HOA not maintaining common interest areas?

Question

I have just recently purchased my first property and it is in the City of Henderson. There is an HOA that has been around for about 30 years and as of the first of this year it was raised to about $165. The common interest areas in our community have not been kept up on for it seems a few years. There is NO green grass left on the development and the trees are dying. On top of all this the clubhouse AND POOL are closed down because of health district codes and not abiding by them. Oh and there is a tiny dumpster that they allow ONLY BAGGED TRASH IN. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. They are supposed to be covering the common areas outside, building insurance, water, and other misc. things including the pavement outside which has almost been destroyed. These are the properties over on Van Wagenen passed Pacific for anyone familiar with the area. Is there anything I can do? The first meeting is tomorrow and I am going to address these issues.

Answer 1

You should have a copy of the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for your HOA, as well as a copy of the current bylaws. These will answer most of your questions regarding how the HOA is to be run and whether it "reverts" after 30 years.



Generally, the unit owners have the power to remove the current HOA board of directors, replace the management company, and see that needed repairs are done. Get the documents and if you don't understand what you can do next, see a real estate lawyer.

Answer 2

Strictly speaking, CC&Rs can only regulate the property against which they are recorded. That is, unless the public streets are included in the property described in the CC&Rs, the HOA has no legal power to regulate them. Sometimes a developer will record the CC&Rs against a large tract, and the streets are later dedicated to the City, so this can actually be the case. Some courts will overlook the technicalities and enforce a restriction against parking on a public street that's not included in the CC&Rs. I've seen a few cases where the Court ruled in this manner. And even if the streets are not included in the property subject to the CC&R's, the HOA can still fine for using the garages for storage.

Answer 3

Call your city's mayors office and ask him if it is possible if you get a petition with enough signatures if you can have the HOA dissolved. If not you might find out who the head of the HOA is and find out about how to have that person removed from their position.