Our Board Abandon our HOA

There was a shock to our membership when ballots were release this month for the upcoming election. Only one person was running for our five member Board. Our Board gave us no notice that they were not going to run again. Nor have they made any active effort over the last couple of months to (1) replace a vacancy or (2) actively seek candidates to replace them. It was assumed they would run again. Normally our elections are by Secret ballot. Now at our Annual meeting we will need to nominate member to serve for the Board. No one seems to want to get involved in this Board. Hence right now, no one has stepped up to the plate. Our Associate has 180 member. The old board also issue an edict (operation procedure-election qualification) that only members whose primary address is on the property can hold a position on the Board. Fifty percent (50%) of the property owners at our Association do not use their unit as their primary residence (e.g second home, vacation home [we are by the beach] and as rentals).

Over the last couple of years, this Board leadership has abused it power to intimidate membership.

They involved the police with an opposition candidate claiming a hate crime violation.
They hosted out of control meetings.
They used their position to personally attack members.
They remove the Real Estate Placards to advertise property and ignored a petition to reinstate them.
The Board issues notices to members with unsubstantiated facts. If question, they answer through their legal council.
They abused the members though close meetings and hidden agendas—even keep their own Board members in the dark.

Recently the leadership of the Board filed a lawsuit again a new homeowner for remodeling their unit instead of working with them. Unfortunately, these irrational attitudes have members scared of this Board. They might hear form an attorney. It is not surprising that no one want serve on the Board.

My questions if we do not get enough people (5) to step up to the plate to serve on the Board, will the State of California have to step in and assume running our HOA.

Funny, how the OP lists all that was wrong with this board and then complains when the board plans to leave their positions!

What would make you happy? They remain but do as everyone else says.

180 members and no takers. Please someone do our job for us. Please someone protect our homes and investments for us.
Please someone protect our ability to not get involved but complain from a distance.

Seems some people can never be happy.

Perhaps a court ordered receivership is down the road. Good way to waste money, and lose control of your property. So sit back stick your head in the sand and rely on hope someone else will do what you avoid. Not likely...

Jon already answered your question. If you do not get enough Board members to continue the operation of your HOA, you are at risk of being entered into a court appointed receivership. The other solution is to dissolve the HOA OR to get enough owners to step up to the plate.

I also agree with the other response---you should be THRILLED to be able to get rid of an abusive Board and start anew. Find four other like minded owners, get on the Board, and fix the problems. You have been given a huge favor, don't squander it.

Michael

There are a number of issues as I see them.

1. Prior to ballots being sent out, call for nominations must be sent out and those candidate forms MUST be received at least 45 days prior to the date of the opening of the ballots or annual meeting.
2. The Board CANNOT, in California, just make up Board qualifications. There is a process, whether it is through a rules change, such as the required Election Rues your association is supposed to have, or amending the Bylaws, which requires membership approval, generally in the range of 50%.
3. By not submitting a nomination form and thus not being on the ballot, any Board member not on the ballot pretty much resigned. BUT, unless you get quorum at the annual meeting, which is probably at least 91 in your case, the current Board stays on, because they are there until replaced.
4. Is the one person on the ballot a Board member?
5. Do you have a management company?
6. The current Board may be doing an end around. BUT, if they really do resign, then business stops. The only items that can get paid are utilities and anything safety or security related.
7. The HOA, if no leadership exists, then it could fall into court-appointed receivership. While normally a bad thing, this may wake some people. But as you pointed out, there is only 50% owner occupancy.
8. Unless you know you're doing, you (association) is going to need some outside help

Best of luck

Am I the only one who "read between the lines" and did not find everything the OP stated about their board as being "out of control"? The board is NOT the police. So not knowing all of the details, the board or even individual does have the right to call the police to handle situations. Not having Real Estate signs? Many HOA's ban signs including real estate signs. That's not unusual to hear that. Out of control meetings? Seems that it is ALL involved attending meetings that makes them out of control. To blame just the board for having out of control meetings is a stretch if it's NOT just the board attending the meeting.

From reading what the OP stated, I can imagine no one would want to run as a board member. Sounds like who ever gets the position is dang if they do... and danged if they don't. Maybe it's time to lighten the load on the board and read your documents and educate.

Michael

As Richard said:

BUT, unless you get quorum at the annual meeting, which is probably at least 91 in your case, the current Board stays on, because they are there until replaced.

This might well be the present BOD's plan of action.

Some owners may be screaming now, but they should look at whatever your state's track record has been with judicially approved or tribunal approved administratorships (? receiverships ?) where owner self-governance has been replaced with something non-elected and still requiring bucks paid.

More than a dozen administratorships have been issued since our jurisdiction's condo law introduced a condo-specific remedy in 2001. Several of the most chaotic eventually came back to PLEAD - sometimes unsuccessfully - for judicial escape. It has been clear in some cases that self-governance would be pretty rocky; old habits die hard.

If having a governance organization is worthwhile, owners need a realistic reality check about the alternative downside of having to pay some non-elected contractor/state appointee to govern with accountability only to the appointing authority. Cheaper it is unlikely to be.

Contact other HOA's in your area who are knowledgeable and ask for recommendations as yo how to proceed. You may need to hire an outside management company and function with a small board ( three members who oversee their work) It will cost some money and you may need to raise the dues but the receivership option is less desirable. JMI

Or more like it is your realizing that you are paying a lot of money for someone to manage you, and you are getting nothing in return. If you weren't in California I would make a good guess as to your having the same company we recently fired!

Check your state laws as to what happens if you have no board, ours states we go into receivership. The answer is there somewhere and you can find it yourself I bet, or someone here can guide you to where it is for your state.

AND, most important right now is for you to make sure that a board member has complete access to your bank account, and they do not. When they are hiring out of state vendors, be wary.

Update: Well we have four people to step up as WRITE-IN candidates. We are using the independent newsletter and mail outs to tell everyone.

Trying to get information from our Management Company is getting really strange. They will provide a mailing list after 10 days. They are waiting for the HOA lawyer to answer questions about the election. They have stuck the Election under the control of some company with only a PWB address (rented mail box service) with no phone number. We asked to see the contract for this company. They said they would get back to us.

That is to say, do this once you are elected or appointed to the Board.

Also once on the board, start collecting the Association records from the MC and past board members. Things that are not under control of the Association may tend to get lost.

Who the Board members are? Absolutely.

To acquire control of the Association finances while not being on the Board? Absolutely not.