Posted on 10/29/2018 6:13:49 AM PDT by Kaslin
In the 2000s, the Parkers thought they were buying their dream home. It was advertised at an excellent price and came with customizable options. The home was located in Peoria, Arizona, adjacent to Phoenix. The development was new, with an HOA managed by a management company.
While the Parkers were viewing the house, they asked the salesperson if they would be able to expand their three-car garage to a four-car garage. The sales person said yes, that would be no problem.
In 2016, the Parkers proudly put up a campaign sign in their front yard for Donald Trump, the only homeowners in the development to do so.
Mr. Parker was elected to the HOA board for awhile, but left after getting frustrated. But while there, the family learned the rules for additional building on the property and complied when they started their garage addition. This meant sending a letter requesting permission to the HOA board along with a copy of the plans and the permit from the city. Per the HOA rules, if the HOA board doesn’t respond to a request within 45 days, it’s deemed approved.
A few weeks later, the city asked them to change their building plan slightly. They made the changes and submitted the revised plans to the HOA. Again, the HOA board did not respond within 45 days, so the Parkers thought everything was fine. They resumed construction of the garage.
On January 9, 2017, when the garage was close to completion, the Parkers received a Notice of Violation in the mail from the management company. It did not specify any offense. They were then contacted by the Architectural Review Committee, a subsidiary of the HOA. The ARC chairman CC’d two neighbors on an email to them. The Parkers figured out he had put two of his neighbors on the ARC — but there hadn’t been a meeting, necessary to vote in officers, since October 2016. They were apparently put on the ARC illegally. An HOA board member was also later added illegally, to replace the president of the board who moved out of the development. The HOA justified it by claiming that A.R.S. 10-3821 applied, allowing them to take action without a meeting. But that law applies to nonprofits, not HOA boards. HOAs are different because they include homeowners who have a right to vote. They are governed by Title 33 of the Arizona Revised Statutes.
The HOA board next sent the Parkers a letter refusing permission to build the additional garage — despite the fact that it was already built at this point. The ARC claimed that one corner was too close to the fence. This was because the city had them move the garage back, which changed the distance from 10 feet to 8.2 feet.
The Parkers thought they could submit a variance to take care of the problem. Instead, they received a letter from an HOA lawyer on April 20, 2017. There still hadn’t been any HOA board meetings since October, so the legal action appeared to be illegal. On May 5, the law firm sent them another letter, selectively quoting the CC&Rs.
The HOA finally sent out a letter announcing a board meeting in August, almost a year after the last meeting — but it was executive session only, so residents weren’t allowed to attend. The HOA lawyer attended along with the illegally elected board members.
The Parkers asked for mediation. It took place in September. At the mediation, one member on the HOA board suggested fining the Parkers as much as $35,000, as a “deterrent” to others.
The HOA finally scheduled a board meeting for residents to attend on December 17. It was chaotic, with other residents angry at the way the HOA was treating them. An election was scheduled for January to elect new officers. Ken Palmer ran for president, but the HOA pulled some slick maneuvers to keep him from being elected.
The Parkers finally could not handle any more stress, it was having an effect on Ken’s health. They were told that even if they were to eventually win, they would have to go through a lengthy appeals process that would cost them $50,000. They worked out a settlement of paying the HOA $10,000. They spent another $13,000 on legal fees. They essentially paid a lot of money to make it go away.
The management company was started in the 1990s. It has expanded to manage 700 HOAs. It operates in five states. There are thousands of employees. They collect payments, bank them, keep records, pay for insurance, hire vendors, manage the property, fix sprinklers, pay for a community manager to be on call, manage meetings and make filings at court. They also manage pools and common areas in the HOAs that have them.
Officially, the management company receives nominal reimbursement from homeowners’ fees. But they actually make their money from secret affiliate fee arrangements. In order to bid on projects in the development, vendors must join the Community Association Institute. That requires them to give a hefty kickback of 20 to 30 percent to the management company on each project. That money is how they are able to litigate against homeowners. The management company also makes money suing homeowners over HOA fines. If they don’t keep up with the fines, they foreclose on their homes and flip them, making a profit.
Free market proponents don’t want to regulate HOAs because they consider them private associations. But several court decisions have held that they are quasi-governmental. Phoenix lawyer Jon Dessaules, who represents homeowners in lawsuits against HOAs, observed, "Homeowners associations really are privatized government without accountability. We can control everything from what you paint your home to when you cut your yard, but we aren’t accountable to you and don’t have to respond to you." They are similar to Public-Private Partnerships, which entail government granting monopolies to favored corporations which no longer act like free market entities and are controlled substantially by government. Local governments authorize developers to include HOAs. Since 90 percent of the new houses in Maricopa County are located within an HOA, it is almost impossible to avoid them.
The Parkers believe they were originally targeted because of their Trump yard sign. Many of the people attracted to serve on HOA boards are little Napoleons, eager to flaunt their power over others. This totalitarian mindset should not be allowed to abuse people for their politics. Fortunately, Arizona’s Governor Doug Ducey is cracking down on HOA abuse. One bill would have helped the Parkers, requiring HOAs to treat all of their meetings as open meetings. But it’s too late for them.
here in the DFW area and in my hood, BETO signs have been in yards for months. HOA says they can only be a month before and a week after, but they all ignored it and have them out anyway. some even have lights on them at night. it’s insane and I complained to the HOA. well, they did NOTHING about it and still haven’t. I guess we all know why. If he wins I’m leaving Texas i’ll tell you that.
Its the free food at the annual bbq.
Ditto. I can understand Europeans doing it. Individual freedom is not as big a deal there.
I am in a HOA community.....of condominiums. The HOA takes care of all exterior work - lawns, plantings, painting, etc. This works for me since I am a senior citizen with limited mobility. So far, zero problems.
Al HOAs eventually turn into retribution oriented fiefdoms, making life miserable for those under its control...................
Well, this community has been here for 15 years and all of the residents I have met speak highly of this HOA. Maybe I fell into a good situation somehow.
I live in an HOA community. They forbid any lawn signs of any type. And I’m glad they do.
HOAs are a Constitutional abomination. They are illegal in so many ways I fail to see how they continue to exist. Im not aware of any cases going to SCOTUS but they need to.
This article is bullshit. I was part of community associations institute. It is a not for profit organization that provides credentials for community association managers and is not affiliated with any management company. There are no kickbacks from the chapters to management companies; they also pay to be members. Also, HOAs ARE governed under the nonprofit Act and ACC members are usually appointed, not elected. Holy cow, what a conglomeration of half truths and crap.
I went to one and one board member wore a Hillary button. I thought about wearing a MAGA hat to the next meet but decided to sell. Didn’t want to deal with those old hags on other issues but then they needed to be cut own a notch. The complex was 50% rented units so the pride in ownership was not there but the busy-body crap got me to cash out.
HOA...… It’s all about “control”, not necessarily for the good of the neighborhood but for those who want things THEIR way.
HOA...… It’s all about “control”, not necessarily for the good of the neighborhood but for those who want things THEIR way.
Middle aged men serving out their careers as the small fish in the corporate pond, controlled by the boss at work and the wife at home. They feel a need to control something. Ergo... the neighborhood HOA
We told our real estate agent when we were buying our home that NO HOAs were even to be considered...................
I live in Sun City, TX. They allow one sign per candidate starting 90 days before the election. And most of the Beto signs were up that very first day. There are probably more Beto signs than Cruz signs, but that is highly misleading, because maybe 5-10 percent of the yards have signs, and the rest just don’t want to deal with obnoxious Dem neighbors - but will vote GOP when the time rolls around.
Would never live in a HMO.
Chapter 202 of the Texas Property Code supersedes your documents. Political signs are allowed starting in 2011. Your HOA can’t prohibit them anymore.
I believe our HOA does the same - forbids any lawn signs.
Would never live in a HMO.
Or, A HOA for that matter.
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