No HOA, BOD or declarant

BobB21 (Oregon)
Posts: 2

Posted:

I have searched the forum and could find bits a pieces that describe my situation, but could not find something just like my situation. This is my first post so bear with me.

History:

Small 8 lot development on rural acreage of 4 to 6 acres each in Oregon. CC&R's, but there has never been an HOA or BOD. There are homes on 5 of the 8 lots. In 2012, developer sells last lot; early 2013 developer relinquished rights as declarant since he no longer owns any property. Now no HOA, BOD or declarant; only CC&R's.

Situation:

I own one of the lots without a home on it. In early 2013, I takes steps to build a home on the property. At the time, I lived about 200 miles away in a larger city. I searched county and records for an HOA formed for the subdivision and did not find one.

Issue with neighbors

Seeing that no HOA, BOD or declarant exists, I used the county definition of "living area" to be heated square footage. This is what I pay taxes on. The CC&R's state that the house must be no less than 2000 sq feet. My home plans call for 1972 sq ft with a 200 sq ft heated shop/bonus area adjacent to the garage. The county records show 2172 sq ft as heated living space.

Before the county records were updated to show the 200 sq ft heated shop/bonus area, one of the neighbors comes unglued and says that they all got together and had a meeting. "The house is 28 sq ft short of CC&R requirements and they represent the HOA and will put a cease and desist order on construction. The heated shop area doesn't count." I tried to explain what I was doing over the telephone, but they were not in the listening mode. One of them told me that they expected me to get everybody's approval in the subdivision for any decisions that need to be made. this is vague, but I believe they meant ALL decisions and future decisions like color of house, where to put shed, etc.

I called BS on their statement and basically laid out the facts for them in writing: No HOA, BOD or declarant and that I am following county guidelines for heated living area. I tell them to relax, it will be OK as I have always been a good neighbor (at least up until now).

So they hire a lawyer to say, (paraphrasing) "hey we are glad you finally changed your house plans to meet the square footage requirement, like we told you to do, and why don't you follow the CC&R's from now on." It appears that meet county guidelines for heated square feet was good enough for the lawyer.

I know there is a statement in the CC&R's that any homeowner can take upon themselves to enforce the CC&R's if no HOA exists. That's fine with me, but I have some questions because I feel my neighbors are not going to be too neighborly from now on.

Questions:

1) One CC&R requirement states that "Mobile homes, campers, travel trailers, or similar units may not be used as dwellings. Said units may be parked on owners' lot if screened. The Board of Directors has sole jurisdiction to determine if adequate screening is utilized." I plan to park my RV on site and will attempt to screen it.

Another CC&R requirement states that the lot must be kept in a clean and attractive condition in good repair. No wood, paper, equipment, car parts, etc that may create a visual disturbance.

If my neighbors decide that the RV is inadequately screened, I take too long to screen the RV, the screen it too low, too tall, too wide or something I am doing is causing a visual disturbance (like my paint color choices??), would any sane lawyer take the case with these vague terms?

Remember, I did try to reason with them in my first conversation with little luck.

I'm trying to figure out how to deal with my neighbors. And by the way, in my opinion, all of them violate the CC&R's in one way or another, but I don't care as long as they leave me alone.

Any help would be appreciated.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

You have ccr's on your property which means an HOA can be started at any time to enforce those ccr's. Follow the minimum requirements and people will leave you alone. Pretty simple.

If you cant follow the CCR's, this community is not for you. Sell it.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SteveM9 on 05/19/2013 12:21 PM
You have ccr's on your property which means an HOA can be started at any time to enforce those ccr's. Follow the minimum requirements and people will leave you alone. Pretty simple.

If you cant follow the CCR's, this community is not for you. Sell it.

I agree. This might not be the best place for you.

MatthewW4 (Arizona)
Posts: 500

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SteveM9 on 05/19/2013 12:21 PM
You have ccr's on your property which means an HOA can be started at any time to enforce those ccr's.

That will depend on whether the CC&R's require an HOA. The mere existence of CC&R's does not create some sort of obligation to form or join an HOA. My current home (and at least one before that) has CC&R's but has no provision for creating an HOA. If someone wants to enforce the CC&R's they have to do it on their own dime.

Bob,
You need to read through your CC&R's to see if they require a mandatory membership in an HOA. Since most HOA's are incorporated as non-profits, there is likely to be nothing filed at the county level. You need to find out what state agency registers corporations and start looking there.

You quoted language from the CC&R's that indicate that there is supposed to be a Board of Directors, implying that there is supposed to be an association. Have those who claim to be the HOA ever sought payment of an assessment from you or informed you of your rights to attend an annual meeting or to vote for directors?

BobB21 (Oregon)
Posts: 2

Posted:

MatthewW4, no payments were ever requested, no meetings were ever held, no annual meeting, no nothing. On the way out, the declarant states that the HOA does not exist, and we can form one if the majority so wishes.

Bob

KevinK7 (Florida)
Posts: 1,343

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BobB21 on 05/19/2013 9:12 PM
MatthewW4, no payments were ever requested, no meetings were ever held, no annual meeting, no nothing. On the way out, the declarant states that the HOA does not exist, and we can form one if the majority so wishes.

Bob

I don't think it matters what the developer said. What matters is what is in the C&Rs.

For instance, in mine it urged the homeowners to form a HOA but it did not require it. That meant that if someone wanted to enforce the covenants they had to do so on their own, as a group, or if formed, as the HOA. Even if a HOA didn't exist, a homeowner who thought I was in violation could have sued me.

I would check with the state to see if a HOA corporate entity exists (here in Florida it is filed with the Department of State Division of Corporations).

I would also check to see what are listed in your Covenants and Restrictions.