signs

Your Rules probably spell out a Fine policy. If they don't, then you need to get one.

We have the same sign restriction.

His car is on his lot, therefore, the sign is on his lot and he is in violation.

This is a covenant where the board should take a hard line.

Our fine policy calls for a letter notifying the person that they are in violation of the CC&R, and give the section number. These types of violations are to be corrected immediately. We give them about 5 days after they receive the letter. If the violation is till there, then we send a certified and regular mail 14 day notice to fine $25.

After the 14 days the fine is issued. After that if there is another violation, there is an immediate $50 fine. The next immediate fine is $100.

Do it all in writing as spelled out in yor documents.

If the signs are a violation of the city code, then take photos with a time and date and send it to the city police and ask them to enforce the code. Go to the police department with the code in hand and tell them it's gotten out of hand and you need action taken. If that doesn't get action, then write to the mayor and coy each council member.

If the sidewalk is the property of, and maintained by the HOA then you can remove them. If they belong to the city, then I would not touch the signs. Just go to the police.

Find out exactly what the law says.
Know exactly what is the HOA property.

Once you know the law exactly, then send the realtors a letter with a copy of the code informing them that they are in violation of the law and that you will be contacting the police each time there is a violation, with time/dated photos.

The homeowner is responsibile for the realtor placing signs at appropriate places. If the CC&R is definately violated by the realtor placing the sign, then send a copy of the photos to the homeowner with a violation letter, and continue from there.

If a sign is placed on a piece of property, or a sidewalk that is owned and maintained by the HOA, then you can remove the sign. You don't even have to give it back to them. However, you may wish to contact them to tell them where they can retrieve the sign.

We are in a gated community and a person emailed me to ask if she could place a sign on our gates for a food drive. Well our master community does a food drive at the clubhouse. I told the person that we appreciated her charitable cause, however, we did not allow signs and if we allowed one charity to post signs, we would have to allow others.

She ignored my message and later claimed that she didn't get my response until too late. She put a large 3x4 sign on our gates about the food drive, and on the bottom was the name of her real estate company. I took the sign down and threw it in the trash.

A few days later she wrote to me and apologized that she had not seen my email before she placed the sign, and would I please return her $50 sign. I told her that when we take down unauthorized signs we don't save them. We dispose of them right away. So she won't pull that stunt again with us

We allow one professional real estate sign to be placed on the ground outide our gates. However, they can not have the gate code on it. They must have a phone number to call to get in. If owners or realtors place paper signs on our intercom posts or gates, we immediately remove them and send a violation letter to the homeowner.

Brad, you are probably right. I didn't equate the magnetic signs on a car as a commercial vehicle, and perhaps I should have.

My reasoning was that this is a sign that can be moved. It can be placed on the ground with a stake, or on the garage door. My way of looking it was that since this sign can be placed anywhere on the lot, he chose to place it on the car, which is on his lot.

If they go after him as a commercial vehicle, I agree that they should have an easier time.

I'll never understand why some people buy a house in a covenanted community and then try to ignore the covenants but that's a topic for a future post.

If it's a magnetic sign, it's a "sign". If it's on a car that's parked on the lot then it's a "sign on the lot" and in violation of the CC&Rs.

Now if he's a real "wise a$$", he'll ditch the magnetic sign and just paint the same information on his car. Now it's just a "car" with an unusual paint job and not a "sign". Not much you can do unless you have a prohibition against commercial vehicles. Even then you may have difficulty if it is not considered a commercial vehicle by you state's DMV.

Again, why not buy a home where you can do as you please?

Let me be more specific.

The home owner is an ex board member he was appointed to the board and vote that night to pass a special assesment for 40K to improve the common area next to his and the presidents house. With in 30 days a recall meeting was held and they resigned under pressure from the community and is not happy about it at all.

Basically they are for the most part personel vehicales not commercial however they do use there SUV to tow a trailer for there business. Our covenants restrict signs with the exception of for sale signs. Any other signs require the approval by the ARC.

He and the other board member are itching for a fight and have indicated in writing and it has been noted very carefully in our minutes of our meeting to document there intention to sue

Gregory, it doesn't matter if the signs are on their personal car or not. If your CC&R's state the only signs allowed on the property is for sale signs or signs approved by the ACC. Then they are in violation and you should do whatever the CC&R's allow you to do to rectify the situation. While they may threaten to sue, if I don't hear that from someone a couple of time a year something is wrong. If you're legally in the right, you can't let the threat of someone suing dictate how you run the community; most attorneys would probably advise them that they would lose and would not take the case on a contingency fee. Meaning they would have to pony up cash money to pay to sue. If you fold and let them get by with this, it won't stop, next time it will be something a little more egregious. They were forced out now there just trying to prove that they're still "in charge". Document, document, document that the BOD is not treating them any differently than you would another homeowner and you will be fine.

I agree.

Thanks for all the comments Glen the last thing I am planning to do is cave in but it is always good to hear others opinions in your decision making process.

As a board member, you can bring it up at a board meeting. All the board members should be there to discuss it and come to a resolution. You or another homeowner who is not on the board can bring it up at the membership meeting or make a formal written complaint to the board or ACC. Photos would be good.

I have heard a lot of comments here about "bad" presidents, but at least on our board, the president doesn't have or take any special power. An issue is brought up, we discuss it, and decide on the action to be taken. Our meetings are a little more "casual" then some have recommended here, but we seem to be getting it done.

I believe a homeowner has a right to expect the BOD, ACC, MC, etc. to follow the CC&Rs. If I had a neighbor who was clearly in violation and the HOA officers refused to take action or provide a written explanation of why not, I would either try to stir up other neighbors or take legal action against the HOA on my own (remeber, I am a board member myself so it's a little hard to say that). Usually if you win the losing party has to pay your legal expenses.

in our case the argument is over the word "errected"some board members think a sign on a car/usually work truck is not "errected".
any thoughts?

Our Rule states: You have the right to a hearing before the Board of Directors. You need to notify the Property Management company that you intend to appear before the Board within seven (7) days of receipt of the notice or send a letter stating why the fine should not be enacted by the Board:

AZ law requires notice of the "process that the member must follow to contest the notice."