Unfair special assessments from previous boards

Started by BethJ2 • 8 replies • 1374 views

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BethJ2 (California)
Posts: 62

Posted:

As a new board we are working hard to enforce the CC&Rs, something our previous board never did. I the past homeowners where assessed for things they were not responsible for and denied maintenance for things that they should have received. Many ending up paying for a lot of things themselves.

We are wondering if the association can be held financially responsible for old board mistakes and illegal decisions. We are concerned that we may get a flood of people asking to be reimbursed for something they shouldn't have had to pay for in the first place.

In some cases board members had the same work done in their units, making the homeowners pay for it, while denying payment to other homeowners for the same thing.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Hi Beth:

The association possibly can be held responsible, but it would take an owner filing a lawsuit and it would have to be within any potential statute of limitation period under the law. If you get individuals asking for reimbursement then review on a case by case basis and check with your HOA attorney regarding the issue and any limitations.

I think you will find that many individuals have considered past actions water under the bridge and moved forward. As long as the new board does not voice this concern around to all their neighbors the potential response from the owners will hopefully be minimal regarding any past actions. If the issue has not been brought up before now then hopefully it will not happen.

BB5 (Missouri)
Posts: 145

Posted:

Beth, Why not call a special meeting explain to the homeowners the past problems and that you will be making every effort to improve things let people make their own decision if it is "Water under the bridge" doesn't this fall in the catagory of transparency ? Our officers have hidden/failed to mention all kinds of issues because of this I will never contribute anything to the HOA again and will NEVER live in one again !!!!!!

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

BB …

There already potentially is transparency in that owners in the situations affected do know what transpired and that they were denied previously. They in turn chose not to pursue legal avenues. The information is probably available in the financials given to all homeowners, if they look at the data, and I am sure that is where Beth noticed and questioned here on this site.

If someone brings up the topic in a meeting then yes be up front and state that the situation can be reviewed to determine if past actions were appropriate. However, for a new board to call a special meeting and throw a bunch of past garbage out to the members and bash prior board actions will not build harmony for the future.

Possibly the past boards thought they made the right decisions and any decisions will vary from person to person or from board to board, after all it is not like everyone living in HOA’s are all attorneys and absolutely know the laws or even sometimes their own documents. We are human and mistakes will be made and some will be unintentional while unfortunately some might be intentional. There is no benefit of making a mountain out of a mole hill regarding past actions and which the members themselves have not yet addressed. If they do, then address appropriately.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

BB

I agree with Janet.

BradP (Kansas)
Posts: 2,640

Posted:

Beth:

in a nutshell you bet the association can be held liable. As Janet said there are statute of limitations but if the issue falls within it then yes your HOA can be sued regardless of whether the current board had any hand in it.

At this point and time you have two choices:

1) go back and reimburse everyone who should not have been charged
2) deal with each case as it comes up.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BB5 on 03/05/2012 6:33 AM
Beth, Why not call a special meeting explain to the homeowners the past problems and that you will be making every effort to improve things let people make their own decision if it is "Water under the bridge" doesn't this fall in the catagory of transparency ? Our officers have hidden/failed to mention all kinds of issues because of this I will never contribute anything to the HOA again and will NEVER live in one again !!!!!!

I understand exactly what you are saying. I am on the Board an am quite frustrated with a President who doesn't want to be transparent because someone might complain. I say be transparent as possilbe and let people complain. Of course there are certain presonal things that need to remain private.

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

Beth - can you tell us what kind of "perks" or payments were made for some and not for others?

Seems like you might consider collecting from those that got "benefits."

BethJ2 (California)
Posts: 62

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SusanW1 on 03/05/2012 1:13 PM
Beth - can you tell us what kind of "perks" or payments were made for some and not for others?

Seems like you might consider collecting from those that got "benefits."

Very heavy on the landscaping. Board members got all kinds of nice plants and trees when other homeowners got mud and shrubs transplanted from other areas. There was no point in complaining because that would just get you black-listed for anything else you might need.

Homeowners complained of mold due to roof leaks in the outside storage units and were told it was their own responsibility, when in fact it was restricted common area that according to our CC&Rs is association responsibility. Just before the election where we ousted several of the old board members, three of the board members had work done on their storage units for mold removal.

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