No turnover Due to No HOA

Our subdivision here in Georgia is just about completed. All the lots the final builder had are under contract. Our first builder went bankrupt in 2008, and never filed our covenants, so with all the research we have done, we found that the covenants were never recorded, so the covenants can't be enforced. So we are thinking about setting up a voluntary HOA, because we know not all the owners want one. But my main question is, our streets have not had a final paving, and the builder is saying the City is responsible, and when I asked the City they say they are trying to find out. I know the first builder back in 2005 filed a bond for two of the streets to be paved, but the City Director says that money "went away" back then. I don't know if the current builder has filed a bond, but he wants us to form an HOA all of a sudden, when he didn't file the covenants for us either, and sold lots without an HOA attached. We also need more street lights. We have them on the first few streets that were in the early construction, but the back streets that are just getting finished don't have many street lights at all. I have asked the City who is responsible to get them? The builder told us he is not responsible. I know the streets have been adopted by the City, and we have street signs for all our streets. The City Manager said if they had not adopted the streets there wouldn't be street signs for them. The City Manager told us to form am HOA also, and gave us a copy of the covenants that were filed with the City when the project first began, but were never recorded. We don't want this builder to leave and we are stuck with no lights or paving. We went to the City Council meeting last year and asked to be put on the budget, and they said they would try to accommodate us, but doesn't look like we got added to the budget this year.

Good Luck getting 100% lot owners to join it your going to need the full 100% not just 50 or 75% of them but 100% entire community to start one up.. as for the street lights that's simple fix the city will just charge each lot owner in the community and no need to enact a doomed HOA adventure.

lets see your community been around for 7 years and can't wait till next year for the city to finish the streets. Guess who will be paying for the streets repairs when you forma HOA??? Yes that's right the HOA lot owners and not the city, sure the city's goanna tell you form a HOA and they get to walk away cost free doing it..

City has absolutely no choice but to finish the streets, your community is not under a legal HOA deed restriction, they have Zero case and they know it. there just playing dumb.

So say your HOA community spends 10k trying to enact a HOA of 100 lot's and only get 99 lot owners to agree and sign for a HOA, yet that 1 hold out say's Nope. Guess what... HOA ideal is out the door.

City will always say form a HOA, they will finish the street and pass the cost and tax's upon the HOA community. Good luck just wait till they get a budget to finish their streets.

City has contracts with the builders, they get a copy of the deed restrictions to show it's in a HOA, these contracts also have time stipulations hardly anyone knows about that can effectively kill a HOA deed restriction if not completed in a certain time frame usually 10 years.

So the city didn't do due diligences reading and looking at the document that's obviously missing the recorders stamped information on them.

so what the city has a copy of it, it's still not properly recorded for whatever reasons.

Cheryl as Tim said, you need a legal opinion that is yours. You and your neighbors need to pony up some cash and hire an attorney versed in contract law and property rights before the city and your current builder leave the homeowners holding the bag. Worst case the city can pay for it and declare your subdivision a "Special Taxing District" in which case in addition to your normal property taxes the city would in effect also collect additional monies to pay for everything. I cannot stress this strongly enough GET AN ATTORNEY AND GET ONE NOW!!!!!

Pony up OMG never heard that term before since 2008 Obama said Pony up everyone has $5 dollars Pony Up. Loll's yaw get a real attorney not a pony up one. or else your going to get screwed by a HOA. I eat pony's and hunt their family's if it tasted good.

Yes we are in the process of talking to a good real estate attorney this week. Thanks all of you for your input on this.

Cheryl