Everyone keeps saying that the New Texas HOA laws are great for residents

Must be board members who are saying this or maybe relators. I do not see any significant improvements to the laws in Texas. There should be term limits for Board members and board members should not be able to serve indefinitely. And what the heck good does it do, if a board member steps down or whatever the case, when the remaining board members themselves elect a new board member

On our property, there is no way to allow anyone better into a board position because the current board members have the proxies for all of the property owners who do not live here.
A lot of residents do not get involved and are like robots when our place looks like hell. But that is not the worse of the situation.

ONE OF THE NEW LAWS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TO HOLD THE BOARD ACCOUNTABLE FOR PUBLISIZING EVERY MONTH A THE EXPENDITURES AND THE BUDJET. I do not trust our board is spending our dues on what we think they are since our place looks like crap and our dues are high for such a small community.

THE LAWS DID NOT INCREASE TRANSAPARENCY AND ACTUALLY DID LITTLE ELSE FOR THE ACTUAL RESIDENTS

Yes there are others that we tried to vote in last year but, no way that we can break up the status quo and believe me, it is time for a change

On of the new amendments gives any member standing to bring suit against the board for not following anything in Property Code 209. If you find the board in violation of a part of 209, take them to JP court.

I do not know anyone who says the recent amendments to TPC 209 would be great for residents.

I know plenty who have opined that such-and-such in the new TPC 209 could help.

HOAs are hard places to live. A bunch of unpaid, usually unskilled amateurs making decisions about property I own or own in common with others? Seriously? Never forget the immortal words of long-time HOATalk veteran SheliaH: Buying into a HOA or COA is like forming a business partnership with the party-ers at the local bar.

I think the key to peace is to realize that one signed on the dotted line way back when one bought into the HOA. One was well warned (since the covenants are recorded with the county clerk).

There's no shame in putting one's place on the market and getting the he-- out of Dodge. Life is mighty short, especially when one starts feeling one's senior years weighing them down.

It sounds like your complaint is with the other owners. Absentee owners do not have to vote by proxy, that is their choice. I could talk all day about laws I would like to have been passed but there are still many laws, including some of the new ones, that benefit the owners.

It would not be feasible to have an election every time a board member steps down between regular elections. When a board member steps down, the board can only appoint a replacement until the next election. That seems reasonable to me.

I would not object to a law requiring publishing regular financial reports but you are entitled to that information at any time by request.

Hi Ben and yes I agree this is true but also the new law says that I could be charged up to $375 for copies and the property manager will take full advantage of that. I should not have to pay for the information. It should be accessible on the website just as the documents for our property are.

I agree that you should not have to may for info/documents that you are lawfully supposed to be allowed to have access to and/or review. You would likely only need to pay the PM if you absolutely needed photocopies of documents they retain for the HOA.
If you make the request appropriately, then the PM should be able to make them available for you to review free of charge (probably says something like that in the state HOA law). Still if you need copies or an electronic version, you could take pictures with your own camera or bring along a laptop and document scanner.

Jane

Please ask for the following reports:

1. Comprehensive Association Balance Sheets December 2020 and December 2021 (all association bank accounts including checking, reserves, long term investments, and any other accounts.

The balance sheets will tell you how much money was on hand in the association accounts on December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2021.

2. Detailed Report of Budget to Actual Expenses, sometimes known as a Profit and Loss Report or something similar. What you would like to see is the End of Year Summary Report for CY2020 and CY 2021--in most associations the December financial report is automatically the total year summary report.

These reports will depict every expenditure in every budget category for calendar year 2020 and 2021. This report should have columns with Budget numbers, actual expenses, and a column which depicts the 'over and under' for the report period/year.

The reports listed above should be part of the monthly financial report package prepared for the Board. These reports should not require any special report preparation or data compilation.

There are other reports you could request, begin with these two as they should provide a starting point to understand where the association assessments are being spent.

The expenditures for routine expenses like utilities and contracts (landscape, management, pest control) should be approximately the same for 2020 and 2021. Significant variations in maintenance expenditures year over year are common.

Once you have the reports in hand, ask questions of the property manager as to why $X was spent on something in 2021 especially if it is well in excess of forecast amounts. Be aware, there may be significant Legal and Filing expenditures which were not in the budget as a result of SB1588 which was approved by the Legislature in the regular session and was signed by the Governor.

Ask questions here too.

Good Luck