Responsibilities to individual Homeowners

We have a situation where a maintenance crew had to be sent to a property because of failure of the homeowner to maintain. The maintenance was performed but the homeowner is now threatening legal action because the cost to the Association, and therefore passed thru to the homeowner, was extraordinarily high.
What are the responsibilities of the Board regarding fair and usual costs for anything done on a property? This board did not bid the job out and just picked one vendor. The Board didn't even monitor the mount of hours spent to complete the job. Thank you.

Here's my deal with the HOA doing the work necessary to fix or put into compliance. The cost isn't up to the owner. They had their chance to correct it under their own power. It's the HOA's priority whom they hire and what cost. I always say that when you send out that threatening letter to fix to the owner or face lien for the HOA doing it, it's at the HOA's cost. It doesn't have to pick the least expensive if they can afford it.

The owner can threaten a lawsuit all they want. Good for them. Suing your HOA is suing your neighbors and yourself. Your HOA suffered damages which it has a right to collect. The court is on the HOA's side on this one. Your HOA simply counter-sues for it's expenses on this matter if they do sue.

Unfortunately, this owner is fighting a losing battle on this one. Let them and don't feel threatened. They are trying to enforce control they don't have. Don't let them control you. Your HOA can charge whatever it takes to get a job done and collect it. Plus lien for the expense when not paid.

Like NpS, I'm curious too, Andy, about the the cost of the job. Meantime, agree with Larry: assuming the violator was notified and was warned that rmeidal action would be take if he didn't comply, th works sounds legit to me (I basically agree with Melissa too, but she wandered off topic...)

The job cost three thousand dollars. If it was bid out I am sure it would have cost one-third the amount. The amount of hours claimed for the job are extraordinary; calculating the time he was seen at the site does not equal the hours charged on the invoice. This contractor is not a usual contractor for this type of maintenance; another long-standing group is the usual. The vendor was told to bill the Association so that they could in turn bill the homeowner, probably to streamline any legal action by the Association. The Association could easily put a lien on the property if not paid. The property owner is elderly and probably not able to pay without hardship. The HOA is run by volunteers who place their name in contention for the position open/vacated and then is elected at the annual meeting. Thank you.

In all fairness the cost of the job was more than triple what it should have been. Not only is the homeowner going to suffer but I am afraid that we are sending the wrong message as a Board and we will lose credibility. I also will have a hard time voting with the other board members because I feel that we have an ethical obligation to do what is right. I don't know how that other board members feel about what has transpired. I'm almost afraid to be disappointed by their lack of compassion so I'm not asking. That's why I turned to this forum for some help. Thank you

Andy,

Thanks for the the clarifications.

I'm not sure where you fit in with this issue. Are you on the Board or related to the homeowner?

Yes, I agree that the Board had a duty to bid the work out.
I suspect many contractors would refuse the work because they didn't have the owners permission to enter the property (i.e. trespassing).

Since the work is now done, it's up to the homeowner to contest the charges as unreasonable.
This would likely take a court battle.

It's a shame that the Board didn't try to find out what the underlying issue was.
It's a shame that the homeowner didn't try to work with the board when the first notices went out.
It's a shame that neighbors, friends or family didn't offer to do the cosmetic work

The whole thing could have been avoided.

Unfortunately, the ball is now in the homeowners court.

Tim may have uncovered the reason why cost was so high.

IMO, worth investigating further.

I would want to know if HOA has taken similar action against other homeowners. Is there any reason why they might have singled out this one? Are there other houses with similar deficiencies that weren't corrected?

Thank you very much for your comments. I am a fairly new member of the Board; about 18 mos. They were down to only 2 members & they were becoming exhausted so asked for volunteers so a few of us stepped up. I just didn't think a prerequisite was being brutal or having a desire to punish.

"It's the HOA's priority (sic) whom they hire and what cost."

Are you kidding me? The HOA has a fiduciary duty act in the best interest of the homeowner(s), NOT the HOA's! If this HOA did not get bids and choose the lower bid, that is on them and it is a breach of their fiduciary duties.

Clearly you prefer the cutthroat approach of threatening homeowners into action than working with them to resolve an issue.


No, it is not suing the neighbors and/or oneself. You need to stop beating that broken drum.


Was there a lawsuit? Are a fortune teller now that you know for an absolute fact that the "court is on the HOA's side on this one"?


HOA's are NOT untouchable, and they are NOT always in the correct position. There are a number of lawsuits that HOAs have lost across the country.

And HOAs simply CANNOT charge "whatever it takes to get a job done and collect it." There are standards of reasonableness, performance of contract, and strict fiduciary duties that board members MUST follow under the governing documents and a states statutory law of planned communities.

You really need to learn more about what an HOA is, what its function is, and how it is governed as well as the fiduciary responsibilities of the board members that must be met, otherwise they can be and will be held liable for their illicit actions.

“Extraordinary high” to you may be a different story to someone else. Same thing with “fair and usual costs”. That being said, most boards do bid out certain work if it’ll exceed a certain amount and insist on an itemized invoice/contract so they’ll know exactly where the money went.

As for legal action, you’ll probably have to wait to be served and go on from there. Otherwise, you might want to look into alternative dispute resolution – it can be cheaper than court and generally both sides agree in advance to comply with the mediator’s decision.

However this issues is resolved (you may end up filing a lien on the property), it would be helpful for your board to develop a policy on this issue and ask homeowners for their input – under what circumstances will the board step in on repair issues and when will legal action be taken? What is expected of the homeowner and what would their appeal rights be?

There could be some history with this homeowner, so I hope you’ve talked to previous board members and reviewed the minutes to see what it is. You didn’t answer all of Tim’s questions and they can turn this issue on its head so once again: what WAS the maintenance issue? How many notices were sent to the owner? Did the owner ever approach the board and explain why the maintenance wasn’t being done? Were the repairs necessary because a health/safety issue arose and it threatened nearby homeowners? That might explain why there was no time to get a bid and the final cost. If there was a health/safety issue, did anyone consider referring the matter to the local health department to see if they could step in?

As others have said, I do see areas where the Board could have handled this differently, but I agree with Melissa that the homeowner could have prevented all by simply maintaining the property. If there was an issue with time, cost, etc., he/she should have gone to the board where a solution could have worked been worked out. Maybe he could have done the work in increments making it easier to pay. Or someone could have checked if there are non-profit organizations that provide repair services to senior citizens for free or at a reduced rate based on income.

Which is why I also agree with Larry – it can be tough for people to admit homeownership has become too much for them and they need to look into alternatives. However if you fail to face reality in all its dirty, you may be putting yourself at bigger risk to lose much more.