Developer vs Builder

I need some advice....

Our builder emailed myself and another board member stating that the "developer" has blamed the snow plow company for damaging the roads in our development.

Our roads are private and are still under development. Our development is under developer control. There are 14 more homes to sell in a 40 home development. The "builder" does not count the 8 he rents. The model home is for sale also. The builder changed the original design to a smaller home so he may be building a new model in another part of the development. There seems to be some building going on this week in our development.

The developer wants to builder or the association to pay 6,000 to repair the roads, again I state they are not finished nor is the development complete.

The builder will not pay and since he has the majority of votes in our association will not vote to pay it. He feels that the developer is responsible and should have been responsible to pay for the plowing of the roads for the last 3 years. The payment has always come out of the association dues. The developer also signed and bonded the Improvements and Maintenance Agreement with the township.

The builder goes on to state that the developer signed the Agreement, the developer bonded the completion of this work to the satisfaction of the Township engineer (who is very strict), and it is his responsibility to complete all required site improvements in compliance with that agreement.

The developer and builder have been constantly going back and forth with each other regarding responsibility and in the meantime our development is not being completed. We have gates to make operational, landscaping to complete and homes to build. The owners who live in this development are very concerned about the future of this development and the developer and builder have not given them any reassurance on how this development will be completed. We have been to the township several times and each time the township architect sides with the developer and builder.

We are under "developer" control, however, the builder is the President of our Association with two family members on the board so he has the majority. I don't know what role, if any, the developer plays in the association.

The builder wants a response agreeing with him against the developer from myself and the other board member who is a resident. I don't know how to respond at this point or whether we should respond. I know we need to take further action but since the township has been no help don't know what should the next step. One previous email the builder stated that he and the developer had a "falling out" which makes me even more anxious about the future of our development.

ANY advice you can give me on this would appreciated.

Would the attorney's fees be paid for by the homeowner's, or would the association pay for these fees? It may sound like a stupid question but just wondering how I could get the homeowners to agree to pay for attorney fees which as we all know can be very costly.

I am for hiring an attorney, however, not sure if they homeowners are for it. There are only 19 of us. The builder rents 8 and now the model is for sale. There are 16 more to build and sell and the developer has started building again. He could be building to rent, don't know.

I have an attorney who specializes in HOA law and have emailed him several time regarding meeting with him. I want to get as many homeowners involved, however, if they do not want to go forward with it do you think I can proceed on my own?

I want to help all the homeowners in my development but if they are not on board I want to protect my own investment. I know our property values are diminishing.

Maureen,

You may want to meet with this attorney to get his opinion of what type of action could be taken, if any. If it would involve a court action, then you could gather all the interested h/o's and go from there. Of course you can always bring a legal action against both the developer and builder on your own. I'm sure you know what the cost involved could be. In fact this attorney could give you a good idea about that. But, meetinging with him and discussing the problem would give you a better idea of where the members stand.