Call to Action for Legislation Change

Below are links to a few groups that are involved in legislative changes in California depending on which side of the issue you may be.

http://www.caiclac.com/

http://www.calassoc-hoa.com/

https://www.calhomelaw.org/

http://www.echo-ca.org/

I've heard that Echo is the s strongest homeowner advocate, but confess I know little about these groups. Richard knows a lot. Otherwise, we have few posters from CA who're likely to know about these groups, but we do have 2-3 or could use help from them, it seems.

If you stick a round this site, IM1, you'll see that compared with many other states, CA is very homeowner-friendly. Several, for instance (PA, NY, SC are a few), don't require that board meetings be open to Owner attendance. The thing is that some Boards ignore the legislation that protects CA Owners and, sometimes, their PMs go along with those Boards.

In regards to legislation, I will speak only for California, as it is where I live and practice.

As with most heavily regulated states, California has many laws or statues that affect homeowner associations, but what is missing is any enforcement mechanism. An association, right or wrong, can go after a homeowner legally using the very money that homeowners pay as dues. What recourse does the homeowner have to fight some action that may have been started unjustly? They would have to use their own money and resources to possibly fight a false charge.

How to fix this issue. Legislators know that any statues they have created and passed really work to the benefit of the Association. Small Claims courts, IMHO, is a joke. I had one court with two commissioners having complete opposite views and in two associations I represented, bounced between the two. One loved HOA's the other "hated" them. It was a no win situation.

Possible solution. As of 2014 there are 50,223 HOA's in California with 14.3 million residents. For argument's sake, there are 100 doors per Association. Each unit pays .25 per month to the enforcement arm that the legislators choose. That amounts to over $15M annually. Right now the AG of California will enforce a handful of complaints, good luck with that one. Maybe, just maybe, an association and their attorneys will think twice before they file suit against one of their neighbors knowing their is someone with the money and resource to fight back.

Discussed often on the Forum is Owners unifying and recalling stupid or arrogant or secretive or abusive boards of directors. We "good guys" gained majority on our 7-member HOA Board in one year without any expense or recall via the normal annual election process.

I think one reason we prevailed was that the small rout of us who launched the action were young retirees without work or family commitments. Many HOAs have Owners who don't have the time to find fellow travelers, meet, plan tactics and strategies, etc.

Joint action is a lot of work though and requires self-education in your own governing documents and state civil codes (the Davis-Stirling legislation in CA). Campaigns must be very disciplined, honest and forceful.

What I'm saying is that the courts are slow, expensive and risky. Waiting for some sort of legislation appointment of enforcers of the law may take years.

If they check in you'll see success stories by Tim, VA; JohnC, SC: Jon, NY. Sheila is a major voice in promoting change from within.

to educate yourself, and again this works best if you don't have a full-time work commitment, get on the email lists of local Mgmt. Companies, HOA attorneys firm. These often have nice all-day seminars, or evening ones, with good speakers and Q & A sessions. You also can meet inertesting Owners other HOAs from whom you can learn a lot. Some of these are free. If you join CAI; it'll cost you to attend, but is well wroth it.

Due to neglect with maintenance issues for my building (landscaping, gutters, etc) and because there is an apparent rouge board president and rouge property manager who are both not comfortable with me...I deployed many strategies, some failed, some worked.

After a very brief board experience and out of pain and desperation, I joined CAI and Echo, attended seminars and completed a Board Leadership course. (I plan to join the other organization rec by Richard).

I believe that some legislation, community awareness and involvement, and HOA education will make a difference.

Thank goodness for social media.

Interesting, Richard.

Thanks for the kind words Kerry!

Not only do I advocate change from within, I am a HUGE proponent of education. Too many HOA boards (and homeowners from where you get HOA boards!) make up stuff as they go along. Why not invest a few hours in learning how to run a HOA, adopting best practices from similar HOAs, etc? There's lots of good and godawful stuff on the web, but with a little effort, you can learn about budgeting, audits, rules enforcement, reserves and so on. You also need a great property manager - not to dictate (they work for the HOA, remember), but to suggest, do some research, and provide options.

In addition to the business of running a HOA, boards and homeowners can also benefit from a few lessons on conflict resolution and how to deal with difficult people (yes, there are books on that too!) You can't go in with an "anything goes" or "this is what the law says and I don't care about anything else" attitude. Just because you can do something doesn't always mean you should. Being flexible won't kill you and it's a good thing to think outside the box once in a while. You can start by simply taking a deep breath, step back and try to see the problem from the other person's viewpoint.

Above all, this business about "I don't have to do anything, the HOA will do everything at a super, super cheap cost" has to stop. I've said over and other, home ownership is not a spectator sport. I don't care if it's a townhouse, high rise condo or single family detached home - it takes work to make your home and community what you want it to be, and to make a community, you have to be willing to work with others. If you can't or refuse to do that, maybe you're better off in the woods (and we're running out of them!) or just rent. Then you can either do whatever in the middle of nowhere and live with the consequences - or have the freedom to move in a rented whatever with all your dirty, pay whatever the landlord wants and then move on for whatever reason when the lease is up.

More government involvement in my view is not the answer. Does anyone think California and Florida HOA residents benefit from the laws put into place by their politicians? My view it simply complicates and adds burden to the entire system. And it makes lawyers money.

Politicians don't have the knowledge or understanding to create guidelines for effective HOA operation. Or most anything. To depend that your local elected officials will get you want is wishful thinking at best and years or even decades away from ever taking place.

Reading surveys made of HOA residents, a very high percentage report being satisfied with HOA living. One report I read stated 8% reported being dissatisfied. So I wonder on what basis people suggest there is some huge crisis in HOA living. If true more people would be screaming for action not the less than 10% that would seem to be unhappy.

The power lies with the owners. You get what you allow. And if you and your fellow owners want to live a life disconnected from any role in the management of your home and or investment expect sometimes this won't work out well for you.

The root cause in many cases for mismanagement and abuse in HOAs are lazy and ignorant owners. Do nothing you have little room to complain.

I do not know enough about Legislation. Maybe there could be a different word than that. The benefit I derived was from the change in CA law (Davis-Stirling) that allows a homeowner to bring either an attorney or another person at their own cost to an IDR (Internal Dispute Resolution).

If it were not for the my research about the latest laws, the property manager would have convinced me that only titleholders were allowed at the IDR and I would have been left alone, defenseless with the HOA attorney and board president. Instead, I brought someone who witnessed feedback that was unnecessary and saw how there was no interest in resolution. It was the validation I needed to have someone else see me being mistreated.

Yes, politicians are not on ground zero and most likely do not understand the dynamics and operations of HOA governance. As I reflect on my current maintenance issue, there is another law forthcoming that seems to be in my favor. Exclusive use common area maintenance and repairs would be clearly defined for all HOAs. Hopefully, less ambiguity, less legal conflicts.

I agree with you about "power lies with the owners". To me, this is where the front line is, to look more closely at fear, ignorance, and denial. The components, I believe of homeowner apathy. I am new here and I have yet to see this subject discussed. I would find it interesting as my HOA, like probably many of you here, is suffering from it, too.

Looking within the HOA, exploring solutions and giving/receiving support, while keeping an eye out on what is happening regarding HOA legislations, is the reason I am here. I wish I found this site and saved over a year of being in the trenches. It was hard to step up, after being a board director with experiences that shook me. Sometimes, a call to action is also about personal change.

I really like your question. Unfortunately, it has cost me more than I wanted. The issues involving my maintenance concerns are only the tip of the iceberg. While taking care of my home, in the process I am gathering intel for other plans. Plans to help open homeowner's eyes, however, part of that is completing the groundwork.

Your question for me is like opening a Pandora's box. I never devised so many strategic tactics. If I started to write about my HOA experiences, it is challenging to stop.

Battle plans are composed of multiple strategies executed before considering possible legal action. I would not prefer to affect my neighbors with a lawsuit.

You gave me an idea for my next topic. Thank you!

Yes. If you do not mind, please tell me, why did you ask?

I too live in a California HOA. We have not had an election in three years. This president is power hungry and we have had an appointed board and it changes almost every month. I recently sent a request to the ACC to have a tree removed that is damaging my walkway and roof, soon to be in my sewer line. The thirty days they have to respond to me is up and I can't get an answer from the management company, who basically runs this community because our board members don't know how to do the job they volunteered for. They have never gone to the classes, nor do they research on their own. They wield their power over these senior citizens and intimidate them to the point of them not feeling safe to leave their homes, me being one of them. At this point I'm sure they will being sending me a notice of violation for not cleaning up the leaves and berries this huge tree drops constantly. I don't know where to turn. There are a lot of people in this community working on getting a majority of decent people on this board so we don't have to be at the mercy of this board, who have wasted our money for three years at least. Hoping we can accomplish this, but this board loves the power so much not sure we will prevail. It's a shame that elderly people have to deal with this kind of abuse. We don't have a lot of years to enjoy our lives and when one lives in constant fear it's truly unconscionable. Thanks for what you're doing.

Hi JoyceN1,

I hear how upset you are. I am familiar with being ignored and feeling helpless. I am glad that you reached out.

For every response of my postings, I have seen "value" in it.

I am hoping more experienced people can also come to your aid.

And I believe your concerns deserve more attention. May I also offer a suggestion to have them expressed on a new thread? I hope you find what you need. I will check back when I can.

Take Care

IM1,

I was on this board at one time and did my homework. The president didn't like that I was going against her, when she wanted to dismantle our beautiful community garden, and enlisted another board member to attack me and force me off the board. Since then I have become a target and am not given the same consideration as other members. We are trying to replace this board and hoping we will actually have an election for the first time in three years. This board practices selective enforcement and harasses members who go against them. Thank you

Jayce

Go out late one night and pour several containers of charcoal lighter fluid around the base of the tree. The tree will die a sudden death Deny, deny, deny, when confronted.

Did I really suggest this..............