Need Help Fast

Did you receive a letter(s) warning you this was against the rules of the community? Did you receive notice of a hearing indicating you would be fined if you did not comply? Is you did, why did you ignore them? If not, you need to check your CC&R's, they should indicate indicate how the board can impose fines.

It most cases the board must notify of a hearing and then can impose fines. To add attorney fees tells me that had to get an attorney to send letters, start collection procedings and/or put a lien on your house. Seems like there needed to be numerous communications sent to you before an attorney got involved.

You should study your CC&R's and Rules and Regulations to see what it says about items in the driveway and coolers, etc.

Then collect all of the letters that you have received. There must a fine procedure spelled out. A judge will allow "reasonable" attorney fees. $1500 for one letter doesn't sound reasonable.

The first letter should have identified what the violation was and how long you have to cure the problem, and the fine procedure. There should have been follow up letters.

Get everything together, then write a letter to the board asking for a hearing. It seems you are being fined $1000 plus $1500 attorney fees and that sounds excessive.

to answer your second question, how can the picnic table be okay? four ways I can think of:

1) The owner asked for, and received approval from the board years ago to place the table in the driveway. They issued a variance, or made a ruling to allow it. it was done legal and proper, with board approval

2) the owner is also being fined for non compliance, and has decided to simply pay or ignore the fines.

3) No one has ever complained, mentioned, or pointed it out.

4) It isn't a violation for some reason (read the CC&R's carefully. Perhaps chairs, seats and tables are okay, coolers are not).

Apparently the CC&R's don't refer to coolers either. The board is required to enforce the CC&R's evenly and fairly. So if you can document that they are not enforcing them evenly then that will go against the board.

See what the CC&R's and Rules and Regulations say about the fine process. It must be spelled out. If fines are not spelled out, then the board will have a problem enforcing them. The court will determine what is reasonable attorney fees, in the event it rules against you.

I hope everything works out for you but I would like to point a couple of things out. Never throw out letters from the attorney or the Board, they should be kept until you sell or die whichever comes first. Second if something like this happens again; don't call write. How do you prove that you called or what if anything was agreed to when you called. Remember, document, document,
document. There is a sharp increase of foreclosures throughout the country, a lot for relatively small fines that people have ignored until the sheriff comes knocking.

Rhonda
What state are in located?
CynthiaD

John, i agree with your post (and your pet peeve, i share that too, ugh!), and while "johnny does it, why can't I?" is not a valid defense, if Johnny does it, and the board allows it, and I do it, and I get fined, it does drill holes in the fairness and equal application required of enforcement. It makes the board defense weak.

If someone does it and it isn't seen, that's one thing... people speed, and the police only catch a few. However, if someone has been stopped for speeding, and the police let them leave without a ticket, then stop you and give you one, they better have a darn good reason to explain the discrepancy.

perhaps there is a reason the HOA enforces rule X here, and not Rule Y there... but a good board should be able to enumerate the reason to everyone, so that everyone knows the playing field is level. When a board does not have an answer, or they dismiss the question out of hand, they are playing into the hands of the accusor. the board should be well prepared to explain their policies and decisions when asked, and they can stop a lot of these issues from escalating.

I have even experienced a board that HAD a solid reason to deny a request, push off an "accusor", dismiss him, ignore him, etc., until he finally fomented a small rebellion among the owners. That board was overthrown, eventually, and when the new board came to power, they discovered the rule/reason, and simply told the original accusor "you can't do that because of this rule. Period." the accusor was fine with it, he just wanted to be taken seriously, and hear the reason his request was rejected.

the board in this situation sounds like they have done due diligence, and I hope they are prepared to answer the questions that the owner will throw to them. If they are prepared, then this issue will shortly find its conclusion. If they are not prepared, then this issue will last a long time.