COMMON AREA CONSISTENCY

Our HOA board has determined that all the area around each home except for a 3 foot perimeter is COMMON AREA. ( Although the CC&R has some conflicting statements.... The CC&R states that each homeowner has access to "EXCLUSIVE" common area around their home (to distinguish between the medians and retention ponds). The HOA says that the homeowner should not be involved in caring for the exclusive area around their homes and yet the HOA could not possibly water, fertilize, weed and mulch that massive a property. The HOA does not want to address the drainage issue behind homes on one side of the street that continue to have issues from ground water during torrential rains...(French drains are needed) . But they do want to spray the entire common area for "armyworm" infestation.

Sometimes they vote that the COMMON AREA.....including the "EXCLUSIVE" common area of each lot is the responsibility of the HOA and sometimes they want to vote that it is not. This is a small community of 32 unattached homes. Some patio and some two story. I serve on the board and feel as though the inconsistency in their deliberations is going to cause legal issues down the road. They paid $2,000 to have the area around the Utility and transformer boxes landscaped for 6 yards, after some homeowners had already paid out of pocket or completed their own.And the homeowners are not aware that this was done. ( A few areas were done by the developer). Now they want the homeowners to pay for 3 or 4 yards that don't look as good as the rest of the street because they say that it is the HOA's responsibility to pick up the slack for these homeowners and see that "the common area" around all these homes is cared for. Currently we pay $75 a month to have our yard mowed, edged and blown off.... I don't see how they can use HOA funds to address needs in some yards and not all yards.... ( which our meager budget absolutely could not support)

I would greatly appreciate any insight or opinion...

Donna

They should not be using association money to bring the areas you mentioned up to their standards. The BOD should fine owners that do not.

All that said, their could well be an issue of the BOD having the authority to dictate owners do it.

***Our HOA board has determined that all the area around each home except for a 3 foot perimeter is COMMON AREA.***

Is your HOA still under builder control?

"Unattached homes"? Are these patio homes that have more designated common area or is the Board just determining that they will maintain areas that are owner responsibility on lots deeded to owners?

Common area as stated in your governing needs to be determined.

"Limited Common Property" is often described as "EXCLUSIVE" because of it's use and proximity. A porch exclusively used by a resident is limited common property, but the HOA may still be required to maintain it.

Before you can determine "who can do what where", you need to research "who owns what where". HOA or owner.

Who owns the land underneath each home, the association or the homeowners?

Your CC&Rs should also address who is responsible for maintaining what. In some communities the Limited/Exclusive Use Common Areas are the responsibility of the homeowners and in others the association is responsible for them. The board shouldn't have to guess at this.

Thank you for the clarification. This sounds a lot like what we refer to as "landominiums" around here. Homeowners own the land under their homes as well as a buffer zone such as three feet. In the communities I'm familiar with, the association handles lawn care in the common area beyond the buffer zones as well as snow removal, but homeowners take care of their own plantings in the areas they own (there are some community rules about things such as what kinds of plants are acceptable or prohibited and upkeep standards).

What I'm seeing as issues:

* Poorly defined common areas and buffer zones, including absence of plat lines and changes to the CC&Rs by the developer (maybe without thinking things through).

* A shifting cast of characters on the board that haven't got their feet under them yet (in fairness this would be a bit of a challenge for experienced board members as well).

What I would want to do, assuming the money is available:

* Have the CC&Rs reviewed by a knowledgeable HOA lawyer with an eye to amending inconsistent or vague definitions of the property and the responsibilities of the association and homeowners. You'll never have consistency unless the legal foundation is consistent. What you have now is a recipe for continued squabbling.

* Get training for the board asap. There are good free resources on the web that address the board's obligations and the limits of their authority.

* Tackle the lawn care issue. As things stand now, my understanding is that the buffer area around homes belongs to homeowners. It is not Common Area or Limited Common Area (if the developer changed this on the fly, there may be a legal issue if what he did contradicts the papers people signed when they bought their homes - hence my recommendation for the lawyer). Without any language in the CC&Rs addressing who is responsible for what, it would be hard for the association to make a case that the buffer zones are their responsibility. On the other hand, since the HOA does own the Common Area, it has a vested interest in what happens in these buffer zones (eg, insects or drainage issues).

Good luck with this. I think this is a resolvable issue, but you need to get the CC&Rs in order and get the board up to speed.

One other thing to consider: who owns the street and the water and sewer lines, the HOA or the city/county/etc.?

It's pretty common for developers to keep assessments low while they're trying to sell homes, but these assessments probably won't be realistic in the long term. It sounds like you have only greenspace to worry about - but if you also own infrastructure, the assessments will need to cover maintenance of these items which can be costly.

The $75 per month sounds maybe OK if the only thing you're dealing with is lawn care, but it seems low if you need to also pay for insurance (you do) and definitely on the low side if you also need to be accumulating reserves for future big ticket items such as street re-surfacing or concrete replacement.

Reserve Studies https://cedarmanagementgroup.com/hoa-reserve-study-community/)

HOA Insurance https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/real-estate/homeowners-association-law/hoa-insurance.html