Hey Mary! I am from Alabama too! Unfornately, HOA's aren't as popular in our state as others. That means our state laws on HOA's are rather non-existant or limited. Hopefully, as more HOA's form, there will be stronger legislation written.
If your HOA is still under the builder's control, there isn't much you can do about it at this point. That's because your not technically a "HOA". HOA stands for Homeowner's Association. It's where the homeowners of the area agree to create and maintain rules, regulations, and fund their area amongst themselves in association with eachother. When the builder has it, it's not quite in the owner's hands. Thus it's really a builder controlled HOA.
Don't worry, your builder/Developer will definetely want out of the HOA business ASAP. They will want to turn over the HOA as soon as their contract allows them to. That's because HOA's are really "Sales tools" for a builder/Developer. It's an "attraction" for buyers to think that they will be able to have amenities such as pool, tennis courts, lawncare, or other such items at low costs. It's much cheaper to have a group owned pool than an individual one in your backyard. A HOA let's you split the costs of big items amongst everyone. Not a bad deal in the end.
It's costing your builder/developer money to run the HOA right now. They have to pay a Management company to handle their costs. They are responsible for putting in the amenities. Pools are well over $10k for inground. So the Builder/developer does have high costs to cover. Their profits are really tied up in the profit they make selling off their lots. After the lots are sold off and houses built, there's no more money for them to make. That's when they decide to turn it over to the homeowner's to control. The HOA can decide to manage the HOA themselves or to hire a Management company. It's not necessarily required to have a MC.
Your not being invited to their meetings at this point are typical. That'se because the builder is still in control. The builder will eventually assign a board from the homeowner's right before the transition period. I would recommend strongly that you butter the builder up to get one of those spots. It may be at those meetings with the builder's assigned board members that the meetings may become "open". After the first year, the homeowners will be able to vote from within their own pool of owners. Sometime during this period, things should start to open up and information flow more freely.
By the time the builder turns over the HOA officially, the books should be open for review. It just sounds like you will have to wait until the transition period happens. Then things will be better. Go Tide!!!
