HOA dues discriminatory

Started by SunL • 5 replies • 1502 views

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SunL (California)
Posts: 2

Posted:

We just moved to a new community which has a HOA that maintains a pool and a cabana. There are some earlier residents who closed home before march 2010 and pay a HOA dues of $35 and all the newer residents are paying $95. In the recent HOA meeting this issue was raised and I was told that there was a HOA meeting before March that had a vote for a HOA raise since the pool and the cabana were coming up. The HOA members had voted against an increase of their HOA dues and had an agreement reached with the home builder to supplement their extra payment of $60. The condition also made new home owners moving in after March 2010 to pay the HOA dues of $95 with the builder NOT supplementing it.

There are many home owners who have moved after March and being asked to pay more than twice than some earlier residents and its becoming a big issue here. The HOA facilities are used by all the members irrespective of what they pay. There has not been any progress from either HOA or the home builder to resolve this.

Is there any legal ramifications to this kind of discriminatory behavior among home owners? What all do we need to resolve this issue and not face any discrimination?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,047

Posted:

Sun,

It depends on the paperwork that outlined the agreement. I would suggest requesting a copy of that agreement from the Board.

Tim

SunL (California)
Posts: 2

Posted:

Tim, Thanks for the reply.

I have already asked for it. But is there anything which we can do to get this resolved. The HOA had sent a letter that cant do anything about this to have the same dues for all HOA members and also mentioned that cannot have a re vote to bring this issue.

Is there any legal route that we could take?

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Sun, you all are paying the same it is just that the developer is supplementing some of the owners. This will more than likely continue until turnover to homeowner control, when the developer goes away so will his supplement. If you really want to kick over an ant hill, file a complaint over the matter with HUD. I'm not saying you will get anywhere with it but it most definitely will get the developers attention.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535

Posted:

I might agree with Glen, that everyone is paying the same except that some have an agreement whereby the developer will subsidize part of the fee, but there might be another way of looking at it.

It may be in the declaration, and also in the laws of some states,that while under developer control, the developer cannot subsidize the HOA. It might be argued that by subsidizing certain homeowners the developer is, in effect, subsidizing the HOA and it may be illegal. You would have to check your documents and your state laws to be sure.

JackB8 (Virginia)
Posts: 141

Posted:

Was this improvement done before the builder turned the developement over to the HOA? If so, there should have been no vote because the improvement was made by the builder and should have been paid for by the builder - in my opinion. If the HOA had control, I think you are talking about a capital expenditure which in most associations requires a majority vote of the owners.. Without majority consent, those improvements should not have been made. If the board approved the improvement against the wishes of the majority, the board members who participated might be(are probably) subject to legal action. I don't think we are talking about discrimination here as much as we are a violation of your covenants by the board. The homeowners who are paying $95 a month need to get together and hire an attorney and so do the homeowners who voted against the improvement and were told they would be paying only $35 (unless the builder promises to continue the payments. Unless I miss my guess the builder would probably been better off paying for the improvements himself because surely the supplemental payments are in the long run probably going to equal more than the cost of the improvements. Both of these groups of homeowners need to get an assurance from the developer that he will make the promised supplemental payments as long as you have an HOA or he needs to be sued to produce such a promise. I think a judge would rule that since the improvement cannot be taken out, the HOA is stuck with the builder supplements continuing or all residents paying the same amount. As far as disciplinary action against the board, seems to me you need to remove and replace the board. Going to your insurance company and filing a claim is probably a waste of time because it sounds like the board botched this up and might just come back to haunt you because any settlement you get will probably result in an increase in your premium.

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