HOA with no CCRs

Lisa, since you collect fees and pay for maintenance I'm assuming that the HOA has a bank account. To get a bank account whoever opened it for the HOA would have had to produce documentation that they were authorized to open it and show a tax ID number so at least at one time you were probably incorporated. I would start on the NC Secretary of State website; enter the HOA name and you should be able to find your corporate status. The next place to visit is your County Recorders website, you should be able to again enter the HOA's name and see any documents registered with the County. If that doesn't help you may have to visit the Recorder's office depending on the size of your community and age of the HOA there is usually someone who has been around long enough to know where all of the bodies are buried, so to speak. Another place you might find information is in the Building Department; whoever developed your HOA would have had to have shown the BD all of this stuff to get approval to build.

Lisa, since you have the Articles of Incorporation what do they say is the purpose of the corporation? I'm in a COA in OH but somewhere in the AOI should be language similar to this:

ARTICLE III

The purpose or purposes for which the corporation is formed are:

Section 3.1. To function as a unit owners’ association for condominium property as required by Section 5311.08, Ohio Revised Code, and in connection therewith, to develop, maintain, improve, repair, alter, operate, administer, service and generally manage the condominium property of the Condominium located in Xxxxxxxx County, Ohio;

Section 3.2. To enforce all covenants, restrictions, reservations, servitudes, profits, licenses, conditions, agreements, easements and liens to which such condominium property is or may become subject and which the Association shall have the right to enforce;

Section 3.3. To represent and promote the welfare of its members generally, and to cooperate with municipal, county, state and other public authorities for the promotion and betterment of the interest of such members;

Section 3.4. To purchase, lease or otherwise acquire, to hold and use, to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of, and to deal in or with personal property of any description and any interest therein;

Section 3.5. To purchase, lease or otherwise acquire, to invest in, hold, use and encumber, to sell, lease, exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of, and construct, develop, improve, equip, maintain, and operate structures and real property of any description and any interest therein;

Section 3.6. To borrow money, to issue, sell and pledge its notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness, to secure any of its obligations by mortgage, pledge or deed of trust of all or any of its property, and to guarantee and secure obligations of any person, all to the extent necessary, useful, or conducive to carrying out any of the purposes of the corporation;

Section 3.7. To invest its funds in any shares or other securities of another corporation, business or undertaking or of a government, governmental authority or governmental subdivision; and

Section 3.8. To do whatever is deemed necessary, useful or conductive to carrying out any of the purposes of the corporation and to exercise all other authority enjoyed by corporations generally by virtue of the provisions of the Ohio Non-Profit Corporation Law.

Nothing in these Articles of Incorporation or in the By-Laws shall authorize the corporation to, and the corporation shall not, enter into any transaction, carry on any activity, or engage in any business for Pecuniary profit. The net earnings of the corporation, if any, shall not inure to the benefit of any incorporator, member, or any member of the Board of Trustees of the corporation, or any private individual.

The corporation shall not, and no clause of this Article III shall be construed as authorizing the corporation, to do any act or enter into any agreement or deal with real or personal property in a manner which would violate any provision of Chapter 5311 of the Ohio Revised Code or any amendments thereto.

I checked with the county and back in 1975, the builders had filed something that stated he had the right to approve all building in our subdivion, mineral rights and water rights. In 2007,an assignment was given from the builder to the HOA, only mentioning the right to approve building plans on lots in the subdivision. The HOA is listed on my title search. Would rules and regs in our Bylaws be enough to enforce HOA rules for lot and home owners or do we need to add more to the filed assignment with the county?

The subdivision includes lots and lots with dwellings. Our HOA bylaws only include members as lots with dwellings, so I agree that we may not have legal right to bill lot only owners unless we make them members. Keep in mind that our dues/assessments are almost totally used for road maintenance and lot owners are billed 1/5 of what members are billed. If we do make them members of the HOA can we give them 1 vote and dwelling owners 5 votes since that matches the assessed billing?