HOA Drops the Ball

Looking for advice.

On 10/27/21, I filled out a request via the HOA site that I was painting the house and provided the colors (yellow and white). About 10 days later the former HOA president called me to clarify the colors and recommended that I upload the color name/codes. I uploaded the colors on 11/12/21. I called the former HOA president on 11/24/21 to see if it was approved as I was planning to paint in early December. He told me that 3 out of the 5 members need to approve it. That he was OK with it and it shouldn't be a problem and if it was that he would call me back later that day or the next. It was too cold to paint in December.

On 2/21/22, I put in a request to get my tree removed and mentioned in the request that I was going to paint the house as I requested in November and was approved (so I thought) in March. They approved the tree removal and there were no comments on me painting the house.

On 3/19/22, I paint the 3 sides of the house. The following morning, I get a call from the new HOA president (he was vice-president last year and voted against the color), that the paint had been denied in November 2021. I was shocked. I told them that they never told me it was denied, they didn't email me, and on the HOA website the request is still open. I told him per my conversation with the former HOA president that if there was any problems with the color being denied that they would let me know. Also, if a color is denied, they would usually let the homeowner know so that they can choose a different color. I never received that call.

Someone at the HOA from the prior year failed to do their job and didn't notify me. Also, all of the HOA members who read my tree removal request from 2/21/22 should have either cross reference my November paint request or at least send me a comment that I have to address my house painting on the original house painting request from November or start a new one. But they completely ignored the house painting portion.

The HOA offered to pay me $1000 and to change the color but my cost is about $1800. I don't feel that I should be responsible for any of the cost as it was their mistake, and they know HOA DROPPED THE BALL.

Per the Homeowners Association, the Architectural Review Committee (which I think we don't have one therefore it is the HOA Board) are the ones who must approve all paint colors. Per the Declaration of Protective Covenants the Architectural Review Committee has 60 days to approve or deny a request. If they don't approve or deny in 60 days then no approval is necessary and you can proceed with the project requested. Supposedly they voted and denied the paint color but never notified my verbally, in writing, text, nor in the online request. As far as I am concern, by default my project is approved as I didn't get an answer regarding my request.

So my question to you is do I have the right to keep the color that I painted the house as more than 60 days have past since my request (5 months) and per our Covenants they were supposed to notify me within 60 days?

Also, If I have to change the color, do you agree that due to one of the HOA Board members negligence in failing to notify me that the color was denied, that I should be reimbursed my total $1800 given that I provide reciepts for the job done thus far?

Please let me know your thoughts. I want to do what is right as I know the HOA Board members are volunteers but at the same time, I am the victim of their negligence and I don't want their negligence costing me money.

Thank you.

AugustinD

Thank you for your comments. I appreciate it. This is all new to me.

The covenants don't have paint colors that they approve or don't approve. There are some yellow houses in our community. The yellow that I chose is a brighter shade.

Please let me know your opinion now as there is no list of colors that are prohibited and per the Covenants, they have 60 days to approve or deny the request and if they don't in that time frame then no approval is not needed. They did deny the request per the HOA president but since I was never notified of their decision am I legally OK to paint the house. I know that you are not a lawyer. Just asking for an opinion.

Everything we request to do to the exterior of the house has to be request online so that there is a record, but it seems like the HOA gets a free pass and is not held to the same standards. They should be required to close the request with an approval or denial or at least make a comment on it. As of today, over 5 months from the initial request, my job is still open waiting for them to close it. Looking at that request, you would never know that it was denied. They made no comments requesting alternatives or anything.

Thanks again.

Hi Kelly,

Thank you for your comments. You bring up to great points.

I don't think that the Covenants mentions an expiration once a project is approved to start the project. I will need to double check that.

I was thinking of small claims court, but you are right the cost of lawyering up can be costly on both ends. But it will still cost the HOA money which I prefer that they spend it in the community. I am hoping that they come to their senses and either let the color stand as it actually looks good or refund me the money that I have spent thus far.

In the meantime, the house is painted the color that they denied (yellow) and the front of my house is unpainted as the project has been halted. Does anybody know if this goes to court, can they force me to change the color in the interm or can I wait until this gets settled in court as this can take several years due to the backlog of cases in our court system?

Thanks

Hi Shelia,

Thanks for your reply and input. I wish you were on my board. Me personally, if I was on the board would do the same as you.

I did follow up with the HOA president last year and he told in November 2021 that it shouldn't be an issue and if it was that they would let me know. So that is why I thought that it was approved. I understand Augustin's point that he has no authority to say that as they must decide as a group. But it is reasonable to think that if they disapproved the color that they should contact me and let me know.

If I want to expand my deck and add a swimming pool to my yard, I can't say that I filled out a request form and never sent it to them. I have to have proof that I put in a request and wait for an answer in 60 days. All of my request must be done online so that they have a record of it. They should be held to the same standard and have it in writing that they denied it and that they sent me their answer and close the request. Or at the very least a text message or phone call. The HOA president knows that one of the HOA board members dropped the ball last year by them not notifying me.

I did tell them that I was going to paint in March when I requested the tree removal in February. They completely ignored it. When I told the current HOA president about this, he said what did they approve. I told him the tree removal. He then replied and then we didn't let you know that the paint was approved. I replied and you did not tell me that it was denied either. Then he said, it should have been in another ticket. I told him that it was from 4 months before that request. And the reason that I put it there was as a courtesy to let them know that I was going to paint in March. The bottom line is that they completely ignored the painting comment on the tree request. They could have very easily cross referenced or at the very least say you need to address this on your initial request. But it was ignored.

Hopefully this gets settled soon.

Thanks again for your input. I appreciate it.

For me it comes to down to an $800 question. For $800 do I want to go through the hassle of going through the time and aggravation of waiting to be heard in small claims court when I don't even know what the outcome will be? In addition, during this period of time do I want to come home to a house that is 3/4 painted? Also, do I want to be labeled as the guy who sued his HOA and is a trouble maker? For me my personally answer is no.

If the stakes were higher I would go to court but my time and aggravation for something like this is worth more than $800.

Hey Augustin,

Thanks for your reply. I value your opinion and everyone one else's whether they agree or me or not. As this is not a clear-cut case and it different people or judges may see things differently.

The Homeowners Association standards and guidelines do say:
"The Board of Directors and the
Architectural Review Committee (ARC) have established these Architectural/Design
Standards in order to maintain the overall design concept for the community, promote
harmonious architectural and environmental design, as well as promote and enhance
the visual and aesthetic appearance."

It also says that the ARC must approve all paint colors. This includes repainting with existing colors. Painting brick is not permitted. *** I believe that we don't have an ARC and it is the HOA Board five members that vote on the colors and give approval or denials to the requests that are filed online. ***

Also in the Covenants it clearly states if they don't approve or deny within 60 days then no approval is necessary. I have listed it below and also attached the file.

"If the ARC fails to approve or, to disapprove submitted plans and
specifications within sixty (60) days after the plans and specifications have been
submitted to it, approval will not be required, and this section will be deemed to
have been fully complied with. As a condition of approval under this Section, each
Owner, on behalf of such, Owner and such Owner's successors-in-interest, shall assume
all responsibilities for maintenance, repair, replacement, and insurance to and on
any change, modification, addition, or alteration. In the discretion of the ARC, an
Owner may be made to verify such condition of approval by a recordable written
instrument acknowledged by such Owner on behalf of such Owner and such Owner's
successors-in-interest. The ARC shall be the sole arbiter of such plans and may
withhold approval for any reason, including purely aesthetic considerations, and it
shall be entitled to stop any construction in violation of these restrictions. Any
member of the Board or its representatives shall have the right, during reasonable
hours and after reasonable notice, to enter upon any property to inspect for the
purpose of ascertaining whether or not these restrictive covenants have been or are
being complied with. Such Person or Persons shall not be deemed guilty of trespass by
reason of such entry. In addition to any other remedies available to the Association,
in the event of noncompliance with this Section, the Board may, as provided in Article XII, Section 1, hereof, record in the appropriate land records a
notice of violation naming the violating Owner."

The fact that they never notified me until 5 months later when the painting started to me means that by default it was over 60 days even if they denied it before that time as they never notified me. I think it is fair to say if I need to do something to the exterior to my house, I need to let them know and whatever they decide they should have the same obligation to let me know of their decision. I did give them a heads up 4 months after my initial request and one month before painting but they ignored it.

Currently everything is on hold and the president is getting back to the HOA to decide if they refund me the $1800 that I have spent on the project. I think that I have enough grounds to take them to court. If they go to court, I would think that them hiring a lawyer would cost them more than the extra $800. I would represent myself and it doesn't matter if I win or lose as long as I don't have to pay their lawyer fees if I lose. But I think that I can win due to negligence on their end.

But after you read below, I think that I may stick my guns and demand that I keep my color as this whole situation is getting uglier the more that I think about it.

*** HERE IS THE PRELUDE BEFORE IT STARTS TO GET INTERESTING ***

There are 9 houses in the cul-de-sac. Two sold last month for over $650,000 each which the owners haven't moved in yet.

Neighbor #1 painted his BRICK house white. It clearly states in the community standards and guidelines that painting BRICK is not allowed. I doubt that he put a request and if he did there was some major bending of the rules there. I am not even sure that they know about it or if they are trying to make him change it but I doubt it as it has been white for at least 10 months now. Even if they try to remove the paint from the brick it may make it worse. I am not in the business of snitching on people.

Neighbor #2 put up a retaining wall shortly after I told him that I was going to put one up. He didn't file a request. He told me that the HOA scolded him but that was it.

I put my request for the retaining wall about 2 weeks after he was reprimanded for his. 5 months later, my request still sits open with no decision or request for any other information. Plus, I let it be known to the HOA president last week when this paint issue started.

I put my request to paint my house yellow (there are yellow houses in the community but mine is brighter) 5 months ago and never was told about the denial.

*** HERE IS THE INTERESTING PART ***

There are about 120 homes in the community and from what I can tell by the list of homeowners' last names there are 3 Hispanic owners. Me, being one of them. Hate to surprise everyone but my name is not Jay. If you would see my name you would know that I am Hispanic, lets just say my name is Francisco Guadalupe Morales (It's not).

I really feel that I am being discriminated against. I keep trying to convince myself that I am not but the more I think about it the more that I think that I am. Neighbor #1 paints his BRICK house white which is against guidelines to paint brick (how did he get approved? If he didn't, it doesn't appear that they are doing anything). Neighbor #2 puts up a retaining wall without requesting permission and no problem. Lets just say that both of their names are John Smith. I, Francisco Guadalupe Morales, put in a request like all community member should do and I get my requests ignored. Then they said they denied my paint color selection in November and they never notify me. This isn't like a request that I want to put in an electric fence and they denied it. End of story. A paint color, I would think that you should get a notification to change the color if you are denied. I received no call or any type of communication. I try to remind them in February that I will be painting in a month and they ignored it. But sure enough, when I started to paint before it could even dry, I get the HOA president calling me. Like I was some maverick who knew that the color was denied but did it anyway. He told me several of the neighbors complained. Which I doubt, as it was a Saturday when I painted and he was calling me on Sunday morning. It had to be either my next door neighbor who was part of the HOA for 6 years in the past or one of my backyard neighbors who is a current member of the HOA. It had to be someone with direct ties as most of my other neighbors like myself are not involved with the HOA and have no idea who the board members are.

Am I being paranoid thinking that there is a conspiracy against me or is this all just coincidence? I think there may be grounds for breach of the Fair House Act on their part. Like I said, I do things by the book but when it comes to my requests I feel that I am being ignored but the moment that I do something they are ready to pounce. I start thinking that it may not be so much the paint color as they haven't addressed my retaining wall issue which either that has been sitting open for 5 months. I am sure that they have addressed many requests made after mine over these past 5 months but continue to ignore mine. I feel if I plan to change a lightbulb or anything meniscal and put in a request that they will either ignore my request or give me a hard time. I hate feeling like that but I do. Hence why I think that I will fight to keep my color and if it means legal action then so be it.

Please anybody, let me know your thoughts and thanks in advance.

I am not looking for someone to agree with me or disagree with me. I am looking for honest opinions on the matter and any guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again Augustin and all others. I value your opinions as you guys have lots of knowledge and experience in HOA matters.

Hey John,

Thanks for the input. I would normally agree with what you said. But the situation is that I believe the person who complained to the HOA about my paint is my next-door neighbor who is planning to sell his house in 3 years. Having the house 3/4 yellow with the front of the house light purple doesn't bother me as I am not planning on selling anytime soon. And if it means if there is an open court case and the house stays that color until this is settled in court which can be several years then it is money well spent from my angle. Even if I lose the case which personally, I don't think that I will, so be it.

The $800 isn't going to make me nor the HOA any richer or poorer but it is the principle of the HOA's negligence that led to all this inconvenience. I feel that I shouldn't be responsible for any of my cost.

Hi Melissa,

Thanks for your thoughts. I feel bad for that poor guy.

You guys had strict rules when it came to colors. Here it appears that it is up to the discretion of the ARC which is the HOA Board.

The covenants says that the ARC which is the HOA board has 60 days from my request to approve or deny my request. If they don't then the request doesn't require approval. Even though they may have decided, they never told me of their denial until 5 months later which was after I painted 3/4 of the house.

My question to you and I know that you are not a lawyer, but you may have had or heard of a similar situation in the past is if I take this to court based on the argument that the paint color should not require approval as per the covenants due to 60 days passing from the request and me never received an answer from the HOA, can they force me to paint while the case is court? I don't think they can as the whole reason that I will take them to court is due to the covenants saying that I don't need approval due to the 60 days passing and their negligence.

Please let me know your thoughts.

I agree Jay. The paragraph reads very clearly that the ARC had 60 days to approve or disapprove the paint color. I sense your frustration and I do not live in your neighborhood but I wouldn't be quick to jump to any racist conclusions. That is unless there are other incidences that are obvious.

I am making an assumption here. You said your paint color is brighter than the other yellow painted homes in your community. Maybe that is the objection. Personally, I love yellow. It is such a cheerful color. My last house was yellow but a subdued yellow. I am not a big fan of bright yellow homes. I would guess many others agree with me.

This is a suggestion. Propose to the board that you will add some white paint to tone down the brightness and repaint the sides you have completed. They may or may not agree to that but it is worth a try. I am a person who believes in compromise when it comes to these kinds of conflicts. As someone who has been involved in litigation with my HOA, believe me you do not want to go down that path over paint colors. It takes a financial and emotional toll that in the end is not worth it.

Good luck.

JayF2, my thoughts:

What works for you:

-- Failure to approve or deny within 60 days with clarity, and so with caveats.

-- Possibly the lack of an ACC. Though I believe many courts would say that the Board is then the default authority.

-- The lack of specific guidance on paint colors. I believe the courts tend to want to see a lot more guidance to owners than "must be harmonious."

-- Possible selective enforcement of the covenants regarding harmonious design, the painting of homes et cetera. It's the stuff that causes litigation to be long and expensive.

What works against you:
-- I will assume that the covenants do in fact have verbiage that speaks of a harmonious appearance of homes or similar wording. If so, then I believe a court might rule against an owner that made a change that was a flagrant violation of the covenants, even if deadlines for approval passed. A court might say: Mr. JayF2, you knew the colors must be harmonious. The bright yellow you used arguably is not harmonious. Yes there was a 60-day time limit for the Board/ACC to approve, and this time period passed. But you had a copy of the covenants before you bought your home. You knew harmoniousness was important. Why shouldn't the HOA be able to tag you with a violation of the harmonious clause in the Declaration?

-- Regarding Fair Housing law violations: My experience is now pretty extensive on this subject. The mighty cogs of HUD's bureaucracy will, within a few months process a complaint that says: "The HOA refused to approve my house paint because I am Hispanic-American. The proof is that my last name sounds Hispanic-American. and I got denied/ignored. Others without such last names did not." But without a clear connection that the reason the Board did not approve your application is because you are Hispanic-American, you are doomed. Remember that, the HOA need only respond to HUD that the reason it did not approve your home's proposed paint color was due to a lack of harmony with the other homes, this is not necessarily a lie. To get anywhere with a Fair Housing complaint, the evidence has to be incredibly solid.

-- You could skip HUD and hire an attorney. I expect this will cost a lot more than $1800 just for the attorney to write a demand letter. If the principle here is important to you, and you have the money, go for it. But the HOA may very well dig in, and you're left with taking the HOA to court on very poor ground indeed in my opinion. You were mis-treated with regard to the ACC approval. But is the mistreatment worth giving up a lot of your life?

-- In another volunteer gig, I am eyewitnessing what I feel is gross discrimination on the basis of race in another volunteer gig. The problem is that the details make it impossible to prove. Any party who has aggrieved standing (meaning they themselves would say they were discriminated against because of their race) would get nowhere.

Options:
-- Do not re-paint your home. Wait for the HOA to issue you a violation of the covenants. Per the Georgia POA Act at http://gaddislanier.com/wp-content/uploads/Georgia-Property-Owners-Assoc-Act.pdf, if the HOA's Bylaws or Declaration allow the HOA to issue fines, then the HOA may do so. By my brief reading so far, if you refuse to pay, in Georgia I think the HOA might be able to foreclose on your home. The legal expenses will be incredible.

-- Take the $1000, get approval of the new color, and re-paint.

Keep reading here and you will see what a hassle some HOAs are. In my experience the person who realizes that fighting for principle will cost a lot of time and possibly money is rare. Many have to learn the hard way. I know I did. Unless one has money to throw away, justice at the HOA level is rare.

Hey BancsS,

Thanks for your advice. I agree about not jumping into the racist issues as that will open up a big can of worms. Plus it could be me being paranoid. Just for context, I have not seen the board members and as far as I know they have never seen me. I was born in New Jersey minutes away from New York City 50 years ago. If someone looks at me they wouldn't know that I am Hispanic. Now if someone only looks at my name, they will say this person is Hispanic which they will be correct but may think that I am an illegal immigrant or a second class citizen.

It just seems to me that I am being treated a bit different than others. I think all of this is too much of a coincidence. They ignore my 2 initial requests from November 2021 regarding the paint and the retaining wall, they deny my paint color and never told me, they ignore my comments from February 2022 regarding that I will be painting, they call me to halt my painting before the paint could even dry. In the meantime, I am sure that they have been addressing request that were placed after mine and they also let immediate neighbors get away with things which they probably didn't even put in request for and if they did it was approved against the covenants.

I don't know, if I am I being paranoid? But it seems to me that the HOA has a set of rules that they need to follow but they have a different one for me.

As far as trying to tone down the paint, I will still need to buy the paint and pay the painter. I might just switch the color but it will be on their dime as it was their mistake. Me personally, it doesn't matter if it is the gloomy faded Army green color or a nice luxurious yellow (the yellow that I chose is similar to what one might see in a West Palm Beach mansion). I am not planning to sell the house soon and I don't really have many visitors. So the color of the house is not important to me. My wife is the one that wants that color. But I really am considering buying the green color which I have mentioned and they will have to approve as several houses have that color. Also buy the cheapest paint possible. If it fades in 1 year no big deal on my end. The community has a bunch of faded houses and they are not forcing anyone to paint. It may affect my neighbor, who is probably the snitch, as he is planning on selling his house in 3 years. Instead of having next to his house a beautiful bright house (yellow with white trim), he will have a gloomy faded Army green colored house. Obviously, when ever I decide to sell, I will change the color so that the house looks more attractive.

I have attached tried to attach a picture of the rear of the house with the yellow paint but somehow it doesn't accept the format.

Why were you painting in February? Read the side of any paint can. You don't paint in certain temperatures. Anything below the high of 40 for a week and anything above 85 for a week high is not good for paint. You would have basically had to repaint again because the paint temperatures.

Believe me I know from experience... I had the same fight recently with my HOA. Demanding I paint my new fence. It has been raining and temps below 40 for 3 months. Plus new wood has to weather a bit before you can paint. Just slapping paint up isn't the best way to handle things.

Does your board have regular meetings?

Rather than rely on their apparent inability to send out updates to requests, go to a board meeting and get your answers from the entire board.

Hey Melissa,

I was initially going to paint in early December as the temp wasn't too cold. In February, I told them that I was going to paint in March when the temperatures improved.

To give an idea of how Georgia courts think about HOA architectural decisions, google as follows:

"architectural" "association" "approved" site:https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/

This will turn up nine cases involving Georgia HOA architectural committee disputes that the Georgia Appeals Court has treated. The Georgia Supreme Court appears to not have any similar cases.

See all the detail of these cases? See all the attention to exactly what the covenants say? See all the case law references? This represents the ringing of attorneys' cash registers.

Want to punish your HOA? Want to punish yourself? Want to enrich attorneys? File suit over an $1800 paint job.

Jay,

It's good to be informed before you jump into a legal remedy. I'm all for compromise as I stated before. Time, money, emotion all come into the legal picture. I would be asking myself if I really want to go down that path. I am all for a peaceful existence in my home and my neighborhood. It makes life so much easier to take in a sometimes- ugly world.

I'm not dismissing your feelings. You certainly have a right to them. I agree with Augustin that you will have a difficult time proving discrimination with what you have posted. Your last name argument, I feel is a stretch. My maiden name was Jewish and my married name is Amish, and I am neither. Although I hear what you are saying. Certain names do categorize a person. But I think of that more in terms of the Archie Bunker era.

I think taking the $1,000 offered and repainting your home to a color approved by your wife and the HOA Board is something to give serious consideration. Then when you drive up to your home at the end of a long day, you can feel pride. Pride that you averted a legal battle and pride in choosing a house color that met approval.

Well said.

Hey John,

Thanks for the advice. If I felt that I screwed up, I would do that. If for any minute, I thought that the color was going to be an issue, I wouldn't have spent a dime on it.

When the HOA president spoke to me. I felt that he thought I just painted the house that color knowingly that they had denied the color. During our discussion, he knew that someone at the HOA dropped the ball by not telling me of the denial last year and was very close to admitting it but stopped himself. He then tried to make it like I was the one at fault. He then spoked to the HOA members a few days later and the conversation may have gone something like, he was at fault also just give him $1000 without them knowing my costs.

Jay

You're not going to get a lot of sympathize from folks on this site. They are current or former board members, wanna be lawyers who try and cite case law until you're blue in the face and will use your money to prove they are right. Their opinion will be to tell you to man-up, take their offering and sin no more. Do any of these clowns have any idea or list of what the proper paint colors or is it fly by the seat of your pants authority.

Hey Max,

LOL!!! You call it like it is. I love it! Thanks for your insight. It is flight by the seat of your pants authority.

Max, if you were in my shoes what would you do? It seems that you don't take any crap and call it like it is.

I am just trying to get some different opinions as I, the victim, obviously see things differently. I don't want to be too irrational but at the same time, I don't want to be screwed.

When the HOA president told me that if it were him that he would have followed up. I thought that I did by calling the former HOA president and telling him what was the verdict regarding my color was? His reply, "Should be fine as I will vote for it and I just need to get two more members out of the other four to agree. If there is any problem, I will let you know." So it is my fault for following up and taking his word if there was a problem, he would let me know. It is my fault that when they denied it they never notified me. It was might fault that they ignored my comment in February that I was going to be painting in March.

Going the legal route is not an option due to the financial costs that I will end up paying as their lawyer will twist their errors in a convoluted way to make me the bad guy. Then I am responsible for their legal fees.

If I don't get a 100% reimbursement, I will make sure that the HOA's time here at the board is a job and they will be held accountable. This won't be a cake walk. Some may say a living hell, but I just say doing their job.

If I were the board, it is an easy decision. Just admit that they made a mistake by not notifying me of the denial. Offer to pay me a 100% of my paint cost up to this point. And tell me that I have to change the color which I am willing to do. It is that simple. I repaint a different color and go back to my cocoon and all is good. But if they want to play games, they messed with the wrong guy as I will not let this go.

Max, I know that I won't get any sympathy here but what is right is right. The board will need to be held accountable.

Hopefully, some of the wonderful people at this site can have some suggestions of what I can do other take the $1000, repaint, and hide under my sheets? What can I say to the board to get my full reimbursement which is $800 more than their initial offer. Note, they did not know my costs when they made their initial offer. I did let the HOA president know and he was going back to the board

I have received some great advice so far. And I like the fact that not everyone agrees with me. As it gives me a different perspective.

You are right: In a perfect world, one should not be walked all over.

This board's conduct was poor. This board's communications with you have been poor. Anyone who is female, a minority, or disabled may very well be right in wondering if this is because of his/her gender; race; or disability. It can makes a person's blood boil. It does not stop. I think situations like this can take a mighty toll on one's sense of self-worth.

Can you write down what it is you want and what you are willing to sacrifice to get what you want?

From where I am sitting, here are the reasons to let the board keep blundering:

-- The board has the bulk of the power and resources here. This includes having an attorney at their disposal and possibly being perfectly happy making the membership pay the attorney to go after you. The Board can make your life difficult.

-- You yourself do not want to serve on the board. Serving on the board includes the headache of getting the other directors to actually read the covenants; having to consult the HOA attorney like all the time; moving at a snail's pace on nearly all decisions; and an enormous time commitment. Wouldn't you rather be paid, at a real job, then give your time away?

-- I continue to maintain your hands are not entirely clean here. E.g. A verbal approval by one director (the President) is not what the bylaws and covenants allow. You're supposed to know this. This is on you. From the covenants, you're also supposed to know that harmony of exteriors of homes is required.

Reasons to not put up with these mis-steps and/or poor Board behavior:

-- Pride. If you want to stand up for yourself (which would be understandable, given everything), go ahead and prepare a short, concise letter to the board giving the timeline of events; citing the covenant on 60 days; and asking the HOA to foot the entire bill for the re-painting of your home . (Re the 60 days, I am assuming the covenant does not say anything else. People come here and nearly always present their situation with some bias.) If you want, go ahead and speak of what other owners have done architecturally and inconsistencies in enforcement. But if you do the latter, then I would hope you intend to run for the board at the next election. You do not think much of this board's character. Nor do I. But I also do not think much of the character of someone who criticizes but is not willing to undertake all the work of a board member him- or herself.

-- Not wanting to pay $800 or so because of the Board's incompetence. I do not like giving money away when I was not the one who made the bulk of the mistakes.

Post-o. The above should have been:

You need to abide by the covenants and bylaws and not be personally calling anyone connected to the board and just assuming that the one director or officer speaks for the entire board.

To me it's obvious that the Board admits it failed to communicate any denial within the required timeframe. Why else would the board be offering to pay $1000 to fix the paint color?

I guess I'm one of those clowns that Max refers to because I'm a board president and I deal with architectural decisions all the time.

All I can offer you is my experiences based on many situations such as yours. And my question to you is - if the board is acting as the ACC and making the decisions, they have to do that at a board meeting or a separate ACC meeting. There have to be minutes of those meetings. Most likely they didn't have casual phone conversation and say "let's deny Jay because we just don't like the color" and not document anything. I know it doesn't help your case if there actually is something in writing, but if you are contemplating suing your association over this then they are going to hold up that piece of paper as evidence. So you might want to be prepared and see if it really exists in writing.