Court amended CC&R

Like every-one else we are trying to over-come the 75% rule of homeowners needed to change the Declarant's requirement to amend the CC&R's for updating. We currently have 246 homes ( 75%=184) but with 60 rentals(off-site addresses and 20 homes with liens(can't vote) we can't get enough votes at the meeting with the remaining people to over-ride the 75%. Has anybody gone this route and been successful?

Wayne,

Your CC&R's should contain the language required for amending the declaration. I would be surprised to find language about amendment elections and/or amendment meetings and I would be equally surprised to find language that allows you to exclude certain property owners from the amendment process. I cannot help but wonder if you have confused association business with owners' interests.

Typically, CC&R's are amended by the owners executing and recording an amendment. Someone needs to draft a recordable document and start collecting signatures. There are seldom time constraints for gathering the required participation.

Please understand that I am sympathetic to your goal. My rural HOA requires 2/3 agreement and we cannot even locate that percentage of owners.

Your title for this thread is "Court amended CC&R." How do the courts play into your amendments?

Make sure to remove all references to the builder/developer in your documents as well. You want to remove all their addresses and voting system. One that is overlooked is the requirement to be a member of the HOA to be on the board. You don't have to be when it's run by the developer but should be when it's run by the owners. This often gets overlooked and intergrated without realizing it was a mistake.

It took us over 2 years and almost 3K in legal fees to get 6 changes done. We were able to avoid the "Special meeting" requirement and go door to door for votes (Or come sign at regular meeting) by drafting another document to sign. That other document/petitiion gave up the owner's right to attend a special meeting so they could cast their vote anytime they wanted. So we had to gather 2 signatures when we modified rather than the 1. Which a lawyer can help you with that as well.

Make sure to get the right attorney. You want one familiar with contractual/business/corporate law. NOT a Real estate attorney. Ones specializing in HOA's cost more and hard to find. So if you don't know a lawyer, then find a good reference resource in your phone book. They usually have some free legal reference number or information in most areas.

Finally, you may find some help at an Office supply store like Staples. In the area of "Make you own Rental agreement" etc...There are some that are there for Incorporation and other relevant documentation. Some come with a CD and paperwork. It's about $20 or so. May find it online to. But it will help give you a guideline on how to draft some of the documents you may need to update. Good luck!

In our CC&R's we have a provision for Court Amended CC&R's if it is a govt. mandate or for unforseen activities that hinder acheivment in reaching the requirement and may seek relief from the court ( set a lower #-66%) for operational purposes. This was written in by the declarant as another way to proceed. I thought with the high off-site addresses(which keep raising) and with the # of Liens also going up that seeking relief from the court might be an option. Either way I guess it's not going to be easy from what I gather from the posts I've read here. Stuck in netural with the engine running1

Duane--Like Larry, I think you have a good chance in court too, esp. if your won docs don't conflict with state law. In CA, for instance, HOA's can seek amendments from the courts but must prove that they tried very diligently to get enough Owners to vote. But I don't know about your state.