HOA or Condo Association?

After living in my house for 16 years I fear my HOA is really a Condo Association. The developer filed the CCRs and had the 501C4 Non Profit approval from the State two weeks later. The Developer owns a Bank and Construction company. Unbeknownst to me until my recent discovery, he sold every section to either an individual or builder the same day he brought each new section into the CCR's. The individual or builders then got a loan from his bank to develop the property, hiring the developers construction company. The individuals and builders Bank documents are styled a Deed of Trust, Financing Statement with Assignment of Rents.
Those documents state there is a land grant and ground lease and is considered to be covenants running with the land.It discusses tenants and rents and the right to enter the property to make ready for new tenants. All improvements on the plat owners land are owned by them. It states the Fee Estate cannot be merged with the Leasehold Estate. Each time the builder sold a lot, or a particular homeowner resells their house, the new owner has financing styled as a Vendors Lien, Financing Statement and Assignment of Rents some include a Purchase Money Loan. I purchased my lot Fee Simple and built a house, but Title is based on the covenants and we were only given one sections CCR, never the original or additional covenants. My deed was a special warranty deed which is only as good as the developer says it is. The Board has never mentioned any of this in the years I have lived there. I FOIA the board and plat owners under both Texas Property Codes 209 and 92. There was no response.
The City says were are privately held and zoned R-1 single family, but I also found out the City didn't know about the development until 14 months after it started. The developer told the City to put the development/franchise agreement in the HOAs name. The developer left the board in 1998 when he "turned it over".
We have no reserves, $5,000 in savings, no assets on the balance sheet other than cash, no retention pond policy for our two unplatted lakes, no website and no signage identifying our neighborhood. The Board has tried to dissolve the Association in 2013, but before that they let the Corporate Charter Drop every few years and for over 4 years at the longest, but it always gets reinstated. They are still assessing and collecting in the HOAs name, with no mention of the word rent. Can you tell me what is going on here? Am I a renter? Did I make improvements on someone elses property?

Title policy states if you agreed to the covenants then... which I never got the full set of. I suspect I have a fee simple 99 year lease. Other neighborhoods CCRS around me that have the same developer talk about a owing a living unit. Lawyers, Real Estate Agents, Appraisers all have the same leasehold agreement and they claim they have no idea what I am talking about even when I have their own deed in my hand. They refuse to explain why their is a leasehold agreement running with the land.

A leasehold (and rent and tenants) have nothing to do with a condominium (which is a form of ownership). Do any of the documents say “condominium”?

The individual leasehold documents state the owner of the property is in default of the loan agreement if he tries to change the association to a Condo Association.

It does appear the properties were completely sold off and the developer was in name only until the City intervened.

From an article on legal zoom:

"A deed of trust is a type of trust instrument that transfers interest in real property. In Texas, a deed of trust is most commonly used to secure a loan for the purchase of a home or other real property until that loan is repaid and the trust is voided, similar to how mortgages are used in other states."

Perhaps this just a mortgage agreement for the builders of those lots, and paid back and voided a long time ago.

Sue ... I had a developer who owned some lots under his development company and some under his personal name. Potentially transferring lots back and forth could be what your developer was doing. Have you asked your Title Insurance Company some of these questions? Also, you might go over to your County Records and have someone there explain the various documents and if they are attached to your property. These are options because with snippets from documents, not knowing various documents and their filing dates vs your date of purchase, etc. it is nearly impossible for us to know valid answers to your questions.

Our Covenants state the HOA automatically has a lien on each home to assure the owner is committed to pay their assessments. It is titled Creation of the Lien and Personal Obligation for Assessment. It basically says: that by acceptance of the title...yada...yada..there will be a continuing lien on the property...yada..yada

It is very typical/standard wording and if one meets their obligations (assessments and fines) it means nothing. If one does not meet their obligations then you have already agree to a lien.

I agreed to pay assessment to an HOA, but it is not a HOA if each section was sold off to individuals under Texas chapters 9 and 51. Its a commercial business. I just read some true owners deeds that are 11 pages long.

If that is the case, why is the board, the lawyers, real estate agents and appraisers hiding it? They should be bragging they fooled everyone.

I suspect you are looking at filed documents for the Developer's business which the properties were at that time part of his "commercial" business and may reference the HOA by name as the non-profit corporation for certain property. That is why I suggested you speak with your County Records or your Title Insurance Company. Unless we can go to your County Records and look at the documents filed, trace dates filed, etc. then how do you expect us to answer your question? Another option might be to discuss with your Mortgage Lender if the property is financed. Your Mortgage Lender should know whether you are on leased or purchased land.

You can do a business search here to see if your association is a non-profit corp:

https://mycpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/

Buyers are usually represented by attorneys, who are supposed to make sure things are normal. You might consult with one of the recent buyers' attorneys.

profit or nonprofit? Can you click on additional info to get the Articles of Incorporation, officers, registered agent or other info?

Sue

What are your issues(s)?

Time to stop shopping for answers on the Internet. You need to lawyer up.

I took the phone book to the court house to look up their deeds after a few gave me off the wall comments. Can't find one that doesn't have a leasehold agreement where he lives.