Fees, Is there a time limit to getting charged?

When did your HOA form? Is this a recent formation? You should have been paying dues as soon as you bought the property if there was a HOA already. What recent change has occurred that has made this an issue?

Hi Tara
I'm curious as to why you would not expect to be charged for each year you have owned the property? I'm assuming that you read the Declaration (Codes, Covenants & Restrictions) that came with the property when you bought into the Association, am I right?

I'm sure building the home cost enough already--so if the $800 is a hardship perhaps you could arrange payments with the HOA for the back amount and then keep up with the yearly dues going forward. And now that you are living there, attend all the meetings and get yourself on the Board. I suppose you chose this property for the advantages it has, you should do your part to see that the area is governed in a way that enhances and retains those advantages for all the owners. Consider it an investment (of time) in your property value. That's what it is.

It sounds to me like the Board of Directors just became active. Is that perhaps because more people are actually living in the neighborhood lately? Anyway, Please do not sit around grumbling with the others who also owe back dues and let an us-vs.-them situation develop between whoever has stepped up to run the board and finally collect the agreed-upon dues. Those dues are your community's way of supporting each other. Plan a pot luck, start a little league or build a diamond for the kids, or just use the money to keep the grass mowed and the snow plowed on the communal roads, or whatever. Get involved in the decision making--I know you can do that. I grew up in the midwest near you and community spirit was in abundance. It can be that way again. It's what makes a neighborhood worth living in!
Best of Luck.

"we were each asked for $500 for mailboxes which each of the homeowners paid."

Not sure I understand about the $500 mailboxes. (We got ours from Lowes and it wasn't that expensive.)

"As homeowners in the development, we knew that a HOA was to be set up eventually,"

Anyway, are you saying that you purchased your properties and there was no HOA formed at that time? (i.e. no covenants filed and attached to your deed?) If so, it seems to me that you are not liable for past or even present 'fees' (unless you signed something later acquiesing to that).

However, if your deed is in fact tied to a Covenants Declaration under which an HOA has formed, you may be liable. But in that case, the funds must go ONLY to HOA expenses (which you say are almost nil). I strongly suspect the developer is having some 'cash issues' and mitigating them at the homeowners' expense. He cannot fund his developer construction costs with HOA money. In the HOA meetings he should have held, a yearly HOA budget should have been produced showing where these new fees were to be expended. (Bear in mind he can claim the HOA needs a capital reserve fund, but that money must still be accounted for on the HOA's books.)

I predict you and your neighbors are in for some serious heartache down the road (and well past this initial $800 gambit). You and/or some select homeowners need to have a serious talk with this developer with an eye toward cranking up 'normal' HOA procedures (i.e. meetings, budgets, etc.) Otherwise this guy will either run all over you, or you'll be fighting him in court. And, in that case, the homeowners will pay their own legal fees, and the HOA will pay for HIS legal fees for which you will all be assessed. You'll get to pay for both sides! Welcome to the world of 'Declarant Control.'

Good luck and please keep us posted via this board.

Tara let's stop for a moment and talk about what could happen if you don't pay or make arrangements to pay. First the developer can file a lien on your home and could eventually even foreclose over the non-payment of assessments. Oh and I almost forgot on top of the assessments he can add late fees, interest and if it gets to the lien stage attorney fees and other legal fees to file and remove the lien. And just to make it even more fun, unless your CC&R's state differently and I can't imagine they do, once it gets to a certain stage any money you pay is applied in this order: 5312.11 (4)(B) Unless otherwise provided by the declaration, bylaws, or rules, the owners association shall credit any amount it receives from a lot owner pursuant to this section in the following order: (1) To interest owed to the owners association; (2) To administrative late fees or enforcement assessments owed to the owners association; (3) To collection costs, attorney’s fees, and paralegal fees the owners association incurred in collecting the assessment; (4) To the oldest principal amounts the owner owes to the owners association for the common expenses chargeable against the dwelling unit or lot.

While there are few tangibles you can see at this point, I suspect the HOA is also responsible for insurance both for the property and any Board members. The first thing you need to do is READ your CC&R's, you should have gotten them when you closed on the property. If you don't have them - can't find them, they should be available on your County Recorder's website. In addition you need to read Ohio's HOA statutes to learn your rights and responsibilities, they can be found here: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5312

you all have been very helpful. I will be showing my neighbors this post as a couple of them will be meeting with the developer in the next week. i will keep you posted and in the mean time I am going to read over my contract.