HOA Refuses to produce documents

I'm not really sure where to start with this but I guess I'll start at the beginning.

One week ago, our HOA (Condominium complex) notified all owners (20 buildings, 12 units per building) that ALL deck posts will need to be replaced throughout the complex and that each owner will have to pay $350 for their portion of the limited common element replacement (the total project cost would be around $84,000 if everyone paid $350). They indicated that during recent home sales, home inspectors noticed that some of the deck posts were deteriorating so the HOA decided that they should all be replaced. Three days later, we, the owners, received a letter from the HOA's Attorney stating the same and that the fees were due June 1st or payable in 7 monthly payments of $50, and will be considered late by December 31st.

I'm the original owner of my unit - my building is 13 years old. Some buildings are older (maybe 15 years), some are much newer (maybe 7 years old). I know for a fact my deck posts have not been inspected. All deck posts throughout the community are encased in aluminum, so even a visual inspection couldn't be done. The HOA indicated that a "structural inspector" did a spot inspection of some of the posts.

I contacted my HOA after receiving this email and letter and requested a copy of the structural inspectors report. In addition, I requested copies of the bids they received for the work being done. They indicated work would commence in March so I assumed they've received bids and awarded the bid. I'm not against paying the $350 fee, I would just like to know who/where my money is going, I'm not just going to write a check to the HOA because they say so. I was promptly told by the HOA that no part of this "business transaction" will be made public. I might also add that the HOA is not sharing in the expense of this project - the owners are all sharing in the cost of these replacements. So, I'm a bit frustrated that the HOA is spending my money without giving me any details.

Today, I sent a formal request in writing for the inspection report and bids received citing Missouri State Statute for Non Profit Corporation open records as well as State Statute relating to Condominium Property and open records. My HOA responded that they have forwarded my request on to their attorney.

Has anyone heard of an HOA being so secretive about something like this? I feel like my requests is pretty straightforward and something any owner would want to see before just handing over money. Any advice on what I should/could do if they deny my request again?

Thanks!!!

This is information that should be shared with members. Give the HOA time to respond, but do be persistent.

Thank you all for your replies. I did read the By-Laws for my HOA and this is what they state for Books and Records:
(A) Records: The Association shall maintain all records appropriate for entities of similar nature in accordance with generally acceptable accounting practices.
(B) Inspection by Members and Mortgagees:
1. The Board shall make available for inspection and copying by any holder, insurer or guarantor of a first
Security Interest on a Unit, any Member, or the duly appointed representative of any of the foregoing at
any reasonable time and for a purpose reasonably related to his or her interest in a Unit: the Governing
Documents, the membership register, books of account, and the minutes of meetings of the Members, the Board,
and committees. The Board shall provide for such inspection to take place at the community managers office,
the Association's Office or at such other place within the Condominium as the Board shall designate.
Correspondence and other records protected by attorney-client privilege or other privilege are not subject
to inspection by Members without prior written consent of the Board.
2. Rules for inspection. The Board shall establish reasonable rules and procedures with respect to notice to be
given to the custodian of the records by the Member desiring to make the inspection, reasonable business
hours when the records will be made available for inspection, and payment of the cost of reproducing copies
of documents requested by a Member.

I feel I have made the request in accordance with the By-Laws; however, I fear they will say that these records I'm requesting are attorney-client privilege or something else absurd.

I'm eagerly awaiting their reply.

It's very likely, MV, you cannot have access to the bids. (We can't have these in CA.)

You should, however, be able to have a copy of the contract that the board accepted. This will show you the scope of work. I don't know if you legally can have the inspection reports.

Since your Iimited common elements are failing, this threatens the common areas, i.e., the building structures themselves. This is what PROBABLY gives the HOA the right to insist this work be done.

$350 per unit doesn't sound like very much to me. Is there only one post per condo?

We went through something very similar here with our 300+ high rise (steel & concrete) balconies concerning board secrecy. The Board insisted that all balcony surfaces (ceramic tiles) and the waterproofing under them must be replaced to be paid from reserves at $1.2m. The board would share no reports nor estimates even though one vendor had been accepted though there was no contract with the. Owners put up a big fight against the secrecy, the requirement that all be replaced (retired going through condo units and 3-5 f days per unit, and the "alternative traffic coating selected" as a surface.

Three strong advocates of this nightmare ran for reelection and were soundly defeated. The 4th director who was tight with them resigned. Our new board was seated a few months ago and all reports, etc. are ab viable to owners, an architect was hired who says not all have to be repaired, and not all needing repairs need complete replacements, and the surface materials will not be polymer.

Point is, Onwrs can get ride of secretive, arrogant boards. But I don't know if this is the case at your HOA, MV.

There are two posts per unit. I totally understand that the structural integrity of the decks are at stake; however, if this is something that we, the owners, are paying for and the HOA has absolutely no monetary buy-in, I think we have the right to the details.

At this point, at minimum, I want to see the details/scope of work. Are they replacing the posts with similar materials? If so, why wouldn't we expect this same issue to happen in the next few years? If they are using a different material, have new structural calculations been done? I have contacted the City in which my complex is located to see if any permits have been applied for and they have indicated that they have not received anything. I figured if nothing else, anything the HOA submits to the City for the work/permits is available under the Sunshine Law and I can get copies of that. (I work for a municipality and handle Freedom of Information Act requests daily).

Copies of our Board Minutes are posted on our Subdivision website and I've read all of them for the last 3 years.

The first time this issue was raised was August 2019 and it was a very general blurb of: Patio/Deck Columns - It has come to light from home inspection reports that the deck posts are deteriorating. Per Section 3.5(c)(4) patios and decks are considered a limited common element and therefore an owner responsibility. The cost of this repair is estimated to be about $1000 each and should be split between the three units. No further details were noted in the minutes - so at this point I thought we'd receive more information in the coming months.

According to the November 2019 Minutes - this issue was not discussed.

The December minutes state: Board approved flat rate of deck column repairs. Management to work with attorney on notice and collection.

The February 2020 minutes state: Patio/Deck Columns It has come to light from home inspection reports that the deck posts are deteriorating. Per Section 3.5(c)(4) patios and decks are considered a limited common element and therefore an owner responsibility. As this is a safety concern, the association has decided to proceed with repairs throughout the community beginning in March at a cost of $350 per unit. This payment will be due June first and considered late after December 31st. All owners will be receiving a letter from the association attorney with information on this project. Each building will be notified prior to construction.

For my job I have to attend (and take minutes) for evening meetings 4 times a month, and they're typically on the same night as our HOA meeting, so I can never attend them. I thought the minutes would be much more detailed. In one of the first email replies from the HOA that I received stated that they awarded the work for this project to Maint Co STL, a division of CMA. CMA is the Management Company that oversees our HOA - so it sounds like CMA is benefiting monetarily from this large project being done.

I appreciate all of your replies. I'll keep you updated on what I hear back!

In my opinion, the Board is legally on thin ice in going forward to maintain the LCE deck posts. They are effectively converting LCE to common area (or common element) and taking liability for the work it does on deck posts that are each individual owner's responsibility. I think you should review the section of the CC&Rs that talks about converting LCE to common element and ask the board if this is their intent.

I think you could fight the Board legally and quite possibly stop this. But I think it will cost in the thousands of dollars and possibly more than $10,000.

From personal experience and reading here, chances are good that it is only a tiny minority at best who cares.You'd have to post more to persuade me that there is an actual, unlawful conflict of interest. Most people do not want to do all the work of volunteering for a HOA board. In which case I am not all that interested in helping them complain unless the offense is egregiously harmful money-wise or property-wise.

Perhaps I was too free with the wording "conflict of interest". I wouldn't be in my best interest job-wise to be on the Board. I would love to go into more details on my job - but not on a public forum.

Nah, you don't sound harsh. You just don't know what I do for a living.

But back to the original issue - how long does the Board have to reasonably reply to my written request?

Nah ... I’d like to keep working at the COI that would preclude you from even being on a committee?

I’ve heard so many excuses for “failing to serve, but willing to complain” over the years ... have never heard of a COI that made sense to preclude one from being on a committee ...

Many of us see and comment on hundreds of threads each year ... I’m probably not the only person interested in knowing what constitutes such an overriding COI.

You brought this up as a reason for not serving your community ... I’d like to know why.

I'm with you MV; there's no reason that your issue should be ignored and that you should be nagged at to serve on your board. If you do have the time, stroll your neighborhood or contact one whom you know and ask them to attend meetings and try o get answers.

What you need to do is to keep making your written request to see the contract as often as the time period (5 day?) to reply is exceeded. Make it to the proper people (your HOA's "registered agent?" and copy the board. Send your request returned receipt requested. The Contract will tell you just about everything you need to know.

I'd be worried too since the contract is with a division of your MC! (I hope you didn't write their real names--see Rules above)

MV,

It is true you don’t “owe” an explanation, but I would still like to understand the issue preventing you from being involved in your HOA.

No, it wasn’t.

However, given the OP brought it up, then would not offer the why, it seemed fair game. And, seriously, how many excuses have we all heard from folks that don’t volunteer, but certainly complain.

If this was a new reason, I truly wanted to know.