HOA Homeowners' Rights Task Force

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  Both Sides

  by TerryLowe, over 1 year ago

  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... Continue reading
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  Work Session Abuse

  by fdunn, over 1 year ago

  While serving on an HOA Board, it became apparent to me that work sessions were being abused. While, technically, there were no actions taken, thus avoiding the open meetings requirement, the fuller truth was that decisions were being made informally. Consequently, there was no real debate among directors when it came to subsequent formal board meetings, so an observer at that point was not getting anything close to the whole story behind votes. The decisions had already been made in secret and informally during work sessions. I know the counter argument well: we need to get work done and having... Continue reading
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  Affordable Housing

  by Larry V, over 1 year ago

  I think we need town meetings to fully discuss the pro and cons of HOA boards and residents rights. In a nutshell here are a few of my concerns:

  1. Reserve studies and how HOA boards may spend the money to have them completed but do they do anything with the studies?

  2. Ongoing education for HOA board members as well as HOA Boards providing ongoing education for their communities.

  3. In addition to board meetings it should be required for HOA Boards to have at least quarterly communication with their residents via email or if that is not available... Continue reading
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  Evening the Playing Field

  by Doug, over 1 year ago

  Recent legislation has tilted strongly in favor of protecting homeowners, especially those behaving badly, at the expense of HOAs, the vast majority of which govern responsibly. If the news reports are accurate, many of these new laws were inspired by actions taken by a few rogue HOAs that most would regard as unfair and overreaching. Yet the “one size fits all” approach adopted in ensuing legislation winds up punishing all HOAs, good and bad.

  HB 22-1137 is a good example. Adopted following news reports about egregious enforcement and collection practices at one particular HOA, the law saddles all HOAs with... Continue reading
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  HOA Board Dictators

  by resident, over 1 year ago

  In the HOA where I live, the Board makes all of the decisions regarding spending our funds with no or little input or vote from the residents. A $20,000+ additional sign was erected at the entrance, which serves no purpose; a $5,000+ sidewalk was installed that only leads to a street, not another sidewalk and was not in the original site design approved by the City of Aurora; the entrance was redesigned at a cost of thousands as well as the security gate was removed (the info sheet for removal contained absolutely nothing about the security it would offer, and... Continue reading
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  AWOL: 1 governor, 35 senators, 65 representatives

  by fnr, over 1 year ago
  HB22-1137 is a disaster for aging, high-rise condominium buildings. The General Assembly and the governor weren't paying attention in 2022. Twelve months ago, it was widely "understood" that things would be "fixed" in the 2023 session. Today: Nada.

  
  

  I get why the bill was drafted, even as those responsible are now backtracking on the history. But a suburban HOA and a downtown apartment building have very different dynamics. The bill's reference to posting delinquency notices on the perimeters of "lots" gives the game away.

  
  

  When you purchase a condominium unit in our building, you can figure that about 1/3 of... Continue reading
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  Homeowner to HOA Board Member - Back to Homeowner

  by KHP, over 1 year ago

  I became an HOA Board Member, of a 22-member condominium community, due to mismanagement of prior management companies within our HOA. It was a challenge for our community to become self-managed as most homeowners did not want to become involved, and an opportunity for a new board to "show and tell" the neighborhood as to the benefits of being self-managed, both financially and professionally. In that respect, more homeowners were pleased with the prompt attention to the community, since the board members actually lived within the confines of the HOA. Within the first year, there were multiple repairs that had... Continue reading
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  It Could Be Better

  by CDGleneagle, over 1 year ago

  HOAs are designed to maintain the value of a neighborhood thorough thoughtful CC&Rs, Rules and Regulations, and careful management.

  Too often, and witnessed daily in my self-managed HOA, properties are being neglected. I understand the difficulties of policing neighbors, but Realtors, Buyer's Agents and potential buyers should be aware of the Covenants and respect the intention, if not the actual words written for anyone to read.

  Yes, "this is America", but homeowners should be held to the covenant stipulations, so they, and all owners are protected by the contract signed with the HOA when they purchase a home in a... Continue reading
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  HOA's are needed!

  by Jill, over 1 year ago

  I have lived in an HOA for over 30 years and I love it and would never live in a place that didn't have a strong HOA. My biggest complaint is about people who move into these communities and believe they can do whatever they want to the outside of their homes. These same people get upset when they don't follow the covenants that they break and are surprised and mad when they get a notice from the HOA to fix the problem. I often wonder if they truly understand that there are rules that everyone has to follow to... Continue reading
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  HOA Financial Assistance Program

  by alison.ellis.cedp, over 1 year ago
  Hello,

  
  

  I work for the Community Economic Defense Project's Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program. We provide financial assistance to homeowners, including HOA balances due. I have worked with a client recently who was in a legal process with her HOA for nonpayment of a fine that she had been trying to dispute for several years. I saw the HOA legal fees climb up rapidly even in the 2 weeks that I worked with her, the HOA attorney had added an extra $3,000 in legal fees just in that time period to the already over $50,000 balance she had. Another client I... Continue reading