What's going on in our world today?

Every day I receive a dozen e-mails describing the problems that people are having with Home Owners Association Law. In many cases, the actions brought against these owners are nothing more then an act of power. A way to enforce a frivolous rule that has no right to be enforced. As far as I am concerned, a basic violation of our rights.

So why has this happened?

Why has homeowners association law gotten so out of control.

I do think that the basic premise for the homeowners association is fair and just. After all, the main purpose is to provide a better community, a better place to live. You need to have rules in place so that property values are maintained. After all, nobody wants to live beside a run down home, with a beat up old car on blocks in the driveway.

However, what happens when the board gets out of control?

For example, here is a perfect example of abuse.

A homeowner had purchased land in an association, and was planning to build his dreamhouse. To insure that he wouldn't have any hoa law problems, he took his plans to the board, and got them approved. The board approved the plans. He figured, that there was no chance he would run into a homeowners association law problem. When he was three quarters of the way through the build, a director approached him an said that his garage needed to be wider to conform with the hoa law.

Remember, the board had already approved the plans !

Many people who belong to a homeowners association do not understand just how much power these groups have over them -- until they miss a payment or otherwise run afoul of the board. Fall a single day behind in paying your monthly dues, for instance, and the association may slap you with a fine. Fall 90 days behind and it may place a lien on your home and threaten to foreclose unless you pay up immediately. And because you often hand over the right of property trustee to the association when you agree to the by-laws, in some cases you don't even get to go to court.

Like corporate boards, which have a fiduciary responsibility to make disclosures to shareholders, a homeowners association board is supposed to be upfront with its members. But all too often, boards play things close to the vest. The board will say everything is confidential
and they can't tell you anything. They're just on a power trip and it's absolutely deceitful.

Another thing is that some boards can be impossibly stubborn about disclosure. When a few members of one association, tried to gather some information, a fraction of the board was so miffed at not being consulted first, that they went so far as to try and impose a rule that would have required members to get permission from the entire board before asking an outside agency for information. This rule was voted down only after a major publicity campaign put forth by the Maryland Homeowners Association.

The entire budget should be open and available to every homeowner. It should not be kept a secret.

So, what do you do if you run a foul of your HOA. What are your alternatives? Well, one choice is to go see a lawyer, however, be prepared to shell out big bucks right off the bat. Just to get things started, even a single letter can cause over $1000. Your best option, is to do your research, and try to resolve the problems yourself as soon as possible.

And I would like to emphasize that....as soon as possible.

Don't let things fester. The longer you let things go on, the more risk you place upon yourself. That is how a $2 fine can escalate into foreclosure. Don't believe me? Look up HOA foreclosures on Google and see for yourself.

Deal with it. Don't wait.

So, getting back to the original case I mentioned about the garage. This gentleman decided to fight back, because to change the building at that point, would have cost him over $40,000.

Fortunately, in his case, he did wind up winning. The HomeOwners Association Law that they were trying to enforce was deemed to be unreasonable based on the fact that the plans has been approved, and the CC&R's didn't specifically say how wide his garage door needed to be.

The bad news....it cost him over $4,000 in legal fees to prove his point.

Don't let a Home Owners Association Law problem destroy your life. Deal with it quickly. Deal with it today.

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