HOA Failing to Maintain Property

I own a townhome in the Dallas Texas area. I have owned the property since 2005, and we have gone through several property management companies because of a lot of infighting amongst the board members. We were recently notified that the HOA dues would increase 112% to address the detoriation of the property related to poor maintainence and upkeep. The property has two phases, each with its board and dedications. I do not reside in the home and was not informed of the meeting to discuss the increase in dues. I have requested from the HOA board members and the current property management company the HOA records from the past five years to review the financials, meeting minutes, budget, and tax returns. I have been denied this request on three separate occasions and as a result have filed suit.

The current property management company has failed to file its management certificate, designating it as the property manager and providing all the information required. They did not file it until I requested a copy, the management certificate on file was from two property managment companies before. I wanted to know if anyone knows the applicability of Property Code 209 Title 11:

d) If a property owners' association fails to record a management certificate or an amended management certificate under this section, the purchaser, lender, or title insurance company or its agent in a transaction involving property in the property owners' association is not liable to the property owners' association for:
(1) any amount due to the association on the date of a transfer to a bona fide purchaser; and
(2) any debt to or claim of the association that accrued before the date of a transfer to a bona fide purchaser.
(e) A lien of a property owners' association that fails to file a management certificate or an amended management certificate under this section to secure an amount due on the effective date of a transfer to a bona fide purchaser is enforceable only for an amount incurred after the effective date of sale. An owner is not liable for attorney's fees incurred by a property owners' association relating to the collection of a delinquent assessment against the owner or interest on the amount of a delinquent assessment if the attorney's fees are incurred by the association or the interest accrues during the period a management certificate is not recorded with a county clerk or electronically filed with the Texas Real Estate Commission as required by this section.

and SB1588

(e) A lien of a property owners' association that fails to
file a management certificate or an amended management certificate
under this section to secure an amount due on the effective date of
a transfer to a bona fide purchaser is enforceable only for an
amount incurred after the effective date of sale. An owner is not
liable for attorney's fees incurred by a property owners'
association relating to the collection of a delinquent assessment
against the owner or interest on the amount of a delinquent
assessment if the attorney's fees are incurred by the association
or the interest accrues during the period a management certificate
is not recorded with a county clerk or electronically filed with the
Texas Real Estate Commission as required by this section.

What Tim said. Most of us aren't attorneys anyway.

I also live in a townhouse community and spent 10 years on the board, 5 as treasurer, and I can tell you there's a lot of blame to go around - and you can't put all of it on the property manager. Tge property manager works at the board's direction and you said your commission has had several because the board members can't seem to get themselves together. THAT'S where you start in determining how things got to this point.

When you get those minutes and financial records, here are some things to ponder:

What line items have increased faster than others and why? Inflation is a factor, and its amazing how many people ignore that. Along with high labor and material costs, insurance increases (something every HOA is wrestling with).

When was your last reserve study and has it been funded according to the recommendations? Reserve studies should be done every five years. Reserves shouldn't be treated as a slush fund to cover shortages in the operating budget - it exists to pay for future major replacements to the common area, like roofs for the townhouses. If you see a lot of borrowing, but no replenishing of that money, that's a problems.

What's going on with delinquent homeowners? You won't be told who owes what, but you should be aware of how many are behind, the total amount owed from everyone, how many are on payment plans, have been turned over to the attorney for collection, how many liens have been filed, how msnyvare in foreclosure, and how much had to be written off. When some homeowners fail or refuse to pay, that leaves less money for tge association to pay its bill and fund reserves. It also means those of you who are paying have to indirectly subsidize those who don't. If the board has done little or nothing, that's a problem.

Have your assessments kept up with increasing costs? You can't expect 2005 dollars to pay for tgevsave level of services in 2024. Unfortunately, peopke are bad at math and when the board announced increases are necessary, they scream about assessments being "too high". Could it be the reason you've had do many property managers is because some tried to explain this to the board, but some didn't listen and arguments ensued? Would YOU want to be a property manager with a community that dysfunctional?

By the way, how did you find out about this meeting? Off-site owners are notorious for not paying attention to the day to day in their communities, don't volunteer to serve on the board, rarely attend any meetings, even the the annual (which is only once a year). You say there's been a lot of infighting among the board- ever consider talking with your neighbors to get together and demand change? Do you even know who they are?

Now that you know your community has lots of issues, what else are you willing to do to help turn things around? You might get rid of the current property ma ager and perhaps they should be sacked, but that won't address the dysfunctional board. Are YOU willing to step up and run for a spot or work with like minded neighbors in bringing this group to heel or supporting those who are willing to serve? Would you be willing to help serve on a committee that can research contractors who will provide quality work at competitive rates to control costs?

Aviance, is your townhome community organized as a Texas Property Code Section 209 HOA community or a Texas Property Code Chapter 81 or 82 Condominium community?

Aviance

I am of the opinion none of the language you cite applies to you as you are an existing owner of the property (19 years) and not someone who recently purchased the property and is finding themself caught up in some kind of issue regarding past due amounts not disclosed through the sales process.

Also, I don't think you will find a 'smoking gun' in all the documents you requested. I believe you identified the issues extant in your community in the first two sentences of your original post. I do not wish to be rude but it appears to me you are looking for an 'out' to the 112% increase. Your post did not argue the maintenance is not necessary only (by implication) you somehow wish to avoid paying for it.

Your documents may provide controls regarding assessment increases being capped at a certain amount. Those may help lessen the increase for the moment but if an increase of that percentage is on the table, it sounds to me like the maintenance has been deferred far too long and that you should focus your energy on possible alternate strategies to secure the funding necessary. Not performing the maintenance is not going to improve the value of your property.

Going forward, I recommend you pay closer attention to what is taking place in the association. Attend meetings. Read every piece of mail you receive from the association. Visit the property on a regular basis. By the way, tax returns will tell you very little if anything not already included in the monthly financial reports, documents you are entitled to receive each and every month.