Voluntary HOA owes money to 1 person running it

First, you need to determine if this HOA is voluntary or not – did you look at all those documents you got when you bought your home (most people don’t). Look for something listing Bylaws and Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CCRs). While you’re at it, you may want to check with your state secretary of state to see if the HOA was ever incorporated as a non-profit corporation, as well as your county recorder’s office to see if the Bylaws were ever recorded. If the lady’s been collecting dues, there should have been some sort of budget – did you ever receive a copy? Has the HOA done anything else besides landscaping? Are there common areas?

If this HOA is voluntary, it seems to me this lady should have made more of an effort to increase participation or sent a letter to everyone stating she was going to stop as of X date and that would be that. If it is mandatory, it sounds like no one wanted to do anything and now they’re bellowing because this lady took the initiative and wants to be reimbursed.

When you call your meeting, you’ll need to check if everyone received Bylaws and CCRs when they brought their homes (they’ll probably need to dig through their records too). You may want to suggest everyone read them and then meet a month or two from now to see if everyone understands the basics – if these records exist, there probably are checks and balances already written. From there, some of you (that includes you) will need to volunteer to serve as a board of directors so they can begin to set budgets, determine if they want to be self-managed or hire a property manager, etc.

Some of your neighbors may have been in the community long enough to remember if there ever was an active Board, with meetings, meeting minutes, etc. – if they have any documents to that effect, they need to make them available so you can restart the HOA. If no one wants to be bothered, you’ll need to figure out what to do about the common area, if there is any, because if someone gets hurt on it, all of you will be vulnerable to getting sued if there is no formal HOA to manage it.

Actually, you guys will need a lot of help – start by going to the Community Association Institute (CAI) website and consider buying some of their education materials on running a HOA. There may be a local chapter in your area and you can contact some of those folks to help you. Good luck!

If the HOA is voluntary, then the assessments or dues are voluntary.

1. There needs to be total transparency in accounting - income and expenditures.
2. If indeed the lady running the voluntary association used her own funds to make up a deficit then that too was voluntary and there is no requirement that she be able to recoup those funds from future voluntary contributions - unless the folks who are voluntarily paying into the fund agree. You simply cannot run a fund set up for the purpose of maintaining common property - then dip into it to reimburse yourself.
3. In a voluntary organization you will have those who do not contribute not do they participate, which leaves things to the few who are willing to get involved.
4. Is there a better way to do things? Is it possible that during your meeting a suggestion could be made that volunteers maintain the entrances themselves. That would eliminate and problems regarding voluntary contributions and accounting for the $$ received. It would just be voluntary labor.

Nigel, your comment is spot on. The lady is not going to be super happy about this I think, let's what the residents say at the meeting. You put it so well together, I actually have a point now when arguing this.

Hey Mark, when the lady saw "financial transparency" on the agenda I created, she got a bit defensive and mailed me copies of checks she wrote out (she even involved her mother in paying!), summing it up it's $4000 for the past two years, I have no idea on how much money in dues came in during those times, but I can't imagine how we can get everyone to voluntarily pay that money back, since residents don't want to contribute as is. Even if a few folks chipped in, then there will be no funds to take care of current needs of mowing this summer.
The terrain is rocky in some areas, I proposed volunteer based approach already, but not everyone's lawn mower can handle rocks.

Cam

Can those not paying dues attend meetings and voice an opinion?

Camila ... How many volunteer owners do you have? Is their a potential chance of soliciting more? How much would it cost the HOA per owner to reimburse another for past expenses?

Even though the owner did in past (which should not have) paid out of their pocket for HOA items. If possible per their provided open honest receipts, I personally would try to insure they were reimbursed, if possible. I like open honesty and in some ways consider it Karma.

127 x $100 = $12,700 / 4 (25% participation) = $3,175. Which is not a lot for that many homes. Big KUDDO's to your husband for volunteering to mow one of the entrances. When you are a volunteer association the fact some will volunteer to do upkeep is important to keep costs down. My question is what encompasses the common area(s) the HOA is to maintain? Is it just X number of entrances? Or, do you have other areas also to be maintained? If so, how large are those areas?