New HOA/ But Old Violation By Prior Owner

LC2, the HOA may have started to function in 2009 but when were the Covenant Restrictions filed. I would guess prior to 2004. I would reply to the Board of Directors and the Management Company in writing advising that the wood pile was there prior to you buying in 2004 and you have received no prior violation notice during the past 5 years. Ask them to justify if they believe it is an enforcable violation based on those factors and if so why. In Colorado, I understand that if the violation has been known for over a year it will not be enforced by the courts.

Thanks for your responses.

Again, our community is primarily a wooded mountain community. So most of our 2+ acres are not touched. Thus, the pile can only barely be seen in the winter. It is not streetside.

The pile is not unsightly, and because there is a creek at the bottom of the property (downhill) the expenses would be greater since a bobcat or other earth mover cannot easily meet the pile.

Besides, with the current economy and our personal situation- which we do not want the entire subdivision to know about- we simply have higher priorities of where $1000 needs to be spent than on a woodpile that has been there for years and is no fault of our own.

and yes of course I am aware of the violations of others and the possibility that it may not have a bearing on my situation except that it demonstrates the imbalance or ineffectiveness on the enforcement of larger matters that more easily affect the beauty and resale value of our subdivision.

We go 3 days without snow removal but yet they can threaten us about a pile of trees?

I wonder how I go about checking to see if there is a statute of limitations on violations?

Thanks. I will check again.

It is just frustrating because if it was a problem- then as a new buyer you would assume it would have been taken care of. It did not occur to us to read the covenants to make sure there were no current violations that needed attention. For we assumed if anything was an issue it would have already been addressed. We checked the covenants to see if we could abide by the rules for our future living.

(Now the vacation property owners, they purchased that property KNOWING that such a business was against the covenants. Who wants to hear the noise of party goers every weekend? But whatever is going on with that situation- I still here the noise and party goers still park at the bottom of my property.)

And yet my pile causes no one an inconvenience.

LC2, it makes no difference if anyone else can "see" the violation or whether it gives anyone grief.

If it is against the covenants (and I'm guessing you are checking on that), and you have been formally notified of the violation, the compliance clock is now ticking.

You may be able to work with the board if you meet with them and present a timeline for when you anticipate you will be able to completely remove the pile. (Again, assuming that the pile of trees is a legitimate violation.)

I know our board would be willing to work with a timeline as long as the resident was operating in good faith (in other words, if you say you will have XX amount removed by XX date, and provide an estimate for a schedule on when the rest can be taken care of, we would consider that "compliance in process." However, if the first promised date comes and goes with no action and no further communication to us, then we would reset the compliance clock and escalate to the next stage of enforcement.)

Now, you can TRY the "inconsistent enforcement" route, but be prepared to run into a brick wall there.

In our HOA, every case where a resident has balked at a violation notice and attempted to use that claim, they've been shut down.

We keep very detailed records regarding violation complaints/reports and the subsequent violation notices to the residents.

We only act on alleged violations that have been reported as we do not "police" the development looking for violations.

In that case, there may have been violations over the years that may not have been reported, but may have been noticed by residents.

But, since we don't "police" for violations, we don't get "dinged" for "selective enforcement," since we actively pursue each and every reported violation.

The very few times we've been to court over a compliance issue, the resident tried to use this in their defense, and the judge found no selective enforcement.

Also, for all you know, those violations (and possibly others) may already be in the process of notification and compliance gaining.

I can promise you, if you ask the residents if they have received a violation notice, they may very likely tell you "nope," so it is not possible to rely on their self-reporting to you that they have been dinged, too.

The best course of action is to verify that the pile is, indeed, a violation.

Whatever the case, I don't recommend not communicating back with the board. Hope it works out!

Thanks again for all of the great responses.

We have communicated with the HOA. And none of my gripes have been brought up. I am venting and hoping that there is a way out of spending the funds we do not have- or worse yet having all of our nosey neighbors to know we do not have the funds to spend on a violation that may or may not be enforceable.

Thanks. But not a lot of discretion goes on around here. We barely had our letter when the neighbor across the street let us know it was not them who "complained". Then the neighbor they hinted at less than 24 hrs later left a voice message suggesting their son- who conveniently owns a landscaping and tree removal business- for assistance. HOW IRONIC!!!!!

I think you are missing my point.

If a resident or the relative of a resident dropped the dime on you, that does not in the least mean that the board will then turn around and tell people, "Oh, well they aren't willing to fix it because they are deadbeats."

The communications between you and the board are confidential.

Clearly some of the residents (your neighbors) have been concerned about your pile for some time. They've apparently been discussing it among themselves.

But what they say to the board and what the board then turns around and reports out to them are two different things.

I would be less concerned with the improbable idea that people may learn your financial condition through the board than the fact that this pile has obviously been a source of bane for some people for a while.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very sensitive to your concerns about nosy neighbors. But what you work out with the board is not for public consumption.

Do you personally know any board member?

Now might be a good time to do that so that you can approach that person and talk to them about your concerns, while assuring them that you are willing to resolve the issue.

Thanks Roger B.

I will do just that. That is excellent advice.

It would, but havent been able to find someone to do it and help monitor it. I even called the volunteer fire dept that could not refer us to anyone.

I think I will try looking around again.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm sorry, but listing status of assessments is a great deal different than sharing financial conditions of residents. Though I can see where it would make you uncomfortable.

However, you do not necessarily have to be so defensive about revealing your financial status. I don't know of anyone who could shoulder a major unexpected expense like that, so it would still be in your best interest to work openly with the board to develop an agreeable timeline for compliance.

Plus, it's really unrealistic to say that past infractions would not be enforced against, unless there is a specific guideline for something like that in your covenants or state law.

Violations are typically only grandfathered when the actual covenants change, not when management changes.

It would be a naive presumption to think that only violations occurring going forward would be enforced, unless it was specifically stated that way.

The a reasonable person would presume that current violations would qualify for enforcement. Which, regardless of how you want to characterize it, your pile is a "current" violation as it currently puts your lot out of compliance.

Granted, you didn't place it there, but that it exists contrary to the covenants makes it a current, ongoing violation until remedied.