DanM2 (California)
Posts: 1
Posts: 1
Posted:
I became a member of my HOA board earlier this year for a 22-unit development in the city of Los Angeles, shortly after a new owner moved in, who I'll call "Mr. C" for the purposes of this thread (the C standing for the enormous Chip that he carries precariously on his shoulder all the time).
Prior to the board election, the association had been in disarray, with every member of the board other than the president dropping off the face of the earth. With no way to make a quorum for several months, the association had been paralyzed and unable to maintain the reserves, so one of the first actions of the new board was to raise the monthly assessment, which had been rather low compared to comparable homes.
Shortly after having our election, Mr. C started with his complaints. First, it was about being "excluded" from the election. Now, he was present at the first election meeting where we ended up with only 11 of 22 votes, one short of the 50%+1 necessary to make a quorum. The president had asked Mr. C at that time if he was interested in running for a board position, and he declined and didn't show up for the follow-up meeting, which was scheduled in his presence. As a matter of fact, I was the only one to attend the follow-up meeting other than the president, but since we already had the votes from the previous meeting, we were able to complete the election with the 25%+1 needed to make a quorum in this instance. Somehow, while he was able to participate in the election and chose not to, he felt wronged by the election being finalized in his absence.
And that was the least of his complaints. Neighbors had unkempt entrances, dogs were barking at night, gutters needed cleaning, and the biggest problem of all: Cockroaches. One of his adjacent neighbors' units was in bad condition, and he was certain that the roaches were coming from there (and this was the truth). However, the residents and owner of that unit denied having a roach problem, so when Mr. C had exterminators spray in his unit, they would just come back later. He asserted that it was the HOA's responsibility to take care of the problem in his neighbor's unit. The president reminded him that pest problems inside units are the owner's responsibility, and the board didn't have the power to force the issue beyond doing what we can to inform the owner of the unit of Mr. C's complaints.
As soon as he heard of the assessment increase, he immediately assumed it was in retaliation for his previous series of complaints. We needed to remind him of the HOA's financial situation, and that the assessment increase applies to all owners, not just him. Still, Mr. C went out of his way to try to make us change the assessment back to the original amount, including threats of legal action. After being informed of all of the applicable laws which demonstrated that the increase was legal, he managed to discover that our HOA's incorporation had been suspended by the state. For the last 10 years.
What happened was that the treasurer from 10 years ago failed to file the proper tax returns. As soon as Mr. C brought this to our attention, the president, our treasurer and our accountant were able to get everything we needed together to clear it up and sent it off to the State. We decided to cancel all board meetings until the state officially lifted the suspension. Of course, we still conducted critical business, like paying the bills (insurance, trash collection, landscaping and water) and collecting monthly assessments.
In addition to the record showing the suspension, he copied and pasted the relevant law regarding the legality of the HOA conducting business, and then asserted that this made the assessment increase illegal. Since the board had been acting without any knowledge of the suspension up to that point, we were acting in good faith and in the best interest of the association, so it wouldn't have been reasonable to go back and un-do anything that happened during the preceding 10 years. We suspended new non-critical business because that would be acting while aware of the suspended status. This turned out to make the situation worse for Mr. C, because not only did it fail to roll back the assessment, but it also put other business on hold, including dealing with his cockroach problem.
We had first expected things to be cleared up with the state by the end of July, and hoped to get things rolling again. However, this being California, the state hadn't processed our paperwork by then. Or by the end of August, or September. It still hasn't been done, so we're still suspended.
A couple of weeks ago, Mr. C informed us that his cockroach-infested neighbor has vacated the unit, and sent us pictures illustrating the extremely bad roach problem literally spilling out of its walls. The president and I agreed that we've waited for the state long enough, and something needed to be done. We hired a pest control company to come and spray the common area outside of the units, and informed Mr. C, noting that the interior of the units were still the owner's responsibility, but since the offending unit had been foreclosed, we had a better chance of getting permission to enter the unit from the bank.
When the exterminators first came by for the exterior work, Mr. C accosted them and insisted that they enter the badly infested unit, asserting that it was an emergency. Fully aware of the law, the exterminator let him know again that as bad as it was, it was not an emergency, and they needed permission from the owner to enter.
After this, our president tried several times to contact the leasing agent for the infested unit, and after finally getting to speak with her briefly, he was told "the neighbor has the key." That was the only contact we've had with the leasing agent, but apparently Mr. C managed to get them to sign the release to enter the unit, and he paid for the unit to be sprayed, and had his unit sprayed as well. Apparently, he also paid a locksmith to enter the unit, and had the locks changed. He then asked the president to reimburse him for all of these expenses.
This brings us to today. Mr. C has been informed that we will attempt to get him reimbursed, but since it's the homeowner's responsibility, the HOA is not going to pay him directly. We will instead do what we can to have the owner reimburse him.
As long as this is, I omitted many other issues, as the deal with the extermination is the reason I'm posting. We fully anticipate Mr. C will continue to assert it's the HOA's responsibility, demand full reimbursement from us, and of course, threaten legal action. Mind you, he has threatened to sue many times going back to day one, but we have yet to hear from any lawyers representing him. I'm a bit concerned about him changing the locks, and I wouldn't want the HOA to assume responsibility for that.
Has anyone here had to deal with a situation like this? Any advice (and constructive criticism) is welcome.
Prior to the board election, the association had been in disarray, with every member of the board other than the president dropping off the face of the earth. With no way to make a quorum for several months, the association had been paralyzed and unable to maintain the reserves, so one of the first actions of the new board was to raise the monthly assessment, which had been rather low compared to comparable homes.
Shortly after having our election, Mr. C started with his complaints. First, it was about being "excluded" from the election. Now, he was present at the first election meeting where we ended up with only 11 of 22 votes, one short of the 50%+1 necessary to make a quorum. The president had asked Mr. C at that time if he was interested in running for a board position, and he declined and didn't show up for the follow-up meeting, which was scheduled in his presence. As a matter of fact, I was the only one to attend the follow-up meeting other than the president, but since we already had the votes from the previous meeting, we were able to complete the election with the 25%+1 needed to make a quorum in this instance. Somehow, while he was able to participate in the election and chose not to, he felt wronged by the election being finalized in his absence.
And that was the least of his complaints. Neighbors had unkempt entrances, dogs were barking at night, gutters needed cleaning, and the biggest problem of all: Cockroaches. One of his adjacent neighbors' units was in bad condition, and he was certain that the roaches were coming from there (and this was the truth). However, the residents and owner of that unit denied having a roach problem, so when Mr. C had exterminators spray in his unit, they would just come back later. He asserted that it was the HOA's responsibility to take care of the problem in his neighbor's unit. The president reminded him that pest problems inside units are the owner's responsibility, and the board didn't have the power to force the issue beyond doing what we can to inform the owner of the unit of Mr. C's complaints.
As soon as he heard of the assessment increase, he immediately assumed it was in retaliation for his previous series of complaints. We needed to remind him of the HOA's financial situation, and that the assessment increase applies to all owners, not just him. Still, Mr. C went out of his way to try to make us change the assessment back to the original amount, including threats of legal action. After being informed of all of the applicable laws which demonstrated that the increase was legal, he managed to discover that our HOA's incorporation had been suspended by the state. For the last 10 years.
What happened was that the treasurer from 10 years ago failed to file the proper tax returns. As soon as Mr. C brought this to our attention, the president, our treasurer and our accountant were able to get everything we needed together to clear it up and sent it off to the State. We decided to cancel all board meetings until the state officially lifted the suspension. Of course, we still conducted critical business, like paying the bills (insurance, trash collection, landscaping and water) and collecting monthly assessments.
In addition to the record showing the suspension, he copied and pasted the relevant law regarding the legality of the HOA conducting business, and then asserted that this made the assessment increase illegal. Since the board had been acting without any knowledge of the suspension up to that point, we were acting in good faith and in the best interest of the association, so it wouldn't have been reasonable to go back and un-do anything that happened during the preceding 10 years. We suspended new non-critical business because that would be acting while aware of the suspended status. This turned out to make the situation worse for Mr. C, because not only did it fail to roll back the assessment, but it also put other business on hold, including dealing with his cockroach problem.
We had first expected things to be cleared up with the state by the end of July, and hoped to get things rolling again. However, this being California, the state hadn't processed our paperwork by then. Or by the end of August, or September. It still hasn't been done, so we're still suspended.
A couple of weeks ago, Mr. C informed us that his cockroach-infested neighbor has vacated the unit, and sent us pictures illustrating the extremely bad roach problem literally spilling out of its walls. The president and I agreed that we've waited for the state long enough, and something needed to be done. We hired a pest control company to come and spray the common area outside of the units, and informed Mr. C, noting that the interior of the units were still the owner's responsibility, but since the offending unit had been foreclosed, we had a better chance of getting permission to enter the unit from the bank.
When the exterminators first came by for the exterior work, Mr. C accosted them and insisted that they enter the badly infested unit, asserting that it was an emergency. Fully aware of the law, the exterminator let him know again that as bad as it was, it was not an emergency, and they needed permission from the owner to enter.
After this, our president tried several times to contact the leasing agent for the infested unit, and after finally getting to speak with her briefly, he was told "the neighbor has the key." That was the only contact we've had with the leasing agent, but apparently Mr. C managed to get them to sign the release to enter the unit, and he paid for the unit to be sprayed, and had his unit sprayed as well. Apparently, he also paid a locksmith to enter the unit, and had the locks changed. He then asked the president to reimburse him for all of these expenses.
This brings us to today. Mr. C has been informed that we will attempt to get him reimbursed, but since it's the homeowner's responsibility, the HOA is not going to pay him directly. We will instead do what we can to have the owner reimburse him.
As long as this is, I omitted many other issues, as the deal with the extermination is the reason I'm posting. We fully anticipate Mr. C will continue to assert it's the HOA's responsibility, demand full reimbursement from us, and of course, threaten legal action. Mind you, he has threatened to sue many times going back to day one, but we have yet to hear from any lawyers representing him. I'm a bit concerned about him changing the locks, and I wouldn't want the HOA to assume responsibility for that.
Has anyone here had to deal with a situation like this? Any advice (and constructive criticism) is welcome.