HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - December 25, 2015
Published: Sat, 12/26/15
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Withholding HOA Dues: This Owner Sure Woke Up Her Board
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A Michigan homeowner has been ordered to pay dues she was withholding from her association to protest the HOA board’s failure to act on a number of community matters.
In this week’s tip, we admit she was wrong but point out that she actually had a valid point.
Here’s the back story. Joanie Dickerson has been ordered to pay the 197-member North Rose Towne Houses Improvement Association in Mount Clemens, Mich., $700 in back fees and to resume paying her $50 monthly fee, reports the Macomb Daily.
Dickerson called the ruling a win because the judge declined to order her to pay the association’s nearly $3,000 in legal fees.
She’d withheld her dues to protest the HOA’s lax management. She claims it failed to pursue delinquencies consistently among owners, to hold annual and monthly meetings, to file financial reports, and to maintain the property by allowing 13 abandoned cars to sit idly and by neglecting repairs and trash pickup.
After the HOA took Dickerson to court, the board conducted an informational meeting for owners and planned to hold an annual meeting in late 2015.
Dickerson told the newspaper she still plans to pursue a discrimination claim against the HOA. She’s black and was sued for her unpaid fees. But she claims other owners, including a pair of brothers who owe about $10,000 combined for three units, weren’t hauled into court. The association’s lawyer said he only recently learned of those delinquencies and will discuss them with the board.
Association attorneys will, to a person, tell owners they’re not entitled to withhold fees to protest board inaction.
“Unfortunately, I rarely, if ever, take the owner’s position,” admits Ben Solomon, an attorney and founder of the Association Law Group in Miami Beach, Fla., who for more than a decade has advised more than 500 associations and also represents developers through his second law firm, Solomon & Furshman LLP. “My job is to represent the association.
“This is a common mistake,” adds Solomon. “You have every right to notify the board and management of your complaints in writing. If you feel they’re nonresponsive, you can consult your own lawyer and file a lawsuit. But you can’t withhold your assessments no matter what.”
When this happens, our experts say it’s a sign of much bigger problems. Get details in our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1302.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
P.S. This is our last Tip of the Week for the 2015, and so I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you and your community and successful, healthy, and happy new year.
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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When an HOA Owner's Wrong and Right at the Same Time
A Michigan homeowner has been ordered to pay dues she was withholding from her association to protest the HOA board's failure to act on a number of community matters.
The board appears to have gotten the message. And yes, the owner was wrong, but what took this board so long to realize its owners had valid complaints? Here we explain and offer advice.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/When-HOA-Owners-Wrong-Right-at-Same-Time.cfm
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Can You Make Owners Insure Things the HOA is Responsible to Maintain?
An HOAleader.com reader asks: "Are there any limits to a board's authority to add rules? Specifically, can a board add a rule to the association rule book that requires homeowners to purchase insurance to cover items the CC&R makes the board or association responsible for repairing or replacing? It would seem the association would be responsible for insuring what the association is responsible for repairing. It would also seem that such an insurance requirement belongs in the CC&R and not in association rules that can be added or amended by a simple board majority."
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Can-You-Make-Owners-Insure-Things-HOA-Responsible-Maintain.cfm
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When Does Your HOA Need an Independent, Third-Party Audit?
Lots of HOAs compile financial records. But do they have independent audits by a third party? Here we discuss when that's required and when it's just a wise idea.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/When-Does-Your-HOA-Need-Independent-Third-Party-Audit.cfm
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Community Limits Sales to Those of German Descent. Seriously? In This Day and Age?
In this week's tip, we discuss a New York community's lingering restrictive covenant that actually restricts owners to persons of German descent.
In rural Long Island sits Yaphank, where according to The New York Times a Nazi summer camp once hosted parades and nearby streets were named after infamous Nazis. The streets have been renamed, reports the Times, but what still remains is a provision in the community's bylaws requiring owners to be primarily "of German extraction," a clause that has led to the 45-family community nearly all white.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Community-Limits-Sales-Those-German-Descent-Seriously-In-This-Day-Age.cfm
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Former Nazi-Supporting Community Still Enforces Rules on Sales. Is that OK?
The New York Times recently highlighted a New York community with a strong Nazi-supporting past whose bylaws restricts owners to those of German descent. Owners have now sued the German American Settlement League, alleging that and other covenant restrictions--like prohibitions against advertising home sales on the open market--violate fair housing laws and keep the community essentially all white. Here we explain the background and offer lessons to other communities.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Former-NaziSupporting-Community-Still-Enforces-Rules-on-Sales-that-OK.cfm
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