I’m leaving this HOA misery.

Hi all. Probably my last post, but I’ll stick around until I sell my condo.

Summer last year, after retiring from 9 years on the board, I decided that I didn’t have faith in anyone maintaining the value and integrity of the community. I knew I couldn’t buy again in Charlotte and was retiring soon. I ventured out to research affordable areas within 2 hours of Charlotte. I dragged my feet and last February a new board was appointed. The board is everyone’s worst nightmare.

Some of their “accomplishments” so far:

- Tore out all of the landscaping and replaced it with pine needles.

- Decided to replace the pool decking starting 6 weeks before pool opening.
-The vendor destroyed the pool ripping up the old cement deck.
-We are in a lawsuit with the vendor.
-No parts of our pool are repairable and must be completely rebuilt.

- Secured a $1 million line of credit, our yearly budget is $400,000, after announcing at the annual meeting we didn’t need reserves and we could maintain the property without assessments.

- Decided not to follow the CCR’s and make some owners do repairs to community property.

- They are replacing all the front windows, at HOA expense. Those who bought new windows as recently as this spring will have those torn out and replaced. Per CCR’s windows are the owner's responsibility. The board has decided that the HOA will pay.

- The few minutes that they have posted are invalid. There is no formatting, just a bunch of chatter, and they have never been approved during the next board meeting.

- The President throws tantrums at residents and vendors screaming like a child.

There’s more, but I’ll stop there.

We have all said at one time or another, “If you don’t like it, live with it, move, or volunteer”.

I took that advice and I am presently moving into a 1960’s vintage house in the country. I was able to purchase the house, move, and then sell the condo. Wish I had done this sooner, but the house and location, for the price, were worth the wait.

Good luck to everyone.

Quote:

"Secured a $1 million line of credit, our yearly budget is $400,000, after announcing at the annual meeting we didn’t need reserves and we could maintain the property without assessments."

These folks need to write a How-To Guide for the rest of us! I'd love to know how we could maintain our property without assessments. Did you find oil deposits on the property? Or is there a magic spinning wheel somewhere that can turn straw into gold? Inquiring minds want to know!!

Leaving snark aside, I assume this board is talking about relying on special assessments. Yeah, you could probably get away with that for a while. But it actually will lead to increased costs over time, along with financial hardship for the membership. A tiny HOA with minimal common areas could probably make it work, although it's not ideal. But a community with a pool?

As usual, the real problem is the membership who elected the current board and apparently is willing to keep them in place while they run the community into the ground. I think I'd also sell my home while banks are still willing to lend money for mortgage loan, although the lawsuit and the line of credit will raise bankers' eyebrows.

Funny how the dream of condo ownership can turn into a nightmare with one election.

What great news. Good luck going forward.