The simplest things in life can end up being the most complicated Add a healthy dose of stress to the mix and the most basic things quickly become overwhelming. Sadly if you live in a mandatory membership residential association, making everything more difficult and ridiculous seems to be part of their reason for being.
Shelly Marshall joins me On The Commons this week. Shelly is a dynamic owner and advocate, a keynote speaker and an author. Her first HOA book is called HOA Warrior. She has followed that with HOA Warrior II, her second book. Her book is full of great advice for both homeowners and board members, incredible stories, interesting facts and lots of forms to help the homeowners by pass the absurd run around, designed to frustrate and further inflame the situation. Requesting association documents a homeowner is entitled to often denied and sometimes gets down to the wrong wording, the wrong form and the wrong color of ink. We talk to Shelly about what is happening, discuss some of the emails she receives from her readers and talk about legislation designed to regulate HOAs. You’ll want to hear the show and you’ll want to read her latest book, HOA Warrior II. Visit her website for more information of how and where you can get her book.
This show should be one anyone thinking of buying into an HOA should not miss.
Shelly’s passion for her work shines through and she is always full of common sense methods to resolve conflicts. I do agree that the CAI and the HOA industry as a whole works hard to cast that doubt to every board member that they are not capable of making a decision without a litigation. And encourage enforcement of the CC&Rs right down to the color of the tape on a garden hose! And she is correct they fail to see the same need for enforcement when a board member or a board crony is in violation.
Keep writing, Shelly! Great show, Shu!
Hello Mrs. Marshall,
There are good honest homeowners who are not only losing their home to an unelected HOA President, but he harasses them also. Everything I mentioned to you can be backed up with evidence (supporting documentation). I have reached out to so many entities, but I was told that everything is civil and these low income families must hire an attorney.
List of issues: 1. This community has not had an election in about 5 years. 2. The HOA President has full control and hand picked his board. Members who did not agree with the unethical practices were removed. 3. Homeowners are being charge different amounts and it has nothing to do with the size, year or anything. For example, my daughter purchased her home in 2014 2 bedroom villa, she was told to pay $2500 annually. Some people who has home twice her size was allotted $900 annually. 4. The community has virtually no ammenties, except an old unkept pool. 5. Mr. John C. Becker unelected HOA President) sent a newsletter with the confederate flag reach offended many homeowners. 6. Mr. Becker has acquired additional 5-8 properties since he became president (past 10 + years). 7. Mr. Becker puts liens on their property and most homeowner they are clueless as to why. 8. One homeowner paid him $9000 in HOA dues and he told her after the payment, she would be caught up, she now has a lien on her property. 9. Mr. Becker had an attorney to send my daughter a lien notice. After I and my attorney told his attorney that Mr. Becker is making a false lien, the attorney backed off and is no longer representing Mr. Becker. 10. This community is being charged every year approximately $180000 dollars, which includes cable of $55,000 dollars. I have yet to meet a homeowner with cable from the HOA, where is that money going? 11. Mr. Becker sent a newsletter to homeowners, slandering other homeowners. 12. Mr. Becker sent a letter to a retired Lt. Navy Veteran demanding he pays $4000 dollars or a lien would be placed on his home without just reason. 13. Mr. Becker told a homeowner who been in her home for 15 years to remove about a foot of her driveway in which she purchased it like that. Because she was granted a permit due to the previous homeowner not getting one, the county approved the driveway and Mr. Becker sent her a notice to pay $2300 dollars or a lien would be placed on her home. 16. My attorney and I had a meeting with some homeowners, there were over 30 people that showed up with similar complaints. One thing they had in common was a fear of losing their home and they emphasized how powerful Mr. Becker is.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE. I CAN SEND DOCUMENTS TO EVERYTHING I MENTIONED ABOVE.
HI , I need some help, I lost my home to HOA and now im homeless , over a bunch of lies and we were onwers for over 25yrs,
james sohol
Dear ma’am: It has been a great pleasure finding your website and knowing that there is someone out there that cares for homeowners. I am just starting a legal battle with my HOA and I desperately need advice. I have water pipe located outside of my townhouse that has sprung a leak. I tried repairing the leak through American Home Shield but they denied the claim saying that my contract does not cover outside plumbing.
I contacted my HOA and they also denied my claim alleging that although the plumbing is outside of my four walls, the pipe in question services my unit inside and therefore it is my responsibility to repair it because it does not affect the rest of the complex. I have lived here for 18 years and understood all this time that the HOA is responsible for all repairs outside of my four walls and I am responsible for any repairs inside my unit’s four walls. I consider that the broken pipe is located in a common area and therefore it is their responsibility to repair it.
On June 1, 2016 I faxed them a long letter telling them why I objected to their decision to not repair the pipe and warned them that if this matter is not resolved by 1 July 2016, I will stop paying my HOA dues, file a Small Claims Court case against them and ask the court permission to deposit my monthly HOA dues into the court registry until a decision is handed down by the judge. After the decision, regardless of the outcome, I will ask the court to release whatever money is owed to them.I followed up the faxed letter by sending them a certified hard-copy of the same letter with return receipt requested to ensure they get the letter.
I do not have a copy of the Bylaws of my HOA. As part of the letter I sent them I requested a copy of the Bylaws annotated where it says I am responsible for the repair. I do not have money to pay for an attorney. The cost of an attorney would be significantly higher than what it would cost to repair the leak so I have to represent myself. I would like as much information as you can give me. I feel very capable to represent myself if only I have all the pertinent information I need to successfully represent myself.
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Raul E. Zayas
Brandon Fl Hillsborough County,USA
raul.zayas@verizon.net
(813)407-0900
Please help me. I have a board of directors and acc board that are harassing, intimidating, going to a lawyer, not providing information requested About budget, slandering me and my house at the meetings and causing med and my mother intentional infliction of physical and emotional distress. We are both disabled and she is elderly. Please help.
i am going thru a HOA nightmare in Malibu i will never buy anything with association i am surprise no mentioning left libral
PHILOSOPHY RUNNING AMOK HERE IN MALIBU
I am a ADA (American w Disabilities. I’m constantly harassed and have pictures of other homes that they don’t harass. I asked for a accounting and they will not give that to me or a meeting in good faith, they are about to take my home. I have a hearing on March 8, 2017. They do not do the “up keep”. But expect us to pay our streets were so full of snow many ppl couldn’t get out of THIER homes, the owners were then threatened with special assessments if we pushed it because the HOA misappropriated $! Please put me on the air so I can expose this form of HOA corruption/extortion/ retaliation!
I have lived in my home in Avondale, AZ for 15 years. Mortgage current…never missed or late payments. Because of a near fatal accident in 2014, I was in the hospital and a rehab facility for 4 months. I don’t get disability or any other assistance. We cut back on everything. Wifi, one of our phones, cable, no more going out to eat or anywhere. Paid my mortgage, utilities and bought groceries. Assessment fees were delinquent and they put a lien on our house. We figured we’d pay it when my settlement came ir they would be paid if we sold the house. Our fees were $4000 – that’s including attorney fees, filing, processing, whatever they could add. Went to a hearing to settle, their attorney didn’t show so they wouldn’t accept the payment he negotiated. Had another hearing a week later and they changed the time and forgot to notify us. HOA wins by default. We’ve filed motions back and forth for 4 months. Now they want $23,000 and they’ll sign the title back to us. THE TITLE IS STILL IN OUR NAME. OUR LENDER HAS NO DOCUMENTATION REGARDING THIS. We’re on the street Friday. And the HOA board members keep driving by my house or stopping a few down. They grin at me.