service and hopefully convince one or two folks to run for the board in November. If you're on the board, what convinced you to run? If I had them fill out a post it note along with their nametag when they show up, what question(s) would you use as a prompt? My goal is that folks leave here feeling empowered and energized to participate. (A note that the perception I've created is that board service is a lot of work. Much of the work that this board did should set the next board up for a much easier term, including new mgmt, improved PM contract and oversight, we hired a Bldg Engineer for the first time, board members rolling off will be staying on committees, etc etc).


r/HOA • • 2d ago

Help: Law, CC&Rs, Bylaws, Rules [MN] [TH] Underground power line repair - who pays?

2 Upvotes

I live in a 48 unit townhome development. Each unit has their own individual power line running underground from their residence to their detached garages.

I lost power to my garage following a parking lot resurfacing project in 2022. After several back and forths with the HOA Board, they hired - and paid for - an electrician to restore power to my garage in 2023.

Fast forward to early 2026 and I lose power to my garage. I call an electrician to come out and take a look and they tell me my power source is coming from a neighboring garage. Apparently, the previous electrician - hired by and paid for by the HOA - spliced into my neighbors power line in order to restore power to my garage back in 2023 rather than repairing the underground line.

I am now faced with two options to restore power to my garage: splice back into my neighbors power line (illegal) OR tear up the parking lot and repair the previously damaged power line.

Our by-laws state that garages are a limited common element and all wiring is the responsibility of the Homeowner. However, considering the HOA Board previously hired and paid for their electrician to (illegally) restore power to my garage,
who do you think should be financially responsible for repairing the underground power line?


r/HOA • • 2d ago

Discussion / Knowledge Sharing Anyone know CAL-HOA Member Advocacy (CHOAMA)? [CA] [Condo]

0 Upvotes

Has anyone heard of or worked with a non-profit specializing in HOA Member Advocacy called CAL-HOA Member Advocacy (CHOAMA)? If so, what was your experience?


r/HOA • • 2d ago

Help: Law, CC&Rs, Bylaws, Rules Debris from private properties clogging community culverts [NM] [all]

1 Upvotes

We maintain 2.5 miles of dirt roads, culverts crossing roads and ditches along. The gated community, 42 homes on 2-10 acre lots, is situated on 7000 to 7500 ft elevation in the mountains of New Mexico. A large issue is that landscape debris, pine needles, branches, old Christmas trees, is swept down hillsides from private properties into the community ditches and are clogging culverts etc maintained by our association, causing overflow and ruts on our roads. The respective property owners claim that cleaning their properties to avoid debris swept into our culverts is a community issue and thus the community has to clear these. What is the legal situation in this case? How is this being handled in other communities?


r/HOA • • 2d ago

Help: Everything Else [CT] [condo] elderly prior board president and wife causing misinformation

2 Upvotes

What is a responsible way to handle. These are older condo buildings from 1940s, each has multiple floors. An owner couple, elderly, the man had been board president at one time. But has a sketchy past, but many new owners and novice board do not know. He keeps telling everyone such things as we are not subject to: permits, or that we have not needed licensed electricians since the buildings were built. adamantly opposed to fire code requirements (for existing buildings), he feels due to building type older Type II-B, that they are "fire proof." Mind you, this man once told be 2 people died in a fire here, a few months ago an electrical fire in the wall, and stove fires. He is loud, and captures attention - we are going to have a fire inspection, so it set him off. When there is a project with electric, or permits, it sets him off.

Problem is he has high credibility. He had been involved in not cooperating with abatements when he was prez. Sooner or later anything he refused to abate and he thought he got away with it, caught up in a later inspection. His wife on the board has convinced the others on the board also. A different board prez had a code consultant, that this man and another former board prez, both in kahoots, felt we should not have to comply. The code consultant report (paid by the association funds) aligned with every correction item. But they do not believe the code consultant, either. This has caused our place to have zero ongoing compliance and the town catches up every 2 years at inspections. But they simply try to get past an inspection and all goes to pot soon after. I could give many examples, but what is a good way to respond. I emailed a board member and said this man has not shown any documentation to prove his theory. Let them hire their own code consultant. He also used to play around with the fire alarm system having the code and handed it out like candy. And our vendor complained all history had been erased, multiple troubles piled up, etc. so they put locked covers on the annunciators.

I'd like to say this guy should be locked up somewhere, I don't understand why ppl believe him. What is a responsible thing to do? The town doesn't do education, and the few places they go to are assisted living, and only daytime. Nobody would be around if they wanted to have a presentation. AND this man has convinced everyone the fire marshal (and staff) are "stupid," and made us do things we did not need to do. I'd move out of here if I could, but our values have tanked due to a report detailing $2.5M in failing roofs, mechanicals, etc.