HOA put lien on my house-Can this really be happening

[mtblujeans]

City zoning codes in some parts of the country (Pensacola, FL for one) do not take care of most of it. If they did HOA's wouldn't be necessary.

I'll share that, in the whole state of Montana, we are having trouble with the gravel industry. They are putting gravel pits everywhere as they are a quick source of income. We are not zoned tight enough (county), in our neighborhood, and a nearby wealthy farmer has pushed to get one in by us. He still pays next to nothing in taxes as he didn't have to rezone his land from ag to industrial....but I digress. Now, the gravel industry is pushing to legislate gravel pits in any and all areas of the state....even within city zoning. If they get their way, they would be able to open a gravel pit next to a historical building. It's a crazy world!

 

[dfchelbay]

HOA's are unnecessary. City zoning codes should take care of most of it.

And if somebody wants to paint THEIR house chartreuse, it's THEIR business.
Because THEY own it.

I couldn't agree more. I have not paid my homeowner's association dues for the last four years. In their letter every year they claim the fees are for social activities and mowing lawn at the entry to the subdivision. I know for a fact that the lawn mowing is done by the man that lives in the first house within the subdivision and the social activities are one gathering on someone's front lawn over the summer. I've asked in the past for a record of where the money goes, and as well, when elections are held. Residents have always been notified of the "new members" of the homeowners association. We are never told of meetings, of upcoming elections, or anything else. We are sent a mass mailer of things that already took place with the board. I don't operate like that, nor will I give any of my money to an organization which is run like this.

It seems, this year, there is a new person on the board because I am getting a copy of the Dues Notice once a month now. We'll shall see. The last time I asked for any information from them, I got a notice from the city that I had to remove DS's skateboard ramp from my driveway. I was told there was a complaint from a resident one street over from me...that's the same street the president of the homeowners association lived on. Since that time...I pay no dues.

 

[mom of princessx2]

OP here and we are trying to work with our HOA pres to get this staightened out but he didn't call us back yesterday with the info we requested.

I did check our by-laws as pp stated and found out that there is no set protocol for putting a lien. They don't even have a set due date for our annual dues. So it appears that our HOA just flies by the seat of their pants in regards to dues and how they go about putting a lien on. So we could have 1 person 8 months late with no lien and another 4 months late and they put a lien. They have decided they can do what they feel is needed in each case. They did say they sent a 2nd notice (which we did not receive) but also feel they shouldn't have to send more than 1. This is a fairly new BOD and they do have a few that are power hungry so we will see how it goes.

 

[bdcp]

HOA's are unnecessary. City zoning codes should take care of most of it.

And if somebody wants to paint THEIR house chartreuse, it's THEIR business.
Because THEY own it.

While that sounds great in theory and yes we all have have rights as homeowners, the problem is it (and other things) can affect home values and the ability to sell. I doubt you'd still feel that way if your neighbors personal choices affected your ability to sell your house or get what it's really worth. In communities where people don't keep up their homes and park pickups in their front yards, their values are adversely affected. It's a double edged sword.

We have lived in HOA's for 30 years. In 4 different communities. Our current HOA fees are $65/month which are pretty low for our area but we don't have a tot lot, tennis courts or a pool. I know everyone on the board as there are only 75 homes in our community. Our HOA fees go toward the water bill for the front landscaping, mantaining the front entrance landscaping, paying the electric bill for the few street lights, and some social activities as well as maintaining the area around the overflow pond. We do have social activities, including easter egg hunts, block parties and a few other things every year. I have never lived in a community where the fees weren't laid out in a budget available to everyone. We also maintain an emergency fund for emergency repairs and other items not covered by the county.

 

[mtblujeans]

OP here and we are trying to work with our HOA pres to get this staightened out but he didn't call us back yesterday with the info we requested.

I did check our by-laws as pp stated and found out that there is no set protocol for putting a lien. They don't even have a set due date for our annual dues. So it appears that our HOA just flies by the seat of their pants in regards to dues and how they go about putting a lien on. So we could have 1 person 8 months late with no lien and another 4 months late and they put a lien. They have decided they can do what they feel is needed in each case. They did say they sent a 2nd notice (which we did not receive) but also feel they shouldn't have to send more than 1. This is a fairly new BOD and they do have a few that are power hungry so we will see how it goes.

Good for you for following up and good that you are calm about it....not always easy.

 

[arminnie]

HOA's are unnecessary. City zoning codes should take care of most of it.

And if somebody wants to paint THEIR house chartreuse, it's THEIR business.
Because THEY own it.

Do you realize that Houston, the 4th largest city in the U.S., has NO zoning laws? Nada. Zip. This has been voted on multiple times and is what the voters choose.

Without HOA someone could literally built a store next door to you in the middle of your block. Which is okay with me as I like having stuff nearby to walk to, but many people like suburban neighborhoods with retail, non-residential stuff even multi-family housing kept at a distance.

You have the choice to live in an area with HOA or not. Everyplace I've bought that has HOA gives you a copy BEFORE closing. Don't buy with a HOA and then later claim that you don't want to follow them. Part of closing has always been acknowledgement of HOA regs and agreement to pay the fees. To me it's just like another version of taxes.

And if you buy with a HOA always, always check the financials and any potential problems. If there is a serious deficiency the homeowners can be hit with a big assessment. When I lived in CA one of the waterfront neighborhoods got hit with something like a $20,000 assessment because the seawalls were crumbling. Not an option to let them just erode. But it was huge. I lived in the adjoining neighborhood also on the water, and thankfully we did not have that problem.

I live in New Orleans. I really really disagree that someone who owns a home in the French Quarter can just do anything to it because they own it. I live on St. Charles Avenue (where the streetcars are). Riding down the street you can occasionally see some atrocities that were built in the 60s (tore down old buildings) - that would never be allowed now. (And no we did not flood - we are above sea level in this part of the city.)There are many historical areas in the U.S. that are really worth preserving.

 

[homedad]

we have 4 months and they slap a tax lien on us

 

[Tigger girl]

Wow, it would have been courteous to at least send a reminder. Is there a third party management company who handles your HOA money? Mabey that is why this was handled some impersonally. Did I read correctly that you are only 100 per year? If so, I want to live in your neighborhod. Ours is 140.00 a month.

Ours is $360 per month!!! They really get us in So Cal. OP, so sorry for what happened, good luck.

 

[longboard55]

This is how HOA management companies make more money, just pay the bill and be on time next year. What they do with our old HOA, ( we since changed management companies) is send a registered letter requiring signature. Since we were seldom home to get the mail we wait in line at the post office to find out its another stupid letter from the hOA

 

[powellrj]

This was 5 years ago, I think it has long been resolved.

 

[BigredNole]

Legally they can. Ethically, the HOA would be better served by making contact directly. It is a lot of time and pain for them to do this when a $0.49 stamp, a free phone call, or a quick stop at the house to tell you. After making each of these attempts, then it is time to step up the game a bit. If your HOA is this bad, I would sell because it can get worse.

 

[manning]

So I guess you wouldn't mind if your neighbor had a dozen cars on blocks in the front yard facing your house. That, and his pig farm in the back yard would be ok too.

In our city that is taken care of by city code.

 

[queenbetsey]

i would take care of it asap. some of the folks on HOA's can and do "go rouge" I know one such person who has a mom who has been quietly buying up various condos in their complex when they go to auction over unpaid dues. she has 12 units as of the last time I heard.
this was an honest mistake so take care of it and follow through to make sure that lien is removed make sure to keep that proof until you sell the house

 

[manning]

I couldn't agree more. I have not paid my homeowner's association dues for the last four years. In their letter every year they claim the fees are for social activities and mowing lawn at the entry to the subdivision. I know for a fact that the lawn mowing is done by the man that lives in the first house within the subdivision and the social activities are one gathering on someone's front lawn over the summer. I've asked in the past for a record of where the money goes, and as well, when elections are held. Residents have always been notified of the "new members" of the homeowners association. We are never told of meetings, of upcoming elections, or anything else. We are sent a mass mailer of things that already took place with the board. I don't operate like that, nor will I give any of my money to an organization which is run like this.

It seems, this year, there is a new person on the board because I am getting a copy of the Dues Notice once a month now. We'll shall see. The last time I asked for any information from them, I got a notice from the city that I had to remove DS's skateboard ramp from my driveway. I was told there was a complaint from a resident one street over from me...that's the same street the president of the homeowners association lived on. Since that time...I pay no dues.

If You live in Illinois the HOA has a BIG BIG problem. Illinois state law requires notification of all meetings and election. They must give accounting on all moneys spent the previous year. All meetings have to be open to all owners except for the portion of any meeting held (i) to discuss litigation when an action against or on behalf of the particular association has been filed and is pending in a court or administrative tribunal, or when the board of managers finds that such an action is probable or imminent,

My friend is the president of a HOA. He said by-laws must be changed to comply with the law

I WOULD GET A COPY OF STATE LAW FOR YOUR STATE!!

 

[supersnoop]

If You live in Illinois the HOA has a BIG BIG problem. Illinois state law requires notification of all meetings and election. They must give accounting on all moneys spent the previous year. All meetings have to be open to all owners except for the portion of any meeting held (i) to discuss litigation when an action against or on behalf of the particular association has been filed and is pending in a court or administrative tribunal, or when the board of managers finds that such an action is probable or imminent,

My friend is the president of a HOA. He said by-laws must be changed to comply with the law

I WOULD GET A COPY OF STATE LAW FOR YOUR STATE!!

Many of those laws have changed in the five years since this was a problem.

 

[manning]

Teach me to Check the dates before posting

 

[powellrj]

i would take care of it asap. some of the folks on HOA's can and do "go rouge" I know one such person who has a mom who has been quietly buying up various condos in their complex when they go to auction over unpaid dues. she has 12 units as of the last time I heard.
this was an honest mistake so take care of it and follow through to make sure that lien is removed make sure to keep that proof until you sell the house

I am going to take a guess and figure it was taken care of 5 years ago when they first posted about the problem.

 

[scard192]

If You live in Illinois the HOA has a BIG BIG problem. Illinois state law requires notification of all meetings and election. They must give accounting on all moneys spent the previous year. All meetings have to be open to all owners except for the portion of any meeting held (i) to discuss litigation when an action against or on behalf of the particular association has been filed and is pending in a court or administrative tribunal, or when the board of managers finds that such an action is probable or imminent,

My friend is the president of a HOA. He said by-laws must be changed to comply with the law

I WOULD GET A COPY OF STATE LAW FOR YOUR STATE!!

I am on the Board of my condo in MA and the law is about the same here. We will be having our annual meeting in a few weeks and out of 112 units, maybe 6-7 owners will show up. Annual Budget was just sent to all owners recently.

our fees are due monthly. at 60 days past due a letter is sent certified mail. 90 days overdue another letter. if no response to the 2nd letter it is turned over to our attorney.

 

[jerseygal]

We live in a community with an HOA! HATE IT! IMO, its the "old boys club", a joke! When we first moved here, we went to the meetings to try to become involved. A few homeowners showed up for annual budget meetings, but the meetings seemed very "inclusive" in favor of the Board members. They "supposedly" inspect the outside of the properties annually to ensure that you are keeping up. We have "sandy" soil, have an irrigation system, but the summers are very hot and there are some brown spots in many of the lawns in the community. We received a letter from the association last summer regarding the brown spots, I wrote a letter back and that was the end of it, other than the brown spots are home is kept up impecably. About three exterior doors in the neighborhood were painted in nonconformity with the approved colors. When we were painting our door, we went through the "approval" process and requested a color "close" to the approved but were denied. I sited the three exterior doors which are not in conformity and surprise, surprise, a year later, nothing is done, one of the homeowners is a "former board member".

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

I noticed you have to pay "Attorney Fees". My advice is to find out whether or not this Attorney is on the board, is related to someone on the board, plays golf with someone on the board.................. I think you see where I am going with this. If that is the case I would find anyone else that has been subject to this egregious behavior and have an investigation into whether or not a Lawyer is lining his pockets with the help of someone on the board who may or may not be getting a little something in their pockets as well. Maybe free round of golf, the occasional meal at an expensive restaurant etc.... Just a thought!