Ethical Behaivior of HOA Board Members

There has been a very big problem with a contractor doing an addition in our commumity. Many complaints have been received by "Safeguard" our Gate Guards. These guards have told me personally that there have been more complaints from many different people about this project than all the other complaints they have ever received. This construction has been going on over many months. For some reason the Contractor has ALWAYS pointed & yelled about "Those People", meaning me & my husband. Why on earth he feels We are the ONLY people complaining is beyond me. The President of our HOA was the LISTER of this particular home under construction. The Contractor has done work that lasted several months Across the Street from the HOA President. The President of our HOA swears up & down, he has NEVER known this contractor.....When the Hoa Pres. refused to enforce our CC&R'S, I went to a Board of Directors that happen to have the Last Word on some of our CC&R'S. I was able to get some things put into place to enforce our CC&R'S. I have attended the last 3 HOA Meetings, where there has been "colorful" insults said between the HOA Pres. & myself. This contractor has been calling me & my husband names for sometime now. The other day & I walked over to him and told him that he was a guest in this community and he should act like it. He started in on me with knowledge from the HOA meetings that there was no way he could know about unless the HOA Pres. told him! This thug or a man threatened to harm me & my husband. This is a Private Gated Community, so the Police are very hesitant to even come in here,k unless there is a real crime. All along the HOA Pres. has been disclosing exactly WHO has been complaining about him...Discussing with him how they could get me to shut up at the HOA meetings, etc.! I certainly know this is no crime. However, aren't there any ethics the Pres. of an HOA should adhere to? We have a management company to make complaints about our neighbors, or problems in the community, for just that reason - neighbor need not confront another neighbor so there is no ill will. I would GREATLY APPRECIATE your thoughts on this type of behaivior.
Thank you

Terrie,

You have not detailed the specific complaints about the contractor.

You have not detailed which covenents the home owner, or person who hired the contractor is violating.

You must be specific as to the complaint, and quote the exact wording of your CC&Rs that are in violation. Otherwise, no one can give you proper advice.

As Roger stated, you have no authority to be voicing complaints directly to the contractor. The owner of the house the contractor is working on is responsible for the contractor, and your complaints should be through the BOD.

Your complaint should be in writing to the board of directors through the management company with very specific complaints and references to the covenents the home owner (through his contractor) is violating.

The statements about the guards at the gate is all heresay and have no value. They are employees of the HOA, not members.

If other neighbors have the same complaints as you, then perhaps you can ask them to write letters to the board also. But again those letters must detail the complaints and the covenents they are violating. If they are not violating any covenents, then they should be allowed to complete the building without any interference.

Getting into a shouting match with the board president will not solve any problems. It will cause more. Perhaps you should listen to what the president is saying to you. He may be right. While you may be inconvenienced while the house is being built, that is a fact of life that we all must live with when there is construction going on nearby. It may be an inconvenience for awhile, and afterwards the improvements should be worth that inconvenience.

Getting into a shouting match with the contractor is dangerous. If you and/or your husband have approached him and are shouting at him, then you are in the wrong. He has a right to defend himself against what he may consider verbal abuse, and he could call the Police on you for verbal assult and preventing him from performing his job. Shouting matches can escalate into physical confrontation with someone getting seriously injured and possibly faced with a law suit. And since there will be documented evidence of yours and your husbands agressiveness toward the contractor and the BOD, you could be the one that gets sued.

I thank you so much for your insight. You are all right, about the fact I did not explain myself well, and as for myself, I could certainly act better, and I intend to. I always value the advice I get here. I live in a completed community. The construction is an addition to an existing home. One of the problems involved is a conflict of interest - Our HOA President listed this home, sold this home, and happens to be the Chairman of the Design Review Committe where the plans for this addition were approved. It was approved at a time when one of the Design Review Committee members was absent - who would have definitely voted against the Design of the Addition. It does not conform in several ways to the rest of the communities homes, as per our CC&R'S. A flat roof was allowed on this addition along with a 3rd car garage that is oversized, which break our CC&R'S. The worst covenant broken that can be corrected at this point is the "Main Water System", all of the pipes & meters involved were placed directly in front of one of the garage stalls, right in front of the home, which is not allowed. Our homes are not built to the width of the lot, (Zero Lot Lines), they are built to the length, which means the front of these homes are narrow. The homes are all uniform which is required by the "Preserve" land that we are built on. They controll the colors of the homes & roof selections, etc. Because I went to the "Preserve" BOD, this homeowner is now being sued by the "Perserve" for refusing to move these water pipes to the side of the home where they belong.
This contractor was also parking several Huge trailers in the driveways of homeowners that are not here in the summer, without their permission. The Pres. of our HOA said the contractor had gotten permission from the owners of the homes. When he was proved wrong, he wasn't happy. There are NO trailers allowed to be parked overnight, as per CC&R'S. The Pres. of our HOA would override all complaints, ignoring the CC&R'S. Our HOA Pres. has been in office 3 years, and says he had no idea trailers could not be parked overnight! There are fines the homeowner must pay to the "Preserve" BOD when this was brought to their attention, which has made the Pres. of our HOA irate with me. This construction project has been going on for 6 months, it was supposed to be done in 2 months.

Over time there have been many other incorrect actions the Pres. of our HOA - The "Preserve" BOD has been "watching" him for some time. Our HOA President has been spoken to by the "Preserve" President. So, I am really not a "nut case" as I may sound.

I thank you once again for your wisdom and I plan to take the advice of you all!

Thank You!

TerrieB,

No, you are not a nut case, nor do you sound like one.

When dirty rats are exposed, they get nasty before they scurry away and go back to the hole they crawled out of.

Keep up the good work!!
GeraldT1
NNJ

Terrie, you certainly can ask the guard to log in complaints. However, that doesn't mean he has to comply unless the Board makes such a request. So I would encourage all complaints to be presented in writting to the Management Company with a copy to the Association's Registered Agent with a request it be maintained in the official association files.

Since the plans for the home addition did not include the position of the "Water Main" then it has not approved at that location. Thus the association can demand (and if necessary legally force) it be moved.

Perhaps if you educate the 700 homeowners that they have about a ONE HALF BILLION DOLLAR association being run by a person who is threatening their property values it might move more of them to action. It never ceasdes to amaze me that people have so little concern about what is often their greatest financial investment!