HOA closing letter

Started by StephanieL2 • 41 replies • 2762 views

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StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Sorry that if I'm not posting it in the correct place but I need help from you guys.

I purchased a townhouse last year(2014), and this year the HOA issued me a violation saying that the deck color is not correct. Meanwhile I have not done any change to the deck since I bought it so I have no idea where it is coming from. The seller paid money to HOA for a closing letter and my agent told me the house is okay. So I wouldn't think there was violation on the unit already. Otherwise I would ask the previous owner to do something about it. But it looks like the closing letter does not cover the part whether the previous owner has any violation or not. As a buyer, I think I have the right to be informed whether the house was currently in violation or not. Or at least some documents listing the unpaid fines or outstanding violations.

Do you have an idea where I should be looking for the the information about HOA responsibilities? And please advice how should I deal with my situation.

Thanks a lot!!!

GeorgeR8 (Arizona)
Posts: 182

Posted:

When one of our units goes to escrow I get an email from the company that handles our new buyer disclosures asking if there are any CC&R violations. I always assumed they shared that with the buyers or they wouldn't be asking me that. I always keep a copy. If you have a management company I would ask them.

SueW6 (Michigan)
Posts: 814

Posted:

You have an issue with your Realtor who failed to check out whether or not there were outstanding issues with your purchase.(liens, violations, etc.)

The Realtor should pay for the re-painting, IMHO.

Tell her/him you will file a complaint with the county realtor association if this isn't cleared up soon.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Thanks for reply! So is the management company to a buyer more like an realtor agent?

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Thanks for your reply! Since I only received this violation one year after I got the house, I wasn't sure if it even existed before. I would assume that once I moved it, this violation should show up if existed. But it took a year for them to issue this violation to me. I'll definitely talk to my agent though to see if she checked with the HOA regarding the violation.

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By StephanieL2 on 09/29/2015 12:44 PM
Thanks for your reply! Since I only received this violation one year after I got the house, I wasn't sure if it even existed before. I would assume that once I moved it, this violation should show up if existed. But it took a year for them to issue this violation to me. I'll definitely talk to my agent though to see if she checked with the HOA regarding the violation.

I don't believe this is a realtor issue. It's not the responsibility of the realtor to determine whether the owner is compliant with the governing docs.

You brought up a management company. In California, when escrow is opened up, a demand (including any violations outstanding), governing documents and disclosures are are ordered by the title escrow company. Not sure would handles escrows in Georgia. Someone should have contacted the association or its managing agent for information.

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

Like Richard, not exactly familiar with GA, but here the closing agent sends and "estoppel request", where at a minimum the ask if dues are current and how much is owed if not. Most of the time they ask a variety of questions about what's included in the dues, and if there are any outstanding violations, but sometimes they don't. I'm not sure how much of this (if any) is required by law. Most closings here are handled by the title insurance company, I'm not really sure how much responsibility they have to the buyer, or who they actually "work" for.

If the HOA had been asked about outstanding violations and certified that there weren't any, then you have a case that there is no legitimate violation. If they weren't asked, then the HOA could be correct in claiming a violation.

If the closing letter didn't ask about violations, I would think that was poor practice by the closing agent, but not sure if they have any legal responsibility to you. I don't think the seller's agent would have any responsibility to you, did you have a buyer's agent? You can ask these parties why they didn't check on existing violations, but unless one of them voluntarily ponies up to pay for painting, you would have to sue them, which would be an expensive crap shoot compared to the price of just painting the deck.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Thanks for the share the information in California! I agree that someone should have contacted the association for this kind of information but now I'm also trying to figure out who that was/should be.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Thanks for the insights!!

I did have a buyer agent which is the one told me the house is "clean"/"okay". The closing letter only stated the money due each month and how much due at the time closing, things like that. Nothing about if there is unpaid fine by previous owner or if there is any violation. Plus this is the first time buying a house for me so I wasn't paying too much attention to this problem and probably just assumed the HOA would have informed the buyer if there is any violations. But not exactly sure when, how and through who.

I just wrote an email to the closing office to ask if any "estoppel request" was went to the HOA. I'll update in here once I have more information.

PitA
Posts: 1,416

Posted:

if the cost of repainting a deck is such a large issue:

YOU CAN NOT AFFORD THE HOME

Tough, but accurate, love.

Anyhow, your cheapest avenue is to simply repaint.

Make SURE the HOA's BOD approves the paint color IN WRITING on CORPORATE LETTERHEAD.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Honestly the cost of re-staining the deck should be affordable even though I have no idea how much that would cost... But I don't think that should be the reason that I just do whatever the HOA tells me to without understanding what is going on. Plus I think my cheapest avenue should be $0 since I was not the one made the violation happened.

Though, still thanks for the tip of the HOA approval letter!

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By PitA on 09/29/2015 1:58 PM
if the cost of repainting a deck is such a large issue:

YOU CAN NOT AFFORD THE HOME

Tough, but accurate, love.

Anyhow, your cheapest avenue is to simply repaint.

Make SURE the HOA's BOD approves the paint color IN WRITING on CORPORATE LETTERHEAD.

You call that an answer?

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

--Re-posting this to try out the "QUOTE" function!

Honestly the cost of re-staining the deck should be affordable even though I have no idea how much that would cost... But I don't think that should be the reason that I just do whatever the HOA tells me to without understanding what is going on. Plus I think my cheapest avenue should be $0 since I was not the one made the violation happened.

Though, still thanks for the tip of the HOA approval letter!

FredS7 (Arizona)
Posts: 927

Posted:

> my agent told me the house is okay.

Your realtor is not an authoritative source of information. On ANYTHING that matters- verify yourself.

> since I was not the one made the violation happened.

If the closing letter said there were no violations and NOW you have a claimed violation you may have a valid complaint. Have you seen the closing letter? What did it say?

PitA
Posts: 1,416

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By RichardP13 on 09/29/2015 2:05 PM

You call that an answer?

Yes, I call it an answer.

Anyhow, your cheapest avenue is to simply repaint.

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Let's assume that there is a legitimate closing letter that didn't show any violations on the property. What changed between 2014 and 2015 IF, as the OP stated nothing was done to the deck.

When was the violation noted, was there a new management company who now observed the color difference? From experience, many times these violations never reach the BOD.

BUT, for an individual posting here to make a comment that "if the cost of repainting the deck is such a large issue, YOU CAN NOT AFFORD THE HOME" is completely IRRESPONSIBLE and owes someone an apology.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By StephanieL2 on 09/29/2015 1:44 PM
Thanks for the share the information in California! I agree that someone should have contacted the association for this kind of information but now I'm also trying to figure out who that was/should be.

You were the one buying the home, so it should have been you contacting the HAO before you closed. Unfortunately, sellers and realtors have a tendency to downplay HOAs or not mention them altogether because some have horrible reputations and they want to sell the house. If you've never lived in a HOA and don't know what they're about, you probably won't think to ask about violations or if your new home has any - until you get a nastygram from the HOA.

Even if you knew about this before buying the home, you'd still be responsible after the sale, even if the previous owner didn't get approval to change whatever on his/her house.

The buyer should have told you about this, but then again, most houses are sold as is, so you may be SOL. Even so, so you might want to ask your attorney if there's some sort of real estate disclosure law requiring the seller to tell potential buyers certain things - maybe that's an avenue to getting him or her to pay (if you can find the previous owner).

If you end up chalking this up to lesson learned, now would be a good time to ask the HOA if there are any other violations the previous homeowner didn't tell you about that you may need to fix. Good luck!

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Sheila

For argument sake, the OP contacted the MC and was informed prior to closing, there were no violations on the property. Then at the beginning of 2015 a new MC was retained by the association and they slapped a violation on them. I will tell you I and many others here would question it.

But in the real world, people hire agents to do that. Sellers are required, in many states to provide certain documentation when escrow is opened up. I didn't know who my MC was until I got a pre-lien letter in the mail, because escrow failed to give the MC our dues collected at closing.

In general, homes are NOT sold AS IS, unless short sale or foreclosure. Purchase contracts have contingencies placed in them.

The HOA has a duty and too many people are passing the buck the wrong way.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

Well, Indiana is a different breed, because we didn't have a requirement about informing buyers of HOAs, assessments and other information until THIS year (that legislation went into effect July 1).

Years ago, I worked in consumer protection years ago and came across similar problems. I don't remember anything about HOAs, but people would buy a house and find other problems (big ones) that apparently hadn't been checked or were seen before the house was sold, and my supervisors would tell me unless there was a major building code issue that made the house unfit for habitation, there wasn't much else that could be done.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By FredS7 on 09/29/2015 3:24 PM
> my agent told me the house is okay.

Your realtor is not an authoritative source of information. On ANYTHING that matters- verify yourself.

> since I was not the one made the violation happened.

If the closing letter said there were no violations and NOW you have a claimed violation you may have a valid complaint. Have you seen the closing letter? What did it say?

Next time I'm buying a house, I'll make sure to verify it myself. I'm learning a lot this time! Thanks for all of you have replied with helpful comments.

The closing letter, first page is information about seller and buyer, the property address, address that the payments should be mailed to, and the amount. It also says "Please refer to page 2 for complete escrow instructions and details".
On page 2, mostly is about "fees due to association", things like initiation fee, current balance, monthly fee. It's empty in "additional comments". Andd some information regarding the monthly fee, late fee, assessments are due on the 1st...

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SheliaH on 09/29/2015 4:39 PM

Thanks for the comment. I did admit that I trusted buyer agent too much as a first-time home buyer... And you are right that I didn't think about ask the violations at all since I've never lived in a HOA. And this violation only came after one whole year since I bought the house and moved in. This long time gap also confuses me. My thought is if there was any violations to previous owner, I should have received sooner than a year since I moved in.

I understand that I'd be responsible after the sale whatsoever. But if I knew it ahead, I would definitely ask the seller to make the change before. (I knew they really wanted to sell this house quickly and I don't think there was another offer on the table for them at the time).

I wrote to my closing attorney about the "estoppel request" (mentioned by DouglasK1), wasb wondering if that is something like the disclosure documents and I can see anything there. I can still find the previous owner, but I haven't contacted him regarding this issue yet.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By RichardP13 on 09/29/2015 4:52 PM
Sheila

For argument sake, the OP contacted the MC and was informed prior to closing, there were no violations on the property. Then at the beginning of 2015 a new MC was retained by the association and they slapped a violation on them. I will tell you I and many others here would question it.

But in the real world, people hire agents to do that. Sellers are required, in many states to provide certain documentation when escrow is opened up. I didn't know who my MC was until I got a pre-lien letter in the mail, because escrow failed to give the MC our dues collected at closing.

In general, homes are NOT sold AS IS, unless short sale or foreclosure. Purchase contracts have contingencies placed in them.

The HOA has a duty and too many people are passing the buck the wrong way.

Thanks Richard! Just for my understanding, what does MC stand for?

And I do agree with your last point. A lot of documents I can download from HOA online system, majority of them start with " The owner is responsible for blah blah", but nothing about HOA's responsibilities... If the monitoring the exterior appearance and issue violations is part of their duty, I still wonder why it took a year for them to notice me the violation that was not caused by me.

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Stephanie

MC stands for Management Company.

Unlike others here, I would question WHY it took a year or more for the violation to be issued.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By RichardP13 on 09/29/2015 9:08 PM
Stephanie

MC stands for Management Company.

Unlike others here, I would question WHY it took a year or more for the violation to be issued.

Thanks Richard! Yes, that time gap is going to be my next question to the MC.

One quick update, here I have email replies from the HOA Association Manager:

Me: Is there another letter/documents that HOA issued before the townhouse is re-saled that list something like unpaid fine or outstanding violation? I would think as a buyer, I should have been informed if there was any outstanding violations before I close the townhouse.

Association Manager: During your due diligence period this should have been addressed between you, the seller and your realtor. The seller is responsible to disclose any and all issue to the purchaser.

NpS (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 4,216

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By StephanieL2 on 09/30/2015 6:36 AM
Me: Is there another letter/documents that HOA issued before the townhouse is re-saled that list something like unpaid fine or outstanding violation? I would think as a buyer, I should have been informed if there was any outstanding violations before I close the townhouse.

Association Manager: During your due diligence period this should have been addressed between you, the seller and your realtor. The seller is responsible to disclose any and all issue to the purchaser.

You should now email back to the MC and request a copy of the violation notice that the HOA sent to the prior owner.

Sikubali jukumu. Read all posts at your own risk.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By NpS on 09/30/2015 7:15 AM

You should now email back to the MC and request a copy of the violation notice that the HOA sent to the prior owner.

Read my mind! And I just did reply the email back!
Thanks!

PitA
Posts: 1,416

Posted:

? Is the deck in compliance or not ?

? Cost of a can of paint ?

? It is a matter of principle ?

Sheez, simply repaint the deck and be done with the matter.

but

then the pot stirring would cease and peace would reign

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Hey guys,

I received an email from the HOA association manager today after I asked for the violation issued to the previous owner in my unit regarding the wrong deck color:

"I have done some further research on this issue. We have determined that the letters about staining were sent out in error. While the color is not in compliance, currently the HOA is responsible for the deck staining per the governing documents. That being said, at this time the HOA is giving until May 2016 for owners to have their decks stained to the approved color. During that time we will be taking a vote to amend the documents to turn this maintenance responsibility over to the owners. Until such time, if the HOA does in fact stain the decks the costs will have to be billed to the unit owner as a specific assessment as there are currently no funds for such work.

With all that being said, you do not need to take any action at this time."

It sounds like now they wanted to make it as a letter sent in "error" and wanted to wait until next year. But sounds like the cost of re-staining will eventually be billed to me either way. Will you advise what action I should take going forward? I know many of you that have replied my post is far more experience and knowledge than me and I appreciate that very much.

Thanks!

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

Pretty much anything the association does is paid for by the owners, whether it is through the regular dues or special assessments. In my association docs, special assessments need to be billed equally to all owners, there is no provision for special assessments to only a subset of owners. It isn't clear from the email you got whether only certain decks were going to be stained or all of them. In the latter case a special assessment to all owners could make sense although I would rather see an association include this in the regular annual budget and dues for the year. If the dues need to be raised then so be it.

This also raises a potentially bigger concern about association finances. Since there are typically big dollar items that can't be funded in the year they are done (roof replacement, for example), associations should have reserve funds that are built up over the course of years so that the money is ready when needed. To support this, most associations perform (and some jurisdictions require) period reserve studies to identify all components maintained by the association, their expected repair or replacement lifespans, and expected repair/replacement costs. Form there, calculations are made for how much needs to be contributed per year to have the money when the time comes. This helps eliminate the need for special assessments. If deck staining might require a special assessment, I'd be concerned what is going to happen when the roof (or other components that need to be replaced) wears out.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

EllieD (Vermont)
Posts: 446

Posted:

Stephanie,

You wrote that you purchased a townhouse. And you refer to your Association as a HOA (Home Owners Association).

And in a later post you wrote that “currently the HOA is responsible for the deck staining per the governing documents.”

Townhouses sometimes, can either be in a HOA or in a Condominium Association. Are you perhaps in a Condominium Association?

In any case, per your Governing Documents, how are the decks defined? I am just guessing, but is it possible that your deck is defined as Limited Common.

To clarify would you be willing to post the words from your Governing Documents re Decks?

Thank you.

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Stephanie

I wouldn't worry about getting exact verbiage from your CCRs. There is a better issue, and that is with your association finance and the actual management of your association.

It appears the Association and not the homeowner was "out of compliance" with the color choice. The manager is apparently incorrect in that the cost would be going to a specific unit, it is a cost SHARED among ALL owners. If a project were taking place there would be some record in the minutes of the meeting in which action was taken. Those may or may not exist.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DouglasK1 on 10/01/2015 11:55 AM
Pretty much anything the association does is paid for by the owners, whether it is through the regular dues or special assessments. In my association docs, special assessments need to be billed equally to all owners, there is no provision for special assessments to only a subset of owners. It isn't clear from the email you got whether only certain decks were going to be stained or all of them. In the latter case a special assessment to all owners could make sense although I would rather see an association include this in the regular annual budget and dues for the year. If the dues need to be raised then so be it.

This also raises a potentially bigger concern about association finances. Since there are typically big dollar items that can't be funded in the year they are done (roof replacement, for example), associations should have reserve funds that are built up over the course of years so that the money is ready when needed. To support this, most associations perform (and some jurisdictions require) period reserve studies to identify all components maintained by the association, their expected repair or replacement lifespans, and expected repair/replacement costs. Form there, calculations are made for how much needs to be contributed per year to have the money when the time comes. This helps eliminate the need for special assessments. If deck staining might require a special assessment, I'd be concerned what is going to happen when the roof (or other components that need to be replaced) wears out.

I'll make sure in my reply to the association manager will include the question whether the special assessment will be billed to all owners or she was just talking about me.

They've actually charged $600 for a roof maintenance due just around the closing date, so I asked the seller to pay that. But yeah, everything might just be a "special assessment" to HOA.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By EllieD on 10/01/2015 12:02 PM
Stephanie,

You wrote that you purchased a townhouse. And you refer to your Association as a HOA (Home Owners Association).

And in a later post you wrote that “currently the HOA is responsible for the deck staining per the governing documents.”

Townhouses sometimes, can either be in a HOA or in a Condominium Association. Are you perhaps in a Condominium Association?

In any case, per your Governing Documents, how are the decks defined? I am just guessing, but is it possible that your deck is defined as Limited Common.

To clarify would you be willing to post the words from your Governing Documents re Decks?

Thank you.

Yes, it is a townhouse but we do have a HOA, at least that's what called themselves.. So I would still think it's HOA. And I remembered my agent called before to clarify weather it's HOA or Condominium association since it's related to my loan at that time.

So this is the document the manager sent to me when I asked about the violation. I hope this is what "Governing document" you mentioned? Hope it helps.

RESOLUTION BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGARDING

REPAIR/REPLACEMENT OF DECKS FOR XXXXXXXXX COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION,

WHEREAS, Article 7 (7.1) of the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for XXXXXXXXX

(“Declaration”) as recorded August 7. 2003, at Deed Book 13813, page 1500, et seq., Cobb County, Georgia land records,

authorizes the Board of Directors of the XXXXXXXXX Community Association, Inc. (“Association”) to make and

promulgate rules and regulations;

WHEREAS, the Owner is responsible for maintaining all structural components of a deck, including, without limitation,

all maintenance, repair and replacement of deck materials and surfaces except that the Association shall be responsible for

application of stain and/or sealant on the decks;

WHEREAS, The Board of Directors has determined a need for a policy for the repair and/or rebuilding of decks;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Directors of XXXXXXXXX Community Association, Inc. hereby creates and

adopts the following policy for repairs and/or rebuilding of decks:

1. When repairing decks due to rotted/splintered wood, the same wood, the same size will be used to make the

2. Should an owner wish to replace their existing railing, the Board will authorize two styles of railing to be

INC.

installed. The two (2) styles that will be acceptable (with the submission of an ACC request) will be: (a)

existing style of pickets being attached to the deck; (b) the pickets being attached to a kick-board located not

more than 3” above the deck and which is connected between the existing posts, leaving an area for

water/debris to run off the deck and not encounter the pickets. All work must be submitted prior to the start

of the project.

application (an ACC application) must be submitted to the Board for review prior to the start of any work.

3. In the event of that a change, alteration or modification to an Owner’s deck be necessary a modification

4. Decks are to be stained with the approved stain: Sherwin Williams, Deckscapes Waterborne Semi-
Transparent Exterior – Cedar Bark.

If these policies are not followed, then the owner will receive one notice that they have not followed the published

procedure in accordance with Article 3, Section 3.21 of the By-Laws and a fine of $100 will be charged to the owner after

ten (10) days of notification;

RESOLVED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Directors of the XXXXXXXXX Community Association, Inc. and

entered in the Association records this ____ day of ______________, 2013.

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Stephanie

That is a nice document, but there are two minor issues that at first glance caught my eye.

1) I don't believe the Board can change the CCRs with a Board resolution, and
2) There are no dates or maybe you blacked them out.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By RichardP13 on 10/01/2015 1:04 PM
Stephanie

I wouldn't worry about getting exact verbiage from your CCRs. There is a better issue, and that is with your association finance and the actual management of your association.

It appears the Association and not the homeowner was "out of compliance" with the color choice. The manager is apparently incorrect in that the cost would be going to a specific unit, it is a cost SHARED among ALL owners. If a project were taking place there would be some record in the minutes of the meeting in which action was taken. Those may or may not exist.

I know this is a big improvement since I posted the issue here and contacted the manager. But I'm not sure if it is a better issue though. Sounds like they just wanted to wait until 2016 and put the violation back on me and say it's owner's responsibility now so you need to fix it.

Quote:

Posted By RichardP13 on 10/01/2015 3:19 PM
Stephanie

That is a nice document, but there are two minor issues that at first glance caught my eye.

1) I don't believe the Board can change the CCRs with a Board resolution, and
2) There are no dates or maybe you blacked them out.

Thanks for taking a look. I only replaced the community name with XXXXXXX, but nothing more beyond that. This is the PDF that manager sent me over the email and the dates are blank. Should I ask for a original signed copy?

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Stephanie

I would ask for a signed copy, maybe something that said it may have been recorded with the County and the minutes the resolutions was "supposedly" passed.

NpS (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 4,216

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By StephanieL2 on 10/01/2015 3:08 PM
RESOLUTION BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGARDING

REPAIR/REPLACEMENT OF DECKS FOR XXXXXXXXX COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION,

all maintenance, repair and replacement of deck materials and surfaces except that the Association shall be responsible for application of stain and/or sealant on the decks;

4. Decks are to be stained with the approved stain: Sherwin Williams, Deckscapes Waterborne Semi-
Transparent Exterior – Cedar Bark.

Your docs clearly state that the Association is responsible for staining decks. They also describe the product and color to be used. So if the color is wrong, then it is the Association that stained the decks the wrong color. It would seem to me that since the error was the Associations, the least expensive remedy should be adopted. I see two options:
1 Add your color to the allowable color specifications; or
2 Require the color change to take effect after X years - which is the reasonable life of the stain.

Sikubali jukumu. Read all posts at your own risk.

NpS (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 4,216

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By StephanieL2 on 10/01/2015 10:54 AM
"While the color is not in compliance, currently the HOA is responsible for the deck staining per the governing documents. That being said, at this time the HOA is giving until May 2016 for owners to have their decks stained to the approved color. During that time we will be taking a vote to amend the documents to turn this maintenance responsibility over to the owners. Until such time, if the HOA does in fact stain the decks the costs will have to be billed to the unit owner as a specific assessment as there are currently no funds for such work."

As I read your docs, amendment must be voted on by the membership. I would send an email asking for clarification on who the MC means when they say "we".

Sikubali jukumu. Read all posts at your own risk.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By NpS on 10/01/2015 6:32 PM

As I read your docs, amendment must be voted on by the membership. I would send an email asking for clarification on who the MC means when they say "we".

I agree. Who is we?

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

There is what I have from the association manager:

Q: When you say "we will be taking a vote to amend the documents to turn this maintenance responsibility over to the owners", who are "we"?
A: The HOA
Q: About the special assessment, is this going to be a deck re-staining project going on in the community and the cost will be shared by all owners equally?
A: If the owners do not vote in favor of the amendment and the deck staining remains the HOA responsibility, then it would be funded via a special assessment or an increase in fees. Not all decks need to be done at one time, so it would not be a community wide project.

I'm not sure if the first and second answer conflicts each other though. She first said HOA is the one voting for amend the documents, second talked about the owners voting...

Now the scenario I'm thinking the HOA is trying to do is that wait until, hypothetically, the amended documents to turn the responsibility over to owners, and then issue me the violation letter and ask me to re-stain the deck.

Any advice for how/what to communicate would be appreciate it!

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

I don't think amendments to the governing documents can be effective retroactively, although I might be wrong about that. In other words, X breaks and needs to be replaced. The CCRs say that the HOA is responsible for all the Xs in the community. The HOA board decides they want the homeowners to be responsible for the Xs and amend the CCRs to reflect that. I think any Xs that broke prior to the amendment should still be covered by the party responsible at the time it broke. They can't retroactively amend a contract to get out from under their responsibility.

StephanieL2 (Georgia)
Posts: 18

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By GenoS on 10/06/2015 11:37 AM
I don't think amendments to the governing documents can be effective retroactively, although I might be wrong about that. In other words, X breaks and needs to be replaced. The CCRs say that the HOA is responsible for all the Xs in the community. The HOA board decides they want the homeowners to be responsible for the Xs and amend the CCRs to reflect that. I think any Xs that broke prior to the amendment should still be covered by the party responsible at the time it broke. They can't retroactively amend a contract to get out from under their responsibility.

That's what I think it should be but not sure if this is something usually in the documents that I can refer to?

Also the manager said "I consider this deck issue closed for the time being (until the vote is completed)." This sounds like they would open it once the vote is completed...

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