Should we ask the lot owner to pay towards HOA?

We live in a community that was built in 2007 and was originally supposed to be 102 homes. The bubble burst and the builder went bankrupt only having built 20 of those homes. The neighborhood sat almost empty with the exception of three original home owners until the last few months when every home, and all 80 lots were bought. The bank that owned the homes has returned the the HOA to the homeowners so we're starting from scratch and none of us really have any idea what we're doing. What we have realized though is that we don't have enough money to fulfill the original covenants that were meant for a 102 house neighborhood. This lack of funds would be somewhat remedied if the owner of the lots would step up and pay towards lawn maintenance (he does own 4/5 of the neighborhood) and the electric bill since his lots are lit up every night and the HOA pays for it. Is there anything legal he has to do since he doesn't actually own homes, just the lots?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Here is something often overlooked when turned over to the owners. They forget to update their documentation like the CC&R's. Which often keeps references to the developer/builder who are no longer in control. This then will change the voting rights and some definitions. How to change your documents is all in them. So your first step may be to modify and change your documents to change the roles within.

Now whether or not a house is on a lot, may not relieve someone from paying dues. A house can burn down, be moved, or ripped away by a natural disaster. It is the land that counts. So make sure to have a definition of your HOA set up. Our HOA you owned the house and the lot it sat on, everything outside of that was common property owned by the HOA. That allowed us to mow without permission.

So the lot owner may need to start paying up on the lots or be liened. However, have a lien policy in place before you just randomly lien. We had a 6 month behind we liened rule. This is a good start to help establish some guidelines.

Looks like Capt. Mike has gone of his meds again.

Kasi

I am not nor do I play a lawyer.

I would think the new owner paying dues or not is dependent on how he took over. If he is still the Declarant then usually no dues until the lot transfers to an owner.
If he took over as a purchaser of 80 lots but not the declarant, then I say dues are due.

Hope this helps.