Missouri HOA registrations and powers

Started by JoshuaB1 • 8 replies • 1670 views

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JoshuaB1 (Missouri)
Posts: 3

Posted:

My name is Josh and I am new here. Let me start by saying I don't necessarily have an issue with HOA's, but the one we supposedly live in(if it legally exists) leaves some to be desired.

A little background..... My wife and I bought our lot and built our house in Oct. of 2007 we were the first and only house until this spring. By the next spring the developer had more or less abandoned our subdivision. I was mowing each lot on either side of us and up along the road to exit the subdivision, just so that we didn't get in a wreck trying to leave or home due to lack of visibility. The only time it would get mowed was once a year or when the city would intervene. I never complained once, not to anyone about this, just kept it neat as I could and went on with life. To tell you how bad it was we even got deducted -2.5% on our home appraisal due to the view of the other lots. Now fast forward to the winter of 2014. They tried to sneakily have the square footage reduced to 1200 sqft for min. 200 less than we where required to do. fortunately even after the city administrator told them to contact us and they didn't he still called to give us a heads up. we where able to fight this and win. I am pleased to say that they have finally started to build a few homes.

We have closed on our house a total of 3 times. The last 2 no record was shown of an HOA. So about a month o\ago the guy that tried to reduce the square footage stops by and tells me I will be getting a letter from the city because my rv is in violation of the covenants and restrictions. I said nothing more than ok.(The city doesn't enforce covenants and restriction. Well I got a certified letter yesterday from Oak Grove Station 1, LLC (the developer). Stating that if the RV was not moved it would be towed. The letter was not signed by anyone. Just from the "Board of Trustees". I have been researching and neither the Oak Grove Home Owners Association or Oak Grove Staion 1, LLC are registered with the state. The way I read the laws is that both of these must be registered with the state to be recognized legally.

Also there are other homes that as new construction are already in violation of the covenants and restrictions, but they have chose to single this one item out.

So my question is how is it that an organization that doesn't legally exist in the states eyes have the authority to enforce anything. Is this worth a fight or not?

Thanks for any input,
Josh

PitA
Posts: 311

Posted:

you are caught between a rock and a hard place

no, it is neither fair nor 'legal'

however, it is a matter of civil / contract law

there WERE covenants in place when you bought

you ARE under 'developer control'

they CAN do 'whatever they please' until YOU get court orders

IMO: cut your losses, lose the aggravation, and move on down the road

? fair ? no

? regrettable ? no

remember: CAVEAT EMPTOR

JoshuaB1 (Missouri)
Posts: 3

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By PitA on 06/09/2015 7:16 AM
you are caught between a rock and a hard place

no, it is neither fair nor 'legal'

however, it is a matter of civil / contract law

there WERE covenants in place when you bought

you ARE under 'developer control'

they CAN do 'whatever they please' until YOU get court orders

IMO: cut your losses, lose the aggravation, and move on down the road

? fair ? no

? regrettable ? no

remember: CAVEAT EMPTOR

So I just read in another thread that HOA covenants and restrictions only apply to members the person legally documented on the contracts and not to non members. I own a business., So could I transfer this to my business and since they are not a member then it would be a loop hole?

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

If covenants exist, they are still live whether there is a corporation or not. The covenants are a contract between the owners and are governed by contract law. As such, any owner can take action to enforce the covenants, such as you did regarding the minimum square footage. If two closing agents missed the fact that your property has covenants, you might have some recourse against them.

Do you have a copy of the covenants? What do they say about RVs? Is your RV parked on your property or common area? If the former, do the covenants specifically give the HOA the right to tow vehicles from your property? If not, anyone entering your property to tow would be trespassing. Do they give the HOA any fining ability? If not, the HOA or other owners would have limited ability to enforce without suing you.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JoshuaB1 on 06/09/2015 7:29 AM

So I just read in another thread that HOA covenants and restrictions only apply to members the person legally documented on the contracts and not to non members. I own a business., So could I transfer this to my business and since they are not a member then it would be a loop hole?

Transferring the RV to your business would not make any difference, it really doesn't matter who owns the RV. If the property has a violation, it is up to the the property owner to resolve. The HOA or other owners could still sue you over a violation no matter who owns the RV.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

No. That would not be a loophole. The member is responsible for the actions of their family members, tenants and guests.

Additionally, if you transfer the RV to the business, you may open the door for another violation of running a business from your home.

Look, you used the covenants to fight a battle about the minimum size of homes to be built and won.

You need to comply with the same covenants that likely specify that you can't park your RV where it is parked.

JoshuaB1 (Missouri)
Posts: 3

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DouglasK1 on 06/09/2015 7:42 AM
If covenants exist, they are still live whether there is a corporation or not. The covenants are a contract between the owners and are governed by contract law. As such, any owner can take action to enforce the covenants, such as you did regarding the minimum square footage. If two closing agents missed the fact that your property has covenants, you might have some recourse against them.

Do you have a copy of the covenants? What do they say about RVs? Is your RV parked on your property or common area? If the former, do the covenants specifically give the HOA the right to tow vehicles from your property? If not, anyone entering your property to tow would be trespassing. Do they give the HOA any fining ability? If not, the HOA or other owners would have limited ability to enforce without suing you.

I have not ever gotten a copy of the complete covenants and restrictions. All I have gotten is A copy of the rv paragraph with the letter they sent. As far as the square footage. That is something that is through planning and zoning of the city that was submitted to them upon establishment of the subdivision not the covenants and restrictions.

It does say in the paragraph they can tow it at my expense. Currently I am having our title company check on the paperwork from when we originally bought the lot to see what it says.

PitA
Posts: 311

Posted:

The Cov and Res are on file at the county seat and are referenced in your deed.

You DID sign the deed at closing.

There is no wriggle room on this point.

You have been scr%^&ed.

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JoshuaB1 on 06/09/2015 7:53 AM
Currently I am having our title company check on the paperwork from when we originally bought the lot to see what it says.

Excellent first step. I suspect that your original developer went belly-up after selling just one lot - yours. I also suspect that when you purchased that there were no covenants. Then Developer Number Two bought all the remaining lots and filed a set of covenants for the entire subdivision.

The problem is that one cannot impose deed restrictions on land he does not own. Developer Number Two may have recorded covenants on all the lots he owns but he cannot lawfully compel you to accept those restrictions.

The bad news is you need to be ready to start writing checks to your lawyer. You will likely need to seek restraining orders and a declaratory judgment to prevent the new developer from mucking up your life any further.

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