RQ (Mississippi)
Posts: 6
Posts: 6
Posted:
Good afternoon,
I have stumbled upon an issue that I have not dealt with before. Recently the members of our HOA voted to remove a clause in the bylaws that allowed owners whose deeds had been filed prior to a certain date to own multiple lots while only paying one (one!) HOA fee. Everyone else after that date had to pay one fee per month per lot. This benefitted 15 residents out of a 120 homes in an HOA that has about 450 lots with around 270 individual lot owners. (Some people only own lot(s) with no home on the lot but have access to the land for hunting and fishing purposes).
This change in our bylaws prompted some of the "group of 15" to deed their lots to other people so that they were not responsible for the same amount of HOA fees that everyone else pays. I understand that it's a financial burden to only have one fee per month for 6 lots then balloon up to 6 fees per month. I get it.
One of our elderly homeowners is attempting to sign over a lot to her granddaughter so she can take over that lot's monthly HOA fee and reduce the burden on the grandmother. During that process the granddaughter and her lawyer discovered that the deed to the property was a Life Estate Deed where the homeowner had deeded the property to her sons (the remaindermen) but that she may live on it until her death.
I reviewed our bylaws and CC&Rs and the only verbiage I can find says that the each property owner on the deed is responsible for HOA fees separately. For example, if two friends go halfsies on one lot they both pay an HOA fee each since they are not married.
Does this mean the HOA has been should have been collecting HOA fees from all persons on the deed like we treat all other properties? I'm definitely not trying to make this into a money grab but after years of the "good ol boy" system and shady HOA fee arrangements between board members and residents, our HOA has elected new board members and we are trying to make the rules apply evenly across the board and be fair to everyone.
Has anyone here dealt with a Life Estate Deed, and how were the HOA fees/dues set up?
Thank you,
RQ
I have stumbled upon an issue that I have not dealt with before. Recently the members of our HOA voted to remove a clause in the bylaws that allowed owners whose deeds had been filed prior to a certain date to own multiple lots while only paying one (one!) HOA fee. Everyone else after that date had to pay one fee per month per lot. This benefitted 15 residents out of a 120 homes in an HOA that has about 450 lots with around 270 individual lot owners. (Some people only own lot(s) with no home on the lot but have access to the land for hunting and fishing purposes).
This change in our bylaws prompted some of the "group of 15" to deed their lots to other people so that they were not responsible for the same amount of HOA fees that everyone else pays. I understand that it's a financial burden to only have one fee per month for 6 lots then balloon up to 6 fees per month. I get it.
One of our elderly homeowners is attempting to sign over a lot to her granddaughter so she can take over that lot's monthly HOA fee and reduce the burden on the grandmother. During that process the granddaughter and her lawyer discovered that the deed to the property was a Life Estate Deed where the homeowner had deeded the property to her sons (the remaindermen) but that she may live on it until her death.
I reviewed our bylaws and CC&Rs and the only verbiage I can find says that the each property owner on the deed is responsible for HOA fees separately. For example, if two friends go halfsies on one lot they both pay an HOA fee each since they are not married.
Does this mean the HOA has been should have been collecting HOA fees from all persons on the deed like we treat all other properties? I'm definitely not trying to make this into a money grab but after years of the "good ol boy" system and shady HOA fee arrangements between board members and residents, our HOA has elected new board members and we are trying to make the rules apply evenly across the board and be fair to everyone.
Has anyone here dealt with a Life Estate Deed, and how were the HOA fees/dues set up?
Thank you,
RQ