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.
Our HOA sent an email complaining about mulch piles you can see from the road. My mulch pile is in a grove of trees next to the house which you can see from the road. I responded with “Are you complaining that there is wood...in the woods?”
A board rep responded “We mean the expensive black piles of mulch, not that ghetto free sh*t that you get from the grinder when it’s in the neighborhood”. Too funny.
Peoria is located in the desert.
The lesson here is mostly how expensive and inexperienced attorney can be for his or her clients.
“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”
I am not sure who gave them this information but I think they should have sought a second opinion. Since the HOA clearly violated their own written rules and Arizona statute I would think remedies would be available to not only correct the violations but compensate legal costs.
I will never ever live in an HOA. Who needs some arbitrary and ever changing group of people with their own wicked agenda telling me what I can and can’t do on my property. I don’t even like living in city limits. They have higher taxes and lots more rules. Give me county land anytime. Minimum taxes and the fewest possible rules. I keep my property up and so do most my neighbors. We do it because we want to; not because some anal freaks will crawl up my ass if I don’t. Pun intended.
One more family learns the hard way why you NEVER EVER EVER buy a property that is subject to an HOA.
With an HOA, you will NEVER have TRUE OWNERSHIP of your home as you will always have to get permission from someone else to make any significant upgrades/improvements to your home.
Because 99% of all properties are under an HOA.
That also affects FHA financing. IIRC, they require 70% owner occupancy but can make case-by-case exceptions.
From the article it does appear that more and more HOA have become quasi government bodies. The answer might be to treat them as being along the same lines as community development agencies or historic preservation boards or other such entities which have quasi-government authority over property owners.
Statute must be clear that just like any other governing body there is a difference when an HOA board is acting in a legislative capacity versus a quasi-judicial capacity. And heavy fines levied for crossing the line.
You’re just proof of the nasty tyrants that occupy an HOA. We had a nasty like you and we made the little girl get out.
“Swine prefer living among other swine.”
So...those of us who live happily in nice neighborhoods without HOAs are pigs?
That is the one type of sign they cannot forbid. That is a lawsuit waiting to happen. One which you and other residents will end up paying for.
My sister and brother-in-law are living under a tyrannical HOA President (former power starved inner city school teacher).
People were lined up out the door to complain about him at a meeting and he LITERALLY brought out an egg timer and said everyone is limited to a three minute comment. Everyone in the room was screaming at him.
Get this, he doesn’t even live in the neighborhood, he rents his townhouse.
When people are free to do with their properties as they see fit, then it’s obvious who is self-motivated to keep things in order, and who is not.
Then what’s on the outside more accurately represents the priorities on the inside. The appearance is real, otherwise who knows - could be a line up of white-washed tombs, filled with the dead [who never miss voting demoncrat].
It all looks civil, sweet, and serene, until someone wears his MAGA hat to a neighborhood BBQ. Next thing you know his lawn might be 1” too high, or his deck needs to be repaired, or his roof immediately replaced.
Just down the street (no HOA) is the residence of a person running for a state office. It’s the most decrepit, ramshackle house on the road. Can you guess which political party? I knew you could.
HOA agreements, deed restrictions and covenants- these are all written down and available to potential home buyers.
>>>Would never live in a HMO<<<
Under Obamacare, you may have to.
This is exactly why I always refused to live in a community that had an HIA. Kind of detracts from home ownership, at least for me. That’s why I finally bought land and built my own home. Not the construction of it, but I hired and oversaw the people doing the construction.
They have to register with the state first and that would require a homeowners vote. Without notification it goes nowhere. With notification all forces come to alert for deployment :)
I have been waiting for you. You know nothing about our HOA which functions well. You know nothing about me or my role in the HOA. Yet, I am a nasty tyrant.
Getting rid of the tyrant little girl is exactly how a HOA should operate. That is good. You did the right thing. Getting involved in the HOA made your community better.
My wife was elected as president of our now defunct HOA. She quietly organized like minded candidates and they took the majority. The meeting was a doozy. The Nazi’s lost their minds. My wife and her insurgents voted to drop all HOA fees to $0. This was after the Nazi’s had hired a lawyer. Veins were bulging on the lawyers forehead. Who is going to pay my fees? Her response: Sue us, but good luck collecting. He stormed out. She then tabled all outstanding issues and scheduled the next HOA meeting/officers election for 2055. This was in Westfield. She had read that document with a lawyer resident insurgent candidate. It was all legal. A week later all the Nazi’s had put their homes up for sale. We had a block party and played this LOUD on a loop on a DJ/insurgent’s rig on a loop. Something north of 5,000 watts on very efficient speakers. 100+ Db at the 200 ft their homes were from the speakers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoyvvEWHodk
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