HOA Books, Financials, Policy

What documents are you looking for and for what purpose? Need to understand if this is coming across as a "Witch hunt" or an actual right to view documents. Most people would take this request as one or the other. There must have been an issue here that they are taking it as a witch hunting expedition. That would explain the attitude.

Suing your HOA is suing yourself and your neighbors. So it's not recommended that a member sues their HOA in general. This rule they made up may have something to do with the issue you are having with them or one they percieve. Are you taking pictures or making complaints about home appearances? That may explain more to this issue than being posted.

Hi Tim and Melissa:

The documents I've asked for are copies of deposits, proxies, minutes, and receipts. He barely had any of these. The refusal to provide these is because he has misued our funds. He said he and the developer have fronted the HOA money. I asked to see the deposits. All he had was an excel spreadsheet with numbers on it. It can be manipulated any way he wants. I asked to see the meeting where a property manager was voted on and the man's contract. None. The "property manager" is a friend of his and he was paying his rent for his apt. I saw the copies of the checks to the apartment company. It goes on and on.

As for the picture taking - the president removed a railing from his balcony and sanded down his garage door. Both items have been like this for 2 years. The property is now not uniform. I did take pictures of his door and the rest of the building in case we needed it. No boats are allowed. The president decided to allow a boat. Took a picture of that. It's all really control by this guy. He told me he can do whatever he wants. Period.

I know the options given and none will work for the HOA. The only one now looks like suing the association - which I don't want to do, but when I'm trying to sell my home and I can't give a potential buyer any documents to show the HOA is in good standing legally and financialy - I believe that's going to be difficult. And, I won't tell a potential buyer that the HOA is in good standing.

Hi, Larry: Thank you for the response. You are right about the property. He has made it worse and we are trying to sell. Do I seek an injunction with the superior court here? I looked on the website, but cannot locate a form or how to do that. Do you know if an attorney has to file that?

We have told him to stuff it about the release and the no picture rule and we keep getting harassed about it. I mean - nasty emails.

To get an injunction to compel production of documents, you will need to go to Superior Court. While you could do this yourself, your chances of success are pretty low as the rules are killers. You almost definitely need an attorney as the court is none to kind to do-it-yourselfers.

If the balcony where the president removed the railing is one that is intended to be walked on, get the city building department on his butt. You certainly would not want to see the poor man fall off his own balcony, would you?

If the president is harassing you, you might want to look into obtaining an injunction to prohibit harassment. This is one that the city court or justice court can issue. Contact the court for more information, but this is something you can do without an attorney.