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MarkB17 (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 1
Posted:
Hope someone can share some advice in how to proceed with HOA issues in our community located in PA. The HOA was turned over to us in June of 2012. The common area has not been deeded over to the HOA yet even though the development is built out. Based on lengthy research I have been able to discern these facts:
There are two mortgages on the common area that were never disclosed in the public offering statement.
The CCR's were never recorded at the county courthouse.
The public offering statement was never filed with the state.
Needless to say, the HOA was not provided with any recorded and filed documents even though PA law says they must be turned over within 60 days after the owners take over.

The developer has not been forthcoming in providing any information. I am aware that we need an attorney at this point, but was hoping someone could tell me that if no documents were ever filed does the HOA even legally exist? Every one of the homeowners signed acknowledgments in their contracts that there was a HOA in place and received a copy of the (unrecorded) public offering statement. I don't believe that current homeowners are legally bound to the HOA, nor does the HOA have any ability to enforce the CCRs.

And one more thing...the roads in the community are private and are supposed to be maintained (including plowing) by the HOA. The land the roads are on is supposed to be deeded to the HOA as part of the common area.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099
Posted:
Mark,

The best place you can start is with your very own deed. Most commonly, when CC&R's are recorded deeds to individual homes will contain a phrase similar to "subject to the restrictions recorded on page 123, book 456, of the official records of XYZ county. If you find such a phrase, you will then need to get a copy of whatever was recorded on the page and book.

Less common it to attach a copy of the CC&R's to each deed, in which case the recorded deed could be dozens or hundreds of pages long.

There may be some other methods of attaching restrictions to a property.

If there is no reference on your deed to any restrictions, whether recorded or attached as an exhibit, there may be no recorded restrictions.

Once a property has been sold, the seller cannot later create restrictions unless the buyer agrees to them.

Searching recorded documents can be tricky and "I could not find it" is not necessarily the same as "they did not record it." I did a search once for property owned by a developer in Tucson and found that the recorder listed some properties under Brown Family Trust, John Brown Family Trust, The Brown Family Trust, John Brown, and almost every conceivable variation of that name. Your CC&R's may have been recorded but under the name of a trust or some entity you never heard of.

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