Limitation of Good Standing Prior to Meetings

Did you ask the board what it meant by members of good standing? Are you sure your CCRs and Bylaws don't have some sort of definition (sometimes the legalese makes it hard to find out, but plow through it anyway)? If you did these things and there were no answers at all, it would seem to me everyone can vote.

Usually, members in good standing means the homeowner(s) are current with their dues. Some take it a step further and say good standing also means the homeowner isn't involved in any litigation with the Association (either as plaintiff or defendent). A few even say good standing means the homeowner doesn't have any outstanding CCR violations.

If there is no definition in your HOA, it may be a good time to determine if you need to update your CCRs or Bylaws (both?) to make that definition clear.

Robert

Our docs says 90 days deliquent on dues and one is not a member in good standing thus cannot vote. Our docs also refer to % needed as being from members in good standing.

100 owners, 8 not in good standing makes for 92. 75% of 92 makes for 69, whereas 75% of 100 makes for 75.

69 to 75 can make for quite a bit of difference in a tight vote.

Of course your docs could be different.

According to the judge, the HOA is not a "homeowners' association" and not governed by 720.

The check has to clear first...It can be all a big show for the meeting to come in and write a check. That check has to clear the bank which can take about 10 days. Same reason one can't write a check for a marriage license either...LOL. The HOA can't take cash payments.

A person I know recently got ripped of by selling something on Craig's list. He was selling something for 1500 dollars and the person sent him 4K check. He cashed the check but now is out 4K out of his bank account. Although the bank cashed the check and gave him the cash, it was a bad check. After 10 days, the bank is going to find out and go after him for the money. They aren't going for the person who wrote the check as they can't be found. It's a BIG scam that happens alot. Making the victim potentially going to jail.

I mention this as why the HOA may indeed not allow someone to vote even if they pay up at time of the meeting. There should be atleast a 30 day period of time between collections to reflect the owner is caught up. Otherwise, all the drama and invalid vote the HOA gathered at that meeting, could mean yet another drama filled meeting...

That could always be a possibility. I never really followed up on what happened. I partially assumed the change was coincidence but I also figured that if the person did pay it would be to get information from the board that the board was refusing to give out.

I was a non-member being told to pay. When we questioned the board their response was to go find the information ourselves. My family did. When we asked their lawyer for information they were told that they were directed not to tell us anything and that they would only talk to our lawyer. The lawyer then questioned why we wouldn't pay when it was the "right thing" to do and threatened to take us a court citing a bogus case as support for their plans. It took a lot of time and money to find the necessary documentation we required to have an informed position. Things would have been easier if the board was more transparent and supplied the right information.

To me, it seemed as if the board was making rules on the fly. They changed the by-laws but even then they never followed the rules they made!

I was curious as to what other HOA documents said regarding standing situations and meetings to see if the HOA was within the norm or just using it to suppress opposing views.

HOA's typically work the same way an apartment complex collect money. They do NOT take cash. It is also a good idea to never pay cash to your HOA either. Does not make sense to do this and would question any HOA who takes cash.