Both Sides

I am involved with 4 HOA’s. I am on the BOD in 3 of those HOA’s, an owner member of the 4th one. Two of the HOA’s are very small, 3 and 4 units, and are easy to navigate. The third one, I’m an owner member, and it is good for me to just be on the owner member side to see how most of the community looks at their BOD. The last one, I live in and have been on the BOD 8-9 years. One of my personal goals was to be sure the decisions being made, were in line with the Condo Declarations. It was difficult, as our community had previously been run on “ the whims of the BOD”. Each community has different challenges, and needs to be governed by the declarations, not hastily made state laws that came from a few bad apples. The new laws are creating entitled homeowners who think they do not need to follow the declarations.
I would suggest:
1. Homeowners need to understand that they are agreeing to the Condo Decs at their closings.

2. Not all homeowners understand what they have signed. Classes need to be available for homeowners to understand Condo Decs and the process of how violations work. There should be a required class for homeowners who have repeatedly violated rules, or who are not paying dues. Owners who believe they are entitled, don’t take the time to understand they actually could loose their home over a series of mild violations or continually missing dues payments. Some owners just don’t understand the severity of, say parking in the wrong place, or constantly leaving trash cans or debris in the common area. They are violating the rules, and the BOD has an obligation to to enforce the Condo Decs so all can enjoy the community. BOD’s do not see violations and legal action to punish one owner, but instead to keep the promise of the community declarations for all the homeowners of the community.

DORA could create classes that educate new community members, and have required classes to help those who have violations, and have no idea that they could loose their homes.
We cannot have laws that let one owner NOT pay dues/violations, because if one doesn’t pay, it sets the tone for no one to pay. HOA communities need to show a sense of equality, and they certainly need funds to pay bills.
Please see both sides of the issue.

Thank you,Terry Lowe