HOA Fees

No, but you may have to prove it in a court of law.

If you or others refuse to pay or only pay the $150.00, the HOA may charge late fees + interest, send you to collections and lien your house, anyway. Then, you would have to sue to protect yourself.

Do you want to roll back the fee to $150? Most likely, you could do that today by a simple Board vote. You'll then have to cut $90/month/unit out of the HOA budget.

What do you want to happen?

Thank you guys for responding, yes the developer had the right to increase fees by 5% each year. The bylaws were created in 2003 about the time the neighborhood was being built. I was the first one to live in my area. Even at a 5% increase since 2003 we should be only at around 197 a year in fees, Also, please keep in mind we do not have any common areas and we are paying a management company 350 a month. We have only had one election a few years ago we never get a budget and never have meetings. I guess the management company does not want to send a budget out with one line saying we pay them 350 a month a nothing else. So I guess I just want to make sure we are not being screwed over. I mean shouldn't there be an amendment stating the increased fees somewhere? And how can we hand out bylaws that still state the 150 a year. This seems like false advertisement. I guess I am just upset since we have no common areas and no bills. Why are we paying into this association?

The HOA should be able to provide you some evidence for each year that the fees were increased, like meeting minutes or a proposed budget sent to all homeowners. If they can't, like you say, the increases are superficially invalid (illegal).

You seem to have a gripe with the HOA. Do something about it with your power as a new Board Member. Call a vote to fire the management company and take on all their work yourself. Keep asking for the budget. If there isn't one, make one. Make the books balance. In any case, even a HOA without common areas usually has to pay for accounting, tax preparation, the actual taxes, paper/envelopes/stamps and so on. So, the HOA fees will be more than $0. Figure out what the HOA will pay for and what you are willing to do in your spare time and then figure out what fees should be.

Donna, Thanks for replying and you are right are association has been in oblivion. We just found out last week the developer has never deeded any property over to our neighborhood, we have no sign, no street lights, 45% of the neighborhood has not paid their fees. We also discovered the developer never deeded over the sold houses to the association. So we have several neighbors that have never received any notification of a HOA. But as of right now we have no common areas at all. We are having an emergency meeting next week, since 2003 the board has never voted to raise the HOA fees. And yes it has to be voted on by the neighbors as well. Its just confusing to have bylaws that are not accurate. So with no common areas are we even allowed to have an HOA?
THanks
Jeff

Yes, we are stand alone homes. The management company has just now started enforcing the bylaws after 5 years. Yes Nashville area and the city owns our roads. Yes, I think at the meeting we are having on Thursday there should be some more answers. A few years ago we were paying for the empty lots to be cut. But, we just found out that was not even ours to worry with. This is all so over whelming. Since we have no common areas I guess the only thing that the association is paying for are the rules of the bylaws. It seems like the management company is just using us just for the extra 350 a month. This could all be done in house.

I guess what I am asking. If our bylaws states 150.00 a year. with a neighborhood vote it could be raised 5 % each year. I have lived here since the beginning of 04 the bylaws were created in the middle of 03 and I know there has never been a 5% increase since I have lived here. There is no documentation whatsoever about a fee increase anywhere. Would this not be like me picking something up at target with a big sign that says 1.99, and getting it to check out only for the clerk to tell me oh, we just raised the price to 10.99 right before you walked up here. I don't know something seems fishy. I have also been checking on ways to dissolve the association but its very hard to find the laws in Tennessee. Our bylaws state nothing of the fact. Dont get me wrong I am in favor of an association I just want to make sure it is running right.

Michele,
Sorry If I sound like I am contradicting myself. I guess its not really clear, This is my second board. The board was turned over to us in 2004 by the developer. The neighborhood was under the impression we had common area. We found out last week the developer never gave us common area. I just wonder why the bylaws state the fees were 150.00 and were raised by 100% in less then 6 months by the developer. This was before the neighborhood took over. On my previous board anytime the rates were going to change we would notify in writing 30 days before the meeting and once a year we would change our by laws for the new neighbors moving in. and send out any amendments.

Assessments shall be charged for each Lot. The initial assessment shall be $150.00 per lot. Subsequent assessments shall be on an annual basis due on January 1 of each year in the amount of $150.00 per year, until changed by the Association as provided in Section IV. All funds collected for the Association shall be held in an escrow account and will be used only for maintenance and other Association expenses as provided herein

From and after January 1,2003, the maximum annual assessment may be increased each year but no more than five percent (5%) above the maximum assessment for the previous year without the approval by vote of two-thirds (2/3) of each class of members who are voting in person or by proxy, at a meeting duly called for this purpose.
(b)
The Board shall fix the annual assessment at an amount not in excess of the maximum.

He can do that (increase them before turnover) and it sounds like that's exactly what he did. It does not have to be changed in the by-laws/covenants. (I'm beginning to sound like I'm repeating myself.)

However, it appears you do have common areas, they were just not properly transferred. No worries. That will probably happen and should happen and you should deal with them when they are. That is an easy logistical fix.


The underlined part above means that the BOARD can increase the assessments each year without a membership vote as long as the increase is not above 5%.

You should forget the assessment rate. It is what it is and it is what he set it at before he turned it over.

What you should be doing is working to get the common area deeded over to you.

Also, you have not answered my question about the deed over of sold houses to the HOA. That is bizarre.

Jeff : I know you are overwelmed but stop smell the roses and learn:
My docs are dated Feb 1986 written by my developer they state $45 a month with a 12 item budget got it.
Great lets go forward stop useing the term neighborhood there is no such thing in a HOA it is a HOA period.
Next my budget that I wrote useing tops software is 386,00 and the budgeted items are 2 pages in length. Our docs allow us to raise 15 percent per year without the approval of the hoa that is quite common practice the reason is you cannot get 10 people to agree on who shot the guy bleding on the ground and a hoa is even worse. Its the only place members can go to complain about things so get used to that and understand a developer can preety much get away with anything prior to turnover. As to deeding the lots to the hoa sorry thats a no-no in Florida common ground only.....with time and a lot of learning it will start to make sense to you. Welcome to our world of hoas
Good luck and get a very thick skin if you go on the board....

I think Jeff is now a Board member.