HOA Problems & Complaints

I live in an HOA in Vista,CA. My neighbor has used the HOA to harass me. Her complaint is my dog barks uncontrollably and has detroyed the common fence. Both not true. She sends her friends to bang on my fence to harass my dog. I WISH I had NEVER moved in here. PLEASE read your HOA. Better yet DONT move into these.

I Live in Las Vegas and we are paying 100.00 more because they have repaired the roofs for the second time. The first time they got the cheapest bid I think and the roofs started to leak so the HOA sued the roofing company and they didn't get any money back so we have to pay again to repair the roofs so in total we are paying 279.00 a month because they are out of funds and "by law" we need to have something. We do not even have a gated community.

I have questions about the Developer being a member of the HOA and also controlling the Board. I live in a 28 unit community of new homes in California. It is made up of two phases, phase one has 17 homes in it and of that 10 have sold. Phase two has 11 homes in it and none of them have sold. The developer has decided since the market has dropped so much that he is not selling any more. They have rented all the empty homes. They say that they only have to pay assessment fees on the seven homes in phase one. They are not paying on the 11 in phase two. This does not seem fair to me or the rest of the homeowners. I have looked in my CC and R's and cannot find anything that covers the developer renting out unsold homes. I read that they don't have to pay any dues until one of the homes in phase two sells. They control the Board, the have a majority of votes as members,cause there 7 homes have class "b" status as members. We 10 homeowners feel we have no control over our community and that the renters have more rights then we do. Is this legal? Is this a conflict of interest? Do you have some advise?

I am thinking about moving into the OP's community and appreciate your feedback. Has the situation in the community changed? Do you know how someone could get on the committee?

Pulte Homes just did a market survey and found that professionals under 50 want nothing to do with HOAs! To say that HOAs are democratic makes me burst out laughing! They NEVER have opposition parties. Imagine if the Republicans could just keep retreading candidates? They NEVER have a 'free press'....NEVER They NEVER have a separation of powers scheme. "The very definition of tyranny" says James Madison! Who counts the ballots....they do!!! OF COURSE THERE IS FRAUD!!! Where is the money???THEY WON'T TELL YOU!!! It goes on and on and on. The values they are supposedly protecting are being destroyed. Worse, the service providers (think lawyers and prop managers) have their own LOBBYING organization that maintains the status quo. Little hint to Service Magic....if you want to be taken seriously, then don't ask the 'opinion' of some lawyer who a vested interest in the continues dispensation of these places. This is HER BREAD AND BUTTER!

I just moved into a neighborhood that has a HOA. The developer is controlling the neighborhood. He made a lot of promises (like a boat ramp, playground, etc.) that never was installed. After a heated meeting he said the neighbors would have control of the neighborhood after the last house was sold. That has happened and now he says we will get control after all 5 phases of the neighborhood is built. (We were only Phase 1 and the other 4 haven't even been started.) After checking for bylaws, we have found out that there are none in place. (The developer sent a set of bylaws that was never signed or filed. He said he does go by them.....which he doesn't and you can't hold him up to them because they aren't signed.) We, however, signed a set of restrictions when we bought our houses. So we are held accountable to a set of rules, and he isn't. He is basically setting his own rules as he goes. What do we have to do to get rid of him? Paula B from Texas City, TX

         BULLY HOA BOARD:   Fountain of the Sun <br />                                                                                  Mesa,Az 85208      / pjb <br /> <br />I copied the below concerns on HOA and I believe that we ALL wherever you live to move your State to have a type of arbitrator for the property owner and the many Harassing HOA that are out there. I also am looking for legal help against my HOA <br />  My family and I have been property owners for greater then 20years. New neighbors in the back moved in around three years ago and cut down 3- three of our trees and the local police: MesaPD, Mesa Az did nothing??. <br />And the HOA did nothing???Since that time things have escalated to death threats from these neighbors and Mesa PD was out Monday02-01-2010 twice  and said they could do nothing that this is Civil??.. <br />  I have contacted different types of enforcement with no help, and all I can tell enforcement is when I show up dead then maybe someone will do something about BULLY HOA BOARDS. <br />           Both articles below are more of the story we have in Fountain of the Sun. This is a great web site for sharing info with each other. One other benefit that I would like to see on this web is the confidential way we as property owners could get each others phone or contact # we chose to communicate to better issues?.. <br /> <br /> <br />WE ARE HOME OWNERS IN PATTERSON,CA. ARE BEING HARASST! FROM THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE HOA BOARD.WE LIVE IN A GATED COMMUITY WITH A LAKE THATS 12 ACRES CALLED REFLECTIONS.THE LADY THATS ON THE HOA BOARD THAT LIVES DOWN THE STREET AND HER LITTLE FOLLOWERS HAVE NOTHING BETTER TOO DO BUT CAUSES BIG PROBLEMS FOR MOST OF US.THEY START RUMORS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE AND PLUS HER HUSBAND IS RAS <br />IST! SHE NEEDS TO STAY OUT OF PEOPLES LIVES.EVEN THE PATTERSON DEPT.IS TIRED OF COMING HERE BECAUSE THIS LADY FROM THE HOA AND HER FOLLOWERS ARE ALWAYS CALLING THE POLICE ABOUT SOMETHING.ITS ALWAYS SOMETHING STUPID.THE POLICE DEPT.CALLS OUR DEVELOPMENT "THE LITTLE GATED GETTO" .THATS REAL GOOD.IVE ALWAYS WANTED TO RISE MY KIDS IN A PSYCHOPATHIC PLACE LIKE THIS.WERE ALL PRETTY UPSET..WE ALL TRIED TO GET HER OFF THE BOARD BUT FOR SOME RESEASON SHE STILL THEIR.THEY ARE THE PROBLEM HERE AND THEY NEED TO GROW UP!!.THEY ARE TWO FACED AND VERY DISRESPECTFUL TO OTHERS AND THEY ARE THROWING LAWSUIT NOTICES AT ALL OF US BECAUSE OF LATE DUES.WE ARE INVESTORS AND SOMES OF US HAVE MULTIPUL HOMES IN THIS DEVELOMENT AND THATS WHAT DRIVE THEM MAD BECAUSE THEY COULDNT PURCHASE ANOTHER HOME AND THEY DONT LIKE PEOPLE WHO RENT. WE ALL PAID RENT AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER, RIGHT. DUE TO THE ECONOMEY AND FORCLOUSURS SOME OF US CANT PAY THE DUES RIGHT NOW ON SOME HOMES BECAUSE THERE IN FORCLOUSUR.. I KNOW ONE FAMILY GOT A 5,000 LAWSUIT AGAINST THEM AND I GOT ONE ALSO. IS THIS RIGHT ? ,CAN THE HOA DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS ? THIS IS ALL HAPPING RIGHT NOW!! OR MYBE THERE JUST SINGLING PEOLPE OUT . WE NEED HELP HERE . WHOS OUT THER THAT COULD HELP US...... <br /> <br /> <br />I Live in Las Vegas and we are paying 100.00 more because they have repaired the roofs for the second time. The first time they got the cheapest bid I think and the roofs started to leak so the HOA sued the roofing company and they didn't get any money back so we have to pay again to repair the roofs so in total we are paying 279.00 a month because they are out of funds and "by law" we need to have something. We do not even have a gated com...

BULLY HOA BOARD:   Fountain of the Sun <br /> <br />Thank you for your time to read this,sorry I needed to duplicate but I am that angry..pjb <br />

An HOA is designed to look out for the greater good of the neighborhood. Appearance is one of the greatest factor when someone is looking to buy a house in your area. This keeps the value of the houses in that area up and thus helping to protect YOUR investment. Not to mention they deal with the grass, trash, snow and lazy homeowners that neglect their property. Selfishness on the part of a single owner ONLY looking out for their own intrests usually destroy and deteriorate the community. What would your community look like if there were no regulations? Something to think about... Remember NOBODY THANKS THE GUYS BEHIND THE SCENE TAKING YOUR GARBAGE AWAY BUT AS SOON AS ITS LEFT ON YOUR PROPERTY A DAY LATE EVERYONE STARTS TO COMPLAIN... This selfishness comes from within... thats why we need a saviour... JESUS... We can't be good people or neighbors on our own.

Leland W Las Vegas <br /> <br />Yeah, I read the law... An HOA may be a good thing for the golf course and streets, IF the right management company runs it. It's not the BOD, they are directly influenced by the mgmt rep that's on the board. Rules are rules, yes, fair is fair and you should know the rules. When things get underhanded and get borderline of breaking the law to the point where you have the management company defending itself, keep moving it up the food chain. Document all of your dealings in writing. I don't know if my HOA management company answers to the Nevada Real Estate Division, but maybe the FBI or justice department or whoever else up the food chain that may be. Then blog it and advise every one of your neighbors to see if they had a similar experience. Then call some lawyers and see if you can start a class action against to mgmt co. You chose to live there under the HOA rules but you have state rights as to what is legal under an HOA. You will always have one neighbor that is troublesome anywhere you live. Keep in mind that their goal is to lien and possibly foreclose on your house. Just because you're outspoken or don't agree with their views doesn't mean they can disrespect you or the law.

Indicative of a dysfunctional HOA, check out this story in an age restricted community in Colorado that hired an armed guard to protect against unruly 70 year olds: <br />http://denver.yourhub.com/HighlandsRanch/Stories/Opinion/General-Sound-Off/Story~799671.aspx

Report it to your BBB even if the HOA is not affiliated with them that's what I did and in the process of a battle with my HOA that has been sending me late fee's for the last 7 months when I mail the bill early they say they got it 13-15 days late. Now I use online banking and they say we didn't get the payment at all when I have proof. So the BBB is helping me out with this really enoying problem in Phoenix, AZ.

I own a Townhouse in a "Gated Community" with an HOA in Cartersville, Georgia. My complaint is the opposite of most in that the HOA Board will not follow the CC&R's as it pertains to them, nor will they enforce them as it pertains to individual owners. Consequently the property values have fallen drastically partly because of the current economic conditions, but more so because of the owners not being required to abide by the CC&R's. A large percentage of the units have been foreclosed on because the owners couldn't keep them rented. They can't keep them rented because of the reputation the development has of being a "drug infested slum", or as one owner referred to it recently as a " gated crack community". <br /> <br />From the dues being wrongly spent for signs, newspaper ads and extra phone charges, to being wasted for paying for security people who do little or nothing to maintain security, extra trash pick up for all the litter and removal of trash left outside the dumpsters, to the renters not abiding by the "Tenant Rules" which are not uniformly enforced as each "landlord" has the right to require their tenants to abide by them, or not, at his whim (nuts to say the least). Meetings and notification of meetings as prescribed not being followed. Half way measures taken to repair the gates and fences by non-qualified people. The gates that are inoperable approximately half the time making it effectively a non-gated community which it really isn't by virtue of the fact an open walkway at the gates is available to anyone desirous of entering the property at any time. Buildings not required to be maintained as specified in the CC&R's which really affects the property values. Trash all over the place including discarded beer bottles, paper, broken fence boards, food thrown out etc all add to the slum appearance of the property. Numerous renters who have been drug dealers have added to the reputation. Animal waste is required by the CC&R's to be picked up and not left on the ground at any time but is. The worst offenders currently being the security person, and another tenant of the same owner. While not the only offenders either it is terrible not being able to walk on any of the grassy areas without worrying about stepping in dog poop let alone the flies and disease it can carry for other owners pets. <br />

I own a Townhouse in a "Gated Community" with an HOA in Cartersville, Georgia. My complaint is the opposite of most in that the HOA Board will not follow the CC&R's as it pertains to them, nor will they enforce them as it pertains to individual owners. Consequently the property values have fallen drastically partly because of the current economic conditions, but more so because of the owners not being required to abide by the CC&R's. A large percentage of the units have been foreclosed on because the owners couldn't keep them rented. They can't keep them rented because of the reputation the development has of being a "drug infested slum", or as one owner referred to it recently as a " gated crack community". <br /> <br />From the dues being wrongly spent for signs, newspaper ads and extra phone charges, to being wasted for paying for security people who do little or nothing to maintain security, extra trash pick up for all the litter and removal of trash left outside the dumpsters, to the renters not abiding by the "Tenant Rules" which are not uniformly enforced as each "landlord" has the right to require their tenants to abide by them, or not, at his whim (nuts to say the least). Meetings and notification of meetings as prescribed not being followed. Half way measures taken to repair the gates and fences by non-qualified people. The gates that are inoperable approximately half the time making it effectively a non-gated community which it really isn't by virtue of the fact an open walkway at the gates is available to anyone desirous of entering the property at any time. Buildings not required to be maintained as specified in the CC&R's which really affects the property values. Trash all over the place including discarded beer bottles, paper, broken fence boards, food thrown out etc all add to the slum appearance of the property. Numerous renters who have been drug dealers have added to the reputation. Animal waste is required by the CC&R's to be picked up and not left on the ground at any time but is. The worst offenders currently being the security person, and another tenant of the same owner. While not the only offenders either it is terrible not being able to walk on any of the grassy areas without worrying about stepping in dog poop let alone the flies and disease it can carry for other owners pets. <br />

Suzy T. from Shreveport, La. <br />I own a condo in Fairfield Oaks on Fairfield Avenue (a historical street in our city full of large homes associated with the cities founding fathers. I have fought the board on the rules not being enforced. I was told "not to look out my living room window when I complained of the condo across from me changing the landscaping that I pay for every month to THEIR landscaping. (this consisted of a tire and paint bucket used as a planter and the destruction of the grounds in front of the entrance to their condo.) I think my dues should be reduced on the area of the living room since I cannot use it-according to the President of the Association. Just last night I went to the monthly homeowners meeting to get answers as to why a condo located in the entrance way has a three seater wood country couch, two chairs, clothes hamper, two paint buckets stacked and a box full of trash, etc. has been allowed to stay since I reported it to the office on the first of August. I was told it was a rental and the owner would have to be notified. It has been two months since I reported this and now they have to send a letter? Why wasn't a letter sent when I reported it in August? The rules state that "sidewalks, stairways, driveways, entrances, passageways and walkways shall be kept clear of obstructions and shall not be used for any purpose other than ingress and egress. Balconies and patio areas must be kept clear of clutter and are not to be used for storage." When I moved here in 1990 anything on the grounds was removed IMMEDIATELY by our groundskeeper-no questions asked! Cell phones are a problem-people sit outside and talk on cell phones-which can be heard inside my bedroom. Again, I was told to turn the air on (make noise) so I will not hear the conversations. My dues should be reduced because of this also. I want to know why we pay for management when there is no management?

I too am also a town home owner in Glendale, AZ. We had a terrible hail storm come through here on October 5, 2010 and my unit incurred quite a bit of exterior damage. Long story short, HOA insurance is not covering my damages as told to me by the property management company. I have no idea what to do or who to even ask for help. Funds are limited but I can not continue to live in a home that is not protected against damages. If anyone has any ideas they would be greatly appreciated.

I live in Deer Creek Condos in Littelton Colorado. The HOA here is a NIGHTMARE. Pick and choose rules to follow, who to fine, nasty nasty place to live. DO NOT buy property here. You will hate your life!!!!! DEER CREEK HOA Littleton Colorado

I have been an ideal property owner for nearly 10 years in the home I'm in now. I have two homes in this community and have paid promptly, never caused any trouble and always addressed any concerns immediately. When we placed our play pool in our back yard, there were no large trees around our back wall on common land. Now there are trees growing out of control. And the HOA refuses to remove or move them, and I am even having trouble getting them trimmed. I'm told they will only trim them beyond the wall if they're hanging over into my yard. The trees are huge and dropping all sorts of debris in my pool daily. Especially when the wind blows. What can I do?

servicemagic.com is a fraudulent service........they charge leads to contractors like myself that have already been posted as outdated and serviced. I called the homeowner and she made it clear she had cancelled the order. then, i call servicemagic stating the facts that within minutes of receiving the leads <br />they had charged my account a fee. I smelled the scam not only from the homeowner as she spoke to me.and complained...but also the rep. that was in charge of my account avoided and never returned my calls. Spineless, dishonorable, coward.. Finally i spoke to the so called supervisor, some young punk ...had no accountability....or responsibility ... i realized then i was dealing with a bunch of scammers.....who claim to run servicemagic out probably a room in their apartment. So! that was my 1st. hour , 1st. day experience this so called service magic. Oh! they serviced me alright, with magic....Be prepared this so called "ServiceMagic'... leads are fraudulent, costumer service have no communication skills -or professionalism.. After being in the trades for many years, on my 1st. hour of doing business with them, i realized i was scammed. L.A. Boston,Ma

I have a horror story unfolding as I type these words. The horror is certain directors on the board are using the association funds to repair their own properties and deny repairs for other unit owners, which usually falls along cultural/ethnic lines. the president does not know the governing documents and does not care to abide by the rules set in place. when this behavior was called out, i was treated with hostile threats and foul language. The board approves thousands of dollars in collection fees on debt that will never be collectible but refuses to spend $75.00 to mail meeting minutes to unit owners. The board is being assisted by a management company that has made mistake after mistake, alienating owners further from the board. these members do not publish their names or phone numbers and remain in the shadows, demanding unit owners to abide by rules which they are exempt. i have spoken with an attorney, paid him to start proceedings with the promise i would be victorious and be reimbursed, this turned out to be untrue. i am disabled with very limited income. the unfairness is extensive and complicated. i am fearful of my safety due to the aggressive behavior of the president and her husband. what they are doing is against state law as well. i am at my wits end. i cannot get owners to become active, partly due to the nature of the current board members behavior and attitudes. no one wants to volunteer their time in such an environment. i have not been attending meetings since i was ejected from a meeting with my attorney in attendance. i believe money has disappeared from the reserve accounts but cannot prove this due to denial of access to copies of bank accounts or records. Are there any agencies that advocate for unit owners, especially protected status owners such as the disabled, veterans, immigrants in Minnesota? thank you for your time.

LLW properties of The Kelly Company in Vacaville, Ca. is not helpful in their daily interactions with homeowner's assoc. members. 11/3/11 I called staff at LLW to report the locking post boxes were standing open. 16 people's mail was open to the public and may have been tampered with. They were unconcerned and annoyed that I called to ask for assistance with this. <br />They have been asked to tell landscaping staff that blowing leaves into my garden each week is killing the plants, yet it continues. <br />I have complained that my next door neighbor has been harassing me for years and they have taken no action to quell him. I have had police out three times to remove him from my property and manage him yet the HOA, when notified of this, took no action. <br />I find this company unresponsive to my needs: demanding, unhelpful, rude, distracted and unwilling to cooperate, unable to compromise and in general unwilling to provide the services we pay for out of our dues. I would fire them outright and self manage if I had the power to do so. THINK long and hard before doing business with these people. They will NOT be Ethical or helpful to you!

Management plus realty service <br />Mr. Kelly Smith Owner <br />Hired to Manage the Association for HOA The Crossings of Springedale http://crossingsofspringdale.com/springdale/home.asp <br />Whenever there is a problem Mr. Smith never responds to emails. When the storm hit Sept 18th 2008 our siding was replaced with the cheapest vinyl siding they could find. The insurance Company paid for our roofs to be replaced and instead of replacing them Mr. Smith had them patched; causing damage in three of the unites. My roof leaked, causing one of the main support beams to buckle and the floor to sag, my neighbor whose roof leaked had to have drywall in his kitchen replaced and the kitchen repainted. The unit two doors down had over thirteen thousand in damages. Mr. Smith had told us that is not his responsibility to have the roof fixed and the damages in our homes are now our responsibly. <br />On another note all the outer walls had never been repaired when the siding went up. Entire walls had no plywood and our inside walls had been exposed for weeks waiting for work to finish, causing more damage from storms <br />Siding and soffits on my unit and the unit next to me had been torn off by storms, repairs had been a month latter leaving siding hanging that made it hazardous for us to be on our patios in the back. Rain caused more damage to the inside of our home that Management plus refused to repair. <br />Flooding in our basements <br />A pipe that is the responsibility of the HOA (The Crossings of Springdale) That Mr. Smith is paid to manage; collapsed causing all four unites to flood. He refused to have the work done until we paid rooter router to come out and use a camera to find the flooding problem. I lost over sixteen thousand in flood damages; Drywall, carpet, computers, furniture, books, treadmill and elliptical. <br />Foundation leaking in my unit <br />Mr. Kelly sent out relative who hand shoveled and move a small hill of dirt and rock thinking this would stop rain from going into the corner. They took out all of our shrubs and flowers and still the foundation leaks. He sent out another relative of a board member to request I tear out all my drywall to patch the foundation instead of fixing it the correct way like he did for a member of the board. <br />Gutters never cleaned <br />Gutters are never cleaned, my soffits are rotting and the roof has mold all over it causing me to be sick all the time with allegories. Had to move out of the master bedroom where the mold is the worst and the gutters are never cleaned. <br /> <br />Lawn maintained NEVER <br />Had grass when I moved; have nothing now! <br />Mr. Smith had me arrested for pulling out what he said was five hundred plants of Ivy that they planted, we sent him several emails telling him the crew had not planted the ivy the correct way. They did not add more topsoil to rebuild the hill that has eroded to nothing more than tree roots; instead they dropped two dump trucks full of mulch and when the rains came EVERTHING WENT IN THE LAKE. I sent him photos and he never replied instead he had me arrested for pulling the plants out instead of taking responsibility for the work being done incorrectly. The attorney on the bench sided with them even when they stated that they had not witnessed me removing the ivy. I was charged with a class 4 felony and made to pay 1200 to Mr.Kelly when it was my fees that had paid for the work in the beginning. <br />My foundation wall is splitting on one side from the erosion; Mr Smith ignores all email requests <br /> <br /> <br />

Management plus realty service <br />Mr. Kelly Smith Owner <br />Hired to Manage the Association for HOA The Crossings of Springedale http://crossingsofspringdale.com/springdale/home.asp <br />Whenever there is a problem Mr. Smith never responds to emails. When the storm hit Sept 18th 2008 our siding was replaced with the cheapest vinyl siding they could find. The insurance Company paid for our roofs to be replaced and instead of replacing them Mr. Smith had them patched; causing damage in three of the unites. My roof leaked, causing one of the main support beams to buckle and the floor to sag, my neighbor whose roof leaked had to have drywall in his kitchen replaced and the kitchen repainted. The unit two doors down had over thirteen thousand in damages. Mr. Smith had told us that is not his responsibility to have the roof fixed and the damages in our homes are now our responsibly. <br />On another note all the outer walls had never been repaired when the siding went up. Entire walls had no plywood and our inside walls had been exposed for weeks waiting for work to finish, causing more damage from storms <br />Siding and soffits on my unit and the unit next to me had been torn off by storms, repairs had been a month latter leaving siding hanging that made it hazardous for us to be on our patios in the back. Rain caused more damage to the inside of our home that Management plus refused to repair. <br />Flooding in our basements <br />A pipe that is the responsibility of the HOA (The Crossings of Springdale) That Mr. Smith is paid to manage; collapsed causing all four unites to flood. He refused to have the work done until we paid rooter router to come out and use a camera to find the flooding problem. I lost over sixteen thousand in flood damages; Drywall, carpet, computers, furniture, books, treadmill and elliptical. <br />Foundation leaking in my unit <br />Mr. Kelly sent out relative who hand shoveled and move a small hill of dirt and rock thinking this would stop rain from going into the corner. They took out all of our shrubs and flowers and still the foundation leaks. He sent out another relative of a board member to request I tear out all my drywall to patch the foundation instead of fixing it the correct way like he did for a member of the board. <br />Gutters never cleaned <br />Gutters are never cleaned, my soffits are rotting and the roof has mold all over it causing me to be sick all the time with allegories. Had to move out of the master bedroom where the mold is the worst and the gutters are never cleaned. <br /> <br />Lawn maintained NEVER <br />Had grass when I moved; have nothing now! <br />Mr. Smith had me arrested for pulling out what he said was five hundred plants of Ivy that they planted, we sent him several emails telling him the crew had not planted the ivy the correct way. They did not add more topsoil to rebuild the hill that has eroded to nothing more than tree roots; instead they dropped two dump trucks full of mulch and when the rains came EVERTHING WENT IN THE LAKE. I sent him photos and he never replied instead he had me arrested for pulling the plants out instead of taking responsibility for the work being done incorrectly. The attorney on the bench sided with them even when they stated that they had not witnessed me removing the ivy. I was charged with a class 4 felony and made to pay 1200 to Mr.Kelly when it was my fees that had paid for the work in the beginning. <br />My foundation wall is splitting on one side from the erosion; Mr Smith ignores all email requests <br /> <br /> <br />

Management plus realty service <br />Mr. Kelly Smith Owner <br />Hired to Manage the Association for HOA The Crossings of Springedale http://crossingsofspringdale.com/springdale/home.asp <br /> <br />A pipe that is the responsibility of the HOA (The Crossings of Springdale) That Mr. Smith is paid to manage; collapsed causing all four unites to flood. He refused to have the work done until we paid rooter router to come out and use a camera to find the flooding problem. I lost over sixteen thousand in flood damages; Drywall, carpet, computers, furniture, books, treadmill and elliptical. <br />Foundation leaking in my unit <br />Mr. Kelly sent out relative who hand shoveled and move a small hill of dirt and rock thinking this would stop rain from going into the corner. They took out all of our shrubs and flowers and still the foundation leaks. He sent out another relative of a board member to request I tear out all my drywall to patch the foundation instead of fixing it the correct way like he did for a member of the board. <br />Gutters never cleaned <br />Gutters are never cleaned, my soffits are rotting and the roof has mold all over it causing me to be sick all the time with allegories. Had to move out of the master bedroom where the mold is the worst and the gutters are never cleaned. <br />Mr. Smith had me arrested for pulling out what he said was five hundred plants of Ivy that they planted, we sent him several emails telling him the crew had not planted the ivy the correct way. They did not add more topsoil to rebuild the hill that has eroded to nothing more than tree roots; instead they dropped two dump trucks full of mulch and when the rains came EVERTHING WENT IN THE LAKE. I sent him photos and he never replied instead he had me arrested for pulling the plants out instead of taking responsibility for the work being done incorrectly. The attorney on the bench sided with them even when they stated that they had not witnessed me removing the ivy. I was charged with a class 4 felony and made to pay 1200 to Mr.Kelly when it was my fees that had paid for the work in the beginning.

Management plus realty service <br />Mr. Kelly Smith Owner <br />Hired to Manage the Association for HOA The Crossings of Springedale <br />Whenever there is a problem Mr. Smith never responds to emails. When the storm hit Sept 18th 2008 our siding was replaced with the cheapest vinyl siding they could find. The insurance Company paid for our roofs to be replaced and instead of replacing them Mr. Smith had them patched; causing damage in three of the unites. My roof leaked, causing one of the main support beams to buckle and the floor to sag, my neighbor whose roof leaked had to have drywall in his kitchen replaced and the kitchen repainted. The unit two doors down had over thirteen thousand in damages. Mr. Smith had told us that is not his responsibility to have the roof fixed and the damages in our homes are now our responsibly. <br />On another note all the outer walls had never been repaired when the siding went up. Entire walls had no plywood and our inside walls had been exposed for weeks waiting for work to finish, causing more damage from storms <br />Siding and soffits on my unit and the unit next to me had been torn off by storms, repairs had been a month latter leaving siding hanging that made it hazardous for us to be on our patios in the back. Rain caused more damage to the inside of our home that Management plus refused to repair. <br />Flooding in our basements <br />A pipe that is the responsibility of the HOA (The Crossings of Springdale) That Mr. Smith is paid to manage; collapsed causing all four unites to flood. He refused to have the work done until we paid rooter router to come out and use a camera to find the flooding problem. I lost over sixteen thousand in flood damages; Drywall, carpet, computers, furniture, books, treadmill and elliptical. <br />Foundation leaking in my unit <br />Mr. Kelly sent out relative who hand shoveled and move a small hill of dirt and rock thinking this would stop rain from going into the corner. They took out all of our shrubs and flowers and still the foundation leaks. He sent out another relative of a board member to request I tear out all my drywall to patch the foundation instead of fixing it the correct way like he did for a member of the board. <br />Gutters never cleaned <br />Gutters are never cleaned, my soffits are rotting and the roof has mold all over it causing me to be sick all the time with allegories. Had to move out of the master bedroom where the mold is the worst and the gutters are never cleaned. <br /> <br />Lawn maintained NEVER <br />Had grass when I moved; have nothing now! <br />Mr. Smith had me arrested for pulling out what he said was five hundred plants of Ivy that they planted, we sent him several emails telling him the crew had not planted the ivy the correct way. They did not add more topsoil to rebuild the hill that has eroded to nothing more than tree roots; instead they dropped two dump trucks full of mulch and when the rains came EVERTHING WENT IN THE LAKE. I sent him photos and he never replied instead he had me arrested for pulling the plants out instead of taking responsibility for the work being done incorrectly. The attorney on the bench sided with them even when they stated that they had not witnessed me removing the ivy. I was charged with a class 4 felony and made to pay 1200 to Mr.Kelly when it was my fees that had paid for the work in the beginning. <br />My foundation wall is splitting on one side from the erosion; Mr Smith ignores all email requests <br /> <br /> <br />

MY ASSOCIATION IS GIVING ME SO HARD TIME, I LIVE HERE IN LAS VEGAS AND HAVE A HOME SINCE 2005, THERE WAS NO RESTRICTIONS THAN, LATER THINGS CHANGE EVERY YEAR.UNFORTUNATELY, I BOUGHT A HOUSE AGAIN IN 2009, I RENTED IT AND WAS GETTING A FINE $100 A WEEK. FINALLY THE HOUSE WAS EMPTY FOR A LONG TIME. THAN MY FAMILY TRIED TO HELP ME LIVING HERE FOR A WHILE AND LEFT. I GOT LAID OFF IN SEPT 2010 AND HAVE BEEN UNEMPLOYED SINCE THAN, I STARED RENTING WITH MY COUSIN A MONTH A GO, JUST BECAUSE SHE IS NOT MY SKIN COLOR, THE ASSOCIATION ASKED FOR A NOTARISED LETTER WHICH WE DID AND NOW WANTS TO GO FOR HEARING WITH THE BOARD. I KNOW, SO MANY PEOPLE ARE RENTING HERE ITS ONLY THEY ME GIVING A HARRASMENT, PLEASE HELP.THANKS. NUR.

I LIVE IN LAS VEGAS, NV, BEEN HERE FOR THAN 7 YEARS, THERE WAS NO RESTRICTIONS THAN, NOW THEY FINE ME $100 A WEEK IF I RENT.I BOUGHT ANOTHER HOME HERE IN 2009, MY LIVED HERE FOR A WHILE AND NOW WHEN I WANT TO RENT GIVING ME SUCH A HARD TIME, BEING UNEMPLOYED FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, NO INCOME, OTHER OWNERS WHO ARE INVESTORS RENT THE HOUSE BUT ITS ME WHO HARRASING THE MOST, PLEASE HELP, THANKS.NUR

Pennbrooke homeower association in Leesburg FL is using their authority to abuse me and other seniors living in their park; they think they are above the law. They are using the nonjudicial foreclosure procedure to abuse my and other seniors here, constitutional right to due process which is an impact on bad economy. By law, all HOA directors have a fiduciary duty to hear my complaint, treat me with courtesy and offer fair and reasonable help. But this did not happen with Pennbrooke HOA! They were not reasonable would not accept payment even after Robbie Dill told me to send my three payments for Oct, Nov, and Dec of 2011 to the attorney. The attorney took my money and never really gave me a good explanation as to where it went and charged me $125 for sending the payment and I did not get the payment applied to my bill. My home was about to go into foreclosure but the bank did a remodification. When Pennbrooke HOA heard I was going through the foreclosure process, they sent my fees account to their attorney and never notified me; they said they did but I did not receive the notice. After I found out, I contacted the then attorney office to have them send me a print out of what I owed but they refused and did not send any notice. I contacted Pennbrooke HOA after they sent my file to a second attorney, now they have added attorney fees from both attorneys, to set up payment arrangements since I had to send my bank a lot of money to do the remodification. The board members were very rude and would not accept payment arrangements; they showed me a list of I believe 54 other seniors they was going to foreclosure on and bragged about not taking payments. These people are putting seniors out of their homes by adding attorney fees to the late fees, knowing we cannot come up with the money. They are abusing their power and taking advantage of the seniors and myself in their community. I believe I am being discriminated against because the idea of living in a HOA runned community is to live in harmony but Pennbrooke HOA has broken this harmony and this negligence is detrimental to the well being of members investment in the community. Every year the homeower fees goes up but the money we pay is not used to keep our yards up, as promised, it is used to keep the entrance and front of the community looking good so they can deceive people when they come to apply to the community. Also, I have only seen one other afro american family besides myself.

Dorothy H. from Leesburg FL - Pennbrooke homeower association in Leesburg FL is using their authority to abuse me and other seniors living in their park; they think they are above the law. They are using the nonjudicial foreclosure procedure to abuse my and other seniors here, constitutional right to due process which is an impact on bad economy. By law, all HOA directors have a fiduciary duty to hear my complaint, treat me with courtesy and offer fair and reasonable help. But this did not happen with Pennbrooke HOA! They were not reasonable would not accept payment even after Robbie Dill told me to send my three payments for Oct, Nov, and Dec of 2011 to the attorney. The attorney took my money and never really gave me a good explanation as to where it went and charged me $125 for sending the payment and I did not get the payment applied to my bill. My home was about to go into foreclosure but the bank did a remodification. When Pennbrooke HOA heard I was going through the foreclosure process, they sent my fees account to their attorney and never notified me; they said they did but I did not receive the notice. After I found out, I contacted the then attorney office to have them send me a print out of what I owed but they refused and did not send any notice. I contacted Pennbrooke HOA after they sent my file to a second attorney, now they have added attorney fees from both attorneys, to set up payment arrangements since I had to send my bank a lot of money to do the remodification. The board members were very rude and would not accept payment arrangements; they showed me a list of I believe 54 other seniors they was going to foreclosure on and bragged about not taking payments. These people are putting seniors out of their homes by adding attorney fees to the late fees, knowing we cannot come up with the money. They are abusing their power and taking advantage of the seniors and myself in their community. I believe I am being discriminated against because the idea of living in a HOA runned community is to live in harmony but Pennbrooke HOA has broken this harmony and this negligence is detrimental to the well being of members investment in the community. Every year the homeower fees goes up but the money we pay is not used to keep our yards up, as promised, it is used to keep the entrance and front of the community looking good so they can deceive people when they come to apply to the community. Also, I have only seen one other afro american family besides myself.

no hoa, acc has not enforced restrictions in years. crooked attorney with multiple properties making up rules as he goes along. charging people fees with no account for acc. make check out to him.

Shelley G. Austin, TX I've been in my condo since June 2009. Since I have been here, the parking spot I was deeded has yeilded bird poop on my new car paint to ruin it, the dog owners here don't use leashes or pick up after them, they won't do anything about it nor will they do anything about illegal dumping in our dumpster, and in addition the manager has targeted me by threatening to tow one of my cars and took a picture of my front door (I had a hand typed 8x12 sign on it) and threatened to fine me for it. They said if the dog owners are to be caught I have to get their name and unit number...that is not my job it is theirs. They are also threatening to raise monthly dues (we pay darn near $200 a month already which is VERY high)

I live in an HOA consisting of only 46 single family units. The covanats have not been kept up to date at the clerk ans recorder. The fist line in the covanants calls for either southwestern or mediterainian design, not 1 house in the devolopment is either style. They are all suburban modern. They originally called for a small courtyard enclsed by a stucco wallas the only fenceamd lawn area. Over the years it has changed to any plastic or stucco fence under 6'. I didnot recieve a copy of the covanants when the house was purchased and purchased material for a split rail fence, perfecdt to keep the dog in the yard witout destroying my view of the mountains. Big no no. I can put up a plastic split rail but wood is verboten. Also depending on your status in the neighborhood the covanants can be abused to no end. No boats, trailers, r.v's are to be parked on the property. I counted 9 of the 46 with 1 or more and when the issue was brought up with my desire for a wood fence the response is well thode are not permanent. The last meeting was over 18 months age andno record of minutes or elections is available. I think I will put up my fence and dare them to take me to court.

I recently found HOA Board members peering into my window. Should I have called the Police?

I live in an HOA community that I bought into a little over 1 year ago. When I came in I was told I needed to submit any changes to my home to the Arch. board to get approval which I did. However I found out the President lives in my neighborhood and he said no to solar screening on my home and screened in patio. I also found out that there is a law in effect called the Florida Solar Rights law 163.04 that the FL Legislative put into effect several months ago. At first it was for condo's but then it was amended to include HOA's but still they ignore it because they say IT"S TO HARD TO DO, i.e. Make changes to the deed restrictions they claim. I guess it's impossible if they don't try, but my guess is the President doesn't want his ruling to be over turned. What can I do other than sue the board? Even if I do they are protected by the D&O Ins every HOA has. Any suggestions? Joe F

One of the things that really bugs me is the deed restrictions say "NO CLOTHESLINES" period, so if someone was to challenge that deed restriction and the board was to sue, the board would loose because of this law called the Florida Solar Rights Law 163.04 which allows a clothes line. If the the board looses so do the homeowners because we will pay for the lawyers to sue and they will also have to pay for the homeowners lawyer and court costs. That's how good some HOA's are, they like to be the final word, and you have nothing to say.

Hi Our Association had a 50/50 cost split program for new windows at the option of the owner. Over the years there has been a steady participation in the program. Recently the new board decided to discontinue the 50/50 program and MANDATE the remaining owners to replace their windows. The owners no longer get cost help and are required to buy their windows from a single source decided by the board. I should point out that the board members had all taken advantage of the 50/50 split before they discontinued the program and are MANDATING the cost to the remaining unit owners. Is this legal? Even if the owner finds the EXACT same window cheaper through another company, the board will not allow it. The windows MUST be purchased through the board approved company at a higher cost.

My name is Jasmine K. I live in an HOA on the island of Kauai. I am in a nightmare situation. I live next to neighbors who receive government assistance (HUD) to pay there rent. The fight and scream EVERY day! They scream profanities at their children daily as well. Not once or twic a day but the majority of the day and night. I actually heard the 10 year old boy being slapped several times. Could hear it in my house, from their house! I tried to talk with the President of the HOA as I was very concerned and my family cannot handle this anymore. I also needed to address the fact that these same neighbors need to keep their children in their own yard and to keep their trash out of our yard and mailbox as well. She asked us to talk with them and if that did not work to call the police. During a very scary domestic dispute we finally called the police. I was unaware the president is friends with these tenants and told them we said they beat their children every day. She has now called me a liar publicly on Facebook and is out to get us. The president has REALLY upset the neighbors who now want to beat me up and said I was lucky they don't have a gun in the home. Thank goodness I rent and do not own but I am tied in for 10 more months on a 1 year lease. I was shocked. I thought I was doing the right and civil thing. Addressing an issue. Looking out for the best interest of the homeowners, community and welfare of the neighborhood. Now I fear my safety and my children's safety. My landlord was willing to let us out of our lease until the HOA President said we were liars and our neighbors and great and nice people. Due to all of this I don't think I will buy a home with an HOA.

My name is Jasmine K. I live in an HOA on the island of Kauai. I am in a nightmare situation. I live next to neighbors who receive government assistance (HUD) to pay there rent. The fight and scream EVERY day! They scream profanities at their children daily as well. Not once or twic a day but the majority of the day and night. I actually heard the 10 year old boy being slapped several times. Could hear it in my house, from their house! I tried to talk with the President of the HOA as I was very concerned and my family cannot handle this anymore. I also needed to address the fact that these same neighbors need to keep their children in their own yard and to keep their trash out of our yard and mailbox as well. She asked us to talk with them and if that did not work to call the police. During a very scary domestic dispute we finally called the police. I was unaware the president is friends with these tenants and told them we said they beat their children every day. She has now called me a liar publicly on Facebook and is out to get us. The president has REALLY upset the neighbors who now want to beat me up and said I was lucky they don't have a gun in the home. Thank goodness I rent and do not own but I am tied in for 10 more months on a 1 year lease. I was shocked. I thought I was doing the right and civil thing. Addressing an issue. Looking out for the best interest of the homeowners, community and welfare of the neighborhood. Now I fear my safety and my children's safety. My landlord was willing to let us out of our lease until the HOA President said we were liars and our neighbors and great and nice people. Due to all of this I don't think I will buy a home with an HOA.

I moved into the HOA in 2003. At the time my fiance' was dying from lung cancer and I am disabled with incurable diseases. I had to hurry to buy a safe home, because the area where we used to live was only 7 miles from the border and there were constant fears and threats to our safety there. My home in the HOA should have been condemned as it was in need of much repair, such as holes in the floor because the existing furnace was changed to having ducts put in the ceiling. The original ducts were removed, leaving holes where registers used to be. This is just one story about my home, but I won't continue on that, just that I was lied to by the realtor and the previous owner. I never received any documents regarding the HOA rules, etc. I was told by the realtor that they were in the mist of changing and updating the rules. It is now 2012 and I still don't know what the rules are! Not only that, there was a change in personnel in the office. Before that, I used to get my monthly statements, with a zero due balance on them and a little news letter. But the new personnel suddenly sent me a statement showing I owed $300 in past dues! I have paid my dues every month, sometimes in cash. I had my daughter drop off the payments because I'm disabled and homebound. She didn't receive any receipts, they told her none was needed. Which was fine, since my statements always showed a zero balance due with no past due fees. When I got the statement from the new personnel in the office, I questioned it. I asked for proof of non payment and never received any. In the meantime I checked my records and found I did not owe any fees. Yet, I paid what I thought was the ones, I had originally paid in cash, because I could not prove I had made them, since I had no receipts. Now my caregiver is making my payments with money orders, without any statements! The new personnel decided to not send me any more statements/invoices and the news letter. Now we have no idea what is going on in the HOA! For example, they changed garbage disposal companies and since we don't get our statements and news letter any more, we didn't know. The only way we found out was seeing our neighbors putting their cans out on a different day then the old service picked up. Plus, we only have a one day service, with smaller cans, instead of the two day pick ups with larger cans for us. Plus, we found out that the garbage service was cheaper, yet none of this was reflected regarding our dues. As a matter of fact the dues went up. There are homes that have junk stored in their yards, barking dogs that bark all day/night long, no restrictions on house colors, etc. A house two doors down from mine was recently painted a bright orange, looking now like a pumpkin! The used to be swimming pool, tennis and basket ball courts are now gone, with "No trespassing" signs. Plus, one of the common area is now used by a private homeowner to corral his horses. No explanation from the HOA! I'm on disability income only, considered low income, (because of this) and have no money to pay for an attorney. I don't know what my rights are or the HOA's rules and regulations are. I don't even know what my dues are used for, except for the garbage service, as there are no common grounds, except for the club house, which costs money to rent, and is used exclusively by people who play cards and exercise, none of which I do. Plus, for all I know, the HOA personnel decided to put a lien on my home, (an old mobile home), without giving me any notice. I have no idea what the balance is, if I have paid all my dues, in their opinion. I don't even know what exactly the membership fees are used for, except for the garbage service. Is there anyone out there that can help me with this? Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I moved into the HOA in 2003. At the time my fiance' was dying from lung cancer and I am disabled with incurable diseases. I had to hurry to buy a safe home, because the area where we used to live was only 7 miles from the border and there were constant fears and threats to our safety there. My home in the HOA should have been condemned as it was in need of much repair, such as holes in the floor because the existing furnace was changed to having ducts put in the ceiling. The original ducts were removed, leaving holes where registers used to be. This is just one story about my home, but I won't continue on that, just that I was lied to by the realtor and the previous owner. I never received any documents regarding the HOA rules, etc. I was told by the realtor that they were in the mist of changing and updating the rules. It is now 2012 and I still don't know what the rules are! Not only that, there was a change in personnel in the office. Before that, I used to get my monthly statements, with a zero due balance on them and a little news letter. But the new personnel suddenly sent me a statement showing I owed $300 in past dues! I have paid my dues every month, sometimes in cash. I had my daughter drop off the payments because I'm disabled and homebound. She didn't receive any receipts, they told her none was needed. Which was fine, since my statements always showed a zero balance due with no past due fees. When I got the statement from the new personnel in the office, I questioned it. I asked for proof of non payment and never received any. In the meantime I checked my records and found I did not owe any fees. Yet, I paid what I thought was the ones, I had originally paid in cash, because I could not prove I had made them, since I had no receipts. Now my caregiver is making my payments with money orders, without any statements! The new personnel decided to not send me any more statements/invoices and the news letter. Now we have no idea what is going on in the HOA! For example, they changed garbage disposal companies and since we don't get our statements and news letter any more, we didn't know. The only way we found out was seeing our neighbors putting their cans out on a different day then the old service picked up. Plus, we only have a one day service, with smaller cans, instead of the two day pick ups with larger cans for us. Plus, we found out that the garbage service was cheaper, yet none of this was reflected regarding our dues. As a matter of fact the dues went up. There are homes that have junk stored in their yards, barking dogs that bark all day/night long, no restrictions on house colors, etc. A house two doors down from mine was recently painted a bright orange, looking now like a pumpkin! The used to be swimming pool, tennis and basket ball courts are now gone, with "No trespassing" signs. Plus, one of the common area is now used by a private homeowner to corral his horses. No explanation from the HOA! I'm on disability income only, considered low income, (because of this) and have no money to pay for an attorney. I don't know what my rights are or the HOA's rules and regulations are. I don't even know what my dues are used for, except for the garbage service, as there are no common grounds, except for the club house, which costs money to rent, and is used exclusively by people who play cards and exercise, none of which I do. Plus, for all I know, the HOA personnel decided to put a lien on my home, (an old mobile home), without giving me any notice. I have no idea what the balance is, if I have paid all my dues, in their opinion. I don't even know what exactly the membership fees are used for, except for the garbage service. Is there anyone out there that can help me with this? Thank you for taking the time to read this.

We are condo owners in MN adn our management company named Rockford is leeting the power get to their heads and think they control us. Thye have put locks on all of our outdoor water faucets so our garden is now dying and we started watering from our kitchen faucet with an attachment for the garden hose and now they are syaing we cant do that either, that is my water, i pay for it in my dues every month. The problem I see is that there are many owners that rent to deadbeats and it seems like that's what they want is a bunch of section 8 renters in there so they cant use any ammenities and the rest of us decent responsible tax payers and dues payers are getting screwed by these people and the manager thinks his word is gospel. I am going to continue to water from my kitchen sink with a hose. This guy can stick it where the sun dont shine! He's telling us he is going to start fining us for watering from my own faucet. He's a real idiot, he has also wated 550o gallons of water filling our pool before it was inspected and it failed inspection and they had to drain it and it is still sitting empty. He doesnt even live on site or own a unit. he is buddys with the president of the association and a real moron. how can we get him fired? PLEASE HELP

HARASSMENT?? I'M A SENIOR ON A FIXED INCOME. OUR HOA JUST NOTIFIED ME THAT I OWE THEM MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR "LATE" FEES THAT THEY'VE BEEN CHARGING ME FOR 30 MONTHS BUT NEVER NOTIFIED ME ABOUT BEFORE NOW! THEIR COUPONS STATE IF PYMT MADE AFTER THE 10TH, A LATE FEE OF $10 WOULD BE CHARGED! HOWEVER, THEY NEVER TOLD ANY OWNERS THAT THERE'D ALSO BE COSTS AND FEES ATTACHED TO THIS $10 LATE FEE AND THAT TOTAL WOULD BE DEDUCTED FROM ALL FUTURE PAYMENTS MAKING EVERY SUBSEQUENT PAYMENT LATE. SO AFTER 30 MONTHS THEIR "FEES" ARE MORE THAN A YEAR'S HOA DUES PAYMENTS. BECAUSE OF THIS TYPS OF "BOOKKEEPING" THEY'RE CHARGING ME "LATE FEES" EVEN ON PAYMENTS MADE AND DEDUCTED FROM MY BANK ON THE 10TH!!!! THERE ARE MANY MORE HARASSMENT ISSUES INCLUDING THEIR PERMISSION FOR A TENANT TO SELL A RENTAL TO THE TENANT WITHOUT NOTIFYING ME PLUS OTHER MAJOR ISSUES BUT THERE ISN'T ENOUGH ROOM HERE TO ELABORATE. I NEED HELP. jean c

I am the home owner and we had some conern that we sent a letter stated it be keep confidential - it did not our address got listed in the minutes and was attached to a newsletter and emailed to every resident - know we are having alot of problems with our neighbors - what are the laws.

We live in a community that had and amendment prior to us moving in that says you can only have 1 dog or 1 cat. We have two small dogs. They are telling us to get rid of one dog or move or be fined. They have a "verbal" clause saying anyone here prior is ok. Some people have 5 cats etc... I need help Butch Baltimore Md

We live in a community that had and amendment prior to us moving in that says you can only have 1 dog or 1 cat. We have two small dogs. They are telling us to get rid of one dog or move or be fined. They have a "verbal" clause saying anyone here prior is ok. Some people have 5 cats etc... I need help Butch Baltimore Md

Viviana Gonzalez Elm St Thornton Co. 80241 I'm looking for people who have problems with Deer Run Homeowners Association and Summercreek Homeowners Association in Thornton Colorado, please call 720-9874064 or leave a phone mail vilmasua5@yahoo.com we have to fight against this HOA abusivosd.

Rich S San Diego We have a management company that forces total control over the HOA and the home owners. The have reduced a 5 member board to a 3 member board with 2 100% yes allys and deny any others who opposed this company. Only by email or in private without the 3rd last opposing board member. Now the President and the management company are installing a renewed board member and have full control over projects as well as all employees and forbid any votes in open session. Everytime I bring copys of the laws the manager denys them because I am not a lawyer says I cannot use laws since I am not a lawyer.

Victoria D.Vail CO I own a condo that had a fire on 8/14/12. The walls are log so the damages fell to the HOA insurance. The HOA president was paid 50K from the insuance company on 9/24/12. The HOA president has still not found a contractor as he is looking for either the perfect or cheapest one. Its been 2 months now with no use of our home and the fire smell is permeating throughout the house while he takes his sweet time. What can I do?

I have been in court with my HOA for 2 1/2 years. The attorney representing the HOA is constantly asking for continuances anything to keep us from going to trial. The HOA made a mistake in its' accounting. The HOA took me to court for association fees that I paid!!! After realizing the mistake the HOA is trying to work out a deal for me to pay its' legal fees (I will not). I have copies of my checks from the bank plus copies of the HOA financial transaction statement that omitted my payments. But the HOA cashed the checks and still don't want to take responsibility for its' error!!! Can you believe the arrogance? I have asked for a jury....we're going public.

The HOA for the Westbrooke community in Centreville, VA is managed by Sequoia management. This company handles things in a draconian fashion. I have been cited for the simplest of things, such as having my boat parked (while I was loading it for a trip), grass not being cut (while we were on vacation), and having a trailer parked in my driveway (using it over the weekend). They have little gestapo board members that will trespass on your property to take pictures and report the violations. They expect impeccability in everything as though they live in multi-million dollar gated communities. I requested use of the pool on a Monday evening to have the Boy Scout troop do their annual swim test. they delayed maing a decision until after the scheduled date and then sent disapproval after the fact. This is Boy Scouts, not a bunch of partying rowdies, and on a Monday evening when no one is usually at the pool. Do yourself a favor and steer clear of renting or buying in this area. They do not know the laws, Fairfax County is no help, and they will incessantly violate your right to quiet enjoyment of your property.

We are owners in a small housing community. We complained to our HOA about our neighbor who leaves garbage and makes alot of noise. It took the HOA over a year to try to get these people to stop leaving garbage in the common areas. We found out that these neighbors used to be on the HOA board, so they are friends with the current HOA members. The HOA is bias and like to take care of their friends. The neighbors still make noise. It also takes forever to fix anything around here. We tried to talk to our HOA and they told us that if we kept complianing that it could take longer. These people are power hungry morons. We wanted them to hurry and fix a roof leak.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8829464 HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A group of neighbors is taking their homeowner's association to court. They say residents are paying up but not seeing results, and now they want to know what happened to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Related Content More: Got a story idea? Let us know! This is happening in the community of Pine Village North in northeast Houston. A group of fed-up homeowners who gathered in court Monday told us their HOA went too far when some board members were removed after questioning the spending. Inside Pine Village North, there are townhomes with shattered windows and hazardous vacant units. "They won't board them up. We see kids going in it," resident Martha Preston said. There's dangerous trash piling and huge holes in the ground. "This is a hazard for children, for anyone. You could slip, fall, break your leg, break your neck," resident Christopher Matthews said. Preston and Matthews are also former HOA board members who are among a group of neighbors who say more problems peaked during their annual homeowner's association meeting last week. "We are trying to figure out how we can get rid of our president because we have some concerns about the money," Preston said. Preston and Matthews are taking the HOA to civil court. They say it violated bylaws by voting them off the board. "They voted me off because I started questioning what's going on, where our funds are going, why things aren't being done, why we have increased crime here," Matthews said. Matthews and Preston say the controversy is over a financial report issued during the HOA meeting. It shows more than $550,000 was collected from homeowners between January and September. Nearly half of that money was allegedly spent on building repairs and maintenance. Then, there's a negative ending balance showing the HOA is $25,000 in the hole. "I was wondering, wow. Somebody is fattening the frog for the snake," Preston said, "Somebody is getting this money, because I cannot see that much work being done around here right now." We tried getting some answers from the HOA's lawyer during a temporary injunction hearing. "No Comment. No Comment," the attorney said. A board member also dodged our questions about that financial report. "You have anything to say about it?" we asked. "No comment," the board member said. For now, a judge has ordered the newly elected HOA board cannot proceed in making any decisions. A trial has been set on this matter for next month.

My homeowners associations is Wild Wings in Woodland CA. People have sold their homes and moved because of our hoa. 1 Tried to make changes to the reserve account behind closed doors (executive session) 2 Held a vote to transfer maintenance of wrought iron fences to homeowners lost and then decided to keep voting until they won. 3 Threatened homeowners that they would have to spend 30k in fence repair if we did not vote their way but did not spend a dime even after they lost the vote. 4 Adding new capital items that they wanted to buy to the reserve account, even though you can buy new things with the reserves. Reserves are to repair and maintain what we already have. 5 Deny solar installations when California law prevents them from doing so 6 Approves driveway extensions for some denies them for other based inconsistent enforcement of CC&R's 6 Makes up the fine rules as they go without even following the proper procedure to enact rules. 7 Makes up operating rules as they go without even following the proper procedure to enact rules 8 Takes in more dues than it needs to fund operations and reserves and never returns excess dues to members 9 Takes illegal votes in executive session 10 Passes rules so homeowners can park on the street in front of their own homes but then won't let them extend their driveways to accommodate their vehicles. HOA board members are mainly original owners that seem to want a neighborhood void of cars, as cookie cutter as the day the community was built to try to bring back home values that dropped 50% since they purchased. If you get on their bad side, they will fine you for years, take you to small claims court or even try to foreclose on your home. And these people are your neighbors. Three mediocre people wielding unbelievable power unless and until homeowners read Davis Stirling for themselves and stand up for their own rights

My homeowners associations is Wild Wings in Woodland CA. People have sold their homes and moved because of our hoa. 1 Tried to make changes to the reserve account behind closed doors (executive session) 2 Held a vote to transfer maintenance of wrought iron fences to homeowners lost and then decided to keep voting until they won. 3 Threatened homeowners that they would have to spend 30k in fence repair if we did not vote their way but did not spend a dime even after they lost the vote. 4 Adding new capital items that they wanted to buy to the reserve account, even though you can buy new things with the reserves. Reserves are to repair and maintain what we already have. 5 Deny solar installations when California law prevents them from doing so 6 Approves driveway extensions for some denies them for other based inconsistent enforcement of CC&R's 6 Makes up the fine rules as they go without even following the proper procedure to enact rules. 7 Makes up operating rules as they go without even following the proper procedure to enact rules 8 Takes in more dues than it needs to fund operations and reserves and never returns excess dues to members 9 Takes illegal votes in executive session 10 Passes rules so homeowners can park on the street in front of their own homes but then won't let them extend their driveways to accommodate their vehicles. HOA board members are mainly original owners that seem to want a neighborhood void of cars, as cookie cutter as the day the community was built to try to bring back home values that dropped 50% since they purchased. If you get on their bad side, they will fine you for years, take you to small claims court or even try to foreclose on your home. And these people are your neighbors. Three mediocre people wielding unbelievable power unless and until homeowners read Davis Stirling for themselves and stand up for their own rights

My homeowners associations is Wild Wings in Woodland CA. People have sold their homes and moved because of our hoa. 1 Tried to make changes to the reserve account behind closed doors (executive session) 2 Held a vote to transfer maintenance of wrought iron fences to homeowners lost and then decided to keep voting until they won. 3 Threatened homeowners that they would have to spend 30k in fence repair if we did not vote their way but did not spend a dime even after they lost the vote. 4 Adding new capital items that they wanted to buy to the reserve account, even though you can buy new things with the reserves. Reserves are to repair and maintain what we already have. 5 Deny solar installations when California law prevents them from doing so 6 Approves driveway extensions for some denies them for other based inconsistent enforcement of CC&R's 6 Makes up the fine rules as they go without even following the proper procedure to enact rules. 7 Makes up operating rules as they go without even following the proper procedure to enact rules 8 Takes in more dues than it needs to fund operations and reserves and never returns excess dues to members 9 Takes illegal votes in executive session 10 Passes rules so homeowners can park on the street in front of their own homes but then won't let them extend their driveways to accommodate their vehicles. HOA board members are mainly original owners that seem to want a neighborhood void of cars, as cookie cutter as the day the community was built to try to bring back home values that dropped 50% since they purchased. If you get on their bad side, they will fine you for years, take you to small claims court or even try to foreclose on your home. And these people are your neighbors. Three mediocre people wielding unbelievable power unless and until homeowners read Davis Stirling for themselves and stand up for their own rights

yes I live in the Island Condo's in Gulf Shores AL. Here there are no meetings no accountabilities. There are only 7 units and we pay 350 per month. There has not been a updated bylaw since 2003 and not a meeting since 2009. Here the President, Mike Wiley whom I can see nowhere appointed, and a treasurer make all the rules. The bylaws have totally different names as officers. They no not go by the bylaws. They make determination to spend the funds how they see fit and normally on their own properties and even pay themselves out of our dues. Recently they decided without meeting that they were going to remove some trees, 90% behind the presidents house and then cut down trees any other ones they felt like. I asked them to not cut down the one shade tree, a small 10 inch around maple, but they did it with spite and removed it, because I disputed the not having a meeting. Then smugly informed me that we would all get a bill for 600 dollars. He has embezzled money reduced my property value and harassed us since we came here 2 years ago. He needs to be stopped and I have now decided that I have had enough. I know this sounds unreal but it is every bit true. Barry T Island Club Gulf Shores AL

I live in a neighborhood deemed as a swim community. All residents are supposed to pay a fee to the HOA pres. 300$ a year and there are about 50-50 homes here in the neighborhood. Many residents have moved out and new ones moved in without signing the covenant and who do not pay dues. The pool is not properly maintained and many have gotten sick from it. The entry way is maintained on a volunteer basis and the money collected does not go for upkeep like it is supposed to. Everyone cares for their own lawn and all expenditures. The only thing the money from dues is supposed to go to is upkeep of the pool and area (which is not done) and upkeep of the entryway sign and bushes. Like I said volunteers do all of this and no one is paid to do any services with the dues money yet it all gets spent somehow. Also when the covenant was established the HOA was supposed to install streetlights which they never did. They continue to send bills saying we owe but i feel that the dues are not going to correct purposes and the covenant is unfair since only half the people are required to pay and only half are held accountable for bylaws and restrictions. What can be done to get the HOA here terminated? There is a part of the covenant that states anything which could cause errosion will not be done, and the contractor who built the neighborhood graded and designed the land and piled trees up and covered them with dirt for back yards, so obviously that poses a problem as well with sink holes insects and erosion. Shouldnt that make the covenant void? Also My husbands ex-wife signed the covenant and my husband did not, she had to sell her part of the house to him and he still never signed the papers, could he still be held liable for back dues?

We purchased our single family privately owned home back in 1994 in Byram Township, NJ. There was never any disclosure of an annual HOA fee in this neighborhood before or at closing. Even the original listing, which I still have, stated there was NO association fees for this property. Even our deed has nothing about an HOA fee written into it which I would think it should. However, about a month after we moved in we received a letter in the mail from the neighborhood HOA stating that we had to pay a $100 annual homeowners fee, or $75 if we paid before a certain date as an incentive to pay on time. Well being the happy new homeowners that we were, we paid the fee to keep peace and continued to pay it for the next 17 years. Now before I go on let me explain, there are no parks or playground areas in this neighborhood that this fee pays for nor is there a lake or swimming pool or any other recreational benefits here. The only thing this fee claims to pay for is some wooded areas they call common grounds that they are protecting from being built on, which are landlocked and cannot be accessed to be built on anyway. And to pay for manicuring a small strip of easement at the beginning of my street which is owned by the town and my over $9k a year taxes should be paying for anyway. And that is all and nothing more. And there are over 150 homes they are collecting from so if you do the math that's not a bad chunk of money for doing what little it does. Anyway, about two years ago after realizing this HOA fee I have been paying and watching rise each year is not do a thing for me or the rest of the neighborhood, I decided to stop paying it. I recently received a letter in the mail from this wonderful HOA, who I failed to add is run by a couple of neighbors, threatening us that if we do not pay the almost $300 we owe them they will put a lien on my private single family home located on a public town owned road which I completely maintain myself and pay over $9000 a year in taxes on. Can they do this?

We purchased our single family privately owned home back in 1994 in Byram Township, NJ. There was never any disclosure of an annual HOA fee in this neighborhood before or at closing. Even the original listing, which I still have, stated there was NO association fees for this property. Even our deed has nothing about an HOA fee written into it which I would think it should. However, about a month after we moved in we received a letter in the mail from the neighborhood HOA stating that we had to pay a $100 annual homeowners fee, or $75 if we paid before a certain date as an incentive to pay on time. Well being the happy new homeowners that we were, we paid the fee to keep peace and continued to pay it for the next 17 years. Now before I go on let me explain, there are no parks or playground areas in this neighborhood that this fee pays for nor is there a lake or swimming pool or any other recreational benefits here. The only thing this fee claims to pay for is some wooded areas they call common grounds that they are protecting from being built on, which are landlocked and cannot be accessed to be built on anyway. And to pay for manicuring a small strip of easement at the beginning of my street which is owned by the town and my over $9k a year taxes should be paying for anyway. And that is all and nothing more. And there are over 150 homes they are collecting from so if you do the math that's not a bad chunk of money for doing what little it does. Anyway, about two years ago after realizing this HOA fee I have been paying and watching rise each year is not do a thing for me or the rest of the neighborhood, I decided to stop paying it. I recently received a letter in the mail from this wonderful HOA, who I failed to add is run by a couple of neighbors, threatening us that if we do not pay the almost $300 we owe them they will put a lien on my private single family home located on a public town owned road which I completely maintain myself and pay over $9000 a year in taxes on. Can they do this?

Appearance of rigged CCR election? 221 Unit HOA has large number of apathetic members. April Ballot letter from lawyer stated CCR ballots would be counted at May HOA Board meeting. There were 125 ballots (14 over required quorum) on 28 May. CCRs require at least 111 votes. Board extended voting at meeting to ensure passage? Could find nothing in California Civ. Code allowing an extension when THERE WAS a quorum. Could find nothing ANYWHERE regarding an extension with a quorum?only if insufficient of meeting a quorum. Board members made last ditch effort to call all owners not submitting their ballots. Received 6 more ballots between Board meetings. Of the 131 total votes received between April and July, 3 votes were not signed and invalidated. The CCRs passed by EXACTLY 111 ballots. There was a complaint about the handling of the extension after May's meeting. July's Agenda listed Ballot process, but not 'counting' ballots. Selection of Election Inspector handled by 2nd Party HOA Management Company suspect. Management repeatedly hires same Election Inspector who lives in a HOA it manages. Board never printed the name of 3rd party the Election Inspector in Minutes, newsletters, or agendas before counting ballots. Election Inspector counted within range of homeowner member who could see ballots, see what quadrant the Inspector checked on his tabulation sheet, and actually had to move her possessions when he moved within inches of her. Civil Code 1363.03(f) states '...that observers must be allowed sufficiently close to observe the process but not the actual votes on the ballots... must sit or stand at a reasonable distance and observe the counting process'. Cannot complain to anyone in system based upon past untrustworthy experiences. May challenge these violations of California Civil Code with California State Attorney.

Appearance of rigged CCR election? 221 Unit HOA has large number of apathetic members. April Ballot letter from lawyer stated CCR ballots would be counted at May HOA Board meeting. There were 125 ballots (14 over required quorum) on 28 May. CCRs require at least 111 votes. Board extended voting at meeting to ensure passage? Could find nothing in California Civ. Code allowing an extension when THERE WAS a quorum. Could find nothing ANYWHERE regarding an extension with a quorum?only if insufficient of meeting a quorum. Board members made last ditch effort to call all owners not submitting their ballots. Received 6 more ballots between Board meetings. Of the 131 total votes received between April and July, 3 votes were not signed and invalidated. The CCRs passed by EXACTLY 111 ballots. There was a complaint about the handling of the extension after May's meeting. July's Agenda listed Ballot process, but not 'counting' ballots. Selection of Election Inspector handled by 2nd Party HOA Management Company suspect. Management repeatedly hires same Election Inspector who lives in a HOA it manages. Board never printed the name of 3rd party the Election Inspector in Minutes, newsletters, or agendas before counting ballots. Election Inspector counted within range of homeowner member who could see ballots, see what quadrant the Inspector checked on his tabulation sheet, and actually had to move her possessions when he moved within inches of her. Civil Code 1363.03(f) states '...that observers must be allowed sufficiently close to observe the process but not the actual votes on the ballots... must sit or stand at a reasonable distance and observe the counting process'. Cannot complain to anyone in system based upon past untrustworthy experiences. May challenge these violations of California Civil Code with California State Attorney.

I live in a HOA community with a community pool. My neighbor a year and a half ago lost his partner and sadly he was not on the deed so he has been squatting in the house next to me, using the amenities here indiscriminantly, and yet because he wasn't on the deed he doesn't pay a dime. I have having many issues with this said neighbor as we do not get along in the first place. I feel that he should not being using our community pool nor should he have guests using it etc when he is not paying a dime for it and people like myself are.. do I have any recourse?

I believe our board rigged the Governing Documents ballots. The CCR MUST pass by a majority of the voting populace, not a majority of the quorum. The HOA lawyer wrote in the membership's Ballot Packet that the Deadline was 16 May 2013 and the ballots would be counted at that May Board meeting unless there was an insufficient return. The HOA April Newsletter stated the plan was to count the ballots in May. There were 125 (56.6% and 14 ballots more than quorum) returned ballots before the 16 May deadline. I attended May's meeting expecting to learn the results or an extension due to insufficient quorum. Instead, the Board extended voting in spite of the qualifying quorum. The Association gave the impression at the meeting that it feared not having enough ballots to pass the initiative or it would have counted those ballots then. The Board Directors volunteered to call and solicit an approval ballot from members still able to vote during that extension. It took over a month to receive three more ballots. A member contacted the management company three times over two weeks to ask by what authorization the period was extended. The HOA manager never responded despite its contract to respond within 24 hours. The Governing Documents passed by EXACTLY the number required. I spent over 100 hours researching the CA Civil Code and all available resources without finding one authority to support extending time when there was a qualifying quorum. I did learn that the California State Attorney will review tampering with intent to alter results. A violator can be penalized a monetarily, community service, or both depending on the intent of the deed. This HOA frequently violates the Davis-Stirling Act (I hope by lack of knowledge) and the owners who care how the Board operates are helpless to fight it.

The HOA has changed the CC&Rs to state that washers & dryers cannot be installed in our condos. Mine was here when I bought the place and the CC&Rs did not have any restrictions on washers & dryers. Do I have to remove them per the new CC&Rs or am I grandfathered into the rules at the time of purchase?

I read the post below about the HOA being disrespectfully psychotic and I completely believe everything that was said for the most part although I do not live within that community and I don't know the person posting. I lived within a supposed gated community too in Riviera Beach, Florida and "boy" I started having headaches the first day I moved there after I purchased my property in January 2007. I called the HOA office to get my account information to set up payments and they refused to speak with me and I got the run around. Come to find out later, they hung up on the agent from my title company as well. They are in the habit of not speaking to people and hanging up on business associates during business transactions almost as if they are trying to hide something or they are upset others are not engaging in some form of scam or indecent behavior/activity with them (just saying it seems like it - kind of fishy and unprofessional behavior and business practices). Since I needed to set up payments, I went to the HOA office to set up payments and get my account number/information they refused to speak with me and the receptionist upfront started literally screaming at me and was so disrespectful that for a second there I thought maybe she was mistaking me for someone else - maybe she thought she knew me and thought that we had some sort of relationship or problem. It was the most bizarre and psychotically circus freak show I have ever seen. They refused to give me the account information and how they receive HOA payments to pay my dues and insisted I couldn't be an owner, I had to be a renter! Perhaps they felt that it is alright to treat people badly if they are renters too. That was my first encounter with them. Because of the run around I received and knowing I had already purchased the property and trying to do my part -my due diligence, they had me use my lunch and PTO from work and take about say 6 trips before they decided to provide the account number. On that last day, not only did I get another maltreatment and borderline if not full blown harassment and assault from them, I also witnessed them abuse a broker who wanted to either help a client buy or rent - I'm not too sure which transaction but he was a broker. For no reason whatsoever, this female there who claimed by her own words to be Lu Ann McCanty/ manager of the place told the man and (I suppose) me as well to get the f*$# out of her office and she will call the police. She cursed me out and threatened to call the police on me for trying to set up payments!!! Talk about crazy! I almost wanted her to than this would become a legal matter and I would be able to present the police report to the judge and explain to the judge the emotional stress, loss of income, and physical stress I have endured because of these people just because I purchased property here legally and followed all the steps. I am a law abiding citizen, not the least a person/a human being, and I believe their behavior would probably be construed as harassment, discrimination, assault, and persecution under the laws of this land ? not to mention the Supreme Law/Constitution of the US. And I believe they intently/purposefully did all these things. I then went online and realized others complained about their practice as well; some say they lost countless clients because after the potential buyer meet up with them or got word about the community they did not want to continue with the purchase. What a shame! So that was the start of more headaches to come. I have been literally locked out of my home with no way to enter because they refused to add me into the gate systems and all of the codes they provide are invalid, the barcode they place on my car does not work ever. Intermittently, some would work but you never know when they will or will not. So if you

have somewhere to go like work or somewhere, there is no telling that you will be able to get into your home unless you wait until hopefully someone goes in and you can try to sneak in too. Could you imagine the stress I've experienced coming home late at night from a long trip and being left stranded in the middle of the night in an area that is not the best when it comes to crime and safety and with questionable characters/neighbors? And so I have to change my life schedule and live very restricted so that I only leave during the day in case the gate doesn't work then I will not have to spend the night outside my home. I purchased my home and they dictate when and how I get into my home!!! Talk about bad inconvenience; plus it is not safe. So, you find yourself constantly trying to figure what to do next as far as who am I going to call to let me spend the night or will i have to spend the night in the street in my car or do i break the gate an risk having the cops over then I'll be able to get into my home. Crazy right?! Don't try calling them because they will not help and the way they respond if they do it is as if they are doing it on purpose and are just plain nasty. SMH. What makes it more upsetting is I pay my dues in full and on time every month. For some reason though, you can't get into your home and they stalk and harass you!!! Violate your rights and privacy left to right as though that makes them any better than the low-lives they appear to be. Their behavior speaks more to what they are than to what the other person is - I don't think they know that. It is so sad because the place is not even all that; in fact i would give it a 3/6 stars that is without factoring in the douches. It's not fancy or anything. Pricey junk! If anything I should have known not to purchase there...my fault! If only I'd known. There's more to the list of things they do, but I'd be writing forever...

I have had nothing but problems with my HOA. First they were coming on to home owner's property including mine and changing things at their discretion without permission which is against the law in Kansas. I argued with them for 2 years before they realized I was right. Now they are ruining my home's paint with hard water from sprinklers and something that looks like lawn chemicals on the side of the house. They offered to paint the home for me as long as I use their painter. He did some painting and caulking without doing any prep work, just painted over spider webs and dirt, so I was not about to use him to paint my home. Since then we voted to paint our own homes and I was going to hire a painter, then realized most of the homes are damaged like mine and it wouldn't do any good to paint, it would just happen again. We are not allowed to remove a bush without permission and most people disregard that rule but I was sent a signed receipt requested letter advising me the rules would be inforced. The president is partial to his friends, has the weeds pulled in their back yards and charges it to the HOA. He tells me one thing and then says he didn't say that. He told the gardener he could remove my diseased boxwoods, then denied it when I used someone who submitted a lower bid. They have ruined our driveways with lawn chemicals. Our homes are only 8 years old and some driveways are already flaking from the fertilizers left on them after the lawn man has been around. We have elected 3 board members who eventually walked away because they are over ruled on everything. We can't get the president out of office and there is no time limit to his presidency. It is a nightmare, the only reason I am staying is that I love the location and I will NOT let them run me off.

I have lived in a residential development that has an HOA for the past twelve years. The developer provided for a pool/clubhouse for which residents pay a monthly assessment. The developer recently relinquished the pool/clubhouse areas back to the bank because of possible bankruptcy issues on his part. The bank has kept the pool/recreational facility with the same assessment fees for the last two years and has put the property on the real estate market for public purchase. The HOA has craftily amended the covenant and the failure to pay residential assessments so that one is between a rock and a hard place with their assessments. The HOA is trying to bamboozle the residents into buy the pool/clubhouse with a hefty assessment t to each resident. Their rationale is that another individual or group that would purchase these facilities could possibly destroy the property value of the neighborhood. My concern is that I did not buy into this development to buy a club house with all of its problems and financial drains. Do I have any kind of recourse except to sell my home, which I believe is a first amendment violation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Any thoughts?

I paid $200 to have memory trees planted for my parents, The HOA elected to turn off the water and the trees died. they were both replaced twice and they died again. I 'm asking for my money back and they won't give it to me

we are being picked on by a man from the board of directors there is a rule in the rule book about parking on the street there is no parking allowed on the street. however there are not signs posted anywhere in the community saying there is no street parking the guy threatened to call the police because someone who was visiting us parked in front of the house . i don' think the police could give them a ticket if there are no posted signs please advise

We have an HOA, but they waste our money. We have no commons area, no street lights, we pay for garbage pickup out of our own pockets and so on. In fact, the HOA doesn't do anything really except collect our money and then turn around and pay thousands of dollars in legal fees trying to fight the people who won't pay the HOA dues. All they need to do is keep the grass cut and snow removed but they keep saying they don't have money to do that since they need it for lawyers, so volunteers end up doing the work. Why should I pay dues each year for them to give me no return, can I take them to court or something?

Storm drainage channel next to our lot caused erosion lowering edge of our lot by 8". The porcelain tile along the wall closest to channel cracked. The wall had separated twice and we repaired. We asked HOA and Town for assistance. We followed all suggestions--no water leaks, etc. We heard that we would lose our Homeowners' insurance if the house was being damaged by the settling. Asked HOA to install wall, rebuild channel in like condition to others in neighborhood. After threat to lose insurance we requested permission and received it to install a low protective wall on the edge of our lot and fill in the soil. Did all the preparation and finish work ourselves. We submitted the contractor's bill for the wall (less than $2,000) to the HOA. They refused to reimburse us.

I have lived in my condo ( which I own free and clear ) for 3 months. We have rules, but the rules are not enforced. Our alley is running over with trash cans and illegal parking. I have complained to HOA president and nothing is being done. He is allowing a 90 year old woman to park at the entrance of our alley, which is blocking off a lot of the in and out for our cars! I called the police and fire marshall, hopefully they can help. Austin Texas 78731 Chimney Oaks Condos/Town Homes

My HOA is keeping persecuting me. Because I reported it's omission to authority on 2009. Since then, I'm kept out from the home owner meeting, the broker even called cop on me for trespass when I came to the management office to update my information and tried to get my over pay back(I have an other home owner at the moment can be testified as my witness), the office never mail me the bill but sending me attorney warning and gives me ridicules fine if I missed payment(amount). HOA means home owner association, I'm the home owner, but I can't go to my association's office, can't attend the meeting, even can't have my bill information...this is just too much. I have all documents dated, I have details to tell, please feel free to contact me: umzllc@gmail.com. Best regard! I'm in Las Vegas, NV

John leach , lawyer in las vegas nevada law firm leach and johnson, johnson and a leach that is perfect fort a HOA lawyer. He says he just sues homeowners and does not work for the home owners. He says he works for a corp that he does not represent the home owners who formed the corp and board. My questions is to MR LAWYER BIG SHOT JOHN LEACH, ESQ who are the shares in a HOA entity owned by the board, the home owners or the entity? YOUR An IDIOT JOHN LEACH. AS THIS IS WHAT YOU CALLED ME ON THE PHONE YESTERDAY. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU WORK FOR. I WILL TEACH YOU A LESSON I AM YOUR BOSS. He also claims the HOA are not obligated to provide security when people are being attacked in the condos. IF GATES ARE UP AND LOCKED BY A CODE THE HOA IN MY OPINION DEMONSTRATED SECURITY. GATE GUARDED COMMUNITY IMPLIES A HIGHER LEVEL OF SECURITY AND THE BOARD IS TO ASCERTAIN CAN SOMEONE HELP ME UNDERSTAND who are the shares in a HOA entity owned by the board, the home owners or the entity?

We own a unit in a student condominium association. Every year, the HOA gets a large dumpster for students moving out to dump their old furniture and other stuff. The dumpster is parked right outside our unit in what is normally a recreation area. Not only is it noisy but it attracts homeless and dumpster divers that show up in trucks to scavenge what they can. A year ago, someone lit a fire in the dumpster that damaged the side of the building and shattered the windows from the heat. The HOA refuses to move the dumpster to the parking lot as they will loose revenue from the extra parking spaces the dumpster will take. Their only accommodation has been to move it away from right next to the building to about ten feet away. We'll be taking this to the board again as a health and safety concern but we have our doubts that we'll get anywhere. I would think they would be incurring potential liability here but they don't seem to be concerned. Any ideas here?

We own a unit in a student condominium association. Every year, the HOA gets a large dumpster for students moving out to dump their old furniture and other stuff. The dumpster is parked right outside our unit in what is normally a recreation area. Not only is it noisy but it attracts homeless and dumpster divers that show up in trucks to scavenge what they can. A year ago, someone lit a fire in the dumpster that damaged the side of the building and shattered the windows from the heat. The HOA refuses to move the dumpster to the parking lot as they will loose revenue from the extra parking spaces the dumpster will take. Their only accommodation has been to move it away from right next to the building to about ten feet away. We'll be taking this to the board again as a health and safety concern but we have our doubts that we'll get anywhere. I would think they would be incurring potential liability here but they don't seem to be concerned. Any ideas here?

a HOA president took $5000 to repair his own home corruption , elections are a farce fake right here in southern california

Wild Wings is at it again. Courtesy letters were sent because the HOA had to pay the landscapers to clean some sidewalks of moisture, debris and algae. They even sent it to homeowners that had no sidewalks. At the next HOA meeting the board voted to revise the letter to include curbs and gutters. It didn't matter that the sidewalks, curb and gutters are common areas to be maintained by the hoa and that homeowners pay association dues to take care of this kind of thing. Perhaps someone should place some debris on the sidewalk in front of a board member's home, take a picture and send in a violation letter to the management company.

This is regarding the HOA will not impose stricter fines (currently $100) for Dog owners who?s dogs leave waste and damage the property. They hired a person who goes around weekly that does some clean up and I have to pay for that out of my HOA fees! I am thinking of filing a Small claims and subpoenaing all accounting records for the last 10 years to get my Pro Rata share back or they must take action. Suggestions? Scott J Murrieta CA.

Can HOA be sue if the Board made major changes in the Developer's plan of parking spots making the loop one way when it was constructed to be two way creating traffic jam at the bottom and inconviencies at the top of the road. The HOA's major problem is parking due to residents not using their garages, driveway pads, parking in front of their townhomes, having multiple cars not being used daily and thus, park for a long period of time causing guests not find parking and block fire hydrants, and double park making the way difficult and dangerous to pass through due to blind spots. The Board made major change in the roads to accommodate people who don't use their garages and driveways and have multiple cars that is park for a long period of time.

It is a new community and the Board are made of 5 residents making decision for 91 units.

I awoke to gutters being ripped off my townhouse. No one on the HOA informed me. I had my inspector look at the installation and he said it was horrible and I needed to repair it before it caused a roof leak. This is typical of my HOA. They have secret meetings and none of us have any say of how our money is spent. What can I do ??????

Im new to this HOA thing. Apparently our hoa receives $300.00 a month from 69 units. approx $250.00 a year. Complex is falling apart and our hoa says there is no money. No one ever gets a yearly or monthly list of how the monies are spent. Even when requested. Jane Brock Property Management. Toilets at pool are disgusting, Pool is filthy. I believe something fishy is going on here. Jane Brock holds half assed meetings. Nothing get accomplished. (nothing) I ask where is all the money, she states there is none. I don't know about this. She also stated that she runs 33 properties under her management. I find that to be impossible. She also would not tell us her business address until recently. I believe she was working out of her home. Would like to know how to get rid of her Thanks jaynescarola24@aol.com

This is NOT designed for people in the throes of agony and rage...but if you are fairly calm and feeling fairly reasonable, you might wish to read this post that I wrote for my blog, which explains some common situations from the management company's point of view. Please do not respond by writing your horror stories on my blog comments, though. I moderate comments and will not publish them, but you can come back here for that! http://sweetwaterandbitter.com/2014/09/07/dealing-with-your-hoa/

Kes L. Los Angeles, CA We got a new management company for our HOA called SK Mgmt. I got a letter from them today where they want me to attend a Hearing and potential fine for unscrewing the lights at night at my entry. Any suggestions or tips on how to just have the note be a slap on the hand and not try to collect money for violating their terms? I know it was wrong and because of Cynthia Croy's tactics won't be unscrewing any lights. thanks

IF THERE ARE POSSIBLE SINKHOLE PROBLEMS FOUND AFTER A INSPECTION IN THE 55 PLUS COMMUNITY I LIVE IN, DO I AS A CONDO OWNER HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW THE DETAILS. AT A RECENT OPEN BOARD MEETING, BEFORE THE MEETING STARTED I SAT DOWN AT THE TABLE WITH BOARD MEMBERS. I WAS ASKED TO STEP AWAY BECAUSE SINKHOLE ISSUES WERE BEING DISCUSSED AND WAS TOLD I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO HEAR ANY OF THE DISCUSSION TAKING PLACE. I WAS TOLD IF I HAD ANY QUESTIONS TO CALL A LAW FIRM REPRESENTING THE HOA. AS A CONDO OWNER AM I NOT ENTITLED TO KNOW INFO THAT COULD EFFECT THE VALUE OF MY CONDO, AS WELL AS POSSIBLE LIABILITY ISSUES, HOA FEES, INSURANCE COSTS, ETC.???? WHEN I CONTACT THE LAW FIRM IF I AM TOLD THIS IS A PRIVATE MATTER, DO I HAVE ANY RECOURSE TO OBTAIN THIS INFORMATION? COULD I FILE A FOI? THANK YOU FOR ANY FEEDBACK YOU CAN OFFER. SINCERLEY, KIM S.

San Diego California- It has been 3 weeks since 324 people have NOT had hot water, we cannot shower, use dishwasher or do laundry- they said its going to be at least another 3 plus weeks! Someone ran into the pipe he broke - that gives us the hot water- the mgmt. company wont return calls, they called off the HOA monthly meeting they were afraid of being asked questions! We were on the news- everyone is so upset, one lady had to go to a nursing home over this! The gas/electric company cant turn on the electricity until the City Inspector approves the repair. They have not even done the drawings (required) for the repair and the repair itself may take 3 weeks to a month! We are not being updated. I feel we shouldn't have to pay for HOA this month since they are saving a ton of money not having hot water- common use no Jacuzzi we pay for these amenities! 400 a month this is ridiculous. I want to recall the board.

San Diego California- It has been 3 weeks since 324 people have NOT had hot water, we cannot shower, use dishwasher or do laundry- they said its going to be at least another 3 plus weeks! Someone ran into the pipe he broke - that gives us the hot water- the mgmt. company wont return calls, they called off the HOA monthly meeting they were afraid of being asked questions! We were on the news- everyone is so upset, one lady had to go to a nursing home over this! The gas/electric company cant turn on the electricity until the City Inspector approves the repair. They have not even done the drawings (required) for the repair and the repair itself may take 3 weeks to a month! We are not being updated. I feel we shouldn't have to pay for HOA this month since they are saving a ton of money not having hot water- common use no Jacuzzi we pay for these amenities! 400 a month this is ridiculous. I want to recall the board.

A group of 120 homeowners in an HOA in Southern California (with legal counsel) just successfully finished mediation with our HOA due to their 2012 miss-application of CC&R provisions for the 170-unit condo section of our community, only part of thew 1317-unit community. Without prior hearings or notice, the Board secretly voted a special assessment on the condos only to cover earthquake insurance. As I said, they violated several provisions of the CC&Rs and failed to redress the issue when privately and publicly brought to their attention. They only responded when served by our counsel and now that we have won mediation, the Board is acting on advice of their counsel to keep the mediation case hidden from the other homeowners. For a large majority of the condo owners, we have found that the HOAs legal counsel is hostile to homeowners and the unelected power that not only keeps homeowners uninformed, but likely to countermand any pretext of governance transparency, accountability, and due-diligence in matters vital to all. What is our right to know?

It has been the second time that the president of my home owners association starts yelling and me and being so rood, without me being in any way disrespectful. I had just woken up at 8am, I start hearing this hard knock on the door over and over again. I get downstairs, and the presidents starts saying who he is and how one of our cars was parked in the wrong way. Then he says "you are messing up MY grass, this is not the getto! You have to move your car immediately! ...and I never want to see that happen again!" Etc etc.... This is just to comment on how wrong the system is, that some random person can come to your house and start yelling at you and treating you however he wants, because THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. It is just sad, that we are the actual owners and it seems like the HOA have more ownership over our home and the way we live.

I'm a resident of Hartford Place Apt at 500 Northside Cir NW, Atlanta, GA. This level of responsibility that this property management demonstrates is utterly questionable. I'm migrated to USA from a developing nation; and had never experience such insincerity with any land lords/owners in my entire life. I could list down some terrific experiences I encountered with this managements. Just let me share the most recent one. No water supply for 3 days on 3 different occurrences in last 2 weeks. For instance, today (Jan 28, 2015) morning they shut off water *with out* any prior notice. We tenants inquired repeatedly, and the management lied, first telling it'll fix up ~1pm, then 2:30pm, then 5:30pm. Managements are to *bad to the bone* that after 5:30pm (office closing time) no one was present to take care of the water issues. Thousands of residents, many with kids, are passing a horrible days. Just imagine, you can manage drinking water but how do you manage sewerage/toilet use. And it's 1:00 am now, and not a single call back I received from their emergency management service (!) which just exists "by name", but not by any "real service". HORRIBLE.

I'm a resident of Hartford Place Apt at 500 Northside Cir NW, Atlanta, GA. This level of responsibility that this property management demonstrates is utterly questionable. I'm migrated to USA from a developing nation; and had never experience such insincerity with any land lords/owners in my entire life. I could list down some terrific experiences I encountered with this managements. Just let me share the most recent one. No water supply for 3 days on 3 different occurrences in last 2 weeks. For instance, today (Jan 28, 2015) morning they shut off water *with out* any prior notice. We tenants inquired repeatedly, and the management lied, first telling it'll fix up ~1pm, then 2:30pm, then 5:30pm. Managements are to *bad to the bone* that after 5:30pm (office closing time) no one was present to take care of the water issues. Thousands of residents, many with kids, are passing a horrible days. Just imagine, you can manage drinking water but how do you manage sewerage/toilet use. And it's 1:00 am now, and not a single call back I received from their emergency management service (!) which just exists "by name", but not by any "real service". HORRIBLE.

I'm a resident of Hartford Place Apt at 500 Northside Cir NW, Atlanta, GA. This level of responsibility that this property management demonstrates is utterly questionable. I'm migrated to USA from a developing nation; and had never experience such insincerity with any land lords/owners in my entire life. I could list down some terrific experiences I encountered with this managements. Just let me share the most recent one. No water supply for 3 days on 3 different occurrences in last 2 weeks. For instance, today (Jan 28, 2015) morning they shut off water *with out* any prior notice. We tenants inquired repeatedly, and the management lied, first telling it'll fix up ~1pm, then 2:30pm, then 5:30pm. Managements are to *bad to the bone* that after 5:30pm (office closing time) no one was present to take care of the water issues. Thousands of residents, many with kids, are passing a horrible days. Just imagine, you can manage drinking water but how do you manage sewerage/toilet use. And it's 1:00 am now, and not a single call back I received from their emergency management service (!) which just exists "by name", but not by any "real service". HORRIBLE.

This VIDEO is HOGWASH. Most HOA's are nothing but avenues for corruption. There is little if any regulation that gets enforced without spending THOUSANDS in lawyer fees and considerable time and effort. HOA's do nothing but make money for the lawyers. There is very little recourse for homeowners and there is NO EVIDENCE that HOA's upkeep value. If that were so then they would never have lost 50-70% of their value. DO NOT LISTEN TO THE PROPAGANDA that gives all the power to developers/lawyers/builders/CAMS. GET EDUCATED

I live in a 41 unit condominium that was built in the 70's. Our home owners dues supports; two laundry rooms ( one washer & dryer each), well lighted landscaped common areas, a well lighted parking lot, garbage/sewage/water and insurance. My HOA dues is $347.00/month for approximately 900 sq ft. I've also paid $11,000 in special assessments over a 10 year period. I understand it costs a lot to maintain a condominium, I have no problem with how much my HOA dues are, I can live with the assessments, but, in January the Board managed to pass a $53,000.00 assessment for 900 sq ft to be paid over 11 years. That's how they're collecting funds for our reserve. I now pay nearly $700.00 per month in dues. That's almost as much as my mortgage. There's some red flags as well such as the same president & treasurer for 8.5 years, and 5 different property management companies in 10 years. Not to mention, I'm stuck here because who wants a buy a condo that charges $700.00 per month in dues. Trust me, the dues will continue to go up. I work full time and do a lot of overtime, I've no time to go to the HOA meetings but I always vote, and I voted no on the increase, I just can't beleive it went through. How can I organize to get the vote recalled? I have to do something because the next step is foreclosure. I've discussed the situation with other condo owners and they all think there's mismanagement or maybe even fraud involved. I really can't afford to hire a Lawyer but I need some legal help. Any ideas?

I am a homeowner in Brush Run Village, Pittsburgh, PA and have an awful HOA. I have an end unit and have been complaining to my Board/Management Co for over a year since a new resident moved in and leaves a ton of dog feces behind his deck (no fences) and is now letting his dogs dump in the "Common Area" between 2 townhouses, 1 of which is mine, within 20 feet of my kitchen/dining windows. They now just ignore my emails and phone calls. Yesterday i had to call the police since this owner started screaming public obscenities at me and obscene gestures towards me while his two dogs were dumping outside of my eating area window. The HOA continues to ignore me. HOWEVER, they sued me for over $1500 because my $35 light fixture wasn't fixed in time. Chris W from Bethel Park, PA

Yes I do have live in mt condo for over ten years have always paid my fees just after I moved in had a leak in my roof in the garage I called wrote spoke but got nothing done then we had a new neighbor move in and she got her new roof repaired and some other work.i decided to call in a housing inspector to take alook and he gave a report some damage in the garage attic and lots of bad condition all over he took photos also that was in 2011 nothing stillwas done so this year asked them again got better business bureau to help put in a request just plain we have no money one of the units was abandoned and the board told me that they had to repair roof and so onat accost that we had to pay for it has just been sold as a complete remodel iamm 73 now and not in the best of health and amat my wits end I can not afford a lawyer I feel that people that have paid in without taking out should have some consideration what do think.

I live in Alexandria, VA. I started renting a townhome here about 6 months ago. Never had any previous experience with HOA's, and thought "this shouldn't be too bad, people are nice, right?"... yea right. These people are Di@k$. they complain about everything. You have a guest over and have them park in the guest spot... better not be too long... they will leave nasty notes on the car if it's there a couple minutes over the limit. I also have a car that is in good shape, but occasionally like to do some work on. You know, instead of paying 5 times the cost, I like to spend a couple hours and just do the work myself. Anyway... nope! Doesn't matter how clean or quick you are... someone likes to whine right away. Long story, short, the location is nice, but I'm definitely moving out ASAP... these people are a pain in the a$$!!! Unless you are retired, never do any work yourself, and want to live in a retirement community... don't take a place that has an HOA.

Vanessa H. Canoga Park, CA I can't get ahold of my HOA. The guy in charge of the management is only in the office between 10am and 2pm. He has no voicemail and will not respond to emails. I have a question in regards to plumbing issues, as well as concerns about major repairs that must be made to our parking gate. I've requested a copy of the CC&Rs to no avail. Does anybody know what else I can try?

Brian C. from Lompoc, CA I live in a development built in 1988 with a horrific HOA, Goetz Manderley. Very easily one can find on YELP and through other review sources that these ________'s nit-pick for dollars all the time. My first 'love note' involved being told to remove Christmas decorations they felt were left up too long. Then it was 'remove your unregistered vehicle or other actions will be taken'. Now bear in mind that they had to come on to private property to verify whether the vehicle was registered or not as it was parked (clean & shiny) facing the road with registration tags not visible. All too often people accept an HOA as a 'necessary' Big Brother always watching you and others, but also all too often, and very certainly with this company, they harass and fine all in the name of maintaining property value. I for one of many would very gladly live next to a not-so-pristine neighbor to feel like I actually live in a free country where we are applauded for our ability to police ourselves. And even with a child, when corrective action of any kind IS taken, you'd think you would receive an 'atta-boy' or some version of Thank You,....but that simply doesn't happen,...it's beside the point. With me it's been anything from 'your car is parked hanging over the driveway line onto the sidewalk' to 'oil stains on the driveway' to 'remove your Christmas lights' to 'remove your unregistered vehicle, whatever condition you may be in financially or physically.' It creates an overlord situation that is anything but peaceful and has proved to be a powerful source of income for those HOA's. Now I've learned that in some neighborhoods the owners have banded together and FIRED the errant, irritating, infuriating and basically unnecessary HOA's. Most communities have a tax-payer police force and enforceable city codes if things get out of hand, but give untrained people substantial power over others and hope they will preserve the peace and quality of a neighborhood is absolute insanity. I really don't care if there are 'good ones'. I will never ever ever ever live in an HOA overlord community again.

I live in Texas, It appears our existing HOA BOD may have abused the BOD code of conduct provisions that limit any Minority BOD Member from commenting on any HOA business publicly to cover up fact and issues that could be political embarrassing and use the power of their position to attack political opponents.