Expired Covenants / New Covenants

These are going to be LEGAL documents and you want them to stand up in court, so unless you're an attorney, let the woman or man earn the fee. That said, you can always go through it and make suggestions on what you'd like to see - add this, drop that, tweak there and there and leave the rest alone.

This may also be a good time to poll the homeowners and ask what they'd like to see. You can work on that at the same time, or split the work by focusing on the items that need to be changed now so you can renew the CCRs and address major changes at a later date.

As long as you're renewing the CCRs, ask the attorney about writing them in plain English. This will make them easier to understand (and maybe people will actually read them).

Sheila,
Thank you! Very good advice indeed.
What you've stated is pretty much what we had planned (sorry I wasn't as clear in my original post as I should have been).

We have several notes concerning the covenants (as originally written) and just want to be sure the attorney knows we would like these changes made (if legally possible). We were simply planning to put this together so that the attorney would not have to reinvent the wheel.

We are aware of the legal and financial issues as we have been working this for a number of years. The BOD has fought us from all sides but we keep stating that the law is the law. We finally decided last year to take legal action and its been crazy.

As they say - doing the right thing can be unpleasant at times.

Always appreciate the advice and guidance from this group!

In order to save a few bucks, you and your working group could review covenants from similar communities in your area. These should be recorded with the county recorder's office and may be available on their website. Newer communities would be best since they'll comply with current state law.

That way you can get idea of what will work for you, and you can include it in your wish list for the attorney.

But yes, the attorney will do all of the work to write these. Much of the covenants, conditions and restrictions will be boilerplate - that's done so that the result complies with current law and includes all of the necessary pieces. This is customized for your community. Not only do you end up with a product that will survive legal challenges, it saves times and $$$.

It's a good idea to pay attention to neighbors who won't want to approve the new covenants. If you have any jointly owned property or infrastructure (streets, green space, utility lines, etc.) I'm not sure how anyone can opt out. For example, do they choose not to have water, sewer or electrical service in their homes, or to fly rather than use the streets? Even if you don't have to deal with something like this, it's still a good question to bring up with the attorney.

Daniel,

Just to be clear, is the board participating in this covenant re-do? Is it a group of homeowners outside of the HOA Board?

How many common elements do you have such as roads, pools, clubhouse, etc.? In my opinion, the fewer the amenities you have, the easier it is to get owners on board. I think the term is revitalize.

How many homes in your HOA? How many owners have to agree to the new covenants? In my former HOA (Iowa), the covenants expired and 100% of the owners had to approve to revitalize. The Board had to manage a wastewater system, some ponds, and a small amount of undeveloped property. A nonprofit corporation was formed to manage those things. But the architectural elements were not included. Property owners are bound by county laws and ordinances now. Several years back, an owner brought up the subject of bringing back architectural requirements but there was very little interest in the community to do so.

Since you have been at this awhile, you are probably aware of what your state laws are on revitalization. I'm just sharing a personal experience with a community with expired covenants in Iowa.