CAN WE DISSOLVE OUR ASSOCIATON ALL TOGETHER?

I may be doing this wrong as I am not the most computer literate
but my question is: Can Home Owners vote to dissolve an Association all together?

Articles in our Certificate of Incorporation say:

Article 5:
Membership -
The Corporation shall be a membership Corporation without certificates or shares of stock.
All unit owners by virtue of their ownership of units in the single family subdivision
are members of the Association. The members shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each unit in which they hold the interest required for membership, in accordance with Declaration.

Article 8:
Dissolution:
The Association may be dissolved upon the affirmative vote or written consent of not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the votes of members other than the Declarant (as such term is defined in the declaration, the consent of the Declarant (so long as the Declarant owns any property subject to the Declaration or which may be unilaterally subjected to the Declaration by the Declarant). Upon dissolution of the Association, other than incident to a merger or consolidation, so long as the VA is guaranteeing and/or HUD is insuring any mortgage in the development, and unless otherwise agreed in writing by HUD OR VA, as applicable, any remaining real property assets of the Association shall be dedicated to an appropriate public agency to be used for purposes similar to those for which this Association was created. In the event that such dedication is refused acceptance, such assets shall be granted, conveyed and assigned to any non profit corporation, association, trust or other organization to be devoted to such similar. No such restriction shall exist if VA is not guaranteeing or HUD is not insuring any mortgage in the development; provided, however, HUD and/or VA must be notified of such dissolution.

END OF ARTICLES

Does this mean we can vote to dissolve our Association all together?

we pay $600.00 annual
we have about 121 homes
we are run by GW & Associates management company
which I think is owned by the developer
we have a closed pool this summer
they say the vandalism is so bad &
we don't have enough money on our books in order
to repair/replace
I have been here almost two years
and they have never maintained our
front entrance, kept up our common
mowed common area laws, maintained out pool, tennis
or our playground -

I figure if we get rid of the association/mgmt company
maybe we can decide on an amount to
pay ourselves, pool our money
and do everything our selves -

the problem with dissolving is "what happens to the common areas"?

So, if the HOA is gone, who owns the pool? who pays utilities on street lights? Who pays insurance and taxes on common areas?

The state won't care that you don't want to play HOA anymore, they will demand property taxes on all that property. And, someone will need liability insurance, in case someone gets hurt playing on that property (or walking, or a tree falls, or trips in a hole, or...).

I would first suggest getting rid of your management company. I assume you are not on the board. Try to work with the HOA and voice your concerns. You have common property so things could be maintained properly if you guys just manage it properly. I think getting rid of the association may hurt your common elements even more - if no one is maintaining them now what makes you think someone will maintain them later?

Vanessa,

You have 121 homes and pay about $600 each a year? That's $72,600 a year. I think you are expecting a lot for that amount of money. Our community consists of about 88 homes and our annual budget is nearly a quarter of a million dollars a year. And, we don't have a pool or tennis courts, although we do have a clubhouse.

I doubt G&W is owned by the developer. We used to have a management company by the same name, and I believe it is a national firm.

Is the association still controlled by the developer? If so, then it is unlikely you can dissolve it at this time.

Dissolving the association or getting rid of your management company is not the solution, except perhaps to hire a different management company. There's a lot of work that needs to be done that someone is going to have to volunteer to do, or, you're going to have to pay someone to do. Then, there's the knowledge and experience issue. I doubt any of your homeowners have the necessary skills in property management.

The real issue is your budget, and that starts with your board. If you are still developer-controlled, there's nothing you can do about that. But, if the board consists of homeowners, then you start by determining what your needs are and the costs associated with satisfying those needs. Knowing how much money you need per year to satisfy those needs, you can determine the annual (and monthly) cost per homeowner.

By the way, it's not uncommon for developers to set the initial association fee, or dues, artificially low to attract new home buyers. Unfortunately, when the homeowners eventually take control they sometimes discover that bills are not getting paid or services are not being provided because there isn't enough money coming in. That happened to us and it took two years of fee increases to arrive at a point where the association had a realistic budget and we were able to pay for the services we needed. The homeowners weren't happy about it, but we had to do it.

For comparison.

Our HOA consists of 113, standalone, single family homes. We have no amenities. Our streets are maintained by the town. We have very little common property except a small entrance and a retention pond. We have a fountain and lighting in the pond and some lighting at the entrance. Overall not a very costly nor complex association.

Our dues are $600 per year or $67,800.00 per year. All outside maintenance (landscaping and the exterior shell of the house) is done by the association. Landscaping is our #1 expense (%26K) and our most troublesome task. Our Declarant (still here for about one more year) is our management company and he charges us about 6% per year as a management fee. We put about $10,000.00 per year into our reserve fund. In some 15 years the association will have to start replacing roofs from that fund.

We operate pretty efficiently. Many believe we will need a slight dues increase once the owners take over. The BOD can rise the dues 5% a year without owner approval. I expect this will happen.

I can assure you if we had amenities like a pool, clubhouse, tennis, etc. there is no way we could get buy on $67.8K a year. A pool alone will easily cost over $20K per year.

My last HOA was 721 standalone homes, Each home maintained there own lot and home. We did have a pool, tennis courts, clubhouse, walking trails, ball fields, retention ponds, etc. Town maintained our roads. The dues there were $600 per year for a budget of $432,600.00. Basically 1/2 Million Dollars for the amenities and common property.

The bottom line is what is one getting for their dollar?

I thought since there
was an allowance for it in the bylaws
that it was something to consider,
but I clearly see now that its not ..
Im new at this - and im only
one of handful of people attempting
to do something about it -

One of the problems is
that a few of the homeowners are
underwater and they are indifferent/upset
that some in the subdivision purchased new homes
with upgrades at a lower price -
so they stopped paying their dues

then some are upset
because others like me
bought foreclosures in the
community for a very low price -
so they stopped paying their dues

then others are upset
because homeowners moved and leased
their homes to tenants that
sadly aren't "seasoned home owners"
so the climate in the areas of the
renters is seedy -
these owners don't pay their dues -

this is just a brief overview
of the problems in my subdivision
(please don't stampede my neighborhood with relocation requests)

Vanessa

We all had to learn somewhere and some how. Some lessons were more painful then others.

Yours was not painful.....LOL

Glad we could help and please feel free to ask anything...even when you may not like the answer.

I figured the "We"
would be the home owners,
but that fantasy has
dissolved -

I am open to asking the
other home owners if they
are interested in replacing the Mgmt
company -

I don't know why
homeowners who are clearly
not in agreement with the HOA
lifestyle would choose
to live in a subdivision with an
HOA ..

Im asking myself why
did I buy a home in a subdivision
with such a dysfunctional HOA -
I guess I got what I paid for

Those numbers are sobering -

Especially since I had a meeting
with code enforcement today
and was told that not only
do we need another retention pond
once the second phase is completed,
but the retention pond we presently have
is over grown and needs bush hogging -

I don't think that pool is opening
anytime soon since our mgmt. co is going
to be cited with fines if they don't clean
this place up.

Thank you for this heads up -

This is a much large problem
than I anticipated.

I appreciate all the answers that I am
given though many of the answers are disturbing -

We had a meeting tonite
eight out of ten persons showed up
all eight wanted me to be the association
president - I would NOT do it ..

I tried to tell them about
my meeting with code enforcement
and their emphasis on how much
fines would be if we don't get the
existing retention pond bush hogged
AND get another retention pond installed -

the eight just wanted to know when the
pool was going to open up
for their kids and their guests ..

I think im going to sell -

One issue of dissolving a corporation is selling off all the assets. One asset that would need to be sold off is the pool which is a common area. What are other common areas? In many associations the road is a common area. Its not something you can just "sell" as people need to drive to their house. Part of disolving, is selling everything..... Think about that for a moment.

I so needed this information -
sometimes I miss the forest or the trees ..
It isn't about just throwing the baby away with
he bath water, its trying to fix the issues -

I gotta be patient
and im working on it

Thank you for this -

Can I become your next door neighbor?
PLEASSSEEE ...

Since I CAN'T right now, Kim, here are my questions ..
you have provided me a wealth of information -

when you say roof repair, upkeep and replacement, stucco painting, etc
are you talking about individual homes?
or your club house?

what state are you living in
if you don't mind me asking -
how many homes?

I like the idea of having trash collection -
that would make the subdivision a lot neater
and maybe motivate the homeowners to pay their dues
(a miracle I know ..)

$375.00, a pool and a maintenance company?
something is very wrong with my dysfunctional subdivision -

please continue to share ..

V

Our owners have two choices. Pay for privately weekly trash collection or take their own stuff to the local dump.

Younger folks with trucks often opt to take it to the dump or to a dumpster at work.

Vanessa, when you go to review documents be prepared to pay for the privilege. The MC is a business and they will often charge an hourly rate for someone to pull documents and sit with you while you review them, they also will most probably charge for each copy you want.

From your posts it is not clear whether the developer is still in charge or whether the homeowners are. If it is the developer, is he still in business? Either way the one critical thing I want you to review when you go to review the documents is to make sure, absofreakinlootly sure, is that there is insurance in place on your dysfunctional HOA. If no other bills get paid that one is a must.

Vanessa hundreds of people have turned their HOA's around, unfortunately there is no magic pill, it requires tenacity and elbow grease. There have been deadbeats and freeloaders since the dawn of civilization, the British knew how to deal with them but alas they've closed the debtors prisons.

What makes it particularly frustrating is the deadbeats usually drive the newest cars and have the latest and greatest things but cry poor when the HOA comes calling. There have been numerous posts on how to transition from developer to homeowner control and I urge you to search for them but the first order of business for the new Board should be a Collection Policy.

It should lay out step by step the policy the Board will follow to collect assessments, it should be given to every homeowner and most important the Board NEEDS TO FOLLOW IT.

John,

you have hit the nail on the head -
do u want to know who my neighbors are?

internists (MDs)
lawyers (one for home land security)
school principals
uga and ga tech directors
police officers
nurses

DO YOU HEAR THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH?

then you have poor old uneducated me
who worked hard to acquire common sense,
so that I can live a decent simple life
and grow to maturity in peace and simplicity -
and i'm stuck amongst these non bill paying folks

I have to research "standard operating costs"
and tell these folks that if we have NO MONEY to pay
the light bill in the subdivision, how are we going to pay to repair
and open the pool after their kids and grand kids have vandalized it?

Plant pennies in the ground and grow
trees that produce dollar bills to pay
for the pool?

The pool, not build the
other Retention Pond that we need, no ..
open up the pool for their kids and grandkids ..

Welcome to a day in my life .. LOLOL

If you can get rid of your Association...by all means DO IT.

Obviously you are being ripped off by yours.

I am sure you pay taxes right?

Why not get a REAL government( your town or municipality) to take over the community...and throw the con men a theives out?

Looks like pudgy ole GlenL doesn't want anyone looking behind the HOA scam curtain....

Hey GlenL....do you carry an HOA credit card too? Charging personal gas or meals or any ole thing your heart desires?

After all.....you must be due SOME compensation for your tireless "volunteer" effort right?