Removing Board Members

Lower your standards. The board member was 100% correct in their replay they would consult the bylaws prior to replying to an answer. That should ALWAYS be done. No assumptions and on the spot "lies" to be cornered into later. No one can memorize their HOa laws cover to cover and not have to consult them before giving a proper answer.

Your issue with the painter is NOT everyones issue with the painter. Your HOA probably does not have rules about noise levels. Our HOa just had rules that contractors had toe work between 7 AM to 5 PM. Obvisously that means the contractor can make noise and leave the work area as a work space until then.

I don't see a need to recall an entire board if you only have 10 people in attendance on average,. Who is going to replace them? No one knows how to run a HOA professionally. It is YOU and your neighbors. Only requirement is to own a home. doesn't mean you have to be intelligent.

MY issue with the painter was that he cursed and acted aggressively when I was taking pictures of the littering. Yes, it is my issue but how the situation was handled bothers me so. It is never acceptable to yell, act aggressively and curse. And the only reason I am interested in ousting the Board is because most have been on the Board for 6+ years and this whole time they have not checked documentation to make sure the company is legit (not to mention these same folk work on exterior maintenance of the houses in the complex). The Board didn't seem to care too much that the Contractor yelled, cursed, etc., rather they said, "the owner has raised his rates in years." Well, I bet he hasn't. If the contractor isn't licensed with the state, then how would the contractor get liability insurance, etc. The contractor also owes revenues to the state for failing to pay taxes. Again, I do not want to oust the Board because I don't like the contractors but because they have and continue to be negligent in their hiring.

And the icing on the cake is that several folk at the meeting wanted to nominate new members, but were shot down on the spot for being 30 days delinquent in HOA fees! There are many complaints by everyone, but everyone has given up because complaints have gone unanswered.

Anyone have any questions regarding how to deal with this situation? I was contemplating getting the requisite signatures for a special meeting. I also have been contemplating advising the Board of my findings immediately and providing the documentation that they have been dealing with a guy who can't legally operate in the state of NC. Either way, at minimal the President is incompetent in my book. Just wanted ideas regarding how to proceed.

Thanks for your input. I recently moved to the community (1 year) and I only remember about 3 meetings. But I just knocked on one neighbors door, who lived in the community for 12 years. For some reason she didn't attend the meeting, but when I spoke of my issue with the painter she opened up and advised she was disturbed by some of their actions and things she has noticed. After 12 years, she has "learned" that she didn't have a voice.

I advised I wanted to have a special meeting and that new blood would be great (the Pres has a term of 3 years, so I think he needs to be replaced - can't wait three more years). My neighbor, who I have never seen before because she lives on a different street was very nice. Hopefully, progress is being made. I am inching my way to get the proper signatures to replace the entire Board or at minimum the President.

Again, thanks.

Again, for me this appears to have become a personal crusade by the OP to now impose their view of what is right upon the entire property.

People who work in construction during the day play music to help pass the time. Just like people who mow lawns run equipment during the day to do the lawns. That's part of life.

Were they less than complete in their clean-up???? Who knows but that seems to me to be a rather simple fix. Clean up your mess and don't do it again.

I just have to wonder why the OP would ever buy into such a property?
Did they not research the condition of the physical structures? Did they not see the shoddy work that has ben done? Did they not look into the incompetent Board and their inability to perfrom their jobs? Did they not see the trash and hear the loud music present each and every day?
I for one would have run if I saw this sort of condition.

Now based on business reports regarding a painter, this OP decides the entire Board needs to be removed. IMO perhaps jumping the gun ever so slightly.

Has the OP attended Board meetings? Have they met the individual members of the Board? Have they looked into the finances or operations of the property other than painting? What condition is the property in terms of finances? Is the Board handling ANYTHING on the property well? If not than what prompted the OP to buy in this property???

Yes, I get it. You don't like the painter and more than likely the painter is not all that fond of you. Having worked in construction for more than 30 years if someone ran out and demanded the music be turned down, then began taking pictures to cause trouble more than likely you just blew any chance for a Christmas card. And now when you dig up dirt about things that occured what 7 years ago and classify my work as shoddy well I can see where this might go.

General rule of life. When you approach people with complaints, demands, suggestions they are incompetent, dishonest, uninformed, incapable and simply useless in return you just might not get their very best behavior. IF there is ANY truth to what the OP presented perhaps instead you approach the Board gather information, research options as to other painters (who won't play music or litter) who offer a competitive price and work to change the process rather than attack people whom you probably don't know.

There is no excuse to hire a contracting company that is NOT legally allowed to work in the state of NC. I think I mentioned that since 2006 the Company is on a revenue suspension that means the contractor hasn't paid taxes in the state of NC. And as such, under the law if a company has been suspended for revenues, it no longer exists and a person doesn't have to pay for the suspended companies services. In other words, being administratively dissolved, coupled with a revenue suspension is a big deal. And the company has been dissolved since 2005, this is 7 years ago! This means that the HOA Board hash/t done their due diligence. It is very simple to check a contractor out, just look on the Secretary of State. And if the annual report has not been filed, it is unlikely that the company has insurance. And I doubt their employees are legally hired because that would require the company to pay state and federal taxes, hence no workers compensation insurance. Also, I doubt if the workers had a background check done.

All in all, I don't trust the Board's judgment because of their shady hiring of this contractor. This is a big deal to me. And it is a big deal to the few homeowners that I have spoken with, who have agreed to sign the petition for a special meeting. I am making progress. Sometimes all it takes is for one person to speak up.

And to answer your question, the Board doesn't really handle anything well. The Board is elected because no one attends the meetings. All five Board members voted to keep the board member running in position (the election was for one position). And that was all that was needed, as there were only about 9 people at the meeting. I believe one person couldn't vote because he was one payment behind in his dues. And digging up the fact that a company is operating illegally is a big deal, sorry! I use to work in Banking and in order to approve a loan, we required all Annual Reports to be up to date, hence I ALWAYS check out any and all contractors to make sure that their annual reports are filed. Just because an annual report is not filed is (and was never) a problem, if the reports are filed I would approve a loan (Bank of A policy). That said, not filing reports for 7 years suggests a problem - it means a company isn't following the rules of the state. And just because a company is admin dissolved for failure to file annual reports doesn't mean that they are on a revenue suspension! A revenue suspension means failure to pay state taxes, which is never a good idea. So, of course the contractor (who is working illegally in the state of NC) isn't going to raise rates because he isn't suppose to be working and doesn't have a license. Would you hire a lawyer who isn't licensed? Or a doctor who isn't licensed? And if the Board is representing a group, they should absolutely know who it is that they are hiring, that is my gripe! Hire folk who is legally allowed.

Once again, a lot of merit it what Jon says.

Paul

Not quite sure what the message you were trying to send was in your last post. Other then traveling down memory lane with a bad expierence you had in regards to home construction.

But let me respond. Many if not most of the jobsites I worked on were not open to the public nor were they in residential neighborhoods. So we had few problems with annoyed individuals. Some people have realistic expectations while others just live to complain.

Now as a general rule construction creates noise and in some cases litter and mess. But in this particular case the OP details issues he had with PAINTERS. Now of all the building trades I ever worked with the one that created the least amount of noise are PAINTERS. Those paint bushes do little to hurt the ears. And not many power tools involved. So as I suggested IMO the OP is making a mountain out of a mole hill.

And to have them suggest that a Board should check business records and their standing with state agencies as part of normal hiring practices is IMO absurd. It is not a Board's job to verify the status of a business in reagrds to whether or not they paid their taxes. They are not an enforcement arm of the state. And despite the fact the OP suggests THEY did such reviews as part of their job duties at a bank that in no way
obligates any Board to do the same. Nor does such expectations suggest to me the OP has any idea just what an HOA Board is required to do.

Boards don't operate to the standards each individual sets.