HOA Homeowners' Rights Task Force

Share Your HOA Story

• Share Thoughts on Meeting Yesterday on Facebook Share Thoughts on Meeting Yesterday on Twitter Share Thoughts on Meeting Yesterday on Linkedin Email Thoughts on Meeting Yesterday link

  Thoughts on Meeting Yesterday

  by gvito, over 2 years ago

  The Task Force meetings seem to be an exercise in futility. After speaking for hours, it seems that there are two sides which can never agree nor even admit the other side may have a point. For certain those who title themselves "Homeowners' Advocates", seem to only advocate for a small percentage of homeowners--those who fail to pay their assessments.

  I absolutely understand that there are issues with over-zealous covenant enforcement by some Boards, but how is trying to get delinquent owners to pay over-zealous? I live in a condo association with no extra amenities. Thus, those who do not... Continue reading

  The Task Force meetings seem to be an exercise in futility. After speaking for hours, it seems that there are two sides which can never agree nor even admit the other side may have a point. For certain those who title themselves "Homeowners' Advocates", seem to only advocate for a small percentage of homeowners--those who fail to pay their assessments.

  I absolutely understand that there are issues with over-zealous covenant enforcement by some Boards, but how is trying to get delinquent owners to pay over-zealous? I live in a condo association with no extra amenities. Thus, those who do not pay assessments receive all the services that they are not paying for. Their trash is picked up; their water, building insurance and building maintenance are paid for. The snow is shoveled from their walks and parking lot, the grass in front of their unit is mowed. Who pays for all these services? Those who faithfully pay their assessments. These seem to be the folks that Rep Ricks, et al, have no interest in. Nor are they interested in hearing about the costs incurred each time the Colorado Legislature passes a law which mandates an HOA add a new procedure. They don't even bat an eye when told that people have been harassed and threatened when posting the mandated notices of delinquency on doors.

  Also, now that Rep Ricks has introduced her new bill regarding foreclosures, I need to understand how she knows exactly how much attorney foreclosure services should cost. Does she have a clue how many steps are involved? How many hours are spent following the prescribed procedures? I wonder if the purpose of stating how much an attorney may charge is to get attorneys out of the HOA foreclosure business so that tool to try to recoup delinquencies will be gone and once that is gone, any hope of receiving the money due will also be gone.
• Share Not Petty and the Homebreakers II on Facebook Share Not Petty and the Homebreakers II on Twitter Share Not Petty and the Homebreakers II on Linkedin Email Not Petty and the Homebreakers II link

  Not Petty and the Homebreakers II

  by Robert Racansky, over 2 years ago
  

  
  

  
  

  If it's in your covenants, it's not petty. It's a covenant that you agreed to comply with when you moved into the association. There is a responsibility to follow the rules and to pay the assessments.
  - Lallis Jackson. H.O.A. Task Farce. January 16, 2024.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDa3Rh0J4U @ T+2:48:43

  
  

  Nashville, Tennessee. The frantic cry still haunts Monica Meeker.

  It punctured the darkness as she and her husband lay in bed at the end of a fun-filled day celebrating daughter Camilla’s third birthday last October.

  She rushed to her daughter’s bedroom and found her hanging from a window, the cord from the... Continue reading

  
  

  
  

  If it's in your covenants, it's not petty. It's a covenant that you agreed to comply with when you moved into the association. There is a responsibility to follow the rules and to pay the assessments.
  - Lallis Jackson. H.O.A. Task Farce. January 16, 2024.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDa3Rh0J4U @ T+2:48:43

  
  

  Nashville, Tennessee. The frantic cry still haunts Monica Meeker.

  It punctured the darkness as she and her husband lay in bed at the end of a fun-filled day celebrating daughter Camilla’s third birthday last October.

  She rushed to her daughter’s bedroom and found her hanging from a window, the cord from the blind wrapped tightly around Camilla’s neck.

  “She was gasping for air and crying and coughing,” Meeker said. “She had purple ligature marks on her neck for a week.”

  The couple took down the blinds that night, replacing them with curtains.

  Within two weeks, a letter arrived from the property manager for their homeowners association. The gray curtains they’d put up violated the association’s standards.”

  The Meekers spent thousands on a losing battle with the HOA — even after the near tragedy, it wouldn’t back down on the requirement.

  The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that on average, one child dies each month of strangulation from blind cords.

  The family unsuccessfully tried to fight the window blind requirement, spending $7,000 on legal fees, but last summer moved to a home that is not in an HOA.

  sources

  - Judy L. Thomas. “HOAs from Hell: Homes Associations Torment Residents They’re Supposed to Support”. Kansas City Star. August 03, 2016.
  @ http://www.kansascity.com/news/special-reports/hoa/article92502962.html

  - Judy L. Thomas. “HOAs from Hell: More Horror Stories, More Fraud — and Prospect of Legislative Action”. Kansas City Star. December 23, 2016.
  @ https://www.kansascity.com/news/special-reports/hoa/article122547749.html

  - Joe Ledford and Monty Davis. “Tennessee Family Battles HOA After Daughter Is Nearly Strangled”. Kansas City Star. February 07, 2018.
  video @ https://www.kansascity.com/news/special-reports/hoa/article93106177.html

  
  
• Share SB 11-234 Transfer fee ban on Facebook Share SB 11-234 Transfer fee ban on Twitter Share SB 11-234 Transfer fee ban on Linkedin Email SB 11-234 Transfer fee ban link

  SB 11-234 Transfer fee ban

  by Summerbreeze , over 2 years ago

  It would be desirable if someone could explain who is exempt from transfer fees. Our POA started charging a transfer fee and status letter fee in 2023. We do not have a tranfer fee covenant or any mention of transfer fees in our POA documents. These fees showed up in real estate closing transactions with no input from the membership. I believe that the board should have given the members the right to decide whether the buyer/seller pays or to split the cost and decide how much these fees should be if any. 33.3-317(1)(h.5) requires that homeowners associations disclose this... Continue reading

  It would be desirable if someone could explain who is exempt from transfer fees. Our POA started charging a transfer fee and status letter fee in 2023. We do not have a tranfer fee covenant or any mention of transfer fees in our POA documents. These fees showed up in real estate closing transactions with no input from the membership. I believe that the board should have given the members the right to decide whether the buyer/seller pays or to split the cost and decide how much these fees should be if any. 33.3-317(1)(h.5) requires that homeowners associations disclose this information, correct? There are no meeting minutes even discussing these fees. We do not have a PM and we all own our houses. The board took it upon themselves to do this.
• Share ..."good actors and good payors"... on Facebook Share ..."good actors and good payors"... on Twitter Share ..."good actors and good payors"... on Linkedin Email ..."good actors and good payors"... link

  ..."good actors and good payors"...

  by whoownsmyhome, over 2 years ago

  There is a name for a system of governance where the state (HOA/Community Management) subjugates the individual (house owner) not only economically but by attitude and beliefs. As I've listened to these many webinars and discussions, one cannot escape the overriding conclusion, there is no authentic or genuine understanding of the problems house owners face. Economically, we are seen as the bottomless well of assessments. We have no voice in those assessments. Even as I write this in February 2024, my HOA has no financial statement available since October of 2023. We have no posted budget for 2024 although assessments... Continue reading

  There is a name for a system of governance where the state (HOA/Community Management) subjugates the individual (house owner) not only economically but by attitude and beliefs. As I've listened to these many webinars and discussions, one cannot escape the overriding conclusion, there is no authentic or genuine understanding of the problems house owners face. Economically, we are seen as the bottomless well of assessments. We have no voice in those assessments. Even as I write this in February 2024, my HOA has no financial statement available since October of 2023. We have no posted budget for 2024 although assessments were doubled on December 1, 2023. We have no posted meeting minutes for 2023 except for a Board Meeting that took place, unannounced, on a Thursday morning in May, 2023. We had an Annual Meeting in December of 2023. There may have been an election. We have no posted Board Members. I was told in December 2023, IF I attended the Annual Meeting in December 2023, all things would be explained to me and I would receive a "packet" providing the underlying reasons for the increase in assessment. Since caring for my spouse makes it impossible to attend these meetings in person, I was never sent or given or provided any documentation for the increase. The December 1, 2023 email of assessment increase is all I have. Informed Consent? But I am a "good actor and good payor". I am told what to pay and if I don't there will be consequences. I understand that.

  What I also understand, all too well, is that contract between myself and the HOA/Management Industry only exists in the framework of me upholding my end and there is no reasonable expectation of the same from the HOA/Management Industry. There are no consequences for them. They can violate even the most easily understood requirement of CCIOA for notification. They can choose what to interpret when it comes to CCRs or resolutions. Retention of documents, meh ... transparency...meh, ... accountability ... again meh.

  What all of your discussions of the months has lacked is ANY description of what, if anything, the HOA/Management Industry brings to the table. Where's the deterrence for the HOA/Management Industry bad actors? True story, in 2017, my house was painted by the HOA. I was told it would be painted. I was not allowed to choose the colors. The house was indeed painted, and I opened my front door to find the HOA had painted my front door black. It was not a color I would have chosen in my most wildest abandon of pre-HOA days. It was offensive to me as the Zebra house was to Ms. Jackson. Yet, it told me everything I needed to know about the HOA. My rights outside that front door did not exist. It is still black. This spring, I will buy all the "fake flowers" Amazon will allow and I will celebrate the Fake Flower Revolt to remind myself of what totalitarian really means.

  My story is not unusual and I think given the many, many stories published here probably par for the course. When those on the task force cannot admit to the bad actors within their own professions and know the danger that presents, then there is no hope and the status quo remains. Those house owners in Loveland who woke up to find their Management Company had allegedly walked away with hundreds of thousands of community funds (Loveland Police investigate suspected theft of HOA funds | 9news.com) didn't have their assessment increased because of "notification".

  What then is the greater danger? Lack of legitimate oversight or "Fake Flowers".
• Share Lost Meeting Minutes on Facebook Share Lost Meeting Minutes on Twitter Share Lost Meeting Minutes on Linkedin Email Lost Meeting Minutes link

  Lost Meeting Minutes

  by HOA United, over 2 years ago

  RE: Homeowners' Rights Task Force Meeting on Friday, February 2, 2024

  During today's meeting, Task Force member Lallis Jackson who represents her business "Integrity HOA" and who, per her company website, holds several community association management designations from CAI and CAMICB including CMCA, AMS and PCAM, stated the following:

  [meeting minutes] "if they get lost they get lost and that does happen"

  THAT'S NOT OK. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️

  RE: Homeowners' Rights Task Force Meeting on Friday, February 2, 2024

  During today's meeting, Task Force member Lallis Jackson who represents her business "Integrity HOA" and who, per her company website, holds several community association management designations from CAI and CAMICB including CMCA, AMS and PCAM, stated the following:

  [meeting minutes] "if they get lost they get lost and that does happen"

  THAT'S NOT OK. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️
• Share Another reason CCOIA must allow homeowners to exit an HOA, From WBRZ, LA on Facebook Share Another reason CCOIA must allow homeowners to exit an HOA, From WBRZ, LA on Twitter Share Another reason CCOIA must allow homeowners to exit an HOA, From WBRZ, LA on Linkedin Email Another reason CCOIA must allow homeowners to exit an HOA, From WBRZ, LA link

  Another reason CCOIA must allow homeowners to exit an HOA, From WBRZ, LA

  by Liam in Broomfield, over 2 years ago

  Livingston Parish residents in the Foxglove subdivision finding out they may never take over their homeowners association.

  Foxglove homes went on the market in 2020 and the neighborhood was in the process of building more homes. Residents bought their homes under the impression of purchasing a good quality home, and eventually taking over the HOA once construction was complete.

  Residents say neither turned out to be true.

  a resident of Foxglove said, she had multiple problems with doors, flooring and other amenities not even a year into owning the house. She said other major problems she had was a gas... Continue reading

  Livingston Parish residents in the Foxglove subdivision finding out they may never take over their homeowners association.

  Foxglove homes went on the market in 2020 and the neighborhood was in the process of building more homes. Residents bought their homes under the impression of purchasing a good quality home, and eventually taking over the HOA once construction was complete.

  Residents say neither turned out to be true.

  a resident of Foxglove said, she had multiple problems with doors, flooring and other amenities not even a year into owning the house. She said other major problems she had was a gas leak and water leak due to poor installment.

  Mascarella said she paid thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to fix these problems.

  "Last year, this past year, I spent approximately $3,000 on repairing things that should've been done through the building of the homes," she said.

  Not only that, a small ditch runs across the back of the subdivision tying into Livingston Parish's main drainage system. Mascarella called about the contractors leaving equipment in the ditch and leaving it unattended. She then found out the builder lost its builders permit.

  Livingston Parish President Randy Delatte released a statement that said, "Permits for some of the lots in Foxglove Subdivision were put on hold because it was determined there was not adequate water pressure to provide fire suppression capability for the fire district in the event of a fire."

  Delatte also said that tax payers would not be responsible for covering that charge, the engineer or developer would.

  Once the builder found out, they sold the last of their homes and abandoned the subdivision leaving all their mess behind.

  Builder assigned Community Management to handle all of Foxglove's HOA issues. They told homeowners, the builder is currently paying forty four thousand dollars a year into their HOA fund, but residents fear, if the job is never complete, the builder will stop making payments and homeowners will be stuck to pick up the difference through much higher HOA fees.

  D the builder can restart building once they resolve their water pressure issue with the parish. If they choose not to, the subdivision will remain incomplete and homeowners may never have a say in HOA fees or control of the neighborhood. But stuck with deedrestrictions
• Share HB 24-1158 on Facebook Share HB 24-1158 on Twitter Share HB 24-1158 on Linkedin Email HB 24-1158 link

  HB 24-1158

  by Frank Wille, over 2 years ago

  HB 24-1158 was introduced in the House on 31 Jan. Part of your charter was to look at foreclosures and specifically at the procedures outlined in HB 22-1137 and make recommendations on what’s working and what’s not. The introduction of this Bill before you’ve even discussed foreclosures implies that your input is irrelevant, especially since the Bill’s sponsor is one of your Task Force members. Why was your Task Force member in such a rush to introduce the Bill?

  HB 24-1158 was introduced in the House on 31 Jan. Part of your charter was to look at foreclosures and specifically at the procedures outlined in HB 22-1137 and make recommendations on what’s working and what’s not. The introduction of this Bill before you’ve even discussed foreclosures implies that your input is irrelevant, especially since the Bill’s sponsor is one of your Task Force members. Why was your Task Force member in such a rush to introduce the Bill?
• Share HB24-1158 on Facebook Share HB24-1158 on Twitter Share HB24-1158 on Linkedin Email HB24-1158 link

  HB24-1158

  by lynndougherty, over 2 years ago
  Our HOA received notification today of this pending bill regarding foreclosures. My question is why a task force meeting is being held tomorrow on foreclosures if legislation is already in the mill?

  This seems like a complete waste of time. Why does the task force exist, if the legislators (one who is a member of the task force) are already proposing a new bill on the same subject.

  Our HOA received notification today of this pending bill regarding foreclosures. My question is why a task force meeting is being held tomorrow on foreclosures if legislation is already in the mill?

  This seems like a complete waste of time. Why does the task force exist, if the legislators (one who is a member of the task force) are already proposing a new bill on the same subject.
• Share Use of Attorney to Threaten and Falsely Accuse on Facebook Share Use of Attorney to Threaten and Falsely Accuse on Twitter Share Use of Attorney to Threaten and Falsely Accuse on Linkedin Email Use of Attorney to Threaten and Falsely Accuse link

  Use of Attorney to Threaten and Falsely Accuse

  by PaulG, over 2 years ago

  There are many examples I could give of duplicitous actions by the HOA Board at Hampden Court 80231, but this latest goes way beyond the pale. This month there was a water leak in my kitchen. I contacted my Homeowner's Insurance who sent out a mitigation company to assess and stop the leak if possible. The water was turned off in the kitchen, and then three days later a plumber was able to fix the leak. There are still paper towels under the sink that prove there is no more leaking. I did not hear from the renter or the... Continue reading

  There are many examples I could give of duplicitous actions by the HOA Board at Hampden Court 80231, but this latest goes way beyond the pale. This month there was a water leak in my kitchen. I contacted my Homeowner's Insurance who sent out a mitigation company to assess and stop the leak if possible. The water was turned off in the kitchen, and then three days later a plumber was able to fix the leak. There are still paper towels under the sink that prove there is no more leaking. I did not hear from the renter or the owner in the unit below me, so assumed that the only damage was to my unit. I attended a virtual HOA Board meeting on January 24, 2024 and no one brought up anything to me about a water leak. There was no attempt by the HOA to contact me to set up a time to inspect the water leak at all. To my utter dismay, I received a PDF email letter from an attorney claiming to represent the HOA, making false statements that I had refused the HOAs attempt to enter my Condominium, and threatening me with financial harm if I did not allow them in on February 1, 2024. A simple phone call and an attempt to set up a time to look at the area by a plumber of their choice would have been very easy, but instead they decided to lie and act like this was their second attempt to reach me and inspect my Condo. This kind of threatening and dishonest communication is very disturbing.

  Here is a copy of the Attorney's letter (remember there are false accusatory statements along with threats of finacial harm):

  WRITER’S DIRECT DIAL:(720) 550-7280
  E-MAIL: ACHIRLIN@SJJLAWFIRM.COM
  REPLY TO: Colorado Office
  WWW.SJJLAWFIRM.COM
  
  January 29, 2024
  
  SENT VIA EMAIL
  musecal2@gmail.com
  
  Paul David Grundy
  3480 S Akron St, Unit 10
  Denver, CO 80231
  Re: Hampden Court Condominium Association, Inc.—Water Loss at 3480
  
  S Akron St, Unit 10
  
  Our File No.: 13179
  Dear Paul David Grundy:
  Our office represents Hampden Court Condominium Association, Inc. (the “Association”),
  which governs the common interest community known as Hampden Court Condominiums
  (the “Community”). The Association has requested that we contact you regarding the water
  loss at your unit located at 3480 S Akron St, Unit 10, Denver, CO 80231 (the “Unit”). Please
  direct all communications regarding this issue to our attention.
  As the Unit is located in the Community, you and it are bound by and subject to that certain
  Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions Establishing a Plan for Condominium
  Ownership of Hampden Court Condominiums (the “Declaration”). Unless otherwise defined
  in this letter, initially capitalized terms or those defined in the Declaration shall have the
  same meaning herein.
  The Declaration, among other things, identifies and establishes the maintenance
  responsibilities of the Association and of the Owners. Generally, Owners are responsible for
  maintaining and repairing their units and appurtenant Limited Common Elements, while the
  Association is responsible for all other Common Elements not located in a unit. Declaration,
  §§ 10.1; 10.2. The Declaration further provides, in relevant part:
  Section 6.7. Access to Units for Maintenance, Repair, and Emergencies.
  The Owners shall have the irrevocable right to be exercised by the Managing
  Agent, Board of Managers of the Association or their delegated
  representatives, to have access to each [u]nit from time to time during
  reasonable hours as may be necessary for the maintenance, repair, or
  replacement of any of the Common Elements therein or accessible therefrom.
  
  Paul David Grundy
  January 29, 2024
  Page - 2 -
  
  Such right of access shall be immediate for the making of emergency repairs
  therein in order to prevent damage to the Common Elements or to another
  [u]nit. The Association shall also have all the foregoing rights independent of
  any agency relationship....
  Declaration, § 6.7. The Association therefore has the immediate right of entry to any unit in
  an emergency in order to prevent damages to the Common Elements or another unit and,
  furthermore, has the right of entry to any unit in order to make maintain or repairs to the
  Common Elements.
  As you know, a recent water leak was identified to be coming from your Unit. When the
  Association attempted to gain entry to the Unit to mitigate damages and identify the scope
  of damages, you improperly denied the Association access. This refusal to allow entry was in
  violation of the Declaration. The Association now requires entry to the Unit in order to assess
  the damage to the Common Elements, which it is responsible for repairing. You do not have
  the authority to prohibit the Association from fulfilling its maintenance obligations under
  the Declaration and, as such, do not have the authority to prohibit its contractors from
  entering the Unit to assess the damages to and make repairs to the Common Elements. If any
  damages are determined to be due to your prior failure to permit the Association access to
  the Unit, the cost to repair said damages will be assessed back to your Unit pursuant to the
  Declaration. Id.
  The Association’s contractor will return to the Unit on February 1, 2024 between 11:00
  AM and 1:00 PM MT to determine the scope of damage to the Common Elements. If you
  again prohibit the Association access to do so, the Association will consider this a violation
  of the Declaration and will take enforcement action consistent with its covenant enforcement
  policy. Additionally, the Association may return to the Unit with law enforcement in order to
  ensure its access to the Unit and, if such action is necessary, will assess all related costs
  against the Unit in accordance with Colorado law. See C.R.S. § 38-33.3-123(1)(b). We hope
  these additional steps to complete the project will not be necessary.
  Thank you for your attention to this matter and please contact me with any question.
  
  Very truly yours,
  SMITH JADIN JOHNSON, PLLC
  
  Alyssa E. Chirlin
  Attorney At Law

  
  
• Share Not Petty and the Homebreakers on Facebook Share Not Petty and the Homebreakers on Twitter Share Not Petty and the Homebreakers on Linkedin Email Not Petty and the Homebreakers link

  Not Petty and the Homebreakers

  by Robert Racansky, over 2 years ago
  

  If it's in your covenants, it's not petty. It's a covenant that you agreed to comply with when you moved into the association. There is a responsibility to follow the rules and to pay the assessments.
  - Lallis Jackson. H.O.A. Task Farce. January 16, 2024.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDa3Rh0J4U @ T+2:48:43

  You can't make a Community Association omelette without breaking a few homeowners.

  Ask Val Ford whether a homeowners association can do harm, and he will respond that his destroyed his health and wealth.
  
  Ford, 72, and his wife, Ann, are on the verge of losing their home after the Master HOA for... Continue reading

  If it's in your covenants, it's not petty. It's a covenant that you agreed to comply with when you moved into the association. There is a responsibility to follow the rules and to pay the assessments.
  - Lallis Jackson. H.O.A. Task Farce. January 16, 2024.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDa3Rh0J4U @ T+2:48:43

  You can't make a Community Association omelette without breaking a few homeowners.

  Ask Val Ford whether a homeowners association can do harm, and he will respond that his destroyed his health and wealth.
  
  Ford, 72, and his wife, Ann, are on the verge of losing their home after the Master HOA for the Southcreek Townhomes in Englewood foreclosed on them.
  
  The HOA, which charges dues of $240 a year, has amassed $9,000 in fines and late fees against the ailing couple in a nine-year battle that started with a misplaced trash can that Ford used to collect debris from a nearby community mailbox.
  
  “We have taken it, taken it and taken it,” Ford said. “There is no recourse as far as I can see.”
  
  He violated rules that limited his ability to fly an American flag or display a lit cross at Christmas and Easter. When he put the wrong kind of slats on his fence, he had to rip them out.
  
  Ford said he thinks the HOA is looking for any chance it can to punish the couple. In late 2010, before his wife’s surgery for breast cancer, the HOA won a court order allowing it to garnish their bank fund. The HOA took all the money the couple had saved for the surgery.
  
  “Touching HOA law is always a bit dicey around here,” [ Colorado State Senator Morgan ] Carroll said of the vested interests surrounding the state’s HOA laws.
  
  - Aldo Svaldi. H.O.A. "Horror Stories ..." Denver Post. February 12, 2012.

  $ 240 / year in H.O.A. dues x 9 years = $ 2,160
  vs
  $ 9,000 in fines and late fees

  I've seen articles leaning as if H.O.A.s are out here and they're a big monster trying to trying to take over something. The H.O.A., I promise you, does not want your house. They just want you to follow the rules. That's it.
  - Lallis Jackson. H.O.A. Task Farce. October 24, 2023.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5k8hRj6iNc @ T+0:58:29

  
  

  What's really driving this is the dynamics of these [H.O.A.] collection lawyers who are just out to generate fees and to sell these houses off as fast as they can.
  - Evan McKenzie, former H.O.A. attorney and author of Privatopia (1994) and Beyond Privtopia (2011). Quoted by ABC on 20/20 in “Do Homeowner Associations Go Too Far?” Arpil 19, 2002.