JillC (California)
Posts: 26
Posts: 26
Posted:
If our association has a budget of $2,400/year for legal and the board spent 6,500 where does the difference of 3,900 from, is it the reseres and is that legal?
Jill
Jill
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SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202
Posts: 5,202
Posted:
Nope - take it out of landscaping, utilties, etc. or anywhere else you can squeak out extra money. Or consider a special assessment.
P.S. How on earth did you allow that kind of bill to accrue?
BEFORE the legal fee "meter" starts running, some kind of "budget" needs to be discussed by the Board WITH the lawyer. ("We have X amount to spend, can it be done for this amount"?)
P.S. How on earth did you allow that kind of bill to accrue?
BEFORE the legal fee "meter" starts running, some kind of "budget" needs to be discussed by the Board WITH the lawyer. ("We have X amount to spend, can it be done for this amount"?)
DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671
Posts: 5,671
Posted:
Jill,
Susan is right. Don't use your Reserves to pay any bills other than Capital Expenditures. That is what Reserves are for. How big is your association? The $4100.00 that is over the budgeted amount is not huge unless you are a very small assocaition. You can borrow from a couple of line items somewhere and perhaps slow down spending on something else but do not use your Reserves. Tell us your size please.
JillC (California)
Posts: 26
Posts: 26
Posted:
our association is 45 homes. The legal fees are from fighting over a homeowner, that happens to be me, over parking. I cautioned the other board member over and over about the fees and their response was to remove me as the treasurer so, as the board said "we are voting to remove you from the treasurer position so that you will not copy checks and show the rest of the homeowners how much we paid on fighting the parking issue"
So I requested copies of the invoices and payouts from the management company and will tell the other homeowners how much was paid to fight against me for parking in my driveway.
Just wondering how far a board can go spending money when they have none....oh this fight has gone on for over 3 years and my truck, along with 20 plus other trucks still park in their driveways but I am the only one that is getting the $100.00/month fine.
So I requested copies of the invoices and payouts from the management company and will tell the other homeowners how much was paid to fight against me for parking in my driveway.
Just wondering how far a board can go spending money when they have none....oh this fight has gone on for over 3 years and my truck, along with 20 plus other trucks still park in their driveways but I am the only one that is getting the $100.00/month fine.
DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671
Posts: 5,671
Posted:
Jill,
Okay, Now we have to get more info from you. What exactly is the covenant/rule or whatever that you ended up in court over for a violation. I am guessing that there are to be no trucks parked in the driveways, outside of the garages. My association has such a covenant/rule and it was difficult to enforce in the beginning but we went after everyone. It took a couple of years but it is now solved because after fining and a court case, the trucks are in the garages. So why won't you put yours in, especially if you were a Board member? I don't care if the others aren't. Do you know that they are not being fined? The bottom line is if it is the rule, either you comply or face the concequences.
JillC (California)
Posts: 26
Posts: 26
Posted:
DonnaS,
That is the problem, there is no CCR or rule about parking except that you can't park vehicles that are inoperable and no street parking on the streets between 2 am and 5 am. So that has been my issue from the time we bought this house, it was a new development, we read over the ccr/rules no problem. The board has tried to change the CCR's to include my truck, the homeowners did not vote to pass the amendment. I did pay, under advice from an attorney to pay the first $100.00
under protest. ( seperate issue-The management company has said we never paid that even though i have sent them the copy of the paid check 2 times) Why should I park my truck in the garage when 1) it does not fit in the garage 2) No rule or CCR states we must park in the garage? and 3) as childish as this sounds, if there are going to make me park my truck in the garage than they better get their trucks in the garage!!Are you telling me the board gets to pick and chose what they want people to do because they dont like the look of my truck?? This goes way beyond our truck and back to an issue when we put an American Flag up in our yard and were told not to by the board. 2 Weeks after the flag went up it has been one thing after another. 2 months ago we changed our landscape and sent in a arch app. even though noone in this community does and we were denied the tree wwe wanted with no explanation just a letter saying you have been denied. The attorney said we have a strong case for a civil action for harassment. In order for us to do that and get the board to leave us alone it will cost us thousands. We have done IDR, what a joke, and are waiting for a response to ADR so we will see. I will not back down. It is not about being right even though we are, it is about the power that the board will assume they have over homeowners if we drop this.
That is the problem, there is no CCR or rule about parking except that you can't park vehicles that are inoperable and no street parking on the streets between 2 am and 5 am. So that has been my issue from the time we bought this house, it was a new development, we read over the ccr/rules no problem. The board has tried to change the CCR's to include my truck, the homeowners did not vote to pass the amendment. I did pay, under advice from an attorney to pay the first $100.00
under protest. ( seperate issue-The management company has said we never paid that even though i have sent them the copy of the paid check 2 times) Why should I park my truck in the garage when 1) it does not fit in the garage 2) No rule or CCR states we must park in the garage? and 3) as childish as this sounds, if there are going to make me park my truck in the garage than they better get their trucks in the garage!!Are you telling me the board gets to pick and chose what they want people to do because they dont like the look of my truck?? This goes way beyond our truck and back to an issue when we put an American Flag up in our yard and were told not to by the board. 2 Weeks after the flag went up it has been one thing after another. 2 months ago we changed our landscape and sent in a arch app. even though noone in this community does and we were denied the tree wwe wanted with no explanation just a letter saying you have been denied. The attorney said we have a strong case for a civil action for harassment. In order for us to do that and get the board to leave us alone it will cost us thousands. We have done IDR, what a joke, and are waiting for a response to ADR so we will see. I will not back down. It is not about being right even though we are, it is about the power that the board will assume they have over homeowners if we drop this.
JillC (California)
Posts: 26
Posts: 26
Posted:
Oh and the difference is that your association went after everyone. Mine is going after only us. I know for a fact. If I sound a little bitter it is because I am!!
Jill
Jill
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