Fraud and Liens....

(Unbeknown to me) I purchased a Townhome (Nov2017), in an "Administratively Dissolved" HOA (Apr2015). I was told I had to pay over $1100, within 30 days (April2019), and given a contractor's estimate dated Aug2018. For an assessment that I had never been informed about, nor voted on. (Dangerous Building Notice Jan2018) The assessment was for the HOA's exterior responsibilities. (Gang-Box/Meter-Cans) "HOA will guarantee owners access to public utilities" Turns out the majority owners of this HOA, call themselves the President and Secretary. They don't even live in this State, or hold board meetings. Our falsified registration reports list a non-owner as our "Treasurer". Our By-Laws state that only Owners can be a board member. And they let a woman who has been calling herself the Manager/Bookkeeper (also not in this State, nor a CPA, and horrible ledger keeping) pay herself $108/week. (Not the "Treasurer") In Feb2019 The gutter fell off of my unit. I never told anyone, for I just assumed the HOA would take care of it on their own. In May I grew tired of stepping over it in my yard/home. It was moved to common ground, out of the way of anyone's egress from their property. I told the "Mgr" I had done this. Two weeks later I was threatened with a $1000-$5000 fine, for doing it. Since June2019 I have been demanding a board meeting. I grew tired of proving to the "Mgr" that she was incompetent and deceitful, so I just started being insulting to her, and started giving her a taste of her own medicine. That's a long story in of itself, and off topic. I just found out, that in Sept2020 a Lien was filed with the Recorder of Deeds, for that assessment with interest.

I told the people pretending to be my HOA, In June/July of 2019; They won't get any more dues from me, (I had already prepaid up until June2020) until a board meeting occurs (and I actually meet these people), my gutter gets repaired, and I would like to review our HOA's financial records since it's dissolution in 2015. Since August2019 My car windshield has been replaced (twice), and windows to my Kitchen have been broken from vandalism. I don't know who these vandals are, but they are on camera every time; coming from and retreating to the back row (without any cars coming or going). Not to mention my neighbor threatening me with a firearm. 4 Hours before the first vandalism occurred. He & his GF use to get a LOT of visitors from the back row, as well as walking back there themselves. They still do, but the "traffic" is nowhere near what it used to be. Like the first year I lived here. Nor is that man banging on my door everyday, while I'm trying to sleep. So that's a plus! Off topic again... My HOA dues are 8 months behind. They haven't met any of my "demands". I still have to stand in a waterfall to unlock my front door, when there is a light rain. I've recorded the majority owners unit's getting full makeovers. My neighbor has actually had siding work done twice to his unit (he's renting it from one of the majority owners) New window frames and trim... etc. Oh and there is a history of the "HOA" filing liens, while it was dissolved, for things that our bylaws state... are the HOA's responsibility to maintain, and the Majority owners have been purchasing those unit's at foreclosure auctions. Except for my unit which is in the first row. Which just happens to be insured as a "Condo" unlike the other three rows all being called "Townhomes" in our HOA's Master Insurance Policy. That policy also states the "Mgr/Bookkeeper"'s luxury apartment in KS, is the corporate office of our MO HOA. Our falsified registration reports filed in Nov2020, state an Apt Complex in Grandview, MO is our corporate office. That Apt Complex said (Dec2020) our HOA President doesn't own those Apartments anymore, and is no way affiliated with them. Ironically: In 2011/2012 They sued our HOA President... I don't know the details of the settlement nor the why of the lawsuit. However one of the defending attorneys in that case. Just happens to be the same attorney that formed our HOA President's "Company" which owns three of the units here as well as those apartments. You know what is really weird.... Our HOA president was a co-defendant in a different lawsuit... With a man who has the EXACT name as our current State of MO Secretary of State. You know the guy in charge of the "Corporation's Office". And to make things even weirder.... the local police department has continuously... harassed, threatened, ignored, etc... me. Since I purchased this property. I even recorded them breaking into my home, (While I was in jail, for calling the police... to report an attempted break in. By the SAME PERSON's friend that they broke into my house for! The police even helped her remove property from my home, after they broke in! Oh such a long story.... but to summarize even more... I've been charged with 5 misdemeanors and 3 felonies for sending emails, to people PRETENDING to be my HOA, whom don't have board meetings! Oh and just so you know. I was the ONLY owner, that actually RESIDES on the property, since I bought my unit in 2017. That changed in Nov2019. Now there are two of us, living on the property. He also lives in the front row. I've never met him, or spoken to him. In fact I've never talked to any of my neighbors other than the one that wouldn't quit harassing me, (Pulled the gun on me.... guy) begging me to sell him drugs and to sell his pain pills for him. And I talked to my other neighbor, one time. When I gave him a letter to give to his landlord. Since it had been returned to my unit. "Unclaimed" along with EVERY letter sent to the minority owner's units, a few month's earlier. Inside the letter was the proof of the HOA being dissolved by the State of MO, for YEARs before I purchased my home. And my public and polite demand for all the things a member of the board has a right to know, such as the contact information for the other board members. HOA's financial statements... etc... Funny thing... Those letters where post-marked July 27th, 2019. August 1st, 2019 would be when the vandalism started occurring. I'm still waiting for my gutter to be repaired. On Zillow - you can see the gutter sagging and other per-existing siding damage to my home... Dated 2015. I bought it in 2017. My patio fence fell down (Wood-rot post) in May 2020. I had already been waiting for over a year for my gutter to be repaired. So I informed them, I would be taking care of repairing my patio fence myself. It was a safety hazard, for my roommate's gf's son. Who would visit occasionally. I also informed them about the common ground fence-section; that had fallen over 4 month's earlier, and told them... I would take care-of-it/see-what-I-could-do-about-it, with any left over supplies I had. So much BS has been going on around here.... So to summarize some more... On May 30th, a contractor showed up, to repair the fence section that had been down for months... (Not my patio) I talked to him for almost 50 seconds... Offered to help him for free, if he would take my rotted fence with him, in his truck, when he left. While I was gone... My neighbors called the police on me. I don't know why. But the woman he was waiting for... Was one of them... and she wasn't the same woman, who appeared at an Ex-Parte hearing claiming to be our HOA Mgr.

Anyone have a referral for a Civil attorney, not afraid of taking on the local police department, as well as probably the State of MO? I will be the respondent in a lien case, to start with. And would like to counter-sue as well. I've already got Three criminal attorneys for my one public nuisance ticket, five misd. municipal and three state felony harassment charges.

Unfortunately your posts are too difficult for me to quickly read.

If you want to sue the HOA, just find a local plaintiff's lawyer using Google, ideally with homeowners' association experience, but any general litigator would do. Expect to spend $25,000-$50,000 in legal fees.

I would be really careful and watch how you conduct yourself, though; it sounds like you may have done some things that could come back to cause you some problems.

I agree. Impossible to read and he rambles.

John,

Due to posting rules of this site, referrals are not authorized.
I would strongly suggest an attorney versed in contract law rather then a civil attorney (as the deed restrictions are considered a contract).

I'm sorry your seller, the HOA and your realtor failed you by not informing you of the assessments (regular and special). You may or may not have action against them.

Keep in mind that an HOA is created with the deed restrictions (Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions). These same restrictions are the authority to collect assessments. Not all Associations are incorporated. When they are, a company known as HOA, Inc is created. If the company is dissolved, the HOA itself still exists (as the deed restrictions weren't dissolved when the corporation was).

I will strongly recommend you keep paying your assessments as failing to do so can place you in jeopardy of losing your home through liens and foreclosure.

If the issue of failing to pay assessments goes to court, all the other info you provided won't be relevant and likely not considered. The issue will be:

1) Does the Association have the authority to collect assessments from you?
This would be determined by the deed restrictions I mentioned earlier.

2) If the answer to #1 is yes, then the issue will be did you pay assessments or not?
If you did not, then the case will likely be ruled in favor of the Association.

Your posting is difficult to read (due to the long paragraphs). I hope I provided some help.

If the recorded covenants state that the board may impose such an assessment, then the courts will say you were duly informed. Please go read your HOA's covenants and report back here what they say about assessing owners.

Administrative dissolution does not necessarily lawfully relieve you of paying the assessment the board imposed.

-- Please understand that there is a difference between officers (President, VP, Secretary and Treasurer) and directors. The membership elects directors. The board appoints officers.

-- Please go to your governing documents (declaration of covenants, bylaws et cetera) and report back here what the requirements are for serving as treasurer.

-- Please go to your governing documents (bylaws especially) and see whether directors and officers must be owners in the HOA. At times, the governing documents may not require directors or officers to be owners.

If the board approved this, then it's likely lawful.

One would have to review your covenants to see who is responsible for what. Did you even ask the HOA to fix it?

You do realize that the board consists of unpaid volunteers, right? Expecting the HOA to do this or that, when you know something is wrong, is not the stuff of a good owner, in my opinion.

Please review your governing documents and report back here what the requirements are for board meetings.

It's also gossip and not constructive.
That the governing documents authorize such a lien is likely.

The law is not on your side here. The courts say to pay and, if one has a grievance, take the HOA to court.

Missouri's nonprofit corporation act no doubt permits this review. If you produce the relevant excerpts of the governing documents to respond to my points above, maybe I will look up the statute for you.

Snip the rest.

I am not sure whether the board's actions are correct or not. But from your post, I tend to think at least half the problem is your not knowing what your legal rights are. Worse, you have made many assumptions that are likely wrong. I believe you would be best served by thoroughly reviewing your governing documents to see what your legal rights are. I advise not retaliating against anyone. I advise calling the police when necessary. Lastly HOA life may not be for you.

JohnD67 (Missouri)

1 - You have asked for a referral, which maybe you can get from your state's bar ( The Missouri Bar - https://mobar.org/public/LawyerSearch.aspx PO Box 119, 326 Monroe
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0119 P: (573) 635-4128 )

2 - What you may NEED, however, is less clear.

Respectfully, shared ownership communities can be a black hole for individuals where maybe - MAYBE - there might ? be some sort of challenge or personal issues that won't be helped by taking on those who run them.

Those issues may fade into triviality, particularly if someone gets dragged into the civil or criminal justice systems no matter your jurisdiction. Sometimes that dragging leads to homelessness or worse.

It is unsettling that you are also attracting police attention not clearly connected to any clear retaliation nor smack-down by the shared ownership association. Yes there can be lots of retaliation ( it's not "retribution"; "retribution" is what the Greek Gods do. )

I also say this respectfully : You have not mentioned - in your lengthy input - anyone being in a position to be able to help you out.

And you have reached out to strangers at this website.

I am presuming you may NOT have a relative with some sort of power of attorney for personal care and/or property.

If you are a military veteran - particularly a disabled U.S. veteran - respectfully you should consider the Missouri D.P.S Veterans Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255 https://mvc.dps.mo.gov/

It is also possible that you may have issues that ? could be helped by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri https://www.aclu-mo.org/en/about/contact-us%20

Bottom line :

Life's short. Whatever you need, respectfully homelessness ain't one of them.

Good luck to you.

I agree. The OP needs some emotional/mental health help.