GabiE (Georgia)
Posts: 3
Posts: 3
Posted:
Sorry for the novel......I am a commercial and residential property owner, as well as real estate broker and firm partner in Georgia. I am writing because I am dealing with a very inexperienced neighborhood board and a board president with what seems to be a personal vendetta. He is persecuting me and my family with three young daughters, and thinks he can harass us using the Management Company (which is so large they shoot off form letters about losing out on community amenities when there ARE no amenities, and then sends the same violation letter twice, the first WITHOUT Certified and the second, a week later, with), and also a very inept Counsel who does not answer letters or questions from myself, MY COUNSEL, and never calls back, and worse, is condoning running people around in circles and not informing the neighborhood board OR the management company of her decisions. And of course, she would be charging throughout all of this dragging on, as lawyers are often fond of. Please read on:
In our townhome neighborhood, we currently have four non-compliant with current covenants fences that were glossed over by previous boards, and lo and behold, the board now has an ACC member AND a Board Officer both with non-compliant fences, and think that this does not matter. They continually brush this off because they, of course, have a special interest in NOT doing it, and then hassling me about it when I did the very fence they said would be in compliance!
As a good neighbor, I regrettably offered to be a neighborhood fence model, as I have a large Townhome Lot and end unit. They took this as license to abuse me and see what they could force me to do. And this is a fence to protect my 3 small children!! Itâs hard to imagine neighbors doing this to each other, but I guess itâs time to wake up! I am an original owner, and have always paid my dues on time and as requested, via autodraft. A neighbor you wouldnât want to lose, or so youâd think.
We (my husband and I) decided to fence to protect our 3 small daughters had been bitten by unleashed dogs, and have hurt themselves tripping over open pipes!! We also saw many dog owners letting their dogs urinate on other peopleâs lawns and creating burn spots (which are still there, and were coming towards our lawn), and I sat and watched APALLED after a dog owner WATCHED her dog urinate on her next door neighborâs HVAC! So now that house probably reeked. We initially wanted a wooden fence, like the one behind the board member's home, but hers looks warped and ugly because she has not repaired or maintained it, even while on the board! So, we decided to submit a request to put up a cedar fence, which is very lovely, rot-resistant, and would serve our privacy and security needs with three young ones. I had already gotten permission to fence over an easement in the rear of the property from Georgia Power, and the gentleman said that the others had NOT requested permission, yet fenced anyway.
I was requested to come to a board meeting to discuss the fence. The board, the management company, my counsel and their counsel were present. Many options were discussed, but mainly with THEM in mind, not my children. How to make it SO cost-prohibitive that I would just shut up and walk away. The only thing is, these idiots do not realize that fences would make our values go UP! But itâs not about whatâs best for the community, itâs whatâs best for THEM. In the meeting, their lawyer AND the management rep said they didnât understand why the board was making this so difficult. Because they have something to HIDE, hello!!!
I was then sent a legal letter from the Mgmt Company attorney stating that certain items for fencing would be granted and in compliance with the neighborhood: 6 foot, Black iron aluminum, architecturally mirrors a fence around the neighborhood, , and can match the dimensions I originally submitted IN MY FIRST PROPOSAL, and which was also mentioned by measurements in this legal letter. I constructed exactly that, and it is a mirror of a fence surrounding our community, except for the heights. The community fence is 5 feet. But they tried and are STILL trying, along with this idiotic Counsel to force me to add other things that made no sense and had me and others believing I was being bullied into NOT constructing a fence, and keeping a tight, blind eye on THEIR CURRENT infractions, which I am certain the attorney has instructed. She glossed over all of the past infractions and current ones the Board and Acc members have.
They tried to force ME, however, to mimic the ENTRY FENCE TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD (no sellable real estate experience, much???), which they say has brick pillars every 18 feet. Have you ever heard of an interior fence matching an ENTRY? Neither have I. It does NOT have pillars every 18 feet unless you happen to have compound eyes, and I have pictorial proof. Why would a board demand that which is NOT THERE???? This shows bad faith and malicious intent in my mind! The cost with the pillars? Around $14,100. LUDICROUS. THEN, they demand that I not only install landscaping and mulch around the fence in the COMMON AREA, but they demand full control of landscaping in my yard ONCE THE YARD IS FENCED. These two demands directly violate TWO RECORDED COVENANTS ALREADY IN PLACE. This astounds me; why has the HOA attorney allowed this, when the covenants say otherwise? Has she not read them? Is it laziness? Arrogance? Why is she promoting in an ignorant and vendetta-prone board to exhibit arbitrary and capricious actions, that effectively renders them open to liability? Of course I notified the Bar to investigate the Counsel involved, and warned the management company that they were spitting out letters that had nothing to do with the situation. I have also contacted the media, who have shown interest.
After I constructed the fence, I sent a letter to the attorney and enclosed pictures of the fences, ours and the fence in front of the community, and they looked EXACTLY alike. I have gotten the aforementioned non-compliance letter back, and they have demanded I be at their next meeting, on June 30. Now, how is this possible, being that they are demanding I break two landscaping covenants, and have not enforced the non-compliant fences? The board president seemingly only wants to cause more trouble by asking my fence foreman if I had gotten approval instead of knocking on the door to ask me or calling/emailing, then reporting it as a violation. Why? Because he just wants to keep the trouble going for me so that he doesnât have to deal with the other issues, namely, HIS board members being non-compliant. And of course, the lawyer and the management company probably never informed him of the legal letter or anything else, so he must assert his âpowerâ over another neighbor. And this from a guy who when he moved in, had an insulting, racist ceramic figure on his FRONT porch! Have emotional problems, much???
Lawyers are useless in this matter â they complicate things and waste time. I was the one submitting case studies and crafting the letters that my attorney charged me for!! Forget it!
What would be your suggestion? I am going crazy and am ready to get the media involved. Thank you very much!!
In our townhome neighborhood, we currently have four non-compliant with current covenants fences that were glossed over by previous boards, and lo and behold, the board now has an ACC member AND a Board Officer both with non-compliant fences, and think that this does not matter. They continually brush this off because they, of course, have a special interest in NOT doing it, and then hassling me about it when I did the very fence they said would be in compliance!
As a good neighbor, I regrettably offered to be a neighborhood fence model, as I have a large Townhome Lot and end unit. They took this as license to abuse me and see what they could force me to do. And this is a fence to protect my 3 small children!! Itâs hard to imagine neighbors doing this to each other, but I guess itâs time to wake up! I am an original owner, and have always paid my dues on time and as requested, via autodraft. A neighbor you wouldnât want to lose, or so youâd think.
We (my husband and I) decided to fence to protect our 3 small daughters had been bitten by unleashed dogs, and have hurt themselves tripping over open pipes!! We also saw many dog owners letting their dogs urinate on other peopleâs lawns and creating burn spots (which are still there, and were coming towards our lawn), and I sat and watched APALLED after a dog owner WATCHED her dog urinate on her next door neighborâs HVAC! So now that house probably reeked. We initially wanted a wooden fence, like the one behind the board member's home, but hers looks warped and ugly because she has not repaired or maintained it, even while on the board! So, we decided to submit a request to put up a cedar fence, which is very lovely, rot-resistant, and would serve our privacy and security needs with three young ones. I had already gotten permission to fence over an easement in the rear of the property from Georgia Power, and the gentleman said that the others had NOT requested permission, yet fenced anyway.
I was requested to come to a board meeting to discuss the fence. The board, the management company, my counsel and their counsel were present. Many options were discussed, but mainly with THEM in mind, not my children. How to make it SO cost-prohibitive that I would just shut up and walk away. The only thing is, these idiots do not realize that fences would make our values go UP! But itâs not about whatâs best for the community, itâs whatâs best for THEM. In the meeting, their lawyer AND the management rep said they didnât understand why the board was making this so difficult. Because they have something to HIDE, hello!!!
I was then sent a legal letter from the Mgmt Company attorney stating that certain items for fencing would be granted and in compliance with the neighborhood: 6 foot, Black iron aluminum, architecturally mirrors a fence around the neighborhood, , and can match the dimensions I originally submitted IN MY FIRST PROPOSAL, and which was also mentioned by measurements in this legal letter. I constructed exactly that, and it is a mirror of a fence surrounding our community, except for the heights. The community fence is 5 feet. But they tried and are STILL trying, along with this idiotic Counsel to force me to add other things that made no sense and had me and others believing I was being bullied into NOT constructing a fence, and keeping a tight, blind eye on THEIR CURRENT infractions, which I am certain the attorney has instructed. She glossed over all of the past infractions and current ones the Board and Acc members have.
They tried to force ME, however, to mimic the ENTRY FENCE TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD (no sellable real estate experience, much???), which they say has brick pillars every 18 feet. Have you ever heard of an interior fence matching an ENTRY? Neither have I. It does NOT have pillars every 18 feet unless you happen to have compound eyes, and I have pictorial proof. Why would a board demand that which is NOT THERE???? This shows bad faith and malicious intent in my mind! The cost with the pillars? Around $14,100. LUDICROUS. THEN, they demand that I not only install landscaping and mulch around the fence in the COMMON AREA, but they demand full control of landscaping in my yard ONCE THE YARD IS FENCED. These two demands directly violate TWO RECORDED COVENANTS ALREADY IN PLACE. This astounds me; why has the HOA attorney allowed this, when the covenants say otherwise? Has she not read them? Is it laziness? Arrogance? Why is she promoting in an ignorant and vendetta-prone board to exhibit arbitrary and capricious actions, that effectively renders them open to liability? Of course I notified the Bar to investigate the Counsel involved, and warned the management company that they were spitting out letters that had nothing to do with the situation. I have also contacted the media, who have shown interest.
After I constructed the fence, I sent a letter to the attorney and enclosed pictures of the fences, ours and the fence in front of the community, and they looked EXACTLY alike. I have gotten the aforementioned non-compliance letter back, and they have demanded I be at their next meeting, on June 30. Now, how is this possible, being that they are demanding I break two landscaping covenants, and have not enforced the non-compliant fences? The board president seemingly only wants to cause more trouble by asking my fence foreman if I had gotten approval instead of knocking on the door to ask me or calling/emailing, then reporting it as a violation. Why? Because he just wants to keep the trouble going for me so that he doesnât have to deal with the other issues, namely, HIS board members being non-compliant. And of course, the lawyer and the management company probably never informed him of the legal letter or anything else, so he must assert his âpowerâ over another neighbor. And this from a guy who when he moved in, had an insulting, racist ceramic figure on his FRONT porch! Have emotional problems, much???
Lawyers are useless in this matter â they complicate things and waste time. I was the one submitting case studies and crafting the letters that my attorney charged me for!! Forget it!
What would be your suggestion? I am going crazy and am ready to get the media involved. Thank you very much!!