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jakob
Posts:473
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| 10/05/2008 12:00 PM |
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JPinPB, JasonJ, and Talks2Walls were sharing some good HOA stories. Here's an article I found with a bunch more.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/HOA-horrors1.asp
To many people it's Shangri-La. Heaven. Paradise.
Everybody's lawn is manicured. No one's gone to an electric chartreuse and fuchsia color scheme. No one's got her granny panties -- or thongs, for that matter -- flapping on a clothesline. No junk cars in the side yard. No sofas on the front porch.
Everything looks wonderful.
To others, it's sheer hell. Hades. Purgatory.
Skip one Saturday mowing the lawn and the Gestapo comes down on you. Four hundred and some houses are the same boring shade of beige. You can't get that nice fresh-air fragrance in your unmentionables. That classic Corvette you were planning to restore got towed away, and your wife has been officially informed that the cute little swing near the front door is a violation punishable by death.
Depending on your perspective, your homeowner's association is either the best of all worlds ... or the worst.
Here are just a few homeowner horror stories that have been reported to Bankrate:
# A man from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., lost his home because he planted too many roses on his four-acre site. The board fined him and watched monthly as the fines mounted.
When they slapped a lien on his home, he went to court and lost because he'd transgressed the board's architectural design rules. He was stuck with the board's $70,000 legal fees and lost his home to the bank.
# A woman from Pomona, Calif., who was involved in a divorce fell behind with her monthly dues. The board said she owed $1,000; she said it was less than $800, and they went to court when the board threatened foreclosure.
The woman was right -- the volunteer board's amateur accountants goofed, but the judge ruled she should have made back payments during the dispute, anyway, and the therapist was handed a $22,000 legal bill.
# A couple from Lawrenceville, Ga., found they had a $3,500 lien on their house when they tried to sell it. The homeowners association had been fining them every day they left pink flamingos on their lawn but didn't tell them. The association got the money, but the couple have filed suit to get it back.
# A Maryland man asked for a six-foot fence as protection from a neighbor who'd attacked him with a log. The board denied the request, so the homeowner sued -- and lost. It cost him $23,000 in legal fees and interest.
Chastened, he built a shorter fence, but in places it was several inches taller than the four feet allowed. Board members came with a tape measure, fined him, slapped a lien on the home and seized the man's paycheck. "They took all my savings and treated me like a common criminal," he says.
# Sometimes, the long-gone developer causes problems. A Hillsborough, Calif., builder put houses wherever he could, then donated unusable areas as 'parkland' to the private community. The donated areas turned out to be unstable hillside that required the homeowners to pay loads of money for some expensive maintenance.
# Near snowy Donner Pass, Calif., a development has rules that you can't drive over the snow or clear it from around your house to preserve the rural appearance and to provide zones for snowmobiles.
A woman resident with a back injury wasn't able to walk the half mile to her house, so she drove over the snow. The association fined her up to $500 a day. She faces more than $50,000 in fines and has been fighting her HOA in court for three years. The case is unresolved.
# A Tampa, Fla., woman thought her attorney had paid all her delinquent HOA fees of more than $4,000, but she was wrong by $497. It cost her the house.
The busy physical therapist ignored legal papers mailed to her, the association foreclosed and held a courthouse auction. A property company snapped up the house for $4,651, the price of the HOA's legal fees, then sold it for $88,000.
# A family that cares for five foster children in Port Richey, Fla., was threatened with eviction from their residential development. The association considered having foster kids a business because the state paid $2,028 a month to care for the children.
The 56-cents-an-hour 'business' owners are still fighting the case.
# Sometimes a poor homeowner feels the wrath of the HOA even when he tries to succumb to the obscure rules and regulations. The nightmare for one Florida resident started only after he admitted he made a mistake and informed the HOA he was going to rectify it immediately.
It seemed this hapless soul painted his house a bright blue -- after believing an HOA's secretary who said prior approval by the HOA was merely a formality. When he learned of his misdeed, he quickly agreed he would switch to a sanctioned shade.
That's what made the subsequent assault by the HOA so bizarre.
First it held a meeting to discuss the crime with neighbors -- but didn't invite the culprit. Then they stuffed fliers in each neighbor's mailbox -- carefully skipping the scene of the crime -- in which they went on at length about their outrage over the unauthorized paint job.
When he got a copy of the flier from a sympathetic neighbor, the stunned homeowner wrote to the HOA president, reiterating his willingness to repaint the house and politely objecting to what he felt was needlessly abusive treatment and a dismal lack of neighborliness.
He got no response from the grand poobah but did receive a threatening letter from the HOA lawyer.
The final straw came at the end of the month when the HOA's monthly newsletter came out -- while the repaint work already in progress. The top story on the front page was a copy of the lawyer's nasty threatening letter to the harried homeowner, along with a note warning that all such miscreants would face a similar fate.
# Rarely, homeowner association horror tales have a happy ending. Take the case of Houston attorney Wendy Laubach, who helped a man get his house back. Ill with a brain tumor, the man fell behind on $600 in condo dues. His association sued to get the money, piling on $4,600 more in legal fees. When the man couldn't pay on time, the association foreclosed and sold his $55,000 home for $17,000. Laubach got the foreclosure voided, a rare event.
If you're looking for help dealing with your HOA, visit the American Homeowners' Resource Center or the National Institute of Community Management or call its hotline at (800) 387-1099.
You can also share your experience by sending your personal nightmare to: HOAhorrors@bankrate.com. |
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LoonyQT
Posts:894
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| 10/05/2008 12:48 PM |
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wow. just wow.
sh%#, maybe I should reconsider half of those places I've got on my tracking list... |
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jpinpb
Posts:1450
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| 10/05/2008 1:10 PM |
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I was fortunate to never buy into any HOA, but I was silly enough to rent a few times in them. Taught me a lesson. Not all are bad. Some are lax. But I'll dare say, a high percentage of them are as bad as it sounds. Thanks for starting this thread. Others may want to share their experience. I think there might have been a thread somewhere already on HOAs. I'm going to add what I posted in Sunset Cove, since it's more appropriate here. Maybe you could add your car towing story.
There was way back when a lawsuit over a palm tree. The owners planted one in the front of their house and it didn't "conform" w/the rest of the palm trees in the community. They told him to remove it. He didn't. They fined him every day. One day he came home to find it gone! They removed it for him and gave him the bill! Lawsuit followed.
I recently was privvy to hearing about a lawsuit involving the HOA suing the homeowners b/c they painted the color of the trim of their window a lighther shade of brown. It's costing the HOAs - that means you the owners (special assessments) thousands of dollars to fight the lawusit - over a slight different color of paint!!! The attorney asked the president of the board if everyone in the community 100% voted that the color of the trim was acceptable, would the HOA drop the lawsuit. He said they'd have to meet to discuss it and determine if the architectural committee approved. Very similar to living under a Nazi regime.
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ElPato
Posts:350
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| 10/05/2008 2:07 PM |
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I live in a place with an HOA. It's not too bad. Then again, there is only 4 units, which really forces everyone to do stuff on on a volunteer basis.
So, my recommendation is keep it small, certainly under 10 units. As soon as you have enough money to pay salaries, things go to h*ll. |
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Bluforest
Posts:56
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| 10/05/2008 2:11 PM |
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| Look, you guys, sure there are stories, one-sided without all the details, about ridiculous HOA situations. We have one house with an HOA and one without. Pros and cons to each. But if you get people moving into your neighborhood that rent out each bedroom, and the garage, to a different family, and your street is cluttered with 10 cars from that house, you'll wish you had an HOA because most city code enforcement won't do anything. You may not have that in "good" neighborhoods, or much on the coast now but it's spreading. Most bad HOA situations I've seen are the result of pissing contests. Somebody gets told to do, or not do, something and they react by filing a lawsuit or behaving even more in violation of CC&R's. HOA's provide the majority of residents of a neighborhood, who are decent people, a way to collectively deal with nasties. And you do get to read all the rules before you close escrow. So if you can't handle it, don't buy there. And if a rule goes too far, like one we had that prohibited parking overnight in driveways, residents can vote to change it, as we did. |
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jpinpb
Posts:1450
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| 10/05/2008 2:43 PM |
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Voting to change doesn't always work (see story about window trim paint). It still requires approval by the board. Yes, you can read the CC&Rs before you buy. But rules can always be implemented and added later, and they do.
What also was not addressed was the latest situation the delinquent HOAs. I've seen some condo selling for lower than expected, even in this market. The reason is defaults and unhealthy HOAs. You'd be surprised how quickly it adds up. Say in live in a complex w/20 units and let's say even just 1/4 is in default or foreclosure. Guess what, you as an owner have to cover their defaulted HOAs. Yes. You get a special assessment. Someone has to pay for the pool and landscaping and maintenance. And sure, maybe you can vote to forego on those. BUT some of these HOAs cover water. That's right. If you don't pay the water bill, they will turn it off. You can have someone defaulting on their loan, still living there 6 months to a year, not paying HOAs, using water and all amenities and you will end up paying their bill. Many HOAs are underfunded. It's common. I remember reading something in the U.T. last month before I went on vacation about some condo complex in Del Mar being in dire need of repairs and not having sufficient funds, so special assessments are being issued to homeowners. Some people who bought 10, 15 years ago manybe can handle it. The new ones w/loans resetting aren't prepared for any unexpected bills. |
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BrickerM
Posts:3
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| 10/06/2008 5:23 PM |
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| Stay away from Encinitas Village on Summer View Circle on Requeza St. The VP of the HOA considers it her personal duty to be the Parking and Rules "Nazi". Any violation, guests staying in guest parking more than the 48 hours, not taking in your trash cans that evening after trash day, playing catch with a baseball in the tennis court, and on and on. Al of these wil be immdiately reported to the HOA board and a letter of offense wil be mailed to you within a few days. These townhouses are relatively nice, but the prices have not come down AT ALL in the past year and are still being sold at 2006 prices. $500K to $550K for a 1400 square foot townhouse with a Gestapo HOA isn't my idea of a good deal... |
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LoonyQT
Posts:894
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| 10/06/2008 6:08 PM |
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| wow. more wow. |
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sdphoenix
Posts:1
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| 10/06/2008 6:53 PM |
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| We lost our house in the wildfires last October in Rancho Bernardo and sold our lot partly because the Homeowner's Association made it so difficult for all of us who lost our homes to rebuild. They charged a $500 fee to review our plans, held us to archaic standards of roof heights, and would not approve modifications for one of our disabled neighbors so that his house would be accessible. If you think I'm exaggerating here's an article that talks about some of the problems: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/15604918/detail.html |
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Just Someone
Posts:157
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| 10/07/2008 9:03 AM |
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BrickerM,
I would ask the HOA for a list of the recent violations notices by address.
Map it, and show that the violation notices are not equally distributed, eg near someones house, or walking route.
Then ask them how they intend to insure that notices do not unduly fall on a group of people located near a person who feels personally responsible to enforce the rules.
If this person represents the board, then it needs to be done to insure that everyone is treated equally. If the board says, no, she is an individual, then you need to say, she is not acting like a community, she is a person who is acting like a little kid appointed to be a hall monitor, and is abusing her positition
Make a better community, and not a place where one nieghbor terrorizes others with HOA rules.
Also, as for guests, you should ask if there is a way ask for a variance, and how much in advance do you ask for a variance. My guests will be here for a 2 weeks, I need to know that they will not be harrassed. |
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mochima
Posts:2
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| 10/07/2008 12:42 PM |
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Oh gosh, where do I start? HOA people are demoniac souls that have taken over bodies that do not have anything better to do with their lives...really!!!!
I live in a building "Park Central Towers" at the corner of 2nd avenue and Maple. This HOA is controlled by the owners with a board of directors and so forth. Most people on this building are about 90 years old, I am not joking, that's not the problem since there are some older folks here that have a great sense of humor and are "normal" human beings, they haven't been possesed by demoniac forces, not yet! but the ones that have are abnoxious, disrespectful, controlling, disgusting...you may add other names as you wish,...I'll continue this story later since I have to leave now...but trust me, it is bad...reeeeeeeeeeeally bad! |
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Just Someone
Posts:157
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| 10/07/2008 1:57 PM |
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The HOA is there to get things done.
Ask the board what they see their task as. The task is not to nit pic about the person who left the trash container on the curb for a day or two.. it's to keep the place looking good, and in good finacial shape.
It is also to communicate. If the people are leaving their cans out, then put it in a news letter. Sending a violation notice is not friendly communcation. I assume that each violation costs the HOA to send. Why show up at a meeting, ask how much the spend sending out violation. Also, say, be friendly, ask the board member to knock on the door introduce herself, and just say, hey I just want to remind you to keep out place looking nice.
When I first moved in, the complex had changed managers nearly a year earlier. No news letters, no communiation for three months (except for the dues bill), so I started showing up at the board meetings.
Them: "Why are you here?"
Me: To find out what is going on. The packet I got had lots of newsletters, and I have not gotten one since I moved in.
them: OK
During that meeting, I discovered that the manager had failed to properly alert me to an upcoming assemement... bad manager... Also found out later that HOA had never gotten the HOA dues out of the escrow... bad manager.
I kept on showing up, and the Board was continually discussing and investigating the best ways to do things (trim trees, when to paint, bigger maintainance issues)
Next year, a person who just got things done was put on the baord. Things just got done. It took too much work on thier part to do it. But things just got done. That's what the HOA should do, get things done. Not talk about little things, but big things. If there are not big things, then plan for the next big thing.
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sd 2010
Posts:15
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| 10/07/2008 5:29 PM |
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Check out the Meridian thread.
Sues residents for trumped up charges all the time - with no proof other than he said she said. |
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