First right of refusal

Started by LindaC3 • 15 replies • 3509 views

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LindaC3 (Florida)
Posts: 526

Posted:

Good day all..........Here from fla.....seems those of us who sit on the deed restriction committee just recieved an URGENT email to call an emergency meeting to discuss how lots/property are deeded to family members....Does any HOA members who subscribe to HOA talk have provisions in their documents that address first right of refusal ? This goes back to what took place at our Sunday BOD meeting in that a member deeded her house to her son who does not customarily reside with her and the BOD is upset that he did not apply for credit check and criminal background check.......LindaC3

MikeS1
Posts: 668

Posted:

Since when do you have to pass the sniff test, and run credit and background criminal check. Is this a Coop? Condo? Is this a 'over 55' community? Do the CCR's or the laws in Fla give them the right to do this? If so, how would you even enforce this? I'll be following this post... Interesting.

LindaC3 (Florida)
Posts: 526

Posted:

MikeS.... we are a large wooded subdivision with 299 (3) acre lots........NOWHERE written in any of our RECORDED documents does it state any of this background check.......LindaC3

HaroldS (Arizona)
Posts: 906

Posted:

So I am confused: What is your board basing this requirment on then? Harold

LindaC3 (Florida)
Posts: 526

Posted:

HaroldS.....join the club LOL LOL............I will dig up wording in our documents and post for understanding by the group...... They ( BOD ) are freaking that a member here added her grown son to deed without their ( BOD ) permission and no credit check and criminal background check....... LindaC3

CarolF (Florida)
Posts: 435

Posted:

Just curious - have other properties in your development been sold after your HOA took over from the developer? What process took place regarding this approval?

MikeS1
Posts: 668

Posted:

Linda - It sounds like your BOD should be conferring with their attorney. If they don't have the authority to regulate this process, then this smells like a recipe for legal action. It's time to consult with the professionals.

LindaC3 (Florida)
Posts: 526

Posted:

CarolF....the HOA took over from Developer back in January 1980.... There have been many properties sold in here since then...when we purchased our lot in 1996 we did not have background check or credit check or orientation....... It is not written anywhere in a recorded document for this procedure... you dont find out about it till you sign contract to purchase the lot / house.....then they pop it on you that each person has to pay $150.00 for this check...so $300.00 bucks for couple....then you have to be approved by the board for the right to live here....if they refuse to approve you they have to purchase the property BUT only after they have another appraisal done for value..
.Which I think is stupid.....Say for instance if my home is valued or appraised at $200,000.00 and i find someone willing to pay me $400,000.00 for it and for some reason they ( bod ) dont approve them for some reason or another...let your imagination run wild on this one...... they ( bod ) of course are not going to pay me $400,000.00 for my house EVEN though I have a valid sales contract....They put the house out for appraisal and whatever the appraiser numbers are is what they buy the house for.... I do believe and just my opinion that this is interferring with my right to free enterprise to sell my OWN personal property at a profit.........I am looking thru all my documents and will post the exact wording in a few ......LindaC3

LindaC3 (Florida)
Posts: 526

Posted:

While reading thru my documents I find it is too much to type...So will go thru and black out name of HOA or Club as we are called and put in PDF form and then post as an attachment as my next reply.....Then ya all can read at your leisure and provide me with your feedback.....Thanks in advance for any guidance you all can provide.....LindaC3

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Linda, it may be different in Florida but in Colorado our expert real estate broker advised me regarding a real estate contract which includes a first right of refusal. It has nothing to do with the HOA; it is between the buyer and the seller. Unless your Declaration of CC&Rs specifically states the HOA may be involved in sales transactions, I think your Board is setting themselves up for a law suit.

If the buyer asks for first right of refusal then at the sellers option they may ask for a credit check, criminal background check, or any others that they want as a requirement in the contract.

HaroldS (Arizona)
Posts: 906

Posted:

Golly gee. Whose money is your board using to effect their first refusal right? (Which right they don't seem to have.) And "who" is this separate appraiser who decides how much the board will pay for your property? Smells fishy, and I can smell it all the way out here. I guess if you can't find a reason to foreclose, this is second best way to get someone's property cheap. And here we are told: HOAs sole function is supposed to be protecting property values. Harold

LindaC3 (Florida)
Posts: 526

Posted:

Quick update all..........my printer on fritz....will go to storage tomorrow and get back up and send documents, but a quick glance of the documents when a few of us got together today I found something interesting...It states only sales or transfers of RESIDENTIAL LOT...nothing about sale of RESIDENCE itself.....Then we got the skinny why all this coming to a head...... A neighbor here, mother and father SOLD their house to their son and his wife , all closed and filed with clerk of courts at the local courthouse...The BOD found out about it and are upset that the son did not go thru backgroud check and credit check and pay the $300.00 fee... so now the BOD says they cannot use the common facilities till they do this and do orientation and will not be considered MEMBERS till this criteria is met..... BUT FSS 720 and our own documents state that upon acquisition of property you shall automatically become a member with all the rights and privs......This is getting to be too funny indeed....so now just hypothetically ...if the BOD is saying you arent a member till you meet this criteria would you have to pay your member monthly assessments ????????? just a thought....be back sometime tomorrow with PDF of documents.........thanks for your patience....LindaC3

HaroldS (Arizona)
Posts: 906

Posted:

"would you have to pay your member monthly assessments" That was my first thought too if I'm going to be denied use of community facilities, but then your documents surely do outline the method for foreclosure if assessments aren't paid. They would have them over a barrel there. Never withhold your assessment payments.
Does your HOA have one of those thousand dollar +/- "transfer fees" too that they missed out on from this sale? Harold

LindaC3 (Florida)
Posts: 526

Posted:

Harold...LOL LOL too funny you asked you that,,, " The Club may impose a transfer fee not to exceed the maximum amount permitted by law, from time to time which transfer fee shall be due and payable at the time of submission of application"........ LOL.............Our HOA acts like we are Country Club, hence the word CLUB...no where in any of our paperwork does it refer to us being an HOA....... WEIRD indeed.......LindaC3

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

LindaC3,
Did I ask this? Have you gone the the County Court House and looked up the original documents that registered your HOA. I'm no lawyer but the use of the word Club implies your association is somehow a Private Club.
Something I don't think is addressed in HOA documents. Also go on line and check your County Property sites and as
a precaution, you probably can plug your association name into a search feature that will search any past or current cases on the Docket, both civil and criminal.
Your state site will have all Businesses in the State and your association should be registered there. Does you current CC&r's that you operate from have any changes registered in your exhibits to the documents. On you declartion and Master Deed they may have something like the bame of your association and refer to what amendments have been made. Gloria or Donna or Nancy would know if Club is a proper description for an HOA.

THE REGULAR SEARCH OF THIS FUNCTION ON COUNTY SITES TO LOOK FOR COURT FILES IS SOMETHING I FEEL SHOULD BE DONE BY ALL, ESPECIALLY WITH A ENTRENCHED OR SECRETIVE BOARD. (not yelling)

HaroldS (Arizona)
Posts: 906

Posted:

Could they have copied that line from a "club" somewhere and didn't bother to change it? The "from time to time" statement sounds arbritary. Who decides on whom and when to impose this fee? That sounds like another lawsuit in the making. Harold

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