Paint color on back of our house

Started by TessaM • 5 replies • 1363 views

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TessaM (Virginia)
Posts: 1

Posted:

When we repainted our hardiplank on the back of our 3-sided brick home 7 years ago, we darkened the shade of sage green to a medium hunter green. With the white trim around the windows and doors (which are also white), it is very attractive and classy. Since then, there have been 3 different neighborhood HOA presidents and at least that many ACC (Architectural Control Committee) members on our HOA. At no time have we received any phone call, letter, visit from any ACC member, nothing, indicating the color was not an approved one. Our home is on a corner, with the back in view from every of the 200 homeowners who drive into our neighborhood on a daily basis for the past 7 years. With trees bordering our backyard, the dark green blends in nicely.

We now have been informed from our HOA that this color is in violation since it was not approved, and we are in the process of selling our home and will close in a month.

Isn't there a statute of limitations on something like this? Ironically there have been previous ACC members actually in our backyard since the color was darkened, and nothing . . . Nothing . . . Was ever said to us. There have been walk-arounds of our properties to look for violations in the past, but again, we received no notification regarding anything.

And now it's a violation?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

Tessa,

Did you request permission to change the color (shade) when you initially changed it?

If you did get prior approval, just show them a copy of the written approval.

If you did not seek or request prior approval, you are likely in violation for making an exterior change without prior approval. It doesn't matter if a previous board/committee caught it or not. If prior approval is required, you are in violation.

The reason why Associations in VA are more stringent when issuing a disclosure package is that the Association is legally bound to anything in the disclosure statement (see VA § 55-509.6 K or VA § 55-509.7 G). Therefore, if they fail to catch a violation and say that there are none, once the sale goes through, the Association is bound to any errors in the package.

My suggestion, as stated earlier, simply provide your copy of the written approval to the Association. If you lost the approval or never requested one, submit a request now and see if they will approve it. If they initially disapprove it, appeal the decision to the Board. If it is still disapproved you have the following choices:

See if the buyer will still buy as is
Give a credit to the buyer for them to repaint in the spring
Pay to have it repainted
fight the issue in court (however, you may lose the sale and there is no guarantee that you will win).

I know that this isn't what you wanted to hear.
I hope it helps,
Tim

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TessaM on 10/15/2013 5:46 AM
When we repainted our hardiplank on the back of our 3-sided brick home 7 years ago, we darkened the shade of sage green to a medium hunter green. With the white trim around the windows and doors (which are also white), it is very attractive and classy. Since then, there have been 3 different neighborhood HOA presidents and at least that many ACC (Architectural Control Committee) members on our HOA. At no time have we received any phone call, letter, visit from any ACC member, nothing, indicating the color was not an approved one. Our home is on a corner, with the back in view from every of the 200 homeowners who drive into our neighborhood on a daily basis for the past 7 years. With trees bordering our backyard, the dark green blends in nicely.

We now have been informed from our HOA that this color is in violation since it was not approved, and we are in the process of selling our home and will close in a month.

Isn't there a statute of limitations on something like this? Ironically there have been previous ACC members actually in our backyard since the color was darkened, and nothing . . . Nothing . . . Was ever said to us. There have been walk-arounds of our properties to look for violations in the past, but again, we received no notification regarding anything.

And now it's a violation?

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a statute of limitations with regard to enforcing HOA violations unless such a thing is specifically stated in your documents or required by state law.

Chances are that somewhere in your documents, (Declaration of CCRs, rules and regulations, architectural guidelines or manual, etc.) there is something stated about approved colors, painting or repainting, or the requirement to obtain prior approval before painting or repainting. If such requirements exist and you didn't follow them then you are likely in violation.

If you are in violation your board or ACC should be able to refer you to the appropriate place in your documents where you can read the requirements in writing for yourself.

The proper thing to do when sending a notice of violation to a home owner is to include a copy of the requirement as it appears in the documents along with the notice.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

In addition to the above mentioned good advice, READ YOUR CONTRACT.

There may be a limitations of actions clause. There may not be. The best way to know is to read it yourself.

Many HOA CC&R's have a boilerplate clause that does limit actions. Many do not. Find out about yours.

MikeS1
Posts: 521

Posted:

Most HOAs in Virginia will do an annual inspection, but it's primiarily for maintenance issues, but it's not that detailed. They are not going to notice color variations, but when the house sells, that's a different story. They are going to check closely and see if there have been any unauthorized changes since the home was built. If you did not get this change approved, then they it's definately going to show up on the inpection list that's part of the HOA docs. There is no statute of limitations on this. Most realtors recommend that you "Ask Early" for the HOA docs so even if you don't have a contract pending, you'll find out if there are any issues (hopefully before you've received an offer. Since there is a 3 day clause in the sales contract that allows the buyer to kick out for any reason, this is something to get out of the way for several reasons (to include buyer's remorse). What's really strange is the fact that a lot of our purchasers will go ahead and let the contingency expire, never read the docs, and then sign the "I didn't know" song later on. These items on the inspection list convey to the purchaser if they do nothing but let the contingency expire. We continually preach to folks to make sure that they use approved colors and they still run down to the big box stores and buy whatever they want. Hunter Green is a far cry from Sage Green. IMO - You're stuck.

KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239

Posted:

Read your by-laws. Often, homeowners - if they've sought prior approval - are protected if a new board leadership changes the official opinion of your project. If you simply ignored your HOA process for approval, then you're likely stuck as you've never followed the rules you agreed to follow, no matter the harmless nature of the request.

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