Disfunction

Do all HOA's operate in a state of turmoil? I am on the edge of resignation do to a lack of interest and downright irresponsible inaction from most board members. We collect dues, maintain a reserve fund and then treat it like a savings account when repair issues arise. There are members who say great job, things look great but when the time comes nobody will step up and help. I have to fight just to make repairs that are even considered legal compliance. We have common elements/areas that are maintained only to have one or two owners behave destructivly and site that they can since they own a portion of it. There I am the only one shaking my fist.

Is time to throw in the towel and let if fall apart or is some other answer?

My husband was in the same situation as a Board member, he wanted to quit SO many times... I did encouraged him to stay every time he wanted to quit. He was the only one to see mismatched numbers in the budget or expense account. And saw how the former President was manipulating the Board...
I lost all my inner peace as a Homeowner when I experienced the effects of selective decisions made by the former Board. I took an action and never stopped. At times it's so hard that I don't feel like it's worth it. But my feelings tell me that something is wrong/wright and I need to act. I rarely saw the results right away, but you should see the results. If you don't, maybe you need to change tactics how to execute your actions...
I grew up in a different country with harsher reality than it is in the US. But even there I stood against injustice. It does worth it at the end.

I can relate to this because I know I've done a variety of things for the board and HOA. I'm the treasurer, represent the HOA at local CAI events, visit this site often to get new ideas and pass them along to the board, take days off from my job to meet with the association attorneys on delinquences AND write the newsletter. While I think the board appreciates it, I sometimes wonder why I'm doing all of this when the rest of them seem to behave as if board membership means showing up once a month and deciding who to sue for delinquent assessments or who to hire for certain repairs.

It's dawned on that doing a bunch of jobs is part of the reason our last two presidents ended up quitting because they got burned out. It is frustrating when everyone's looking at the same information and don't seem to consider the big picture or make certain decisions because they're afraid of getting yelled at.

So, I've decided that I need to stop, take a deep breath, consider the areas I'm most passionate about and put my energies there - everyone else will have to take on the rest because I don't have the time or energy for it anymore. As the song says "I'm not your Superwoman."

And that's what you may need to do - don't quit (yet), but tell your board members how you feel (you may need to practice a few times in case you say something you'll regret!) At the end of your term, you can decide what to do next - for my part, I've been on the board since 2003 and it's past time to step down, so that's what I'm doing when my term is up. You can serve as a resource afterwards, but there's no shame in telling people you've done all you can do and it's time for them to step up. Sometimes, people will never know what they're capable of unless and until they're forced into a position where they will have to sink or swim. Good luck to us both!

Yes, most HOAs exist in a state of dysfunction and turmoil. Regarding common amenities and attractive spaces, the original idea had merit. Developers then added so many amenities that local municipalities, who were glad for the growth but not the extra infrastructure maintenance, figured out a way to load-shed the maintenance onto the buyers and still keep the property taxes. The law that grew around this win-win for the state and developer is a state-to-state disaster combining non-profit law, contract law and HOA Acts that give BODs more power than any government, with no oversight or accountability, leaving the homeowners very few rights to call their own.

Along with the developments and crazy law, an organization that started originally to help create communities within the communities, saw the lay of the land and reorganized as a trade association dedicated to assisting vendors, lawyers and property managers, among others, to relieving homeowners of even more of their money and guiding it into their pockets. This proved to be so profitable for the Community Associations Institute (CAI), they now have lobbyists in each state committed to keeping the status quo (or worse) and fighting any proposed solution that takes away one ounce of power and puts it in the homeowners favor.

Mix all these ingredients together and the only result possible is dysfunction and turmoil. Those people on the Board that are supposed to be your neighbors volunteering on behalf of everyone for the betterment of the Community? Through no fault of their own, they aren't just your neighbors with the same rights and privileges as you. For one thing, they now have the non-profit law as their source of power, while you have no law giving you rights, never mind power. They have at least a million dollars of insurance to keep them personally indemnified from lawsuits. You don't. They also have a source of funding behind them that, except for a small fraction, doesn't come from their personal money, and the power to raise more as needed. Again, you don't. Even the neighbor with the best of intentions has a hard time putting those intentions to work against other Board Members, lawyers and property managers all advising her against good intentions. We won't mention those quagmires of contract law yet, the CC&Rs, that you voluntarily signed as you are reminded every time you think of protesting.

Swirling around in this toxic mix is the propaganda that by now has just become conventional wisdom (CW), even to the oppressed. Number one on the CW list is the much beloved and overused "property values" argument. Supporting number one is conformity and uniformity. Breaking down the CW into reality is an eye-opener. Take Palm Beach, a place famous for its wealth, where not one single house looks like its neighbor, or any other house on the island, for that matter. This is true of any other truly wealthy place. Yet, the property values in Palm Beach remain stable and out of reach of most people, and nary a purple house with green trim can be found. Uniformity, for its own sake, has turned into the realm of laughable. There have been a couple of articles just this week about HOAs taking people to court (and jail!) for planting flowers in place of ugly. Apparently, CW believes that uniformly ugly is better than pretty here and there. How is that even rational, never mind legal? It's not like planted flowers permanently harm the landscape or anything. But overall, the CW needs to be questioned because there is no evidence at all that conformity and uniformity raise property values. They raise property lawyers and property managers incomes, but not property values. However, the words "NO HOA" in real estate listings are proving to be the magic words that do raise property values, much to the sellers delight.

Things ARE changing, albeit slowly. The CAI has had to back-off its aggressive tactics and modify its language by inserting the word 'reasonable' into some of its publications. Last week the New Jersey Supreme Court declared that homeowners in condominiums and HOAs do have some rights. They also declared that signing 50 pages of legal, single-spaced verbiage as found in the CC&Rs does not constitute voluntarily waiving one's rights, especially Constitutional ones. Of course, the CAI was in there as amicus, fighting against it every step of the way, but this time they lost. Legislators are having to listen to their constituents, regardless of lobbyist efforts. One NC state senator said that his office received many more complaints from homeowners about their HOAs than any other issue and that HOAs are out of control. The media has stepped up to highlight and showcase the ridiculous and inhumane, often forcing an out-of-control BOD to back down, and probably reducing the property values of every other HOA in the region at the same time. Lastly, in the rush to the urban market, it seems buyers are attracted by diversity and are less concerned with property values. They value community and public transit over cars and conformity, the latter of which are two of the staples found in HOAs.

Change is good.

This is a very important topic and I want to contribute....even at the risk of ranting....

To the OP, what you will find is that majority just doesn't care. They will adapt to lot of bad things before they are disturbed enough to raise voice. Many of them expect the board to do everything just because the person got elected to the said position. Adding to the problem is that people are moving more often. They don't get a chance to get emotionally involved with a place.

I have been a board only for 1 month now and I already undestand important aspects of this game. I see HOA as microcosm for our state/country/world. Common public is just indifferent and politicians/corporations (= board members) exploit this to fullest. People need to build "social capital" by getting involved in their township and this capital will ensure that things remain proper.

In HOA, homeowners don't want to build "social capital" by meeting their neightbors, building relationships and finding mutually agreeable solutions. They just want to complain and want the board member to take care of it. Our lives are busier than ever, but we need to find a way to get involved in our community/township.

So, I want to end by encouraging everybody who is trying to remain involved in their community. We need to keep going and try to multiply our efforts. If we try, we may not succeed.....but if we don't try, we will certainly fail.

Lawrence and Carol,

The Board is accountable to the membership just as the government is accountable to the voters.

Just as it's the responsibility of voters to hold their elected officials accountable, it's the responsibilities of the membership to hold it's board of directors accountable.

As we all know, in general, the CC&Rs (deed restrictions) are considered a civil contract between all owners of property that have the same deed restrictions. Associations are formed to maintain the common area and provide specific services. Typically, the CC&Rs also empower the Association (in addition to the owners) to enforce the covenants, restrictions and conditions of the deed restrictions (contract). Typically, Associations are incorporated as nonprofit corporations as this provides them certain advantages. As a corporation they must comply with corporate laws in addition to any HOA/COA laws.

There are civil laws and criminal laws. Criminal laws are usually enforced by the State. Civil laws are usually enforced by the individuals involved with the action and, if they are unable to reach an agreement, then either party may seek relief through the court system. Since contracts, hoa/coa laws and corporate laws are considered civil laws, there is typically limited governmental authorities to "oversee" or enforce those laws.

Sure the State corporation commission may fine you for not filing the annual report on time. The IRS will certainly go after the Association for failing to file taxes. The District Attorney will prosecute if criminal laws are broken (example embezzlement). However if the Association doesn't comply with the Bylaws or a civil law, it's up to the membership to hold the Board accountable. The easiest way would be to recall the board or not reelect them to the Board. The more expensive option is to go through the court system.

This is why it's imperative that the members remain active in the development and actually take an interest in how the Association is governed. If apathy sets in (and, unfortunately it does), it's that much more difficult to change things when issues are discovered.

Like it or not, this is the way the system works.

Law

Just what we need. A layer of government to oversee HOA BOD's.

I assure you those politicians and/or government bureacrats would screw it up way worse then any CC&R's I ever read.

You have the ultimate conrol already. Recall/replace the BOD and/or sue them.

Law

While I usually never quote and comment about each item in a post, I will make an exception in this case:

""""""What you say about accountability and oversight is, in my opinion, at the heart of the problem. To my knowledge there is no other institution anywhere that allows the people in charge to violate the rules, make arbitrary decisions, or neglect their responsibilities and not have to answer for their incompetence."""""

Sorry to say, but it happens day in and day out with those in charge (ones boss, politicians, judges, etc.) but at least in a democratic society (elected HOA BOD), we get to vote on them.

*****It isIt's fine to say that the homeowners are the ultimate check on the board, but it's easy for unethical directors to hide what is going on and avoid scrutiny. Even if the board is found out, a concerned homeowner must hire a lawyer and sue for negligence or breach of duty, which is time-consuming and costly. *****

Yes time consuming and costly but one can do it, and can do it versus limit their ability to do so (like laws, regulations, award limits, etc.) is the real issue.

""""""Since an HOA acts as a de facto government, its board ought to be subject to similar oversight as a city council or other government body. There needs to be accountability for keeping meetings secret, making decisions not in the best interest of homeowners, pursuing personal agendas, falling down on the job, and engaging in conflicts of interest. There should be an easy way for homeowners to report misfeasance, and a process that deals with it that doesn't require a lawsuit and thousands of dollars.""""""

There is oversight. It is called the elective process and the abilty to sue no matter how capricious. I for one have usually been in the minority of voters. I also like the ability to sue (even if costly) when and for what I want to sue for even if I am the fool for doing so. Do not limit the rights of anybody, including the foolish.

"""""The current model of a board of directors with a great amount of responsibility and power, but very little accountability, needs to be fixed."

Repeating here, but they are responsible to you the electorate. You do get to vote.

My wife argues for term limits but I say you only want so for those opposed to your view. I say people are entitled to elect anyone they care to elect no matter how opposed I am to them.

When it comes to voting, people are entitled to and get what they deserve/vote for.

The running arguement in an HOA is non-participation. Is this non-participation because they are stupid or they are apathetic or because they happy with the way things are?????

I found out because I am on the board and was outvoted on the issue of pursuing collections.

I did not inform others since this is a decision made in executive session and it is unethical for a board member to reveal generally what happens in executive session. One lapse in ethics does not justify another.

My frustration comes from having no apparent way to address what I see as a breach of fiduciary duty.

Lawrence,

Thanks for sharing. I understand the ethical issue your dealing with now.

One thing the Board can not do is waive actual assessments, as this is a contractual requirement outlined in the CC&Rs. They can make payment plans and waive any charges but they can not waive the actual assessment.

If your Board waived actual assessments, you have a fiduciary duty to the membership to inform the board that they do not have this authority and make a motion to revisit the issue. If the board chooses not to revisit the issue, then I believe that breaching the confidentiality of an executive session should be done.

If the Board only waived charges associated with late/nonpayment then this would be in their authority and all you can do is argue that the same should be done for others.

Question: In VA (§ 55-510.1 paragraph C ), executive sessions must be entered from and returned to an open meeting. Additionally, the open meeting minutes must identify the reason for the executive session and any agreement made in an executive session must be entered into the open meeting minutes before it can be enforced/enacted. Is this not the case in for your Association?

If not, perhaps you can adopt a bylaw amendment requiring this to happen in the future. This way, the Board won't be able to hide these actions.

Tim, thank you for your thoughtful reply and constructive suggestions.

Going "over the head" of the other directors to the homeowners would be the end of any sort of cooperation on our board. We would likely undermine any beneficial activities until after the next elections. And it would tear up the neighborhood. It would be a drastic step, but I appreciate your support in talking this action.


The argument proffered goes like this: "Assessing fines and interest, or referring the delinquent account to a collection attorney would not be neighborly. We don't want to start a fight or incur lawyers fees so we'll just let this slide."


There is no section in Georgia law that addresses executive session. Our Bylaws say that "The Board may adjourn a meeting and reconvene in executive session to discuss and vote upon personnel matters, litigation in which the Association is or may become involved, and orders of business of a similar nature." Since the Bylaws say that a vote may occur in executive session, that implies that any agreement made is part of the executive session and does not have to be announced in the open meeting.


There much about our 20-year-old documents that ought to be changed. It would take up to $10,000 in lawyer's fees and approval of 2/3 of the homeowners to change our documents, and few in the neighborhood want to spend that kind of money on a purely abstract project.

And even if our governing documents were changed, there is nothing that requires the board to abide by their terms. It comes back to not having a reliable and accessible accountability mechanism to reign in a dysfunctional board.