hardwood floor & rights of entry Where would it be in my CC&Rs? Petition..?

It doesn't matter if there are complaints or not; it is a violation of the Covenants to have them and the HOA has the right to enforce the Covenant. Now you can work with the BOD to comply or they can fine you and take you to court to force you to comply. It's really up to you on how much you are willing to pay to fight. The one thing you should never do is ignore a letter hoping the problem will go away
that will bite you in the rear every time. You absolutely have the right to rally your fellow homeowners to try and change the Covenant.

...you are up the river in a concrete canoe without a paddle

...all you can do is talk to the BOD

or

perhaps just cover the 'wood' flooring with (several) area rugs

or

...go after the seller for 'non-disclosure' of material facts affecting marketability

... ain't cheap 'pergo' wonderful ?

properly laid composite flooring over PROPER sound deadening 'substrate' would cost MORE than persian carpets

...there is almost NO NOISE if installed over the (factory recommended)proper 'underlayment, however, said underlayment costs almost as much as the 'big box store' flooring itself ... when in doubt -> read the instructions

http://www.woodsthebest.com/Flooring/underlay/noiseReductionLaminateUnderlay.htm

http://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/environment/nuisance/noise/Noise+and+Laminate+Flooring.htm

http://www.krono-original.com/en-underlay-materials.htm

Why is there never time or money to do it right, but always time and money to do it again ????

.... if the marble tiles had been laid over the proper ADDITIONAL TO ORIGINAL SUBFLOOR noise abatement underlayment (in addition to, and under, the cement board necessary to tile) then there would NOT have been a noise issue

.... the underlayment(s) I am referring to are added OVER THE ORIGINAL subfloor ....

flooring is EXPENSIVE ... carpet used in lieu thereof merely makes money for the original builer ... when one pays $100/square foot, one should expect proper tile or wood floors not cheap carpet over particle board subfloor

but then, one have to live WITHIN one's means ... oh well,

rant over

John,

Ya'll cannot close the barn door after the horse is out. Floors should stay but the H.O should cover them to be in compliance.

Danny,

In your first post, you said that the previous owner installed the wood floors and that HE had been told to change them. He did not comply and that was when the complaint occured.

My question is, WHAT DIFFERENCE does it make to you on who complained? It is a violation of the covenants to have the floors. Work on solving the problem and then be over with it. What if the complainer does not want to work it out? It is not that persons duty to do so, it is yours to correct so just get it resolved on your end.

Harold -

With all due respect, Danny has no inherent "right" to either know or see any complaint. This is not a public court case. This is a contractual issue between the owner and the HOA - the contract being the governing documents that are attached to the deed of the property.

Nor is there anything that mandates that the HOA's attorney needs to provide legal guidance and/or interpretation to this owner. The lawyer doesn't represent the owner, (s)he represents the association.

While seeking legal advice is certainly an option, it's just one of several options that other posters here have suggested.

Hi Danny,

I'm the Architectural Control Committee Chair at an HOA around 45 minutes from where you live. I've also served as a director and as the president of the Association. I'm not an attorney, but I think I can give you pretty decent answers from 25 years of living in a CID.

I'll address your questions, one-by-one:

Q1. It would seem to us that the letter was not sent due to noise complaints since we're hardly ever home and we sleep early.
A1. This doesn't matter. You said the CC&R's restrict hardwood floors in the living room and bedrooms. The CC&Rs are a contract you entered into when you bought your unit.

Q2. Does the HOA have authority to peek into my unit to see the hardwood floors?
A2. The HOA has the right to enter your unit under certain circumstances, as outlined in the CC&Rs, Rules and Regulations, and California law. But the question is irrelevant, because your CC&Rs restrict the hardwood floors, and the issue had already been raised with the previous owner. I suggest you carefully read all of your Association documents before you take any action. Forewarned is forearmed.

Q3. Does this complaint have to be valid and documented for them to send this letter? We feel like they've just looked at the previous files and decided to resend every owner with previous problems another letter in the new year. or else how would they coincidentally have a dozen other homeowners receiving the letters at the same time as me!
A3. No, because if you are in violation of the CC&Rs, it doesn't matter.

Q4. The hardwood floors were installed by previous owners.... am i responsible?
A4. Probably. You bought the unit as-is, unless potential problems with the hardwood floors were specifically addressed in the purchase agreement.

Q5. Who would be responsible for paying for the correction if I AM responsible?
A5. If the seller knew, or should have known, that the hardwood floors were installed in violation of the CC&Rs, the Rules and Regulations, or the Architectural control policy, but did not inform you of it prior to closing the deal, then conceivably you would have a case for non-disclosure. You would need to consult an attorney about it to be sure, which would no doubt cost more, and take up much more of your time, than simply complying with the HOA's requirements.

Q6. What happens if we ignore their notice? What are possible consequences?
A6. Depends on how hard-nosed the BOD and/or managers are, but if you're in violation established CC&Rs, Rules or Regulations, or published architectural policy, they can squeeze you 'til you pop, and you will still have to comply at the end. You could theoretically hire an attorney to fight it, and if you spend enough money on a good enough attorney, you might push it to a settlement of some kind. Chances are, though, you will lose, and end up with the costs of complying, the fines for non-compliance, your attorney's fees, the HOA's attorney fees, and court costs.

Q7. The letter said, upon completion, please notify us so we can schedule an inspection... Are we obligated to allow them into our unit? This is our private living area and I don't want to open up my doors to strangers (aka HOA people.) Do they have a right to enter and perform the inspection? Which section can i find this info in the CC&Rs?
A7. Read the entire CC&R's, and every other Association document. While you're at it, check out the Davis-Stirling Act at www.davis-stirling.com. These are the documents and laws that you agreed to honor when you bought your unit, and while it's a bit late to start learning what all of that means, it's never too late to figure out what you've gotten yourself into. Don't mean to sound harsh, but I'm just trying to educate you. Knowledge is power.

Q8. If i showed them pictures of the correction, would that be sufficient?
A8. Contact the management company, and/or the BOD, and find out what your options are. Cooperation is the best course of action, not confrontation.

Q9. I love my hardwood flooring, can I temporarily cover it with carpet and then go back to hardwood? Are there additional fines and penalties if it was a repeated error?
A9. See A8.

Q10. The response letter had 3 different pre-formatted responses for us. A. I've already/will fixed the error on/by certain date. We're on a really tight budget and don't have money to spare to change out the carpet for couple thousand dollars. Can I respond that I plan on changing them 1 year from now? Can they force me or penalize me when I don't have the funds to make such alterations?
A10. See A8.

Q11. Our association just had a round of voting in '09 allowing / disallowing people to install hardwood floors. According to manager, the ballot wasn't passed due to non-sufficient YES votes. We're willing to go knock on every single neighbor's door and ask them to sign a petition that they would allow hardwood floors to be installed. Would something like this be sufficient to keep our hardwood floors? Would this be sufficient to ask the BOD to send out another ballot?
A11. This sounds, well, sort of crazy. The homeowners have just voted to disallow hardwood flooring. What you seem to be asking is, "Can I forestall the inevitable by diverting the Board's attention to a dead horse?" A petition has no teeth. You can petition the BOD to hold a special meeting about this or any other subject pertinent to life in your HOA, but you can't use a petition to circumvent the result of a lawful vote of the homeowners. You also can't use a petition to force the BOD to act in a certain way, or to reverse an action.

Here's what the latest interpretation of the Davis-Sterling Act has to say about it:

Petition to Reverse Board Action

Because of the division of authority between the membership and the board, members do not have a direct veto over the board's actions (except for rule changes). Rather, the power to veto is indirect. If members are unhappy with board actions (or inaction), the membership can remove the board or wait until the annual meeting and elect a new board.

Read more: Petition to Reverse Board Action http://www.davis-stirling.com/PetitiontoReverseBoardAction/tabid/2723/Default.aspx#ixzz1Ahy2j3TN
from Davis-Stirling.com by Adams Kessler PLC

Here's my final soapbox speech about all of this:

When you buy a unit in a Common Interest Development, you are buying into the entire community - not just 4 walls and a parking space or two. It's something of an alien concept, because you are in essence entering into a covenant that is very much like a marriage, except you haven't met any of your multiple spouses before you say, "I do." And just like any marriage, you are committing to a relationship for better or for worse, 'til death (or foreclosure, or a sale) do you part.

Just think about it for a moment. You and all of the other homeowners in your community, most of whom you've probably never met, collectively own every part of the physical plant. You own a percentage of every handful of dirt, every rock, every building, the streets, the plumbing in the walls, the landscaping, the sidewalks, the sewer lines, the power lines, the street lights, the hallway carpeting, furniture in the meeting rooms, the swimming pool, ping pong paddles - everything except the air space and fixtures in the units of other homeowners. You don't exclusively own the walls or floors or ceilings that enclose your living space - all of your neighbors own a chunk of all of that.

You could say that what you actually own is an investment in a small town, and the right to live there under a set of rules that every other fellow investor has agreed to abide by (as long as you continue to pay for it). And you also agree to be governed by a small number of volunteers who work their buts off to keep everything going, while you hang out and live your life, oblivious to all of it, until you run afoul of one of those very rules you agreed to follow when you closed the deal.

You can't have it both ways. Let others devote their time to governing your town, and pay up and shut up, or invest your time in your community, and by all means, run for a Board position. Volunteer to head a committee - maybe a committee to find a solution to the hardwood floor issue that will satisfy everyone.

That's how it works.

Good luck.

Rob