Illegal Board Collecting Dues

Your issue is APATHY. Quite frankly you have too much of it. Reality check. Your asking people who VOLUNTEER to provide you information or do the work you think they should do. Guess what? Not happening because no one is perfect. No one knows exactly what they are doing. With little or no support, you get what you have now.

So my suggestion is start with yourself to stop the apathy. It starts with you. If your apathetic or you refuse to pay dues, then it ALL falls apart. Paying your dues is paying your fair share. NOT paying them out of "Protest" till such and such gets done is just selfish and hurts EVERYONE. Why not get out of the mindset your in, and get into the one that is helpful and positive? Like "Hey I am willing to help organize a meeting". That may be a start...

I'm not following how the MC was 'illegally' hired or how they are 'illegally' collecting dues. Also, have you asked for the information you say has not been distributed? I get they are supposed to provide it, but I am just asking have you taken any steps to address anything with her?

To: Jennifer & Melissa:

The decision to hire the MC should have been made by a vote, or quorum, according to the bylaws, and at the very least, by the minimum required number of board members -- which has been (legally & properly) the case with every previous significant expenditure that the homeowners pay for ... also the board should have been suspended if it could not be maintained in compliance with the bylaws -- specifying the minimum number of board members, and specifying that there needs to be 2 signatories on the bank account at all times, and of course specifying the required percentages for a vote or quorum.... so, again, ONE individual did not have the authority to make and execute such a decision on her own....

Side note: I think the reason the bylaws were written this way is because we are a small HOA which requires very little by way of expenditures or recordkeeping or maintenance --- since we have a tiny "common area", and the homeowners are required to maintain their own properties. That said, we could function under a suspension, if need be, with negligible impact until proper compliance is met....and we certainly don't have anywhere near the amount of monthly payables and receivables to justify bringing on a property management company.... yes, I know because my last role on the board was that of treasurer - requiring less than 2 hours of my time every week (& sometimes every other week).

And to answer your question: of course I have requested fiduciary and general decision/activity updates periodically - not only from the solitary board member, but from the MC representative as well.

However, despite my best efforts, it seems that the only person at fault here, based on the responses so far, is me ... so I will continue to seek additional info, solutions & support as it becomes available.

Lastly, I do get the (perhaps misguided) spirit of the viewpoints presented, as I am generally the person who reaches out when no one else will, and often "takes the hit for the team".... so in this instance, continuing to "shoot the messenger" is hurtful, disheartening, and non-productive - when all I wanted was a bit of support & perhaps some fresh, helpful insights (within the confines of the law) .... but I thank you nonetheless.

You may be asking too much. My HOA we had such apathy, you know how you were elected? If you showed up to the 1st meeting of the year and raised your hand. It was the only meeting we ever had with more than 5 people. We had 107 homes! We had to reduce the number of board members down to 5 (Including 3 officers) from 7. We couldn't even get 7 people to attend a meeting! Never the less be on the board.

Some HOA's aren't professional caliber. It's just basically ran by people who volunteer to do the job. Someone has to do it. The reason MC's are even hired is because those people don't want to deal with running a HOA. They rather pay someone to handle much of the HOA's business. Board members can just be figure heads of the HOA if they just want to hire a MC. I see nothing wrong with hiring a MC if that is what you and your neighbors are comfortable with. Our HOA, we only had an accountant company who collected the dues and forwarded issues to us. We self managed.

So I wouldn't be calling it an "Illegal board" as much as I would, those are the people who volunteered to take on the responsibility of running the HOA. Until you encourage enough people to make everything up to par, you have to deal with those who are there cause they want to be. Not necessarily because you do.

Whew! Honestly, with all the energy, time and thought put into the word salad I have read on your few posts my advice would be to just re-join the " illegal " board already. If you are that agitated and exasperated by the whole situation and have actually spent the time and effort rallying the troops- then re-up and rally those troops to join you in maintaining a healthy HOA. I'm not sure what answer you are looking for on this forum.

Seems your time would be better spent working with the poor soul that is doing her best to run a board of directors by her dang self. Poor thing. I don't blame her for hiring a management company. Just my thoughts.

Good luck to you.

With the exception of one poster, I don't think anyone is trying to shoot you down, but things have to be isolated and taken one or three at a time to discuss in any meaningful way.

For instance, you say that hiring the MC should have been owner approved, or at least a majority of directors, but I doubt your docs say that. I think it would be one or the other. So just taking that as an example it would need to be known which to comment with any intelligence.

but at the end of the day, I am now feeling utterly insane for daring to question how a self appointed resident can legally enforce a demand for money with no regard to the rights, laws, and responsibilities set forth to govern that ... silly me! If that's the case we could all do that to one another, and be viewed as equally "sane" - but hey, isn't that how "government" really works?? Mission accomplished -- Sleep well, your work here is done

Michelle,

Ive reread your posts a few times - frankly, since we are here to help, I have to note that you sound both exasperated with your situation - and, defensive.

As many have noted here, being angry and defensive usually means you won't be as successful as if you were cold blooded and technically accurate in your dealings with potential runaways HOA Boards.

It is important that you quote those sections of your By-laws and CC&Rs that govern the issues of which you speak.

Please try and methodically take the issue apart, piece by piece, then determine what can and should be done with each piece.

Michelle

You said you assume there is only one person on the BOD. You had better verify this.

When there is not a Quorum at the Annual Meeting, no business can be done including BOD elections. If no election the present BOD stays in place thus they are not a illegal BOD.

Most Covenants allow the BOD to hire a management committee without an owner vote. You are assuming there is not a BOD in place thus the hiring was improper.As I said earlier, you should verify if there is a BOD in place.

Bottom line, I doubt your BOD is illegal and worst case it should be brought up to its minimum by appointments even if only one person left to make the appointments.

Says who? Do your Bylaws or other governing documents, or state law perhaps, say that a board which doesn't meet the minimum requirements for a quorum of directors must be "suspended"?

Most likely, the president has the power to fill empty board positions until the next election. You might ask why this hasn't been done.

The MC is probably doing what you did - billing, paying bills, etc. If this bothers you, volunteer for the two hour a week job again.

The president should not have to do everything, just make sure that everything gets done. Sounds like - for such a small complex - not more than 3 people is necessary anyway.

Also check what can be done at the annual meeting without a quorum. Oftentimes, an election CAN be held, even without a quorum in attendance.

Time to re-write the bylaws.