How to Fight your HOA and actually Win - Part 2
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- čas přidán 13. 09. 2024
- This video details the different types of homeowners association assessments. It includes two (2) real stories of homeowners who did not understand the consequences of not paying their dues and special assessments on time. A must watch for homeowners living in association subdivisions who never had the chance to read their bylaws. An easy to understand and entertaining way to learn your association covenant and all its stipulations. Recognize what it means to live in an association community so you don't fall victim and end up paying huge amounts in fines, interests, and legal fees. All homeowners living in association community need to see these examples and stories to learn from and avoid your own homeowners' association nightmares coming to life. I hope that with this series of videos, I could inspire you to write to your representatives and ask them to pass laws that will reform HOA in our country so we can address general HOA disputes, HOA abuses and HOA complaints.
If you haven't seen the first video, please click here:
• How to fight your HOA ...
One last comment for my rant. Typically (I have lived in many HOAs and been a board member multiple times), there are four groups of people in an HOA. 1). Those actively supporting abuse of power. 2). Those who allow abuse of power due to apathy, fear or ignorance. 3). Those who do the abusing. and 4). Those who are abused. Which group will you be in when you buy your HOA home? (HINT: Don't buy an HOA home. Buy a home without an HOA).
Thank you for taking time to watch and comment on my video. I do hear you, I do understand where you are coming from and agree with you 100%. You are correct, I designed this channel and I am devoting a lot of my time to make these videos for the people who did not read their bylaws or couldn't understand it. If you saw my first video, I explained a lot of what you are saying here. Who would read a 100-page litany of rules that all starts with whereas and now therefore? NO ONE. This is the reason why HOA is still legal in this country even though it violates a lot of our property rights. This is also the reason why homeowners are still buying properties within HOA neighborhood, otherwise no one in their right frame of mind would ever agree to any of those rules. Here in GA, there are not a lot of home inventory that is not within an HOA subdivision, so that is a problem. If you watch my third video, you will see what kind of HOA board members and property management we have....Gestapos! But half of our neighborhood supports them and the other half wants to get rid of them, but since they don't know what they can legally do, they just stay dormant and pray they won't get fined or cited. I don't believe HOA is above the law, but in the eyes of the law, the covenant is a legally binding contract that a homeowner willingly agreed to. So from the legal stand point, why are you sounding off when you agreed to all of it by buying your house there, right? You can't tell the judge..."but I didn't know"...then we go back to homeowners not reading what they are getting themselves to. That's why I created this channel...to save them from resentment and expensive litigation later on.
@@hoaholes9447 I am not criticizing your channel or videos. Just pointing out the reality. Any person buying in an HOA will one day be a victim, an inflicter of abuse, or a bystander. There is no upside to an HOA. The epiphany more people need to make is that unless they want to be a bystander or an inflicter, they need to avoid an HOA or else become a victim (or sell and move once the economic conditions are right for you). Your house is not your home in an HOA. Not really. But your channel will help those in transition. I was there once -- wanting to get smart on the HOA so I could deal with them more effectively and protect myself. I won a few and lost a few and then served on boards where I saw the reality of the imbalance of power. Avoid HOAs altogether and get out when you can.
@@donmulder8061 Hi Don, there was no indication in any of your posts that you were criticizing my channel. I don't mind even if you did. Here in GA, it is very hard to find a house that doesn't have an HOA. Even neighborhoods without amenities have HOA. The only way I could get away from one is to leave the state. As I've seen in my neighborhood where half of the homeowners support the board even after they were presented evidences that they are not giving us correct information about their spending. It is as if they have blinders. I have to accept the fact that HOA will not go away. That's why I am advocating, at the very least, a reform.
@@hoaholes9447 I agree. Reform is badly needed. I also empathize with how hard it is to find a non-HOA home. There are indeed nice, non-HOA home opportunities even in Georgia (I've lived there 12 years off and on outside Savannah, Columbus and Atlanta). You just have to search and change your search criteria a bit. We just moved from an HOA inundated area outside DC to an area where there is no HOA. The houses are beautiful and less expensive with more land. We have a well and septic tank which turned out to be no big deal. It took us a while to find it because we were refusing to look further out. Our commute is 45 to 60 minutes and we have more opportunities to work from home anyway. When we get home we are free and answer to no one. We just dispensed with $45,000 in total HOA assessments over the course of our 30 year mortgage. If I were King for a Day, my number one HOA reform would be to make covenants stand alone as written without modification, clarification, rules or regulations, standards or guidelines. The restrictions must stand in black and white as when a home was purchased.
Depending on the state you live in you can recover attny fees
Good job - high quality useful & practical information! At my house closing, at the big table w/ lawyers & realtors, I tried to take my time reading all legal documents, but it was so stressful as all eyeballs were on me & my lawyer had a time constraint that he wasn't shy about reminding me. The environment doesn't favor the cautious, fully-informed independent buyer. I did catch an unnecessary item that should have shamed my ATTY, but he pressed on nevertheless. It's a minefield out there!
Recently signed purch agreement, but seen this is a rude awake for me, of what future awaits, will love to see more info on how to push for a congressional law on this Hoa abuses
If your HOA Board and Management Company violated one part of every covenant, By Law, and relevant state law, what would happen? Nothing. There is no HOA cop. It's a civil matter. You have to hire an expensive lawyer and take them to court. The HOA usually wins and uses your money to defend against you and sometimes will counter-sue. Still want to buy in an HOA?
Very informative!
HOAs are legally above the law. They are improperly named. They should not be Homeowner's Association's. They should be named Real Estate Industry Governed Zones (REIGZ). As a homeowner, you fork over most of your rights to your neighbors and the management company if you have one. You have no power or control over your home or yard. The CC&R's are misleading. They can change them, modify them, add to them, clarify them, adopt rules and regulations, amend the CC&Rs. Your home is not your castle in an HOA.
Recently signed a purch agreement, now I wish I had watched this video before
PS. you cant take as much time as you want to review the HOA. Most states have contract limitations on how long you can look at the HOA documents and walk away. Usually 3 days with a possibility for extension up to 7 days.
I live in Minnesota and the President does not represent the community, not the members of the community. My next-door neighbor had a broken pipe and did not know how to turn the main valve caused damage to my unit. The Association is a bully and I always asked too many questions. I was on the Board for 9 years. The President rewrote my minutes without discussion. I told the management company put her name on it
Back to water damage. Both units called the management co. As to what was covered. Both units told only the exterior and to call our Insurance company which I did. My Insurance within 2 weeks the agent shows up and in another two weeks an adjuster. The next 2 weeks had a check in hand from my Insurance. The Association manager told me I need to go look at the policy. Guess what the HOA covered the walls and flooring. New Mgr name Alyson found she was a Restaurant manager with no construction under her wings. I have to go there is more
Totally misleading title! No mention at all "how to fight the HOA and win"!
I've not read all the comments made here about this subject. And I've got no personal experience with HOAs. Question: Why would it be difficult to get 51% of residents of an HOA to simply vote against something they don't want?
Because the tenants aren’t owners they’re renters and the owners are everyday people like you and I and just want to get home to relax not fight the powers that be
@@mikecrook8434 Because HOA By-Laws and Covenants require 67% of residents vote to change anything. Just like senate impeachment votes, try and get 67% of any group to vote a certain way. Next to impossible. Additionally most Boards consist of at least 5 Board members if not more whose elected terms are staggered such that although you can vote one or two out of office in any one year, the balance of power (control) remains the same. Original HOA documents are created by the Developer and and their Lawyers and are deliberately vague while exempting the Developer from all the rules inflicted upon the residents of said communities. In large communities, resident participation on HOA Boards are restricted and most do not hand over control to residents until 75% (lately 90%) of home sale closings. Since the HOA By-Laws and Covenants are poorly written, interpretation and clarifications (changes) eventually falls to untrained, unprofessional volunteer elected Board members, some of which are power hungry demagogues who relish in controlling others. Contrary to authors contentions, not all Resident controlled HOA’s are as bad as most commenters imply. I was Board Secretary for one and can attest to devotion, civility and decision making made on our Board by a group of people whose sole purpose was to make decisions in interpretation of By Laws and Covenants fairly and consistent while recognizing we represented all the residents of the community not ourselves or any one resident who had an ax to grind. This is not an easy role to play, thus why so many upstanding citizens do not run for Board seats and eventually the only ones who do are either egotistical or narcissists who think they know more than anyone else. A good Board recognizes no one person knows everything and works together to combine the collective knowledge of all Board members when making decisions.
If you don't move in a HOA you don't have that problem.. or problems....
You are smart. I got a bill from HOA
Without warning notification nor hearing notice😰
Thank you. Got any more? I'm hoping!
California, we have five directors board members. It only takes three to vote for 927 homeowners to run this association like they want too. They tried to rewrite the by-laws as directors and a non-member who was on that committee with their lawyers without any input from the homeowners to change any rights that we had and to give them more rights to change their power over the membership. With this unfiltered power by these director's, we have already had a settlement and fired two contractors and then hired the first contractor back with more money for the job he was getting before and less work because the directors took some of the work away from his contract. Did I mention his mother sits on the board and voted for this reduction in duties? He only had a Demand Letter that was never filed in Court. Would that not be a Conflict of Interest! It is in the meeting minutes. We also have a management, Company. The other contractor was hired and fired not legally, and we had to pay him off in a settlement he filed in court. What would you do to these directors and their Lawyer, Management company that gives this kind of advice to the homeowners when it is time to reelect these directors, and redo the contract for the management company and Lawyer?
Sounds familiar. 535 people in Washington make decisions for 336,000,000 people in the USA.
What type of lawyer do I need to sue my HOA and tow company
I recently subscribed. Are there any recent videos within the last three months.
Mr. Mulder's description of the type that serve on HOA boards was interesting and frightening. I especially like him reminding people that $50,000 plus is paid above your mortgage (PITI) far to often to be represented in such an arbitrary manner and not have a higher and outside legal authority.
My neighborhood is struggling. We believe we are being taken advantage of by our property management company. That we contracted through our HOA. We have been denied financial reports for the community. When asked, they are not furnished. When consulting a lawyer they claim it will be too expensive.
It's sad, we have the same situations with corrupt board and management co ,scratching each other's back
What you do when HOA comingle and you have no money to hire expensive lawyer to go after them?
Hello madam and thank you for the great tutorial
I have a question for you and my question is ,basically the water was leaking from the third floor of the sewer and drainage pipes and it leaked into my house and ruined my floor and many other things then I decided to sue them because they were not willing to pay for the damages that were caused by the water leakage and when I serve them the court documents they are saying that they are not the decision makers they are handling the repairs or the paintings in our buildings, they say you have to sue the actual HOA they even told the judge the same thing so can you please help me and tell me how to find my HOA, so I can serve them the court documents and when I ask the temporary HOA they are not giving me any information regarding how to find them and who they are please help me I would greatly appreciate your help
Our HOA doesn’t give us any statements or accounting of expenses and we’ve never received a copy of the covenants but we feel too intimidated to ask for one.
I might disagree. You were given copies or directed to a community website or HOA Manger’s website when you purchased your home. You also signed papers at closing agreeing to be a member of the HOA. Check your closing documents. I would also bet that current financial data is available as well. All HOA’s must follow State rules and their own By-Laws and Covenants/Declarations.
Sad
My HOA hired a towing company to harass the residents
Have problems with your HOA/COA and don’t know where to turn? You are not alone. There are thousands of others across the USA that have bought into an HOA/COA and then discovered they might have made a very bad investment. Most states have no laws to protect homeowners who buy into one of these organizations. In most states there are no monetary or consequential penalties for Board Members or Property Managers who violate local, state, or national laws, That’s a huge problem that needs to be corrected. Please visit our Facebook group at: facebook.com/groups/hrlng and join us in changing the laws that will help all HOA/COA owners.
We are new to the community and only three people have bought into the association the land Owner that subdivided the Lots took the rest of the lots off the market and said that since she owns the most land then she has authority. Is that true?
Although it’s not easy to have Board of Directors removed but can you do a video about recalls. Also pointing out where exactly an owner can go in their bylaws to see how many/% of investors/homeowners that need to be on one accord to have a board member removed. It’s possible to remove a BOD. I know that will be a great video.
This process is contained within our By-Laws and I would bet yours also includes this language. Please read your By-Laws. They usually are not that extensive and should be an easy read.
Where is Part 1?
Dissolving an HOA is next to impossible and makes no sense. What happens to all the common grounds including clubhouses, swimming pools, walking trails, playgrounds and the list goes on and on? If in a 200 home community, does this mean that each homeowner retains 1/200 ownership of all such common ground and facilities. Then, who maintains, pay taxes (just lost your non-profit status) and manages said facilities. Oh, I know, you elect a Community Board and manage all this yourselves, I.e. HOA Board. Better alternative is to vote new members onto the Board if you can find any to volunteer, not likely if you require trained quasi professionals to be a requirement….and who pays for all this training? Yes, the dues paying homeowners who decry raising HOA dues in the first place. Sorry, this is not a real option. Better to sell your house and move out.
where are you going to move to? over 80% of the new homes being built in the U.S. are getting plugged into HOAs. pretty soon there are not going to be any homes left that are not controlled by HOAs.
@@douglasscovil3447 Don’t disagree with that at all. Just need to make sure governing body of HOA’s aren’t managed by clowns and corrupt people like many Government elected officials. HOA’s are the new Government.
looks like it has been removed
I don't live on an HOA but I tend to look up videos so I know what to do if one even attempts to move into my neighborhood.
So far I know "sign nothing" & get a lawyer that I may need to retain to protect my home if they try something.
@@yodaflyz That makes no sense. One moving into your neighborhood does not require you become part of that HOA.
@@RJMEL24
I can see why you might think that but some HOA's (not all) seem to enjoy a hobby of scamming people & will say & do anything (especially threatening legal action they can't actually use against a non-member) to trick you into signing forms if your uncooperative. Some are known to sue in frivolous lawsuits in the hope you can't afford to fight back just to get a default judgement against you. Other's can act like common street thugs.
Thanks for the commentary, I'll give you a 👍.
@@RJMEL24
I can see why you might think that is enough but some HOA's (not all) seem to enjoy a hobby of scamming people & will say & do anything to trick you into signing forms if your uncooperative.
Thanks for the commentary, I'll give you a 👍.
@@yodaflyz I must agree seeing all the negative comments. I don’t think these people make these things up. Our HOA and myself might be the exception rather than the rule since my personal experience has been one of providing service to the resident members, not trying to put it to them for some sort of nonsensical power trip.
Please message us… we are in GA and have a major problem. Thanks!
I've read the CC&Rs, however, the board doesn't follow the CC&Rs. CC&Rs are purposely worded to deceive homeowners so they can do as they please. We shouldn't have to retain an attorney when it is in writing and they will use our funds to retain an attorney who illegally come up with their tricks.
Hi I'm home owner new area has any thing been updated . I'm state texas can hoa still have these ower to take home away.
Due diligence before purchasing and closing on a home in an HOA community is paramount. Don’t complain later you didn’t read them as an excuse. Won’t work.
Computer automated voice is super annoying.
@HOA Holes Your representation of the Board of Directors is horrible. The volunteer Board is legally required to uphold the governing documents. If they don't, they could be liable. If you don't like something in your community's governing documents, you need to get with your neighbors to encourage the Board to amend the governing documents. Usually, it requires AT LEAST a majority vote of all the homeowners in the community for the amendment to pass. Don't like your rules? Start knocking on doors!
@@WanderingAroundAZ Easier said than done. Complacency is a fact of life.