Need some sage council on HOAs.
We build and moved into our neighborhood 2 years ago partly bc the HOA dues were so low I expected it wouldn't be as onerous as others I know about around town. Until January this year they were a management company and almost non-existent. There wasn't a formal set of bylaws, committees, and rules until the first elections this year.
Since that time I know of 6 houses of the 8 in my immediate vicinity who have received some sort of threatening letter. We got one last month for the swing set I put in the back yard after Christmas 2 years ago when there wasn't an architectural committee. Now they want me to submit an application for it or they'll fine me. You can't even see it from the street. Our neighbors can't have have things like basketball goals or remove dirt mounds around the trees in front of their houses.
My question is how best to resist this type of encroachment on my liberty since my signature is on a document I signed at closing agreeing to pay dues. I'm planning to run for the board presidency and pretend like it doesn't exist for the balance of my term. Somehow I don't think that will create a permanent reprieve.
A broader question is from where do these clowns get this authority? If the majority of the neighbors wanted to get rid of the HOA, could we? The fining policy letter they sent out makes it sound like the city/county put certain deed restrictions on the development requiring an HOA.
When you bought your house, you became a member of the HOA--a status you can only change by selling said property.
You should have received a copy of the HOA Bylaws and the relevant HOA CCR's (covenants, codes, and restrictions) governing your HOA neighborhood when you closed on your house. Note: these CCR's are embodied in city/county code as an integral part of the Planned Unit Development documents/plans the developer provided to the city/county planning commissions for approval of the project.
Covenants can only be changed by a supermajority vote of the homeowners (in my current HOA it takes 75% approval). Similar stipulations are also found in state law (like in OK).
Be careful, because the covenants (and potentially state law) gives the HOA the power to take adverse legal (and financial) action against you if you don't pay your HOA dues or comply with the covenants.
Sorry, but you can't get rid of the HOA without the appropriate supermajority vote of all HOA members--and, in some states, you can't even put that issue to a vote for a specified number of years.
It's common practice that as a new housing development is built, the HOA = the developer because he starts our owning 100% of the lots. Then, as the number of homeowners increase (and the number of lots owned by the developer decreases), HOA responsibilities shift from the developer to a duly elected board of directors selected by vote of all legal homeowners. In some cases, a management company is hired by the developer to handle all the HOA stuff so he can focus on building houses (this was the case with my HOA in San Antonio). If your HOA is in transition from developer to homeowner control, make sure your HOA board makes the developer correct any problems in the development before the formal handover occurs.
Bottom line: You're stuck. You knew you were buying in a HOA-controlled development. There's a legal document in your closing papers that says so.
"I didn't know there were rules" or "I never got a copy of the rules" excuses don't work.
Finally, if you get on the HOA board and don't enforce the CCR's, any homeowner can sue your arse for not doing so. (And the HOA Officers & Directors policy won't cover you if negligence is involved.)
