Board breaking Covenants

Started by NancyG3 • 16 replies • 2641 views

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NancyG3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 342

Posted:

What can be done if a Board breaks the Covenants? Our Board is discussing letting homeowners put screens across their garage openings. Our Covenant state all garage doors must be closed except when entering or exiting said garage. A prior Board tried to change this when they were trying to get some rules and regulations passed and could not get enough homeowners to pass them. Our present Board thinks they can do whatever they want without considering the Covenants. As some of you know I'm not in good standing with this Board because of the corrections I have made to their prior plans and sued them for not adhering to the State laws and our Covenants. I would like to bring this to their attention, but don't know how. Any suggestions.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

May I ask what is the problem with doing this? The rules can be changed and adapted if that is what the homeowner's are okay with. We allowed people to make their garages into rooms but they had to keep the garage door on the exterior. What is the purpose of the screens? To keep bugs out and able to ejoy some work time in the garage?

This doesn't seem like an item that will effect anyones home values. Just mention the rules state what you said and let themm go about ammending them.

Former HOA President

NancyG3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 342

Posted:

Melissa - I don't have a problem with the screens as long as the Covenants are changed to include them and the homeowners vote on changing the Covenant. Thanks for your reply.

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

I'm with you, Nancy. The covenants shouldn't be changed without whatever % of the membership is required to change them. Let the people decide!

Don't folks work in their garages now with the garage doors open? And if so, isn't the covenant already being ignored?

When my husband, I & kids lived in a new detached-home development back east for awhile, most neighbors kept their workshops in their basements. My husband, though, thought it made no sense and built his workbench in the garage so he could have fresh air and have his tools handy for work on our cars, lawn mower, etc. He never would have liked being cooped up on beautiful days. Little by little, other neighbors started moving parts of their work areas to their garages. There was, though, no rule against the open garage doors.

Re: your main concern: why not ask someone else who doesn't want the covenants broken to approach the Board.

NancyG3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 342

Posted:

Thanks Carol. You are right, people are working out of their garage doing yardwork and working on computers and just sitting and smoking. The covenant is being ignored by some of the homeowners. Good suggestion about asking someone else to approach the Board. Will look around and ask some of the people.

JonD1
Posts: 2,350

Posted:

Yes that sounds like a great idea have someone else make an issue out of this and sit back and watch.

Nancy weren't you the one who battled your HOA over a drainage pipe for years.

And you took it upon yourself to remove the pipe the HOA had installed?

And when you went to court with your HOA the judge ruled against you?

And at least some of your neighbors are not all that fond of you or your actions?

And then you tired to come up with a way to have someone else approach a Board member sick wih CANCER and request they resign becuase you thought it was in the best interest of the property?

Is that you Nancy??? Is that accurate??

If so then it might be best iof you found someone else to push this agenda about screen doors in garages becuase my guess the Board really would not have much interest in hearing from you. The neighbors might not care what you think. And the person battling cancer probably couldn't care less. Guess you have now found your next "issue".

If not I must have the wrong Nancy...................

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Nancy,

It sounds like you found the perfect HOA for a nit-picker. A rule that a garage door can be open only when going in and out sounds like a nit-picker's delight. (I heard a story about an HOA that fined an owner because he had his garage door open while he was working in the garage.)

Your board sounds like it is trying to introduce some common sense into an otherwise senseless set of covenants. I have never seen screen doors on a garage but it would allow ventilation while satisfying the requirement of keeping the doors closed. An easier way to deal with the issue is for the board to ignore open garage doors altogether.

Your board has a great deal of discretion in deciding which battles to wage and whether the benefits are worth the costs. The Belhaven community in Fairfax County, VA has recently become notorious on this forum after it picked a fight with a resident over the size of a political sign, lost the battle, and declared bankruptcy as a result.

Enforcing the garage door rule seems rather unimportant to the board but you are probably free to sue all the violators you wish on your own dime.

BTW, I have a garage and I leave the door open when I am working in it. Last time I looked, the sun was still rising in the East.

NancyG3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 342

Posted:

Jon - You have the right Nancy. Since you keep bringing this up about the drainage pipe. First of all our Board was wrong by installing the pipe on my property without the proper legal paper work.

Yes I removed the pipe because it was on my property illegally and caused a lot of damage.

Yes I sued the Board for "damages" and did not prove my "damages".
The Board finally did all the proper paper work and replaced the pipe and hooked it up to the drainage basin and then they sued me. The judge ruled again them. However, now my property is in compliance with the State, Town and our Covenants. So, please let it go.

Not all of the people in the community dislike me.

You have completely misunderstood my forum regarding the man on the Board who has not attended any board meetings because of his battle with cancer. I was seeking information and got some good advise. I took the forums advise and it doesn't make a difference because there are 4 other Board members. The forum helped me. No issue here.

Jon unfortunately our Board is not run by a person of your knowledge and there are a lot of issues. So what you are saying to me is let everything go whether it is in compliance with our Covenants or not. And as far as you are concerned I should quit asking questions and seeking advise from this forum. I have to tell everyone that I have learned a lot from these forums and it has helped me in making decisions.

NancyG3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 342

Posted:

Larry - "Your board sounds like it is trying to introduce some common sense into an otherwise senseless set of covenants."

This was done by a prior Board but it could not get enough votes to change the Covenants.

Thanks for your reply and I'm not a nit-picker, just concerned and seeking information. My only battle with the Board was when my property was involved.

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

It wonder, Nancy, if the original covenants about garage doors remaining closed was made so that a bunch of folks don't use their garages as junky-looking living areas-- ancient furniture with stuffing coming out could be really unsightly.

I also wonder if there's a type of screening materials that's kind of opaque. I clearly don't know what I'm talking about, but opaque screening with standards set about color, mesh, etc., could look pretty nice--probably better than garage doors that are open anyway and crammed full of stored items?

I also can see, in state like NC, where I've also lived, that smokers more and more probably smoke outside. I don't know many smokers nowadays, but none of them smoke in their homes anymore.

If your HOA changed that covenant with some reasonable limits on screening materials, etc. It could be a win-win situation. Just a thought.

JonD1
Posts: 2,350

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By NancyG3 on 03/02/2013 5:32 PM
Jon - You have the right Nancy. Since you keep bringing this up about the drainage pipe. First of all our Board was wrong by installing the pipe on my property without the proper legal paper work.

Yes I removed the pipe because it was on my property illegally and caused a lot of damage.

Yes I sued the Board for "damages" and did not prove my "damages".
The Board finally did all the proper paper work and replaced the pipe and hooked it up to the drainage basin and then they sued me. The judge ruled again them. However, now my property is in compliance with the State, Town and our Covenants. So, please let it go.

Not all of the people in the community dislike me.

You have completely misunderstood my forum regarding the man on the Board who has not attended any board meetings because of his battle with cancer. I was seeking information and got some good advise. I took the forums advise and it doesn't make a difference because there are 4 other Board members. The forum helped me. No issue here.

Jon unfortunately our Board is not run by a person of your knowledge and there are a lot of issues. So what you are saying to me is let everything go whether it is in compliance with our Covenants or not. And as far as you are concerned I should quit asking questions and seeking advise from this forum. I have to tell everyone that I have learned a lot from these forums and it has helped me in making decisions.

Well yes Nancy thought the name and you now having your next issue rang familiar.
Will there ever come a time when you don't have something to make an issue over? Does the presence of a screen covering really become an issue with you? Or is it the news you have more than one Board member and the fact one is ill doesn't really call for you to lead a crusade to push the sick individual out the door because you say so. How charming... So now we are off to enforcing screen door restrictions on your neighbors. Lets hope the remaining residents who still like you don't have screen doors installed because this might cause you to loose a few more "friends". I'm beginning to see a pattern of behavior. Just never ends.

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By NancyG3 on 03/02/2013 5:54 PM
Larry - "Your board sounds like it is trying to introduce some common sense into an otherwise senseless set of covenants."

This was done by a prior Board but it could not get enough votes to change the Covenants.

The board does not need to seek an amendment to the covenants if their intent is to take no action against open doors. Of course, future boards may chose a different path and if owners can sue each other to enforce the restrictions then the board has no control over that, either.

NancyG3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 342

Posted:

JonD - "Will there ever come a time when you don't have something to make an issue over?" My answer: Not as far as you are concerned. I have not brought any of my questions to our Board because of the advise from other people on the forum who have offered good suggestions instead of blasting me. If I bother you so much why do you reply to my questions?

Larry - Thanks for your last posting, sounds reasonable. The Board sends out letters to the homeowners and puts it in the newsletter. I don't know if they take further actions.

NancyG3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 342

Posted:

CarolR - I don't know why the builder put a lot of restrictions in our Covenants. Some of the others are hard to live by. There is an opaque screening that can be put on garage doors and it looks like the garage door is down. I'm hoping the Board will consider this type only. Agree again it would be a win-win.

BennettW (Florida)
Posts: 2

Posted:

I'm totally agreed with you Melissa!!!
I also think that what is the purpose of the screens?
garage door opener

BennettW (Florida)
Posts: 2

Posted:

I'm totally agreed with you Melissa!!!
I also think that what is the purpose of the screens?
http://www.gomerlin.com.au/products/garage-door-opener

HeleneN (Connecticut)
Posts: 84

Posted:

If your covenants are like our Declaration the Board does not have any descretion regarding what they will enforce and what they won't enforce. If the restrictions seem trivial and now unimportant there are steps that can be taken to amend them and that's the route to take.

Last I knew unit owners did not have the descretion to decide what in the Declaration they would abide by and what they would egnore. The same should hold true for the BOD!

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